For fear of causing offence, a new show about the entertainer's life simply isn't faithful to its subject . The Jewish Week is always here for you. by . From Al Jolson to Dov Hikind, blackface has a complex history in the Jewish community. Jolson was one of numerous performers -- including Eddie Cantor and Bing Crosby -- who appeared both on stage and in film in blackface performing musical numbers. Jolson first heard African-American music, such as jazz, blues, and ragtime, played in the back alleys of New Orleans, Louisiana. Mammy (1930) is an American pre-Code musical drama film with Technicolor sequences, released by Warner Bros. The film starred Al Jolson and was a follow-up to his previous film, Say It with Songs (1929). Asa "Al Jolson" Yoelson (born to Jewish immigrants Moshe Reuben Yoelson and Naomi Etta Cantor - the original family name was Hesselson - in Seredžius, Lithuania on May 26, 1885 or 1886, and died in San Francisco, California on October 23, 1950) was an American singer. Close. Album The Man and the Legend. If you can improve it, please do. A love triangle develops in a traveling minstrel troupe. Al Jolson performs in blackface makeup in the 1927 movie "The Jazz Singer." Mammy features Al Jolson as the star of a travelling minstrel show, appearing in a small Southern town. He said: 'People pay to see me act as Al Jolson. Discover more music, concerts, videos, and … For this historic event, the producers chose a film in which Al Jolsen appeared in his familiar racist and Black-demeaning role as a blackface buffoon from the old Minstrel Show days singing "Mammy." Al Jolson was the foremost popular singer of the first three decades of the twentieth century. Born Asa Yoelson in Blackface is a form of theatrical makeup used predominantly by non-black performers to portray a caricature of a black person.Blackface makeup may also be worn as part of folk play or for disguising, rather than as a racial stereotype of black people.. Oktober 1950 in San Francisco) war ein US-amerikanischer Sänger und Entertainer.. Nach großen Broadway-Erfolgen erlangte er mit seiner Titelrolle in dem Film The Jazz Singer 1927, der als erster abendfüllender Tonfilm gilt, besondere Bekanntheit. My Mammy Lyrics. The fantastic Al Jolson performing his signature tune 'Mammy' in the finale of the 1927 film 'The Jazz Singer' and yes, it's in blackface! Al Jolson. 20 tracks (59:27). American entertainer Al Jolson pictured in the 1930 musical 'Mammy' In an age long before the rise of the politically correct mafia he was the world's most celebrated entertainer. Singer, actor. 2.1k. Perhaps the most popular blackface artist of the 20th century, Al Jolson was a hugely influential entertainer, inspiring future artists such as Judy Garland, Jackie Wilson and Bob Dylan. Blackface and minstrel were the most prominent (white) American entertainment pastimes of the 19th century and into the early 20th century. If its importance has been impossible Mammy became Al Jolson's fourth feature, following earlier screen efforts as The Jazz Singer (1927), The Singing Fool (1928) and Say It with Songs (1929). By 1920, he had become the biggest star on Broadway, but he is probably best remembered for his film career. Jolson advocated for black performers to be permitted on Broadway. The reason being that he helped many black people succeed in the music business and fought against racial discrimination. We need your support now. This article has been rated as B-Class. Without blackface, this musical isn't the Al Jolson story. In “Mammy," Jolson plays one of the stars of a minstrel show touring small towns in the early 1900s. The first "talking" picture produced in the United States was "The Jazz Singer" starring famed white entertainer Al Jolson, with one scene featuring him singing "Mammy" in blackface. Al Jolson has been listed as a level-5 vital article in People, Musicians. Sources. Posted by 7 years ago. Often performing in blackface, especially in the songs he made popular, such as "Swanee", "My Mammy", and "Rock-A-Bye Your Baby With A Dixie Melody". Al Jolson's "Mammy" Videos Of The Past. "Mammy" by Al Jolson, in Blackface. He was born in Hull but moved to Miami, in Florida, where he lives with wife Lenore. Blackface More a Mask Than Racism. Jolson falls in love with an actress in the troupe (Lois Moran), but she loves another. Al Jolson (* 26.Mai 1886 als Asa Yoelson in Seredžius (Srednik), Gouvernement Kowno, Russland, heute Litauen; † 23. Many other 20th-century performers from Shirley Temple to Bing Crosby donned the makeup for various roles, but Jolson adopted it as a core part of his public persona. Black History, Videos Of The Day. In the summer of 1927, he filmed the first full-length feature to use sound, The Jazz Singer, based on a play that loosely followed his own biography, concerning a cantor's son who becomes a secular singer over his father's objections. Why Did Negroes Love Al Jolson and The Jazz Singer? Jolson appeared in one of the first experimental films to match sound with picture, the short Al Jolson in a Plantation Act in October 1926. The first talking picture ever made was 1927's "The Jazz Singer." Schau das Video für My Mammy von Al Jolson's The Best Of Al Jolson kostenlos und sieh dir Coverbilder, Songtexte und ähnliche Künstler an. TIL Al Jolson famous for performing in blackface was the only white man who was allowed into the all-black nightclubs in Harlem. Directed by Michael Curtiz. One of Jolson's fellow minstrels (Lowell Sherman) is shot backstage, and it is assumed thanks to several plot convolutions that Jolson is guilty of the deed. Murdoch Schmurdoch Al Jolson in “Mammy” Today is Al Jolson’s birthday (for more on that once-in-a-century performer read my full bio here ). Al Jolson lived “The American Dream.” Born in Lithuania, Jolson rose through the ranks of vaudeville as a comedian and a blackface “Mammy” singer. It was one of the iconic moments of the 20th century – Al Jolson singing “My Mammy” in the first talking picture, The Jazz Singer. Archived. A natural entertainer with impressive energy, Jolson’s performance style was over the top, wringing all the humor, sentimentality and melodrama from a song. In his time, however, he left a much larger imprint. Comparisons to Elvis Presley. With Al Jolson, Lois Moran, Lowell Sherman, Louise Dresser. Baldwin has been impersonating Jolson for 60 years. Al Jolson performed six songs in The Jazz Singer, the 1927 American musical drama film and the first feature-length motion picture with synchronized sound. Al Jolson (May 26, 1886 – October 23, 1950) ... Mammy's Boy (1923) (unfinished) A Plantation Act (1926) The Jazz Singer (1927) The Singing Fool (1928) Hollywood Snapshots No. If blackface has its shameful poster boy, it is Al Jolson. Appearances and Mentions. There’s more than enough writing been done about The Jazz Singer (my post on that film is here ), but today I thought I’d spill a few words about Jolson’s fourth feature, named after one of his signature songs. From vaudeville to the cinema, Jolson brought his minstrel makeup kit with him. Archives Archive 1 : Neutral POV? My Mammy Al Jolson. Listen free to Al Jolson – Mammy (There's A Rainbow Around My Shoulder, Sonny Boy and more). : Melodrama, Blackface and Cosmopolitan Theatrical Culture, ' $ 0 % ! by . 1 Charles Musser A lan Crosland’s The Jazz Singer (Warner Bros., 1927), starring Al Jolson, was the first feature-length “talkie”, and so one of cinema’s mile-stones. Al Jolson lived “The American Dream.” Born in Lithuania, Jolson rose through the ranks of vaudeville as a comedian and a blackface “Mammy” singer. His blackface performance of "My Mammy" on his knee heralded him national fame, but remains controversial to this date. Jolson was one of numerous performers -- including Eddie Cantor and Bing Crosby -- who appeared both on stage and in film in blackface performing musical numbers. Popularity Dimmed by Radio. Jolson himself got his start in minstrel shows before he became one of the biggest stars on Broadway in the teens and '20s. Usually if there's a controversial subject, you include both defenses and criticisms. The International Al Jolson Society and A.J.Recordings present The World's Greatest Entertainer. He enjoyed singing the new jazz-style of music. Selected discography. Al Jolson (1886-1950) is best known as the star of Hollywood’s first sound feature film, The Jazz Singer. Thsi article, bizarrely, includes only justifications and defenses of blackface. It is true that Jolson, as did many of his contemporaries, performed in blackface which was originally a racist form of entertainment growing out of the minstrel shows of the 19th century.