His wife of 63 years, Connie, a former actress, died in August of 2002,
just three months before Eddie's passing. Connie was his leading lady
in the Broadway production of "What a Life" in 1938.
He was awarded two Stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Television at 6751 Hollywood Boulevard and for Radio at 1651 Vine Street in Hollywood, California.
He died in hospital in Montclair, New Jersey while undergoing surgery for a crushed spinal disc in his neck.
While in elementary school, Eddie appeared as the rich kid in "The New
York Kiddie Troupers," a series of silent movie shorts filmed in New
York.
Eddie won a Best Actor (Musical) Tony nomination playing Horace
Vandergelder in the Broadway revival of "Hello, Dolly!" opposite
Carol Channing in 1978.