Edward Hastings Ford (June 13, 1887 – January 27, 1970) was a

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

comedian who created the radio show '' Can You Top This?'', on which he appeared as the character Senator Ford.

Early years

Ford was born Edward Hastings Fauth in Brooklyn in 1887 and had a sister, Harriet Fauth Lavinia. He dropped out of

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

's public school system after the eighth grade. His first job was in

photoengraving Photoengraving is a process that uses a light-sensitive photoresist applied to the surface to be engraved to create a mask that protects some areas during a subsequent operation which etches, dissolves, or otherwise removes some or all of the ma ...

. He married Hilda Engelhardt (1908–1957). Ford also pursued an interest in art, as he "obtain dan art schooling and operated an art studio in New York's lower Broadway, doing commercial illustrating."

"Senator" Ford

A 1943 newspaper article traced the origin of Ford's nickname to a speech he made at New York's Republican Club in the 1910s. The speaker who preceded Ford was future President

Warren G. Harding Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923) was the 29th president of the United States, serving from 1921 until his death in 1923. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he was one of the most ...

, then a member of the U.S. Senate. Following Harding's remarks, "the toastmaster jocularly referred to Ford as 'Senator' Ford in introducing him to the audience. The title has stuck since."

Radio

Ford became a panelist on a comedy quiz show called ''

Stop Me If You've Heard This One ''Stop Me If You've Heard This One'' was a comedy radio series, created by the actor-humorist Cal Tinney (February 2, 1908 – December 2, 1993) and sponsored by Quaker Oats. Hosted by Milton Berle, it aired Saturday evenings at 8:30pm on NBC ...

'', which ran from October 1939 to March 1940. Shortly after that show ended Ford was inspired to create the similar but far more successful '' Can You Top This?'', which co-starred friends and colleagues Joe Laurie, Jr. and

Harry Hershfield Harry Hershfield (October 13, 1885 – December 15, 1974) was an American cartoonist, humor writer and radio personality. He was known as "the Jewish Will Rogers". Hershfield also was a columnist for the ''New York Daily Mirror''. His books ...

. ''Can You Top This?'' ran on local radio in New York for two years until being picked up nationally by

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

, where it ran for another twelve years. There were two television versions of the show, the first version ran on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

from October 1950 to March 1951; the second, which premiered January 26, 1970 (the day before Ford's death), aired in first-run syndication only eight months.

Personal life

Ford lived in the town of Southold for his entire life. Ford's first wife Harriet Fauth Lavinia died in 1957. He married Louise Grace July 11, 1957.

Death

Ford died at Eastern Long Island Hospital in

Greenport, Suffolk County, New York Greenport is a village in New York's Suffolk County, on the North Fork of Long Island. It is located within the Town of Southold and is the only incorporated community in the town. The population was 2,197 at the 2010 census. Greenport was ...

, on January 27, 1970, of

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...

and

throat cancer Head and neck cancer is a general term encompassing multiple cancers that can develop in the head and neck region. These include cancers of the mouth, tongue, gums and lips ( oral cancer), voice box ( laryngeal), throat ( nasopharyngeal, orophar ...

Legacy

His papers are archived at

Stony Brook University Stony Brook University (SBU), officially the State University of New York at Stony Brook, is a public university, public research university in Stony Brook, New York, United States, on Long Island. Along with the University at Buffalo, it is on ...

References

1887 births 1970 deaths American radio personalities Monologists

External links

*{{IMDB name, 0285490, Edward Hastings Ford
Recording of Edward Hastings "Senator" Ford
reading the daily newspaper comic strips by invitation of

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

La Guardia during the newspaper delivery man strike.