Al Jolson Wikipedia. Al Jolson. Jolson, 1. Born. Asa Yoelson1. May 2. 6, 1. 88. 6Seredius, Kovno Governorate, Russian Empire. Died. October 2. 3, 1. San Francisco, California, U. S. Cause of death. Heart attack. Resting place. Watch The Jazz Singer Streaming' title='Watch The Jazz Singer Streaming' />Product Description. Jazz Singer, The Deluxe Edition DVD Amazon. Its one of the most famous titles in film history, and everybody knows why in a. Watch The Americana Music Honors Awards Show NPR Music returns as the exclusive webcast home for Nashvilles big night on Sept. Jimmy Kimmel Opens Up About Revealing Sons Medical Issues To Viewers Pussycat Dolls Founder Robin Antin Slams Claims That Girl Group Is A Prostitution Ring. Hillside Memorial Park,Culver City, California. Occupation. Actor, comedian, singer. Years active. 19. SpousesHenrietta Keller 1. Alma Osbourne 1. Ruby Keeler 1. Erle Galbraith 1. Al Jolson born Asa Yoelson May 26, 1886 October 23, 1950 was an American singer, film actor, and comedian. At the peak of his career, he was dubbed The World. Children. 3 all adoptedMusical career. Genres. Vaudeville. Pop standards. Jazz. Pop. Labels. Website. The Al Jolson Society. Al Jolson born Asa Yoelson May 2. October 2. 3, 1. 95. Honoring the jazz great Ella Fitzgerald, Audra McDonald joins host Harry Connick, Jr. Jazz at Lincoln Center Gala on April 26. The event celebrates the. Watch The Jazz Singer Streaming' title='Watch The Jazz Singer Streaming' />American singer, film actor, and comedian. At the peak of his career, he was dubbed The Worlds Greatest Entertainer. His performing style was brash and extroverted, and he popularized a large number of songs that benefited from his shamelessly sentimental, melodramatic approach. Numerous well known singers were influenced by his music, including Bing Crosby,2David Bowie,3Bob Dylan, Rod Stewart and others. Dylan once referred to him as somebody whose life I can feel. Broadway critic Gilbert Seldes compared him to the Greek god Pan, claiming that Jolson represented the concentration of our national health and gaiety. In the 1. Jolson was Americas most famous and highest paid entertainer. Between 1. Jolson had nine sell out Winter Garden shows in a row, more than 8. Although he is best remembered today as the star of the first talking picture, The Jazz Singer 1. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, he was the first star to entertain troops overseas during World War II. After a period of inactivity, his stardom returned with The Jolson Story 1. Larry Parks played Jolson, with the singer dubbing for Parks. The formula was repeated in a sequel, Jolson Sings Again 1. In 1. 95. 0, he again became the first star to entertain GIs on active service in the Korean War, performing 4. He died just weeks after returning to the U. S., partly owing to the physical exertion of performing. Defense Secretary George Marshall posthumously awarded him the Medal of Merit. Watch Don`T Sleep Online. According to the St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture, Jolson was to jazz, blues, and ragtime what Elvis Presley was to rock n roll. Being the first popular singer to make a spectacular event out of singing a song, he became a rock star before the dawn of rock music. His specialty was performing on stage runways extending out into the audience. He would run up and down the runway, and across the stage, teasing, cajoling, and thrilling the audience, often stopping to sing to individual members all the while the perspiration would be pouring from his face, and the entire audience would get caught up in the ecstasy of his performance. According to music historian Larry Stempel, No one had heard anything quite like it before on Broadway. Author Stephen Banfield agreed, writing that Jolsons style was arguably the single most important factor in defining the modern musical. Jolson also enjoyed performing in blackface makeup, a theatrical convention since the mid 1. With his unique and dynamic style of singing black music, such as jazz and blues, he was later credited with single handedly introducing African American music to white audiences. As early as 1. 91. Broadway. Early lifeeditAl Jolson was born as Asa Yoelson Yiddish in the Jewish village of Srednik Yiddish now known as Seredius, near Kaunas in Lithuania, then part of the Russian Empire. He was the fifth and youngest child of Moses Rubin Yoelson 1. December 2. 3, 1. Nechama Naomi Cantor 1. February 6, 1. 89. Wow Season 13 Gear Vendor. Rose, Etta, another sister who died in infancy, and Hirsch Harry. Jolson claimed not to know when he was born, and later chose to claim he was born on May 2. His one time sister in law, Margaret Weatherwax a sister of Ruby Keeler, claimed Jolson was the same age as their father, Ralph who was born in 1. Jolson was 4. 6 when he married the 1. Ruby in 1. 92. 8. In 1. New York to secure a better future for his family. By 1. 89. 4, Moses Yoelson could afford to pay the fare to bring Naomi and their four children to the U. S. By the time they arrived, he had found work as a cantor at Talmud Torah Congregation in the Southwest Waterfront neighborhood of Washington, D. C., where the family was reunited. Hard times hit the family when his mother, Naomi, died at 3. Following his mothers death, young Asa was in a state of withdrawal for seven months. For a period of time, young Asa spent time at the St. Marys Industrial School for Boys, a progressive reformatoryhome for orphans run by the Xaverian Brothers in Baltimore the same school which would later be attended by Babe Ruth. Upon being introduced to show business in 1. Al Reeves, Asa and Hirsch became fascinated by the industry, and by 1. Al and Harry. They would usually use the money to buy tickets to shows at the National Theater. Asa and Hirsch spent most of their days working different jobs as a team. Stage performereditBurlesque and vaudevilleeditIn the spring of 1. Walter L. Mains Circus. Although Main had hired Jolson as an usher, Main was impressed by Jolsons singing voice and gave him a position as a singer during the circus Indian Medicine Side Show segment. By the end of the year, the circus had folded and Jolson was again out of work. In May 1. 90. 3, the head producer of the burlesque show Dainty Duchess Burlesquers agreed to give Jolson a part in one show. Asa gave a remarkable performance of Be My Baby Bumble Bee and the producer agreed to keep him for future shows. Unfortunately, the show closed by the end of the year. Asa was able to avoid financial troubles by forming a vaudeville partnership with his brother Hirsch, now a vaudeville performer known as Harry Yoelson. The brothers worked for the William Morris Agency. Asa and Harry soon formed a team with Joe Palmer. During their time with Palmer, they were able to gain bookings in a nationwide tour. However, live performances were falling in popularity as nickelodeons captured audiences by 1. New York City as well. While performing in a Brooklyn theater in 1. Al decided on a new approach and began wearing blackface makeup, which boosted his career. He began wearing blackface in all of his shows. In late 1. 90. 5, Harry left the trio following an argument with Al. Harry had refused Als request to take care of Joe Palmer, who was in a wheelchair, while he was dating. After Harrys departure, Al and Joe Palmer worked as a duo but were not particularly successful. By 1. 90. 61. 4 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 1. 90. 8 Jolson, needing money for himself and his new wife, Henrietta, returned to New York. In 1. 90. 9, Als singing caught the attention of Lew Dockstader, the producer and star of Dockstaders Minstrels. Al accepted Dockstaders offer and became a regular blackface performer. Broadway playhouseseditWinter Garden TheatereditAccording to Esquire magazine, J. J. Shubert, impressed by Jolsons overpowering display of energy, booked him for La Belle Paree, a musical comedy that opened at the Winter Garden in 1. Within a month Jolson was a star. From then until 1. On March 2. 0, 1. Jolson starred in his first musical revue at the Winter Garden Theater in New York City, La Belle Paree, greatly helping to launch his career as a singer. The opening night drew a huge crowd to the theater, and that evening Jolson gained audience popularity by singing old Stephen Foster songs in blackface. In the wake of that opening night, Jolson was given a position in the shows cast. The show closed after 1. Jolsons popularity grew greatly. Video Yahoo Music. Music. Wendy Geller. Four time Grammy Award winning R B vocal group Boyz II Men are celebrating 2. Under the Streetlight. The set is a tribute to the classic, harmony driven sound that inspired the iconic R B trio, featuring a personal selection of timeless covers chosen by Nathan Morris, Shawn Stockman, and Wanya Morris. When asked their opinion as to why there arent as many good vocal groups on the scene these days, Stockman responded Theyre out there, clarifying that one needs to look under the radar and not necessarily at the hot artists of the moment.