"""Yankee Doodle Dandy"" (1942), Hollywood columnist Sidney Skolsky believed that a similar film could be made about Al Jolson. Skolsky pitched the idea of an Al Jolson biopic and Harry Cohn, the head of Columbia Pictures agreed. It was directed by Alfred E. Green, best remembered for the pre-Code ""Baby Face"" (1933), with musical numbers staged by Joseph H. Lewis. With Jolson providing almost all the vocals, and Columbia contract player Larry Parks playing Jolson, ""The Jolson Story"" (1946) became one of the biggest box-office hits of the year. Larry Parks wrote, in a personal tribute to Jolson: From a"
"children, Asa Jr. (born 1948) and Alicia (born 1949), and remained married until his death in 1950. After a year and a half of marriage, his new wife had never seen him perform in front of an audience, and the first occasion came unplanned. As told by actor comedian Alan King, it happened during a dinner by the New York Friars' Club at the Waldorf Astoria in 1946, honoring the career of Sophie Tucker. Jolson and his wife were in the audience along with a thousand others, and George Jessel was emcee. He asked Al, privately, to perform at least"
"and to cast Jessel in the lead role. However, when the studio refused his salary demands, Jessel turned down the movie role, which was eventually played by Al Jolson. According to Jessel during an interview around 1980, Warner Brothers still owed Jessel money for earlier roles and lacked enough funds to produce this movie with a leading star. Jolson, the biographical inspiration for the movie, became the movie's main financial backer. His next movie role was in 1926 in ""Private Izzy Murphy"". Whereas Jolson's film career skyrocketed after the 1927 release of ""The Jazz Singer"", Jessel remained in smaller movie"
"Al Jolson Al Jolson (born Asa Yoelson; May 26, 1886 – October 23, 1950) was an American singer, comedian, and stage and film actor. At the peak of his career, he was dubbed ""The World's Greatest Entertainer"". His performing style was brash and extroverted, and he popularized many songs that benefited from his ""shamelessly sentimental, melodramatic approach."" In the 1920s, Jolson was America's most famous and highest-paid entertainer. Between 1911 and 1928, Jolson had nine sell-out Winter Garden shows in a row, more than 80 hit records, and 16 national and international tours. Although best remembered today as the star"
"were national hits in 1953. His song ""A Sky-Blue Shirt and a Rainbow Tie"" reached No. 17 in the UK Singles Chart in November 1954. Norman Brooks (singer) Norman Brooks (August 19, 1928 – September 14, 2006) was a Canadian singer, best known for his ability to sound like Al Jolson. He was born Norman Joseph Arie, the son of Lebanese parents, in Montreal in 1928. He played Jolson in the 1956 film, ""The Best Things in Life Are Free"". Brooks performed in nightclubs and on television in the United States and Canada during the 1950s and 1960s. He played"
"were not particularly successful. By 1906 the two agreed to separate, and Jolson was on his own. Jolson became a regular at the Globe and Wigwam Theater in San Francisco, California, and remained successful nationwide as a vaudeville singer. He took up residence in San Francisco, saying the earthquake-devastated people needed someone to cheer them up. In 1908 Jolson, needing money for himself and his new wife, Henrietta, returned to New York. In 1909, Al's singing caught the attention of Lew Dockstader, the producer and star of Dockstader's Minstrels. Al accepted Dockstader's offer and became a regular blackface performer. According"
"that he becomes the leading player and takes the show on tour. At a Sunday night concert, Al meets an up-and-coming dancer named Julie Benson (Evelyn Keyes). It is love at first sight for Al, and only a few hours after meeting her, he proposes to her. (Al Jolson was actually married four times. The character Julie Benson is modeled on his former wife Ruby Keeler). She agrees, although she does not love him yet. They marry during Al filming ""The Jazz Singer"", by which time Julie has fallen in love with him. But Julie is not as fond of"
"back, especially for what it tries to do for the progress of the American musical..."" In 1934, he starred in a movie version of his earlier stage play ""Wonder Bar"", co-starring Kay Francis, Dolores del Río, Ricardo Cortez, and Dick Powell. The movie is a ""musical ""Grand Hotel"", set in the Parisian nightclub owned by Al Wonder (Jolson). Wonder entertains and banters with his international clientele."" Reviews were generally positive: """"Wonder Bar"" has got about everything. Romance, flash, dash, class, color, songs, star-studded talent and almost every known requisite to assure sturdy attention and attendance... It's Jolson's comeback picture in"
"Norman Brooks (singer) Norman Brooks (August 19, 1928 – September 14, 2006) was a Canadian singer, best known for his ability to sound like Al Jolson. He was born Norman Joseph Arie, the son of Lebanese parents, in Montreal in 1928. He played Jolson in the 1956 film, ""The Best Things in Life Are Free"". Brooks performed in nightclubs and on television in the United States and Canada during the 1950s and 1960s. He played himself in the 1960 film ""Ocean's Eleven"". His records ""Hello Sunshine"" and ""You Shouldn't Have Kissed Me The First Time"" for the Zodiac Records label"
"Al Jolson, and John Randolph. It was the last show in which Al Jolson would appear. With scenes in Route 66, Sunshine Valley Rancho, New York City, and Mexico, a posse of cowboys come in from the West looking for The Lone Rider (Al Jolson) of the radio drama, to go West and round up the notorious bandit, Fernando (Arnold Moss). He finally sings his way out of trouble after several narrow escapes. Act 1 Act 2 Five songs from other shows. Hold On to Your Hats Hold On To Your Hats is a musical comedy in two acts by"
"this picture one has Al Jolson's own songs to listen to, for the story has been contrived to exploit to the full his special talents. Whenever the action begins to slump and lag, Al has only to step forward and do his stuff, and the day is saved."" One trade paper commentator stated that ""The Singing Fool"" ""will be to talking pictures what ""The Birth of a Nation"" has been to silent pictures"". For a time, the film also made Davey Lee, Jolson's 3 year old co-star, the most popular child star since Jackie Coogan. Lee was re-teamed with Jolson"
"Jon Finlayson Jon ""Finno"" Finlayson (23 March 193812 September 2012) was an Australian actor and writer. He was known for his roles in the films ""Lonely Hearts"" (1982) and ""The Magic Show"" (1983). He was also well-known from his numerous television roles, such as Colonel Archibald Spencer in ""Zoo Family"" (1985) and as James Gleeson in """" (1995-1996). He wrote sketches for ""The Mavis Bramston Show"". He was noted for his hospitality as well as his 'Sunday Soirees' in the Melbourne show business community. Jon Finlayson was born in Coburg, Victoria to Clorine and Ron Finlayson. When he was about"
"this moment, the show's producer, Florenz Ziegfeld, asked Jolson to join the cast and continue to sing duets with Keeler. Jolson accepted Ziegfeld's offer and during their tour with Ziegfeld, the two started dating and were married on September 21, 1928. In 1935, Al and Ruby adopted a son, Jolson's first child, whom they named ""Al Jolson Jr."" In 1939, however—despite a marriage that was considered to be more successful than his previous ones—Keeler left Jolson. After their 1940 divorce, she remarried, to John Homer Lowe, with whom she would have four children and remain married until his death in"
"(1944), ""Stars on Parade"" (1944), ""Sergeant Mike"" (1944), and ""She's a Sweetheart"" (1944). He supported Paul Muni in ""Counter-Attack"" (1945). He was in a Western ""Renegades"" (1946), with Evelyn Keyes. When Columbia was preparing a screen biography of Al Jolson, many big-name stars were considered for the title role, including James Cagney and Danny Thomas (both of whom turned it down), but resident contractee Larry Parks was reportedly the first actor to be interviewed. Parks impressed the producers and won the role. At the age of 31, his performance in ""The Jolson Story"" (1946) earned him an Academy Award nomination"
"production. After its financial failure, Paramount head Adolph Zukor offered Sam Warner a deal as an executive producer for Paramount if he brought Vitaphone with him. Sam, not wanting to take any more of Harry Warner's refusal to move forward with using sound in future Warner films, agreed to accept Zukor's offer, but the deal died after Paramount lost money in the wake of Rudolph Valentino's death. Harry eventually agreed to accept Sam's demands. Sam then pushed ahead with a new Vitaphone feature starring Al Jolson, the Broadway dynamo who had already scored a big hit with early Vitaphone audiences"
"was trying to get the show to Broadway, produced by Salvatore Pirrone, directed and choreographed by Michael Shawn, and starring Larry Kert. The show is said to have closed because no Broadway theatres were available at the time. Jolson Tonight Jolson Tonight is a musical with a book by Nicholas Dante. The musical is based on the life of Al Jolson. Nicholas Dante was hired by producer Jeff Britton to write ""Jolson Tonight"" after his previous Al Jolson musical, ""Joley"", failed in spring 1979. The show was written in a similar fashion to ""A Chorus Line"", Dante's previous musical, by"
"in 1952. They had one daughter. In 1954, Francis joined the George Mitchell Singers, and was one of the first soloists to appear in ""The Black and White Minstrel Show"" when it made its television debut in 1958. Francis generally appeared at the beginning of the show to announce, ""It's the Black and White Minstrel Show"", in character as Al Jolson. Together with Tony Mercer and John Boulter, he fronted the troupe in most of the shows until it was taken off the air in 1978. He also appeared in most of their stage shows. He died 27 November 2003"
"it has no spoken dialogue. He was chosen to direct Al Jolson in ""The Jazz Singer"" (1927). The film would make him famous as the first of the new talkies that changed the course of motion pictures. Crosland died in 1936 at the age of 41 as a result of an automobile accident on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles. He is interred in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. His grave remained unmarked for 67 years until a headstone was donated by The Hollywood Underground in 2003. His son, Alan Crosland Jr. (1918–2001), would also have a successful career as a television"
"Jolson Jolson is a musical with a book by Francis Essex and Rob Bettinson and a score composed of tunes by some of the all-time greatest songwriters of Tin Pan Alley. Based on the life of singer Al Jolson, one of America's most popular entertainers, it spans thirty years of his career. Out of the limelight, the plot emphasizes his personal faults as much as it does his professional successes. Other major characters include his wife Ruby Keeler and his longtime friend and agent Louis Epstein. The West End production, directed by Bettinson, opened on October 26, 1995 at the"
"and Sandra Jolley (1961–1963), former wife of actor Forrest Tucker and daughter of character actor, I. Stanford Jolley. Carson had a romantic relationship between his second and third marriages with Doris Day in 1950–51, but she left him for Marty Melcher, who would become her third husband. Jack Carson John Elmer ""Jack"" Carson (October 27, 1910 – January 2, 1963) was a Canadian-born, American film actor. Though he was primarily used in supporting roles for comic relief, his work in films such as ""Mildred Pierce"" (1945) and ""Cat on a Hot Tin Roof"" (1958) displayed his mastery of ""straight"" dramatic"
"Showers"" and ""Avalon"". Reviewers wrote, ""Mr Jolson's singing of ""Mammy"", California, Here I Come and others is something for the memory book"" and ""Of the three co-stars this is Jolson's picture ... because it's a pretty good catalog in anybody's hit parade."" The movie was released on DVD in October 2008. 20th Century Fox hired him to recreate a scene from ""The Jazz Singer"" in the Alice Faye-Don Ameche film ""Hollywood Cavalcade"". Guest appearances in two more Fox films followed that same year, but Jolson never starred in a full-length feature film again. After the George M. Cohan film biography,"
"Brown. Allan has performed in two televised Royal Variety Shows and has been appearing in the lead of a new version of Jolson & Co on a national tour from February to May 2009 to rave reviews. Allan had previously understudied Brian Conley in ""Jolson: The Musical"" (1995–1997). Sheila Connor says ""Allan Stewart, as Jolson, presents us with a tour de force in the role, which looks back in detail over the entertainer's life. His performance alone warrants this production having life after its present tour finishes as he gives one of the best performances I have seen in a"
"Reginald VelJohnson Reginald VelJohnson (born Reginald VelJohnson, August 16, 1952) is an American actor. He is best known for playing policeman characters such as Carl Winslow on the sitcom ""Family Matters,"" which ran from 1989 to 1998, and LAPD Sgt. Al Powell in the films ""Die Hard"" and ""Die Hard 2"". VelJohnson was born Reginald Vel Johnson on August 16, 1952, in Queens, New York, the son of Eve, a nurse, and Reginald Johnson, Sr., a hospital attendant. His father left the family, which included Reginald's brother Barry, when VelJohnson was 13 years old. Their mother subsequently married John Reilly."
"Jolson Tonight Jolson Tonight is a musical with a book by Nicholas Dante. The musical is based on the life of Al Jolson. Nicholas Dante was hired by producer Jeff Britton to write ""Jolson Tonight"" after his previous Al Jolson musical, ""Joley"", failed in spring 1979. The show was written in a similar fashion to ""A Chorus Line"", Dante's previous musical, by having a series of recorded conversations with star Larry Kert about the public and private life of Al Jolson. The show was doing a pre-Broadway trial in five cities in the 1980 in preparation for a run on"
"Jolson. The former song was also recreated in color in the film ""The Jolson Story"" (1946). Dance director Bobby Connolly received an Academy Award nomination for his work on the ""Latin from Manhattan"". Other songs with music and lyrics by Harry Warren and Al Dubin include: ""The New York Times"" movie review said: ""On the debit side of the picture's ledger, one must report a dearth of comedy, a certain dragginess as the film reaches its half-way mark and Miss Keeler's not altogether successful attempt to do the rhumba, the tango and other ""Spanish"" dances. Her tap dancing is so"
"minstrel troupe known as the Merry Meadow Minstrels. Al Jolson plays as a blackface endman while Lowell Sherman plays as the interlocutor. Hobart Bosworth plays as the owner of the show, while his daughter, played by Lois Moran, serves as Al Jolson's love interest in the picture. Sherman's character, however, is also in love with Moran's. The show is in a miserable state until Jolson entertains a sheriff and manages to convince him to invest in the show. The show becomes very successful thanks to this investment and Jolson is eventually able to visit his mother. Some time after he"
"it all: the satisfaction of taking his father's place ""and"" of conquering the Winter Garden. They were, perhaps unwittingly, dramatizing some of their own ambivalence about the debt first-generation Americans owed their parents."" Three subsequent screen versions of ""The Jazz Singer"" have been produced: a 1952 remake, starring Danny Thomas and Peggy Lee; a 1959 television remake, starring Jerry Lewis; and a 1980 remake starring Neil Diamond, Lucie Arnaz, and Laurence Olivier. ""The Jazz Singer"" was adapted as a one-hour radio play on two broadcasts of Lux Radio Theater, both starring Al Jolson, reprising his screen role. The first aired"
"""The Adventures of Superman"" (twice), ""Perry Mason"" (twice), ""The Untouchables"" as Pete Laffey in ""The Man in the Cooler"", ""Profiles in Courage"" in the episode ""Andrew Johnson"" (with Walter Matthau in the title role), ""Man with a Camera"" as Dr. Ben Todd in ""The Killer"", ""Mr. and Mrs. North"" as Harry in ""The Ungrateful Killer"", and in Johnny Weissmuller's ""Jungle Jim"" as Bremer in ""Voodoo Drums"". Jolley and his wife, Emily (1901–2003) had two children: Stan Jolley (1926-2012) and Sandra Jolley Carson (1919–1986). Sandra, originally an Earl Carroll showgirl, was married to actors Forrest Tucker (divorced) and Jack Carson (widowed)."
"lists: On April 19, 2005, 20th Century Fox and Legend Films released a colorized version of the film, donating a portion of the proceeds to the Jackie Robinson Foundation, a charity that benefits education for gifted students. An ""official"" version remains in release by MGM Home Entertainment (whose sister company, United Artists, produced this film). The Jackie Robinson Story The Jackie Robinson Story is a 1950 biographical film directed by Alfred E. Green (who had directed ""The Jolson Story"", ""one of the biggest hits of the 40s"") and starring Jackie Robinson as himself. The film focuses on Robinson's struggle with"
"of New York City's Lower East Side and a University of Illinois undergraduate, attended a performance of the musical ""Robinson Crusoe, Jr."" in Champaign, Illinois. The star of the show was a thirty-year-old singer, Al Jolson, a Russian-born Jew who performed in blackface. In a 1927 interview, Raphaelson described the experience: ""I shall never forget the first five minutes of Jolson—his velocity, the amazing fluidity with which he shifted from a tremendous absorption in his audience to a tremendous absorption in his song."" He explained that he had seen emotional intensity like Jolson's only among synagogue cantors. A few years"
"review in ""Variety"": Parks received an Oscar nomination for Best Actor. Although the 60-year-old Jolson was too old to play a younger version of himself in the movie, he persuaded the studio to let him appear in one musical sequence, ""Swanee"", shot entirely in long shot, with Jolson in blackface singing and dancing onto the runway leading into the middle of the theater. In the wake of the film's success and his World War II tours, Jolson became a top singer among the American public once more. Decca Records signed Jolson and he recorded for Decca until his death. According"
"her and for the world. On April 25, 1917, Samson Raphaelson, a native of New York City's Lower East Side and a University of Illinois undergraduate, attended a performance of the musical ""Robinson Crusoe, Jr."" in Champaign, Illinois. The star of the show was a thirty-year-old singer, Al Jolson, a Russian-born Jew who performed in blackface. In a 1927 interview, Raphaelson described the experience: ""I shall never forget the first five minutes of Jolson—his velocity, the amazing fluidity with which he shifted from a tremendous absorption in his audience to a tremendous absorption in his song."" He explained that he"
"the audience. Dockstader realizes that it was really Al who was on stage, and hires him join his minstrel show. One night, Jolson is out walking when he hears the new, exciting jazz music; he enjoys it so much that he forgets that he has a show that night. Dockstader fires him. Al visits his parents, but does not stay long, because he receives a call from Tom Baron, who is now a theater manager. Baron invites Al to join his Broadway show. Al insists on choosing his own material, including his signature tune, ""Mammy"", and he becomes so popular"