Is this the story of his life or Al Jolson's?
Was his father a contor too?
share This is not Al Jolson's story, though (a.) his father was a cantor and (b.) he of course played the lead in the original film.
If you want to see a Hollywood-ized (but very, very good) telling of Jolson's life, you need to watch "The Jolson Story" and its sequel, "Jolson Sings Again." Really, really good films, and a great performance by Larry Parks.
Not Jolson's story, but did you notice how Neil Diamond injected a lot of judiasm into the movie through the music ? Sort of semi autobiographical, but really, this is the story for a lot of musicians.
Being a starving artist is not a popular thing in a family. I was never that starving artist, but I was a writer who marched to my own drum beat. I went to the military, then college, then started a career. All was well with my family until a church choir member heard me sing and invited me to join the choir, where I was soon a section leader. At that point, my family intervened and tried every trick in the book to get me to move home. For some reason, me discovering a talent was too difficult a concept for them to grapple with.