Editing Eddie Fisher (section)

== South Philadelphia Childhood ==

Edwin John Fisher was born on August 10, 1928, in Philadelphia, the fourth of seven children in a family whose Russian Jewish immigrant parents struggled financially throughout his childhood. His South Philadelphia neighborhood, home to successive waves of immigrants, provided the musical exposure—through synagogue, through neighborhood radio, through the sounds of the street—that his talent would eventually exploit. His vocal abilities became apparent early, his childhood performances at local events suggesting possibilities that poverty might otherwise have foreclosed.<ref name="guralnick">{{cite book |last=Guralnick |first=Peter |title=Searching for Robert Johnson: The Life and Legend of the "King of the Delta Blues Singers" |year=1998 |publisher=Plume |location=New York}}</ref>

His teenage years brought opportunities that his voice created, including performances on Philadelphia radio that began establishing the audience that would later embrace him nationally. His 1949 debut at the Copacabana, following discovery by Eddie Cantor, launched the nightclub career that preceded his recording success. The transition from South Philadelphia poverty to glamorous entertainment venues demonstrated talent that circumstances could not contain, his voice providing the escape that education or other paths might not have enabled.<ref name="fisher"/>

His Army service during the Korean War, during which he entertained troops rather than serving in combat, maintained his visibility while adding patriotic credentials that 1950s audiences valued. The Armed Forces Radio broadcasts that featured his performances kept his popularity active during service, his return to civilian entertainment occurring without the interruption that combat soldiers experienced. Philadelphia's influence on his style—the accessible, unpretentious delivery that working-class origins had shaped—contributed to appeal that reached audiences beyond nightclub sophistication.<ref name="guralnick"/>