Al Jolson: The Greatest Entertainer America Forgot
There was a time when Al Jolson was arguably the biggest entertainer in America.
He conquered vaudeville and Broadway, helped usher Hollywood into the age of talking pictures with The Jazz Singer, became a radio star, faded from fashion—and then staged one of the most remarkable comebacks in American entertainment.
But recordings and photographs leave us with a puzzle: What was it actually like to see Al Jolson perform?
In this episode of The Common Room, we begin with someone who knew the answer: George Burns. Burns saw Jolson in the great age of vaudeville and, decades later, was still…
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