Al Jolson — singer ("the jazz singer") with roots in the Russian Empire
Al Jolson was born Asa Yoelson in Srednik, now Seredžius, a village in the Kovno Governorate of the Russian Empire, today in Lithuania. He did not know his true birthday and later chose 26 May 1886. He was the youngest of four children of Moses Reuben Yoelson, a rabbi and cantor, and Naomi Cantor.
His father emigrated alone to the United States to establish himself and found work as a cantor in a synagogue in Washington DC, then brought the family over; most accounts date their arrival to 1894. Asa's mother died soon afterwards, when he was about eight or ten, and he took to singing on street corners for money. In conflict with his father, who wanted him to follow a religious life, he left for New York to join his elder brother Hirsch, who was performing as Harry Jolson, and took the same surname. In 1899 he appeared as an extra in the play Children of the Ghetto, and the brothers performed in vaudeville as Jolson, Palmer and Jolson.
He developed an improvising style that made him a headliner. Much of his act was performed in blackface, a convention of the period that has become the most debated part of his legacy. From 1911 to 1928 he starred in nine consecutive sell-out shows at New York's Winter Garden Theatre, made more than eighty hit records, including Swanee and Toot, Toot, Tootsie, and undertook sixteen national and international tours.
In October 1927 Warner Bros. released The Jazz Singer, the story of a cantor's son who becomes a popular singer, with Jolson in the lead; it was the first feature film with synchronised singing and dialogue sequences, and its success ended the silent era. He went on to star in musical films throughout the 1930s.
He entertained American troops at home and abroad during the Second World War, and in 1950 travelled to Korea at his own expense, giving forty-two shows in sixteen days. He died of a heart attack in San Francisco on 23 October 1950, weeks after his return. Defense Secretary George Marshall awarded his family the Medal of Merit.
"His father, a cantor, emigrated alone to Washington DC and brought the family over; most sources date the family's arrival to 1894."
Migration storyTracing the roots — Seredžius (Srednik), Kovno Governorate (now Lithuania)
Born Asa Yoelson in Seredžius, then Russian Empire Lithuania, Jolson emigrated with his cantor father Moses around 1894.
.svg?width=900)
Seredžius (Srednik), Kovno Governorate (now Lithuania). At the time, this region lay within the Russian Empire, which spanned from Poland to the Pacific.