There Was a Boy, There Was a Girl

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The communications revolution began with Bell's telephone, but it really went ballistic with the advent of radio in the early twentieth century. This is the story of David Freedman, dubbed the "Czar of Radio,"who wrote and directed the top comedy shows aired in the thirties: Eddie Cantor, Fannie Brice's "Baby Snooks," and many others. In one astonishing year, he also had three successful shows running on Broadway.

But this is also a love story. A child of Russian, poverty-stricken immigrants who found a way to save enough to buy their daughter a second-hand violin, Beatrice was determined to get an education and become a musician. She managed to be admitted to Columbia University, paying her way by washing dishes in the student cafeteria. One day, racing to work down the university steps, she knocked down a young man with his nose in a book. This was the start of a roller-coaster life that carried the two of them to the heights of fame and fortune, then dumped them back below the poverty line, then once again lifted them to even greater heights of achievement.

Through it all, their mantra was, "Together!" They strove to do everything together: work, play, raise children. That included their daughter-in-law, Nancy Freedman, who hereby repays her debt with this affectionate memoir.