Walter Winchell

Winchell was born in New York City, the son of Jennie (Bakst) and Jacob Winchell, a cantor and salesman; they were Russian Jewish immigrants. He left school in the sixth grade and started performing in Gus Edwards's vaudeville troupe known as the "Newsboys Sextet", which also featured Eddie Cantor and George Jessel. During this time, Winchell performed as a tap dancer. Winchell served in the U.S. Navy during World War I, reaching the rank of lieutenant commander. Winchell began his career in journalism by posting notes about his acting troupe on backstage bulletin boards. He joined the Vaudeville News in 1920, then left the paper for the Evening Graphic in 1924, where his column was named Mainly About Mainstreeters. He was hired on June 10, 1929, by the New York Daily Mirror, where he became the author of the first syndicated gossip column, entitled On-Broadway. The column was syndicated by King Features Syndicate.

He made his radio debut over WABC in New York, a CBS affiliate, on May 12, 1930. The show, titled Saks on Broadway, was a 15-minute feature that provided business news about Broadway. He switched to WJZ (later renamed WABC) and the NBC Blue (later ABC Radio) in 1932 for the Jergens Journal.