Wednesday, September 23, 2009

1928... The year that Al Jolson owned the world...

Al Jolson owned the world in 1928. It was perhaps his greatest year. He had done a talking picture called the "Jazz Singer" for the Warner Company. That movie premiered at the Winter Garden Theater in 1927. To say it was a sensation would be an understatement. This movie lead to the next called the "Singing Fool" which like the Jazz Singer was also a talking picture. The Singing Fool was as successful as the Jazz Singer and pretty much assured the movie making Moguls that talking pictures were the wave of the future. This new picture also premiered at the Winter Garden theater. The first Warner movies of Jolson all premiered at the Winter Garden. One has to remember the Winter Garden had been the artistic home on and off to Al Jolson since 1911. To have held it anywhere else would have been crazy. The theater was smart to have it there as well. The movie opened on August 17, 1928. Here are a few ads for it.

Things were going really well on the romantic front for Jolson too. On September 21, 1928 Jolson married Ruby Keeler who was a talented show girl and also the girlfriend of a mob boss. But that situation was solved and they married and took off on the RMS Olympic (sister ship to the Titanic) to Europe. For Jolson 1928 was a really good year. He would never have another like it.