The Horrifying True Story and Tragic Ending of Al Jolson: The World’s Greatest Entertainer

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Күн бұрын

The Horrifying True Story and Tragic Ending of Al Jolson: The World’s Greatest Entertainer.
Al Jolson, born Asa Yoelson on May 26, 1886, was an iconic American entertainer and one of the most influential figures in the early days of the entertainment industry. Renowned for his exceptional singing and charismatic stage presence, Jolson became a trailblazing figure in the world of vaudeville, Broadway, and early Hollywood.
Hailing from a Jewish immigrant family, Jolson was born in Lithuania and later migrated to the United States. He began his career performing in minstrel shows, where he gained recognition for his energetic renditions of African American songs. Jolson's remarkable vocal range, coupled with his flair for showmanship, quickly made him a standout in the entertainment circuit.
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Пікірлер: 156

@MikeSooch Жыл бұрын

I felt like I was hearing a dry Wikipedia entry on Jolson, accompanied by poorly curated photos. There was nothing either horrifying or tragic about this story.

@MattIsTheCat Жыл бұрын

Well, Wikipedia does at least has rules of no bias. So I geuss it is good there is no emotional influence on the facts.

@thekinarbo 10 ай бұрын

@@MattIsTheCat Wikipedia is most definitely leftwing and it locks articles that are clearly disinformation.

@shenizhalil3175 11 ай бұрын

Don’t get me started, that was then , this guy was the best of the best , of that time . But let’s not forget his voice , his ability as an entertainer. The first the best, always ❤

@Facts-Over-Feelings 6 ай бұрын

RACIST ANTI BLACK USING BLACK FACE TO DEHUMANIZE A WHOLE PEOPLE.

@c.7093 4 ай бұрын

Racism at its finest

@Lampshade51 Ай бұрын

Jolson's real reputation was made by his live stage performances, which by all accounts, were mesmerizing. Films, records and radio never really captured his magic, which may be part of the reason why so many people today can't understand what the fuss was all about.

@LazlosPlane 10 ай бұрын

He did NOT "outline his lips in white." It just gets worse and worse. What research did you do in research this video?

@LazlosPlane 10 ай бұрын

His ending was neither tragic nor horrifying.

@Facts-Over-Feelings 6 ай бұрын

RACIST ANTI BLACK USING BLACK FACE TO DEHUMANIZE A WHOLE PEOPLE.

@heatherallingham7120 Жыл бұрын

"Horrifying"? How? "Tragic"? In what way? And wasn't he the first singer in a talkie? Sheesh!

@robertklose2140 Жыл бұрын

Interesting. If only the photos corresponded to the narrative

@davidjhitztaler-mrrocklight 6 ай бұрын

Love Asa Youlson ❤

@thomasfambrot2879 Жыл бұрын

I LOVED the movie based on his life

@tomreedyjr3631 Жыл бұрын

Parks was good...

@63mckenzie Жыл бұрын

What is a horrific story is the incident between Jolson and an unknown teenage chorine called Ruby Stevens. As Stevens came off stage Jolson made a pass at her which she rejected. Enraged Jolson stubbed out his cigar on the girl's chest. The chorine later changed her name to Barbara Stanwyck and carried the scar for the rest of her life.

@astarteswillum5259 11 ай бұрын

He also beat his wife.

@zaftra 6 ай бұрын

is this true or just and early metoo.

@63mckenzie 6 ай бұрын

@@zaftra Stanwyck had the scars for life. He was a nasty individual.

@zaftra 6 ай бұрын

@@63mckenzie I googled, couldn't find anything about it.

@63mckenzie 6 ай бұрын

@@zaftra It's in Stanwyck's bios

@georgetheofanous6792 Жыл бұрын

The title of this video is egregiously misleading. There was nothing in it "tragic", and the research was less than elementary. I can't believe I got sucked into watching it.

@louisvaccaro5865 5 ай бұрын

they will say anything on the internet!!!! dont believe them.

@michaelmichniak127 Жыл бұрын

Come on, you did not mention The Jazz Singer, the first talking movie!

@GeminiNightOwl Жыл бұрын

Lights of New York was the first all-talking feature released in July, 1928. The Jazz Singer was synchronized dialogue. Big difference. Not that I didn't love the Jazz Singer or Jolson...

@c.7093 4 ай бұрын

EVER ! IMITATATING MELANATED PPL

@skotmiller8465 5 ай бұрын

A heart attack during a card game-THERE, I saved you 11 minutes of boring narration.

@carmenohio8735 Жыл бұрын

It’s amazing how you claim to know so much about him, but you can’t even pronounce his first name correctly. You’d only have to do 30 seconds of research to know that, or watch 2 minutes of The Jolson Story

@davidjhitztaler-mrrocklight 6 ай бұрын

❤ with the Voice ❤

@pianoredux7516 Жыл бұрын

Many mispronunciations by the voiceover here, not just the name Asa.

@tompaste387 Жыл бұрын

These voiceovers are usually AI which explains the pronunciation of most simple words

@aljolson6613 6 ай бұрын

You got it right in your mind , not in mine , brilliant entertainer

@lornainlondon4527 Жыл бұрын

WHERE WAS IT HORRIFYING & WHERE WAS IT TRAGIC????? 🤷🏻‍♀️

@c.7093 4 ай бұрын

Tragic to the melanated ppl that he imitated

@russianprincess3673 Ай бұрын

FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE ❤️HE WAS SPECIAL & UNIQUE YULIYA BEAUTIFUL RICH WHITE SNOW BUNNY ✝️🇷🇺✝️✝️🇷🇺

@lmj929 Жыл бұрын

It's not Assa, but Aysa

@BELCAN57 Жыл бұрын

And "Mo- Sha" not Mosh.

@pezeron24 Жыл бұрын

Not exactly a "horrifying story". This video's title sounds like a cheap tabloid's headline...

@chamberpot969 Жыл бұрын

How I love ya, how I love ya.....Premier minstrel.

@stephaniestanley8041 Жыл бұрын

My uncle Ed Manchow was a photojournalist during the Korean war. He covered and shot Jolson's performances. He told me he was a great singer and entertainer. I think only Garland was a greater performer.

@janefearns3960 6 ай бұрын

Jolson died in 1950. The war started 1950

@demef758 6 ай бұрын

@@janefearns3960 That war started on June 25, 1950. He died on October 23.1950. Do the math. From Wikipedia: On September 17, 1950, a dispatch from 8th Army Headquarters, Korea, announced, "Al Jolson, the first top-flight entertainer to reach the war-front, landed here today by plane from Los Angeles...." Jolson traveled to Korea at his own expense. "And a lean, smiling Jolson drove himself without letup through 42 shows in 16 days." Those shows were the reason Jolson had to fly back home: they sucked the last vestiges of life out of him. Three weeks later, he was dead. Larry Parks said afterwards that Al Jolson "was a casualty of the Korean War."

@jeff2536 8 ай бұрын

Al Jolson was so very good he played himself in what was a al Jolson biography in the moive The Jazz Singer.

@JackMills-dd3ij 5 ай бұрын

A Great Singer and amazing personality. Many people think him and a racist. How wrong could they be.. Jolson helped many black song writer's and musicians, and as a Jew knew racism.

@johncastiello8367 Жыл бұрын

This is the worst of the so-called biographies you never mentioned the jazz singer and the musicals that he performed in 11:54 1930s on film.

@OmarJano Жыл бұрын

X-ray tech in Georgia! Wow!

@James-re6co 4 ай бұрын

He's got a weird vampire face thing going on.

@averagevotersmith3326 Жыл бұрын

@4:21 …. Jolson began donning Blackface. Black face gave Jolson ‘newfound artistic freedom’. Behind the Blackface Jolson found solace and regained the confidence he had lost since his mother’s passing.

@milogang3440 3 күн бұрын

And a reason hes not liked by blacks

@bowler8 Жыл бұрын

The movie didnt have his mother die so soon

@Silvertone58 Жыл бұрын

Hey he died doing what he enjoyed and didn’t suffer much. Not so tragic.

@musicurio Жыл бұрын

was he ever involded in early sound films? (I think we all know the answer - but no mention?) POOR STUFF

@ViralTuber Ай бұрын

7:28 For the record, almost every man who gets married is marring a woman who's "more than half his age". (since that would include all women starting just over half his age, up through and including all women who are way older than him ...even women up to "infinity" years old) If I marry a 500-year-old woman, then I'm marring a woman who's more than half my age. Whereas me marrying a woman who's "nearly half my age", or "half my age", or "less than half my age", would all be very unusual.

@debbiethompson14 6 ай бұрын

Like any good 👻man He exploited black style and black music and black dance!!! I tell you if it wasn't for our Imagination and creativity, they wouldn't have any Imagination or creativity at all.

@blotfd 5 ай бұрын

jews are White??? maybe when it's convenient

@selene8572 Ай бұрын

Jolson was not a racist. He was very close to New York's African American community, both a patron of African American art and a proponent for civil rights. At the time, the African American community saw him as one of the few performers who could get their music onto the national stage, and they celebrated him for it... which is where things again get a bit sticky. One of the reasons Jolson started performing in blackface was to avoid discrimination against himself. He used the makeup to disguise his Jewish heritage and the exaggerated southern accent to disguise his native one. One of the reasons he was such a proponent of African American culture and rights was because he saw parallels between how they were still being treated in the US and how his people had been treated in Europe. In addition, the reason Jolson was one of the few national outlets for African American music was because it wouldn't be until after the Harlem Renaissance that African American performers like Louis Armstrong and Cab Calloway were allowed onto the national stage.

@milogang3440 3 күн бұрын

@@selene8572doesn't excuse it bro all that yapping for no nothing .

@DW-nb2zc Жыл бұрын

“You ain't seen nuthin yet"

@XxXxTwofirstnames69420xXxXx Жыл бұрын

Heard

@nicholasvertucci2054 Жыл бұрын

"Jazz Singer"? Not important enough to mention, apparently.

@user-lx8ky9yf3b 9 ай бұрын

How about the Jazz singer movie . The first talkie

@williammitchell9974 Жыл бұрын

Why No Mention Of Thee Jazz Singer? Very Poor

@BillDavies-ej6ye Жыл бұрын

Which explains the mispronunciation of Jolson's first name, Asa.

@williamwoody7607 9 ай бұрын

The g in poignant is silent.

@dinarichter8706 9 ай бұрын

His Name was Asa not Ahsa!

@ceceliapassarella8485 Жыл бұрын

I always wondered why he had no biological children I mean Ruby Keeler did have children after her divorce from him

@LazlosPlane 10 ай бұрын

"A"-sa. Not, "Ah-sa"

@ZDVictim 8 ай бұрын

donning, not dawning...

@sebacabra06ITA 10 ай бұрын

Glad this Guy is not in a 6 hours dementhia Album

@LazlosPlane 10 ай бұрын

Probably the most poorly researched video ever made. Did you lose a bet?

@RayPointerChannel 11 ай бұрын

Asa is pronounced "Aye-Say."

@lemonruffin Жыл бұрын

405 FREEWAY LA --- HILLSIDE MEMORIAL --- CAN SEE JOLSON'S GRAVE FROM FREEWAY

@SmithMrCorona Жыл бұрын

An old rich guy dies... and that's tragic? Why was it so tragic? WHERE IS THE TRAGEDY?!

@tedrobinson372 Жыл бұрын

With the tragic end of Jolson, there is no one to sing Mammy.

@MichaelOfRohan 4 ай бұрын

You might read a book before you open your mouth. He was a godsend for black entertainment. Jazz couldnt have succeeded if it werent for a flow of white money, and you have him to thank for that. He demanded black castmembers. Not even jimmy fallon has that big of balls.

@frankieseidl 3 ай бұрын

INTERESTING!@@MichaelOfRohan

@georgiadawg9064 Ай бұрын

I agree

@MichaelOfRohan Ай бұрын

@georgiadawg9064 thats why youre 11 and the rest of the world knows how to spell dog.

@gregdrmax 3 ай бұрын

Horrifying? That word "lured" me in to watching this. Waste of time. Won't happen again.

@MaureenDeVries-wd9mh 11 ай бұрын

Isn't Al Lithuanian?

@buddhistsympathizer1136 10 ай бұрын

Downvoting because of the inappropriate clickbait title

@audreydaleski1067 Жыл бұрын

She had to walk away from his temper...

@margaretthomas8899 Жыл бұрын

He was 8 when she passed.

@dshe8637 Жыл бұрын

His wife, not his mother. He was a violent, abusive bully

@margaretthomas8899 Жыл бұрын

@@dshe8637 His possesivenes not any thing else! She had the hots for a younger man, and was carrying on with him, when married to Al

@dshe8637 Жыл бұрын

@@margaretthomas8899 He had four marriages. His wives divorced HIM because of his behaviour, except his last wife who was forty years younger than him.

@dshe8637 Жыл бұрын

@@margaretthomas8899 And abusive possessiveness is not ok

@LazlosPlane 10 ай бұрын

Oh, my God you know NOTHING about the minstrel show that Jolson joined. That's singular, "Minstrel" that was Dockstader's Minstrels,, who did NOT rely on songs of the Civil War era. How absurd. It was not the typical "Tambo and Bones," show. Good Lord.

@audreydaleski1067 Жыл бұрын

Ruby keeler maried him.

@wayne2allyn Жыл бұрын

Henrietta keller 1st, ruby keeler 3rd.

@LazlosPlane 10 ай бұрын

$1.99? You overpaid.

@josephciolino5493 2 ай бұрын

STAY AWAY. -- DO NOT WATCH THIS TERRIBLE VIDEO. Be afraid be VERY afraid. Totally misleading title. It was nothing either tragic or horrifying about Jolson’s life or death. And that is beside the multitude of inaccuracies and miss information contained herein. Just stay away.

@alineharam Ай бұрын

AI VOICE. Click bait, do not waste your time.

@aidjunkie5335 4 ай бұрын

Donning black face is not always racist, indeed a few days before joining my university as a freshman I was performing with an Al Jolson tribute act in a local bar. Unfortunately it was full of students, not wanting them to think I was a ‘whitey; looking down on other people, I was forced to wear black face for my entire four years at University so as not be accused of being a racist. This spiralled down into me joining local black gangs to keep up the pretence and now I’m serving a life stretch for a drive by shooting after hitching a ride home with some boys from the hood. Ironically I still remain to this day, a huge Jolson fan.

@ian_b 3 ай бұрын

Sadly, this was all too common.

@LazlosPlane 10 ай бұрын

So many errors!!!

@67VW Жыл бұрын

Classic Hollywood clickbait

@georgewatson1203 5 ай бұрын

what a load of bollocks .

@chrisyarbrough785 Жыл бұрын

I'll bet he didn't play for the Tuskegee airmen

@robertklose2140 Жыл бұрын

Who knows? Maybe he did.

@KenDatMo Жыл бұрын

He may or may not have. He would NOT have refused to play for them. The fact is Jolson premiered many songs composed by the top black composers of the 20's and 30's, and the hits he made, made those composers successful. More than that, the stories are many regarding Jolson walking into a restaurant with those same composers, and telling the owner "if my friends aren't welcome, then Jolson isn't welcome." He opened a lot of doors for blacks in music and entertainment. Those are facts. Viewing performing in "blackface" only through today's lenses does not provide the full story of how and what people had to do to get into show business. Lord knows the man had his faults. Being racist, most certainly by today's standards, was not necessarily one of them.

@robertklose2140 Жыл бұрын

@@KenDatMo Well said. Thank you.

@dianas3627 Жыл бұрын

Thanks for the video.Sorry to say I found his act meaningless and not a talent,all a bit pointless,understanding it was a different time then.I am wanting to like him but struggling with his bad temper and attitude,maybe losing his dear mother at a young age affected his personality.

@wayne2allyn Жыл бұрын

His time was the 1st 3 decades, not today. He was, for over 20 years, the most popular and highest paid entertainer. Yes, ego was a part. He was on his own from his early years, having to work n forge his way in life initially with an older brother.

@lewisc215 10 ай бұрын

@janefearns3960 6 ай бұрын

Mikesooch. U have no imagination or empathy

@masontatum5101 Жыл бұрын

Is there anything good about this man I mean he painting his face black as an insult for black people please can someone explain the good side of this man cause I really want to like this dude deep down

@michaelvaristo989 Жыл бұрын

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery means that someone who copies someone admires that person and wants to be more like him or her.

@azmike3572 Жыл бұрын

Please remember the times.

@BELCAN57 Жыл бұрын

Read a biography. He championed the career of Black vaudeville entertainers.

@robertmcewen4764 Жыл бұрын

You had to have seen him live. Those who did swore that his stage presence was electrifying. Nobody ever regarded him as a “nice guy” but Frank Sinatra and John Lennon had tempers that alienated a lot of people, too. Performers as diverse as Eddie Cantor, Bing Crosby, Judy Garland, Eddie Fisher, Connie Francis, Wayne Newton and Jackie Wilson all credited Jolson with having a huge impact on their performing styles. Until the day he died in 1950 he was regarded universally and indisputably as the world’s greatest entertainer. As for blackface, Jolson personally supported the careers and opened doors for Eunice Blake, Cab Calloway and many other black performers. But, to each his (or her) own. No one can persuade or convince you to appreciate Jolson if his talents are lost on you. In my case, I will never understand the appeal of rap, hip-hop, acid rock or glitter rock, no matter how popular stars of those genres become.

@margaretthomas8899 Жыл бұрын

@@robertmcewen4764 Very few now, have, or can remember experiencing Al Jolson live, I knew 2, and of course have heard celebrities like George Burns, Jack Benny, and others. What was left behind, movies, radio, records, some live footage, varies, but there is still plenty of indication of what he would have been like live, and there has been enough attraction in it all, purchase of his music, movies etc etc, plus you tube posts interest etc etc. What I have, read, heard, particularly by those who experienced it, not somebody who wrote it in a book, taken from what somebody else wrote, what made Jolie so good, or appealing live, was that he had the ability to make it feel like he was making it all up, then and there, just as the mood suited him, giving it all a spontaneous, authentic, personal, natural, believable, personal connection with everybody in an audience . His singing, comedy, and other talents were significant with in themselves, but it was how he tied it all together that was the icing on the cake!

@LP-jn4tw Жыл бұрын

ServicePEOPLE, not servicemen. Hell of alot of women in the armed forces also, y'know.

@Psychiatrick Жыл бұрын

I am "thinking" "servicemen" might be in reference to those who fight ... of course, some women were near the front lines but not going on bombing runs, in the trenches, womaning a battleship turret, driving submarines. Sure, some lost their lives but not from direct battle confrontation ...

@azmike3572 Жыл бұрын

@@Psychiatrick Also, many women flew B-17s from America to Europe.

@DW-nb2zc Жыл бұрын

Stop

@frankieseidl 3 ай бұрын

My great Aunt was a Navy Captain in the late 1980's, not many women were. She considered herself included in the word servicemen. She was always the smartest person in a room full of smart people. Miss her.

@eugeniasyro5774 Жыл бұрын

He wasn't funny and he couldn't sing or act.

@margaretthomas8899 Жыл бұрын

i hope your plea to be accepted in THE NOW, is accepted?

@JC57515 Жыл бұрын

He could sing

@dshe8637 Жыл бұрын

He was an abusive, violent, privileged, racist bully

@margaretthomas8899 Жыл бұрын

Prove it?

@tomreedyjr3631 Жыл бұрын

@@margaretthomas8899 he was a bully. Berkeley wrote in his autobiography that Jolson would keep EVERYONE on the stage while he continued to sing and raid the stage..

@margaretthomas8899 Жыл бұрын

@@tomreedyjr3631 Berkley who?

@tomreedyjr3631 Жыл бұрын

@@margaretthomas8899 Milton Berle.damn spell check....

@margaretthomas8899 Жыл бұрын

@@tomreedyjr3631 Milton Berle started various expanded discriminatory descriptions of Al Jolson, I.E stealing other people's material [ Berle himself has a bigger reputation of doing that more than anybody ] In the earlier days of show biz everybody did it, not so much when later bodies, song writers etc had laws come in to control things better, but it still went, and goes on. COPYING Is basically OK .or accepted by most, because in show biz, taking, sharing, benefits all! As for bullying, have a listen to some of The Friar's Roasts, after Jolie passed, and often M C'd by Berle himself. Milton Berle was in nappies [ very young ] when Al Jolson was dominating Show Biz, like most everybody then Al Jolson was his idol, particularly those with ambitions to make it in Show biz. Naturally as time passed, and Al Jolson himself did, Berle, and others found it more a need to be accepted by later generations, it pays, keeps them in jobs. So why not attack the biggest Entertainment star of the past. the man, he describes as not the nicest person who ever lived but always The World's Greatest Entertainer! There is much more about what Berle thought of Jolson, interviews etc with him via www.jolson.org. Go there and in search type in Milton Berle.