Al Jolson was a Lithuanian - American singer and actor whose career lasted from 1911 until his death in 1950. His singing style was sentimental and melodramatic" which made many of his songs popular. Jolson influenced many famous singers including Bing Crosby, Judy Garland, rock and country entertainer Jerry Lewis, and Bob Dylan. Dylan said Jolson was "somebody whose life I can feel". Jolson was America's most famous and highest paid entertainer in the 1930s. Jolson sang and acted in the first (full length) talking movie, The Jazz Singer in 1927.
A movie about Jolson's life, The Jolson Story, won Oscars in 1946. A sequel, Jolson Sings Again, was released in 1949 and nominated for three Oscars. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Jolson became the first star to entertain troops overseas during World War II and perform for GIs in Korea. He sometimes performed in blackface makeup, which was a theatrical convention in the mid-19th century.
With his unique and dynamic style of singing black music, like jazz and blues, he was later credited with single-handedly introducing African-American music to white audiences. As early as 1911 he became known for fighting against anti-black discrimination on Broadway. Jolson's well-known theatrics and his promotion of equality on Broadway helped pave the way for many black performers, playwrights, and songwriters, including Cab Calloway, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Fats Waller, and Ethel Waters.
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Al Jolson at the Internet Movie Database
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