DETROIT JEWISH

Page :Fourteen

Al Jolson Quips
Rated Among Best

Served as Sideman
in Minstrel Shows

By ELYEII NATIIANS
THE HOTTEST personality in
the entertainment world to-
day is the son of a cantor who
wiseacres had said was all
"washed up." Proving just how
wrong the experts can be, "The
Jolson Story" is cracking every
box-office record in the country.
Al Jolson's comeback is the big-
gest thing that's happened since
Variety announced the 1929
crash with the headline "Wall
Street Lays an Egg."
_o__
JOLSON FIRST became fa-
mous as a minstrel man where,
in addition to singing such fa-
mous epics as "Dinah" and
"Mammy," not to mention "Cali-
fornia, Here I Come," he also
served as sideman for the inter-
locutor. As sideman he partici-
pated in such gems as this:
Interlocutor: What did you
see at the cemetery?
Jolson: A tombstone with the
inscription 'Not Dead But Sleep-
ing.' Boy, was that fella fooling
himself."

—0—

H ousing Scarcity
in Yishuv Cited

AT ONE of Jolson's stage
premieres the late Florenz Zieg-
feld bumped into Al's father.

Many From Cyprus
Are Living in Tents

from England to the all-Jewish
city of Tel Aviv.
Speaking in behalf' of Ameri-
can Jewry, Dr. Goldstein de-
clared, "Ships and airplanes are
vital factors for a functioning
Jewish National Home. I hope
that the Kedmah will be the
forerunner of a flourishing Jew-
ish maritime service.
"The arrival of the Kedmah
in an hour of sorrow in Pales-
tine serves as a consolation and
a revival of spirit in the midst
of present anxieties. It is a
thrilling experience to see the
only Jewish port in the world
The port of Tel Aviv is a splen-
did achievement that needs ex-
pansion."

NEW YORK—Jewish refugees
recently admitted to Palestine
from Cyprus are in acute need
of housing and many of them
are at present living in tents,
Dr. Israel Goldstein, national
chairman of the United Jewish
Appeal and of the United Pal-
estine Appeal, who is making an
extensive tour of the Jewish
Homeland, reported In a cabled HAS WAR RECORD
Before entering the Jewish
message.
maritime service in Palestine,
Dr. Goldstein said that in the Kedmah established a nota-
many instances Jewish settlers
of the agricultural centers are
giving up their own homes in
order to provide accommoda- ROSH HASHONNAH
tions for the new arrivals from GREETINGS TO ALL
the isle of detention.
With funds provided by
American Jews through the DISPATCH - HUDSON
AL JOLSON
United Jewish Appeal, he said,
LAUNDRY
"Think it's going well?" he the Jewish Agency for Pales-
tine is engaged in expanding its
asked.
43 CORTLAND
housing program to meet the
"My boy," Al's father assured critical needs of the newcomers.
TOwnsend 8 4220
him, "don't worry. It's a
WELCOMES SHIP
smack!"
Dr. Goldstein participated in
—o—
welcoming the new Palestine
AFTER IT became obvious Jewish ship "Kedmah" as it Rosh Hashonah Greetings
that the "Jolson Story" was a completed its maiden voyage
success, a prominent producer
CAPITOL
who had given Jolson the brush-
off some months before came New Year's Greetings
Scrap Material Co.
up and started to engage him
and
Best
Wishes
to
All
in conversation. Jolson was
aloof.
Variety Dinette
"But last year you raved about
635 WINDER ST.
him," a companion reminded Al
Sales Co.
subsequently.
CA. 9633
15232 LIVERNOIS
"You know how it is," Jolson
replied genially. "After the
Hi Lipsitz
Ted Wise
UNiversity 2.1158
fever comes the rash".

ble war record in the Pacific
where she was used as an anted
transport. The Kedmah left
Singapore on the day before
that key port fell to the Japa-
nese.
Thoroughly reconditioned, she
can carry 300 passengers with a
crew of 90, most of whom are
Jews. The Kedmah is one of the
first ships in the new maritime
fleet that is being developed in
Palestine with the aid of the
Jewish Agency for Palestine to
provide transportation for in-
creasing numbers of Jews

-

AFTER GRADUATING to bet
ter things, Jolson became known
for his refreshing talent for
story-telling. He developed this
ability to an art.
One of his best anecdotes con-
cerns the time the "mammy sing-
er" played the part of a weary
invalid who simply refused to
call a doctor. At last, his stage
wife summoned a doctor. After
a series of side-splitting ex-
changes with the doctor, the wife
returns and asks Jolson if he
took the medico's prescription.
"If I did" snorted Jcilson,
OLSON'S FAVORITE story
"they'd probably be treating me concerns the time he was ap
for a broken neck. I just threw pearing in a nightclub and de-
it out a window."
cided to talk over the micro-
phone to some of the men and
AS A YOUTH, Jolson had women at the ringside tables.
poetic aspirations. He dropped One evening he selected a dap-
per little fellow and said, "I'll
S
bet you're a jeweler."
Rosh Hashonah Greetings
"Wrong," he told him. "I'm a
retired boxer."
Jolson, a boxing fan himself,
was amazed. "How could you
hit anyone with those little
hands?"
"I never did," grinned the
other. "That's why I'm retired."
World's Largest

,

r

them after a poem starting "Be
a lightkeeper for me, 0 soul"
appeared in the press as "Be a
light housekeeper, 0 Soul . . "

Friday, September It 1917

11-0N.I.CLE

•

Rosh Ilashonah Greetings

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ROSH HASHONAH GREETINGS

AND BEST WISHES TO ALL

fr

•

A HAPPY NEW YEAR

'

•

The WILSHIRE

FRANCINE
FROCKS

GIBBS 11 CO.

Apartment Hotel

West Grand Blvd.
At Twelfth

Collingwood at Third

Beauty Supply 1108. 4s

1265 GRISWOLD

CA. 5145

NEW YEAR'S GREETINGS

ROsh Hashonah Greetings
and Best Wishes to All

•

Rosh Hashonah Greetings

WARREN
DIAGNOSTIC
HOSPITAL

•

LINWOOD

WINDOW SHADE

To You, Friends and Neighbors,

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Mrs. Charles F. Kuhn

COMPANY

90 EAST WARREN AVE.

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We Extend Our Greetings and Best

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Wishes for a Very Joyous Holiday!

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New Year's Greetings

Best Wishes to Our Many

AND

Friends and Patrons

UNITED PRODUCTS CORP.

4460 LAWTON

FRANK
SEDER

1

