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Al Jolson
American singer
Also known as: Asa Yoelson
Jolson, Al; del Rio, Dolores: in Wonder Bar
Category:
Arts & Culture
- Byname of:
- Asa Yoelson
- Born:
- May 26, 1886, Srednike, Russia [now Seredžius, Lithuania]
- Died:
- October 23, 1950, San Francisco, California, U.S. (aged 64)
- Notable Works:
- “Bombo”
- “Hallelujah, I’m a Bum!”
- “Swanee River”
- “The Jolson Story”
- Notable Family Members:
- spouse Ruby Keeler
Al Jolson (born May 26, 1886, Srednike, Russia [now Seredžius, Lithuania]—died October 23, 1950, San Francisco, California, U.S.) was a popular American singer and blackface comedian of the musical stage and motion pictures, from before World War I to 1940. His unique singing style and personal magnetism established an immediate rapport with audiences. Taken to the United States when he was seven years old, Jolson was reared in Washington, D.C., where he made his first stage appearance in 1899. He performed with his brother and others in vaudeville before joining Lew Dockstader’s minstrel troupe in 1909. He became a popular ...(100 of 259 words)