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Al Jolson was probably America's foremost 'anti-racist' entertainer

posted 16 years ago by Rainer_fan
13 replies | jump to latest

Jolson's blackface was clearly NOT any kind of stereotyping as black music was not commonly known about back then . He actually opened the curtain to black music by intentionally putting it on stage in front of his all-white audiences to introduce them to a new kind of music he learned about and loved performing: jazz, ragtime, blues, soul, etc. - mostly originating in the black community.

He didn't need to perform in blackface - in fact most of his movie roles were actually not in blackface. There is nothing in The Jazz Singer story that required a blackface performer, and only a few of his songs in the movie were even performed in blackface. In some of his other movies he actually played a singing hobo and a singing convict behind bars, both without blackface.

As a Jewish immigrant the last thing he would do would be to stereotype another minority group, especially blacks, whose music he was putting on a pedestal. As America's highest-paid entertainer at that time, he used his fame and fortune to thumb his nose at our early American heavily racist culture. Consider that the KKK "at its peak in the early 1920s, ... included about 15% of the nation's eligible population, approximately 4–5 million men." (Wikipedia) D.W. Griffith gave us Birth of a Nation (which glorified white supremism and the KKK) - Jolson responded with The Jazz Singer. And still some of us call him "racist?" Amazing!

You can watch some Jolson movie clips at the link below. You'll see that he never makes fun of or puts down black entertainers - he does the exact opposite - he makes them bigger than life. If we accuse him of anything, we should accuse him of having too much "chutzpa," with his blackface more an act of provocative and defiant "anti-racism." If not for his notoriety, we might have had an early version of Mississippi Burning instead of The Jazz Singer.

http://www.motionbox.com/filings?folder_id=4432541

[–] grendel824 16 years ago

It's a good "idiot detector" - anybody whining about this being racist is somebody who's not to be taken seriously. Stupid people like that just take the spotlight off of real racism, and they should be ashamed of themselves.

[–] janks-2 16 years ago

If you look at jolsons career and the movie you will see that he needed to put on blackface to become popular. only when he puts on blackface does he become very famous. by making fun of blacks he can become part of white society. as a jew he wasn't considered white.

[–] resilient_little_sprout 14 years ago

As a Jewish immigrant the last thing he would do would be to stereotype another minority group

What a naive thing to say. Minority groups stereotype one another all the time, immigrants included. Nobody is immune to ignorance.

[–] deadbunny28 14 years ago

exactly...and to say black jazz wasn't known about? lmao but u sir are historically incompetent...And next wearing a ridiculous caricature black mask in the 1920's can only be conceived one way...u r just trying to defend the film u like, it is most definitely racist...

[–] Screenwriter_Brandi 13 years ago

Oh well, what a good deed! We owe him forever!

[–] fubared1 13 years ago

Racist or not, the guy, according to all interviews I've seen, was an egocentric SOB (aside from being a bad actor and a bad singer...his singing as a cantor is so off-pitch, it's scary). In fact, in one interview, someone says he demanded another song, so the writers gave him 'Mammy' thinking it was the worst song they had ever written (and it probably was), but the audience loved it, of course. I guess there's no accounting for taste...or lack therof.

Life sucks, then you're reincarnated

[–] digitaldiva 13 years ago

Hi fubared1,

Yes, Jolson had an ego which destroyed many of his relationships and certainly his marriages, but he was widely respected for his talent and was beloved by a number of African American entertainers during a very troubling time in America. Jolson opened doors for a number of black entertainers, actually fought for civil rights and during his marriage to Ruby Keeler, was one of the few white celebrities who entertained African Americans in his home, this at a time when Los Angeles was a segregated city. As far as his talent as a singer, while I don't love his voice, tastes change. As far as his acting talent, his technique improved and he became a decent character actor. He was bombastic and difficult but complex too.

[–] aciolino 11 years ago

Egocentric son of a bitch??? So what??

I guarantee, if you know Beethoven, you be repulsed and want to punch him in the mouth. Should we never listen to his glorious symphonies???

Van Gogh was a bit of a pig? Was there a greater painter?

Bad actor? Yes.

Bad singer? You're a fool.

Please grow up.

Why don't you test your theory and go get reincarnated as someone with a brain?

[–] timmy_501 12 years ago

Ok, well you explained why it makes no sense for him to be in blackface but you forgot to mention why he went ahead and put it on anyway. It seems even worse that he does it since there is no real reason for it.

D.W. Griffith gave us Birth of a Nation (which glorified white supremism and the KKK) - Jolson responded with The Jazz Singer. And still some of us call him "racist?" Amazing!

Did you leave out a few sentences? Because this is a non sequitur.

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[–] bedrock1960 11 years ago

African-American dancer Jeni Le Gon said in an interview that when she went to Hollywood to dance with Bill Robinson in the film "Hooray For Love", the only people who invited her to their house for dinner were Al Jolson and Ruby Keeler. Sure doesn't sound like the behavior of a racist to me.

[–] aciolino 11 years ago

In my 35 years as a musicologist and a scholar of Al Jolson, I never fail to be amazed at all the stupidity and nonsense that has been and continues to be written about him. More so him than ANY other performer, not close.

There are so many ill-informed statements on this thread, lies, statements based on rumors, etc... that I hardly know where to begin.

First, the issue of "racism," is an absurd one. Of course, Jolson was no racist. He was not mimicking, stereotyping, or in any way trying to demean black people. Just the opposite. Jolson was often took the brunt of ridicule for presenting a character (Gus Johnson in many of the musicals) who fought back against authority and was a wise-cracking trouble maker. In essence, his character, his charm was that of the Harlequin of commedia dell'arte fame. Blackface had long stopped being associated with it's connection to blackface minstrelsy which was VERY different from what Jolson did. By the turn of the 20th century, the minstrel show was effectively dead. The use of blackface continued as a convention of stage. Many performers used it not even intending it to be in imitation of African Americans but just as something that you wore on stage. That's it.

The multitude of acts of benevolence toward black people in Jolson's life are countless. The respect by which he was held in the black community, particularly among black performers, was of the highest order. I will not enumerate them here but if you wish to find out more send me an e-mail.

Further, Jolson never intended to introduce "black music" or Jazz to white audiences. He was a musical comedy performer. Period. The songs Jolson sang were written by Broadway veteran composers, not particularly jazzy ones, either. Until maybe, Gershwin came along. But even then, Jolson's songs were of the typical musical comedy type.

In fact, for most of his career he was known as the "Winter Garden Comedian." Not singer. Jolson's success lay in his astonishing stage presence. He could make you laugh then cry then laugh again. His presence was, it has been said, "magical," "galvanizing" "mystical," and words to that effect. No performer received reviews of his kind. Audiences were known to keep him on stage for encore after encore. One famous such event took place in Boston where the audience absolutely refused to let the show go on for 45 minutes. Do you know how long 45 minutes is??? Unheard of.

As for the jerk who said Jolson sang off key, and was a "bad singer," you're either a jerk, or you have some kind of personal agenda you are dealing with. Or you're a jerk.

[–] fudgenuts101 11 years ago

I'm sure that's why he performed in blackface.