Al Jolson

1886 – 1950

Al Jolson, born Asa Yoelson, was a Lithuanian-American entertainer who became one of the most popular American performers of the 1910s and 1920s and starred in the first feature-length sound film, The Jazz Singer, in 1927. His signature stage persona was built on the use of burnt-cork blackface, which he wore in The Jazz Singer's title role and in numerous Broadway and film performances; the genre's caricatures of Black Americans were central to his commercial success and helped extend the cultural life of minstrelsy well into the talkie era. Although he supported individual Black musicians and openly opposed segregation in some venues, his films and recordings remain among the most-cited examples of mainstream blackface entertainment in twentieth-century American media.

Last checked: May 10, 2026, 1:06 PM