Spoiler : Immensely talented comedian and one of my favorites. He was awfully funny and displayed great energy on stage.

Spoiler : Carter, Jack (birth name was Jack Chakrin) Born in Brooklyn, New York 6/24/1922. Commercial artist for advertising firms before he became a nightclud comedian. Broadway debut in Call Me Mister (1947). Screen debut in The Horizontal Lieutenant (1962). Rotating host on The Texaco Star Theatre for NBC-TV (1948) and The Tonight Show for NBC-TV (1962). Host of Pick And Pat on ABC-TV (?); American Minstrels Of 1949 on ABC- TV; Cavalcade Of Stars on DuMont-TV (1949-1950). Star of Jack Carter And Company on ABC-TV (1949); The Jack Carter Show on NBC-TV (1950-1951). Guest host of Stage Show on CBS-TV in 1955; permanent host for the program in 1956.

Spoiler : Happy Heavenly Birthday. I always loved watching his stand-up routine on Ed Sullivan or one of the other variety shows. He was a real master.

Spoiler : Happy birthday to Jack Carter, born on June 24, 1922. A great man and great actor.

Spoiler : The wonderfully multi-talented performer, known mostly for his comedy, Jack Carter, has passed away. A compelling powerful presence he managed even in his passing to get the most out of things, succumbing only days after reaching age 93. Born in the Brighton Beach section of Brooklyn as Jack Chakrin in 1922, he took to hanging around his father's candy store where he met many an entertainer who happened by after performances at nearby theaters. The two who made the greatest impression on him were Al Jolson and Georgie Jessel, both of whom he learned to imitate. Carter would go on to play Jessel in a movie bio of Judy Garland, and in 1978 was set to a star on Broadway in a musical about the life of Jolson, which however failed to materialize. Though known largely for his stand up comedy work, Carter's entree in show business was as an actor. His first work was in regional theater soon after high school and he studied at a school of Dramatic Arts. Twice he appeared on radio on the Major Bowes Amateur Hour, winning each time. Like most men of his age WWII put off progress in his career, as he served in the army. His first real opportunity came shortly after the war when he replaced Jules Munshin on Broadway in Call Me Mister, a musical revue about returning soldiers. Jack would later replace Phil Silvers in Top Banana and was in the original cast of the musical Mr. Wonderful. However it was as a comedian in clubs and in the then birthing medium of TV, that he came to prominence. On the fledgling Dumont network he hosted a show called American Minstrels and later their program Cavalcade of Stars. When NBC beckoned with an offer of his own program with his name in the title and a spot on the same evening as Sid Caesar's Show of Shows, Carter left Dumont, recommending an unknown named Jackie Gleason to take his place. Carter's show did not last long, and a spot as one of a group of rotating hosts on the Texaco Star Theater was also of limited duration when the permanent spot was awarded to Mr. Television, Milton Berle. But Jack marched right on finding tremendous success as a frequent guest on the multitude of variety programs so prominent in early TV. A brilliant comedian with nonstop energy he became one of the hottest acts in the industry. Working on programs hosted by Kate Smith, Martin and Lewis, Eddie Fisher, Perry Como, Polly Bergen, Pat Boone, Garry Moore, Judy Garland, Bob Hope and Jackie Gleason, he became ubiquitous on the tube. And of course he was a frequent performer on the Ed Sullivan show, holding a record for most appearances until Alan King eventually broke it. On stage Carter was fearless, hysterical, dynamic and incredibly physical sending out punch lines like a boxer delivering punches. Using his Broadway and theater training Carter would also include songs, dancing and impressions. This success and popularity then led to dates at all the major hotels, nightclubs and showrooms in places like Vegas. Also there were numerous roles on sitcoms like the Joey Bishop show, the Odd Couple and the Dick Van Dyke show where he famously invoked Jolson. He even got into directing working in that capacity on a number of Lucille Ball shows. And as someone with dramatic training there were many a part on serious programs like The Name of The Game. But comedy was his main spring and he continued being a presence on TV for over 50 years. As a very young boy I recall him from an appearance on the Sullivan show. That one particular evening he was so funny and I was laughing so much my stomach began to hurt. Fearful that things had progressed to the point that throwing up was a possibility, I began to get up to leave the room, but fearful I would miss some of the brilliance I sat back down. So there I was holding my stomach with one hand and hoping the routine would end soon. I also recall in later years seeing Jack on a PBS special about Jewish humor and some of the routines he did. He talked of a man who had been refused membership in a country club because of his faith, confronting a member there who he assumed was also Jewish, named Goldwater. The man responded that why shouldn't he be admitted, saying condescendingly, You see young man I am a Goldwater, not a Goldwasser or a Goldvasser, a Goldwater. My father is a Goldwater. My grandfather is a Goldwater, and my great grandfather, olav ha-shalom...... That last phrase being Hebrew for rest in peace. The he told one about an older unmarried woman who went to the Catskills regularly to vacation and enjoy the shows. Well it so happened during this week there was a get together where food was served and men and women might meet. The woman in question noticed a handsome man standing near her and approached him and they began a very pleasant conversation. The woman mentioned that she had been to this resort many times, but had never seen him before. The man responded that this was his first time there as he had been very busy for many years. When she inquired as to what had occupied his time, the man responded saying, Well to be honest for the past 30 years I've been in the can. She replied, You've been in the bathroom for 30 years? The man then said that he was only trying to be polite in his terminology, but what he meant was that he had been in jail. The woman than smiled understandingly and said, I find that hard to believe. What could a nice man like yourself have done to go to jail for so long. Well, he said, actually I murdered my wife. The woman than responded, Oh I see, then you must be a single man. While performing with Freddie Roman and Gabe Kaplan in a show called Legends of the Catskills in 2000, Carter came on stage singing Just in Time, going into celebrity impressions and telling jokes about old age---I told my mother to act her age, so she died. And recalling a line of his from the 1950s "Eighty percent of the money in this country is spent by women. The other 20% is spent by men — on women!" And Carter kept on performing as he aged, sometimes continuing to appear on TV and mostly being in demand on the Florida condo circuit working to audiences of retirees. But that ability to amuse audiences and that fierce jousting personality remained. His wife, whom he was married to in 1971 said he was an often angry man who brought some of that contentiousness to the stage. Many in the business called him a comedian's comedian always funny, always ready to go. In a biographical Encyclopedia of comedy he was described as slick, fast and furious and a man not to be heckled, ever ready with a million retorts for anyone foolish enough to spar with him. Of Carter Steve Allen said, he possessed a wild inventiveness whether on stage or off. Whether it was a shouted insult, a woman with an unusual dress or a slow response by a lighting technician, Allen wrote, "Jack Carter can take it, add a whiff of magic dust to it, and make audiences laugh." The vast majority of comedians are thrown by the unexpected, Allen added, but "Carter makes capital of the unexpected, particularly if it seems to put him at a disadvantage. He is a magnificent grouser, a brilliant complainer, a wizard of 'Why me?' " Through the years he kept his hand in acting and musicals in regional theater performing in Guys and Dolls, as Fagin in Oliver, in The Odd Couple and in The Sunshine Boys. And as recently as 2011 he attended a memorial for old friend Eddie Fisher. A number of celebrities were there including old comedian pals of his, but no one got up speak. Believing a eulogy and remembrance were required, Carter rose from his chair, and as Jessel was wont to do, his tribute was touching and his comedy, as Shecky Greene would declare, brought down the house. One last thing I remember seeing Jack Carter on a number of Merv Griffin shows in the 1980s. After doing his routines he'd sit down and reveal a little of himself in conversations, often talking of his mother who also lived a long and active life. I remember him saying that his mother told him that her new favorite singer was Robert Goylum, that's Goulet to most of you. And Jack told of meeting Al Jolson, not as a boy, but as a professional. Carter told of being at one of the major hotels in Miami Beach. Jolson was in the audience that evening as a paying customer. Seeing Jolson, and perhaps offering to pick up his tab, the owner went over to ask Al if he would take the stage (try and stop him) and introduce the young comic coming on whose name was Jack Carter. Well Jolie sauntered on stage and when he had said as much as he felt like, he proceeded to introduce Carter, saying, and now that brilliant new comedian Jackie Carter. Only because of the way Al had of sometimes saying things in his own particular and unique manner, Jack said it came out sounding like Dackie Caca. Carter said he was stunned as he made his way on stage. Here he was with this wonderful opportunity, being on the same bill with the immortal Jolson, and everyone in the audience thinks I'm an idiot named Dackie Caca. Well he overcame the moment and made millions laugh, especially me. Mike