Profile
Photos
Comments
Al Jolson (May
26, 1886 – October 23, 1950) was an American singer, comedian, and
actor. He is considered the "first openly Jewish man
to become an entertainment star in
America".[1] His career
lasted from 1911 until his death in 1950, during which time he was
commonly
dubbed "the world's greatest entertainerâ€.
| Al Jolson | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Asa Yoelson |
| Born | May 26, 1886 Seredžius, Lithuania, Russian Empire |
| Died | October 23, 1950 (aged 64) San Francisco, California, U.S. |
| Genres | Vaudeville Pop standards Jazz Pop |
| Occupations | Actor Comedian Singer |
| Years active | 1911–1950 |
| Labels | Victor, Columbia, Little Wonder, Brunswick, Decca |
| Website | The Al Jolson Society |
Personal life
Politics
Jolson was a political and economic conservative,
supporting both
Warren G.
Harding in 1920 and Calvin Coolidge in 1924 for president
of the United States.
As "one of the biggest stars of his time, [he] worked his magic singing
'Harding, You're the Man for Us' to enthralled audiences... [and] was
subsequently asked to perform 'Keep Cool with Coolidge' four years
later. ...
Jolson, like the men who ran the studios, was the rare showbiz Republican."[30] He was unlike most
other Jewish performers, who supported the losing Democratic candidate, John William
Davis. Jolson did, however,
publicly campaign for Democrat Franklin
Delano Roosevelt in
1932.[6]:241
[edit] Married life
In 1906, while living in San Francisco, Jolson met dancer Henrietta
Keller,
and the two engaged in a year-long relationship before marrying in
September
1907.[8] In 1918,
however, Henrietta — tired of what she reputedly considered his womanizing and refusal to come
home after shows — filed for divorce. In 1920, Jolson began a
relationship with
Broadway actress Alma Osbourne (known professionally as Ethel Delmar);
the two were married in August 1922.[6]:256
[edit] Ruby Keeler
In the summer of 1928, Jolson met tap dancer, and later successful
actress,
Ruby
Keeler at Texas Guinan's
night club and
was dazzled by her on sight; at the club, the two danced together. Three
weeks
later, Jolson saw a production of George M. Cohan's
Rise of Rosie
O'Reilly, and noticed she was in the show's cast. Now knowing she
was going
about her Broadway career, Jolson attended another one of her shows, Show
Girl, and rose from the
audience and engaged in her duet of "Liza". After 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, whom they named "Al Jolson Jr."[8] In 1939,
however — despite a marriage that was considered to be more successful
than his
previous ones, Keeler left Jolson, and later married John Lowe, with
whom she
would have four children and remain married until his death.[6]:223-259[8]
Jolson and wife, Erle, 1946
[edit] Erle Galbraith
In 1944, while giving a show at a military hospital in Hot Springs,
Arkansas, Jolson met a young X-ray technician, Erle Galbraith. Jolson became fascinated by her and – over a
year
after meeting – was able to track her down and hired her as an actress
while he
served as a producer at Columbia Pictures.
After Jolson, whose health
was still scarred from his previous battle with malaria, was
hospitalized in the winter of 1945, Erle
visited him and the two quickly began a relationship. They were married
on March
22, 1945. During their marriage, the Jolsons adopted two children, Asa
Jr. (b.
1948) and Alicia (b. 1949),[8] and remained
married until Al's death in 1950.[6]:293-298
After a year and a half of marriage, his new wife had actually 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 one song. Jolson replied, "No, I
just
want to sit here." Then later, without warning, during the middle of the
show,
Jessel says, "Ladies and gentlemen, this is the easiest introduction I
ever had
to make. The world's greatest entertainer, Al Jolson." King recalls what
happened next:
The place is going wild. Jolson gets up, takes a bow, sits down. . .
people
start banging with their feet, and he gets up, takes another bow, sits
down
again. It's chaos, and slowly, he seems to relent. He walks up onto the
stage .
. . kids around with Sophie and gets a few laughs, but the people are
yelling,
'Sing! Sing! Sing!' . . . Then he says, 'I'd like to introduce you to my
bride,'
and this lovely young thing gets up and takes a bow. The audience
doesn't care
about the bride, they don't even care about Sophie Tucker. 'Sing! Sing!
Sing!'
they're screaming again.
My wife has never seen me entertain, Jolson says, and looks over
toward Lester Lanin, the
orchestra
leader: 'Maestro, Is it True What They Say About Dixie?'[31]
[ Closeness
with his
brother Harry
Despite their close relationship growing up, Harry did show some
disdain for
Al's success over the years. Even during their time with Jack Palmer, Al
was
rising in popularity while Harry was fading. After separating with Al
and Jack,
Harry's career in show business, however, sank greatly. On one occasion -
which
was another factor in his on-off relationship with Al - Harry offered to
be Al's
agent, but Al rejected the offer, worried about the pressure that he
would have
faced from his producers for hiring his brother as his agent. Shortly
after
Harry's wife Lillian died in 1948, Harry and Al became close once again.[6]:318-324