Kantar was born to a
Jewish family in
Minneapolis, Minnesota. He learned the game at 11 and started teaching it at the age of 17, first to his friends and later at the
University of Minnesota, which he attended. He wrote more than 35 bridge books and was a regular contributor to the ACBL
Bridge Bulletin (with two monthly columns),
The Bridge World, and
Bridge Today. In a survey of bridge writers and players taken in 1994,
Complete Defensive Play was among the top 20 of all-time favorite bridge books. Six of his books have won the American Bridge Teachers' Association (ABTA) award for Best Book of the Year. Kantar wrote at home in California and lectured on bridge cruises. He also taught in the Los Angeles area as well as lectured several times a year in various resort areas in the U.S. and Canada. Aside from bridge, Eddie played
paddle tennis, a sport in which he also garnered several trophies. Eddie was the first person to have played in a World Bridge Championship and a
World Table Tennis Championship. Kantar died on April 8, 2022, at the age of 89. ==Bridge accomplishments==