Comments for A Tribute to Al Jolson

Comment on The spirit of Larry Parks by Lori passman

Lori passman — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 15:05:28 +0000

It was tragic what happened to Larry Parks I have been watching both Jolson movies and he was brilliant And should have recieved tha acadeny award .. He should now at least be remembered with a star on the Hollywood walk of stars… his sons would be pleased to accept this award and so deserved

Comment on Jackie Wilson’s tribute to Al Jolson by lans ross

lans ross — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 01:08:34 +0000

Jackie Wilson is the greatest r&b/soul singer of all time…period. the way he could sing “jolson” and not to mention his many rock nroll, soul & pop hits from Night, Doggin’ Around, Baby Workout, Lonely Teardrops, Whispers, he did “supper club standards”…this man put out a christmas lp, a blues lp, about 4-5 lps of standards: “worlds greatest melodies”, spotlight on JW; Body & soul”; “By Special Request” and even a live LP at the COPA, singing for a middle of the road, las vegas type market (at the time) and this was risky given the Beatles would soon invade the USA, and Motown and Stax weren’t playing, either, yet…..ONLY Jackie Wilson had the magnitude of talent to pull it off. I don’t know of any other artist since who has released a gospel LP “Shake a Hand”, blues, christmas and Jazz LP (Count Basie) Totally unheard of. He was Mr. Excitement and in a special class all his very own….the great Jackie Wilson!

Comment on “Blue Skies” transforms film industry by Jacket Blog

Jacket Blog — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 22:27:13 +0000

Jolson Print…

[...] e leans over and grabs him as if sheer physical force could make him stop talkin [...]…

Comment on “Blue Skies” transforms film industry by GregN

GregN — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 21:32:41 +0000

Thank you.

Comment on Sneak Preview by Richard Levine

Richard Levine — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 17:35:00 +0000

I recently acquired at auction some sheet music circa 1901 with a picture of a 14 or 15 year old Al Jolson on the cover. The sheet music is entitled “VICTORIA BURLESQUERS SONGSTER”. I am not an expert, but I believe this may be the earliest sheet music featuring Al Jolson.

I am selling the item and currently accepting offers for its purchase. Please email me at richcoeurdelion@hotmail.com. for more information

Thank you,

Richard Levine
Cambridge, MN

Comment on Jackie Wilson’s tribute to Al Jolson by Travis Joles

Travis Joles — Thu, 19 May 2011 23:25:50 +0000

Jackie did not die on stage in 1984, at the age of 49. He suffered a stroke and collapsed on stage on September 29th 1975, at the age of 41. He was performing on the Dick Clark Traveling Road Show while singing Lonely Teardrops.

He remained in a coma for 8-1/2 years afterwards, totally comatose. He only woke up one time for a few brief seconds, only to slip back into a vegetative state for the remainder of his life. He never uttered one word in the entire 8-1/2 years he was hospitalized.

One of his closest friends, Elvis Presley, set up a fund to take care of Jackie while he was hospotalized. One month after he slipped into his coma, his mother slipped into a diabetic coma, and died. His only son was accidentally fatally shot (being at the wrong place, at the wrong time) during a gang fight.

Jackie passed away on January 21, 1984, in Mount Holly, NJ, at Burlington County Memorial Hospital. The official cause of death was listed as pneumonia. To top all his bad luck off, he was accidentally buried in an unmarked grave in Detroit, though it was later corrected in 1987.

Comment on Jolson and Cab Calloway in “The Singing Kid” by GregN

GregN — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 23:55:14 +0000

What a fantastic site! Thank you so much for this.

Comment on “The Jolson Story” opening review by Sig Seidenman

Sig Seidenman — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 13:59:42 +0000

He was billed as, “The World’s Greatest Entertainer,” because he was. In reviews of the day people marveled at the electric effect his singing had on his audiences. It is significant that this movie debuted over two decades after his career supposedly ended, and the record sales shot to the top of the charts.

Comment on “The Singing Kid” by Jolson and Cab Calloway in “The Singing Kid” « A Tribute to Al Jolson

Thu, 17 Feb 2011 06:25:31 +0000

[...] for more clips from the film The Singing Kid [...]

Comment on A Star is Born: Larry Parks as Al Jolson by Louise Lang Page

Louise Lang Page — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 18:57:25 +0000

Larry Parks in The Jolson Story made a great impression on me when the movie first came out. To this day, if it’s playing on TV, I stop everything and watch it. After all these years, I think the Academy should give him a special honor. Very few actors leave such a strong memory. Perhaps this could alleviate some of the pain I’m sure his family has lived with all these years. Remember that Charlie Chaplin and Ingrid Bergman were welcomed back. And as others have said, these days the actors get away with everything….