Al Jolson

Actor, Singer

About

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Also Known As

Asa Yoelson

Birth Place

Lithuania

Born

May 26, 1886

Died

October 23, 1950

Cause of Death

Heart Attack

Biography

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Celebrated song-and-dance man who was a major Broadway attraction before gaining worldwide fame as the star of the so-called "first" talking picture, "The Jazz Singer" (1927). Known as both "The World's Greatest Entertainer" and the biggest egomaniac in show business, Jolson got his start as a blackface singer in vaudeville around 1906. By the 1910s, he was starring in both book and vari...

Filmography

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American Lifestyles (1987)

Rhapsody in Blue (1945)

Swanee River (1940)

Hollywood Cavalcade (1939)

Rose of Washington Square (1939)

The Singing Kid (1936)

Photos & Videos

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Time Bandits (1981) -- (Movie Clip) Me And My Shadow

Rhapsody In Blue (1945) -- (Movie Clip) Send That Song Over To Me!

Family & Companions

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Henrietta Keller

Wife

Divorced in July 1919.

Alma Osborn

Wife

Actor. Married on August 18, 1922; divorced.

Ruby Keeler

Wife

Actor, dancer. Third wife; married on September 21, 1928; divorced on December 28, 1940; co-starred together in the feature film, "Go Into Your Dance" (1935).

Biography

Celebrated song-and-dance man who was a major Broadway attraction before gaining worldwide fame as the star of the so-called "first" talking picture, "The Jazz Singer" (1927). Known as both "The World's Greatest Entertainer" and the biggest egomaniac in show business, Jolson got his start as a blackface singer in vaudeville around 1906. By the 1910s, he was starring in both book and variety shows on Broadway, including "The Honeymoon Express" (1913), "Robinson Crusoe Jr." (1916), "Sinbad" (1918) and "Bombo" (1921). His hammy, exuberant singing style and his obvious love of entertaining made him a huge star of both stage and recordings.

Jolson made his first films in the mid-20s, a series of early talking shorts. But his immortality came with "The Jazz Singer," the first commercially viable, part-talking feature. Signed with Warner Bros., Jolson made a series of popular, sentimental musicals, including "The Singing Fool" (1928), "Sonny Boy" (1929), "Mammy" and "Big Boy" (both 1930) before his vogue began passing. He left for United Artists in 1933 for the bizarre (and commercially disastrous) Rodgers and Hart film "Hallelujah, I'm a Bum" before returning to Warners. There, he made a series of innocuous musicals, the best of which was the first, "Wonder Bar" (1934).

Jolson's fame declined through "Go Into Your Dance" (1935, co-starring Ruby Keeler, his wife from 1928-39), "Rose of Washington Square" (1939) and "Rhapsody in Blue" (1944). He entertained the troops in both WWII and Korea, and had a resurgence of popularity when he provided Larry Parks' voice in "The Jolson Story" (1946) and "Jolson Sings Again" (1949). He had achieved the status of revered veteran when he died in 1950.

Filmography

Cast (Feature Film)

American Lifestyles (1987)

Rhapsody in Blue (1945)

Swanee River (1940)

Hollywood Cavalcade (1939)

Rose of Washington Square (1939)

The Singing Kid (1936)

Go into Your Dance (1935)

Wonder Bar (1934)

Hallelujah I'm a Bum (1933)

Say It with Songs (1929)

The Singing Fool (1928)

The Jazz Singer (1927)

Jakie Rabinowitz [also known as Jack Robin]

Music (Feature Film)

Fort McCoy (2014)

The Rite (2011)

Marmaduke (2010)

Leatherheads (2008)

The White Countess (2005)

The Aviator (2004)

The Saddest Music in the World (2003)

A Guy Thing (2003)

When Brendan Met Trudy (2000)

The Last September (1999)

Song Performer ("You Made Me Love You")

Sweet and Lowdown (1999)

The Long Day Closes (1992)

Roger & Me (1989)

The Brave Little Toaster (1987)

Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)

Phar Lap (1983)

Songs ("California Here I Come" "There'S A Rainbow Round My Shoulders")

You Are What You Eat (1968)

The Helen Morgan Story (1957)

The Best Things in Life Are Free (1956)

Rainbow 'Round My Shoulder (1952)

Dreamboat (1952)

Jolson Sings Again (1950)

The Great Gatsby (1949)

Feudin' Rhythm (1949)

Feudin', Fussin and A-Fightin' (1948)

The Jolson Story (1947)

Stars on Parade (1944)

Silver Spurs (1943)

Casablanca (1942)

Hold That Ghost (1941)

Hollywood Hotel (1938)

Music Is Magic (1935)

Lucky Boy (1929)

Say It with Songs (1929)

New York Nights (1929)

The Singing Fool (1928)

The Jazz Singer (1927)

Misc. Crew (Feature Film)

The Jolson Story (1947)

Voice double for Larry Parks

Music (Special)

Harry Connick, Jr. & His Orchestra: Swinging Out With Harry (1990)

Cast (Short)

Hollywood Handicap (1938)

A Day at Santa Anita (1937)

A Plantation Act (1926)

Misc. Crew (Short)

The Naughty Twenties (1951)

Archival Footage

Let's Go to the Movies (1949)

Archival Footage

The Voice That Thrilled the World (1943)

Archival Footage

Life Events

1894

Immigrated to USA; settled in Washington, DC

1906

Made stage debut

1911

New York stage debut, "La Belle Paree"

1925

Film debut, a talking short for Warner Bros.

1927

Made feature debut, "The Jazz Singer"

1933

Left Warner Bros. for United Artists, made "Hallelujah I'm a Bum"

1934

Re-signed with Warner Bros.

1949

Made last film, playing himself in "Jolson Sings Again"

Photo Collections

The Jazz Singer - Behind-the-Scenes photos

Here are a few photos of Al Jolson taken behind-the-scenes during production of The Jazz Singer (1927), Warner Bros' ground-breaking talking picture.

The Jazz Singer - Movie Poster

Here is the original release American One-Sheet poster for The Jazz Singer (1927), Warner Bros' ground-breaking talking picture. One-sheets measured 27x41 inches, and were the poster style most commonly used in theaters.

The Jazz Singer - Scene Stills

Here are some scene stills from The Jazz Singer (1927), Warner Bros' ground-breaking "Talkie" starring Al Jolson.

Wonder Bar - Scenes Stills

Here are a few scene stills from Wonder Bar (1934), starring Al Jolson and Kay Francis.

Videos

Time Bandits (1981) -- (Movie Clip) Me And My Shadow The time-traveling dwarves (David Rappaport, Kenny Baker, Jack Purvis et al) and Kevin (Craig Warnock) have tumbled to Castiglione, Lombardy, 1796, which nutty Napoleon (Ian Holm) has just conquered, aiming to ingratiate themselves with the Al Jolson tune, in director Terry Gilliam’s Time Bandits, 1981.

Rhapsody In Blue (1945) -- (Movie Clip) Send That Song Over To Me! Agent Max Dreyfus (Charles Coburn) is so impressed with new client George Gershwin (Robert Alda) that he introduces him to Al Jolson (as himself, in dreaded black-face) over the phone in Rhapsody In Blue, 1945.

Hallelujah I'm A Bum (1933) -- (Movie Clip) I'm A Bum Again More Rodgers and Hart song as Bumper (Al Jolson) is relieved he's no longer rich, not realizing he's about to meet disconsolate June (Madge Evans), in Lewis Milestone's Hallelujah I'm A Bum, 1933.

Hallelujah I'm A Bum (1933) -- (Movie Clip) Drop That Goose! Youthful John Carradine in this opening scene from the Al Jolson vehicle Hallelujah I'm A Bum, 1933, in which Al (as "Bumper") and pal Sunday (Chester Conklin) meet the mayor (Frank Morgan), wintering in Florida.

Hallelujah I'm A Bum (1933) -- (Movie Clip) Hoover's Cossacks! Songs and musical dialogue by Rodgers and Hart as Bumper (Al Jolson) and Egghead (Harry Langdon) perform a highly political discourse in director Lewis Milestone's Hallelujah I'm A Bum, 1933.

Jazz Singer, The (1927) -- (Movie Clip) Open, New York Ghetto Opening title sequence doesn't mention producer Darryl Zanuck or sound recordist George Groves, from Warner Brothers' landmark first talking feature The Jazz Singer, 1927, starring Al Jolson.

Feudin', Fussin' and A-Fightin' -- (Movie Clip) Me And My Shadow Salesman Wilbur (Donald O'Connor) has contrived to get himself locked in a barn with a firm tap floor where he performs the Al Jolson number "Me and My Shadow," in Feudin, Fussin' and A-Fightin', 1948.

Singing Fool, The - (British re-issue trailer) The Singing Fool (1928), Al Jolson's follow-up to The Jazz Singer and the most popular movie of the early Talkie era.

Go Into Your Dance - (Original Trailer) Real-life husband and wife Al Jolson and Ruby Keeler star in the musical melodrama Go Into Your Dance (1935).

Jolson Story, The - (Original Trailer) Larry Parks stars as the famous blackface performer of stage and screen, Al Jolson, in The Jolson Story (1947).

Rose of Washington Square - (Re-issue Trailer) A singer (Alice Faye) struggles to keep her criminal boyfriend (Tyrone Power) from trouble in Rose of Washington Square (1939).

Wonder Bar - (Original Trailer) The denizens of a Parisian night club deal with murder and romance in the pre-code musical Wonder Bar (1934) starring Al Jolson.

Rhapsody in Blue - (Original Trailer) Robert Alda stars in Rhapsody in Blue (1945), a fictionalized biography of composer George Gershwin and his fight to bring serious music to Broadway.

Companions

Henrietta Keller

Wife

Divorced in July 1919.

Alma Osborn

Wife

Actor. Married on August 18, 1922; divorced.

Ruby Keeler

Wife

Actor, dancer. Third wife; married on September 21, 1928; divorced on December 28, 1940; co-starred together in the feature film, "Go Into Your Dance" (1935).

Bibliography

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