|The Man|Harry Jolson
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Throughout this website there are snippets of information about Al Jolson's brother, Harry. A few years older than Al, he preceded Al into show business, and following his older brother to New York provided Al Jolson's initial entry into the world of entertainment. According to several sources, the boys entertained together on the streets of Washington, DC, providing the nascent chemistry for their early stage acts.
By 1902, Harry and Al had joined up with Joe Palmer, and lost an "e" from their last name. |
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Harry (standing) and Al (sitting) Joelson as
the Hebrew and the Cadet, 1899 |
Lola Lane (1906-1981) was born Dorothy Mulligan, growing up in Indianola, Iowa. Yearning for show business, she ultimately connected with Gus Edwards, making it big on the vaudeville stage in the 1920s, accompanied by a name change. Her sisters, Leota, Martha and Rosemary, accompanied her in the business, becoming successful in their own rights. Playing a variety of critically acclaimed film roles in the late 1930s, it is said that her role as female reporter Torchy Blane in a 1938 film inspired Siegel and Shuster to name the reporter girlfriend of their 1938 comic book hero, Superman, "Lois Lane."
This clip is part of the IAJS Video, A Day At Santa Anita with Additional Selections, available from the IAJS Video Department
Through their lives, their careers diverged and intersected. Harry often played a venue after Al, Al would hire Harry as his manager, some say to keep him off the stage. Some reports say that Harry had a better voice than Al; the paucity of recordings of Harry and the performance records of the brothers would belie that supposition.
Whatever animosity there was seemed to dim following Al Jolson's passing, with Harry Jolson appearing on a television program in tribute to his later brother, and recording a eulogy to "my brother Al." Three years after Al Jolson passed away, his older brother, Harry, left us, as well. In contrast to the elaborate Jolson gravesite, Harry's grave has but a simple marker.
At the left are Harry Jolson and his wife Lillian.
To the right, Harry Jolson in 1951, a year after the death of his brother, Al.
In 1929, Harry Jolson appeared in the film The Voice of Hollywood, in a short comedy routine, with Lola Lane.
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| Although the Jolson brothers' relationship was contentious throughout their lives, according to many sources, they remained connected on many levels. After Al Jolson's death in 1950, his brother Harry appeared an a popular television program of the 1950s, "You Asked For It" with a tribute to his later brother, presented above for your enjoyment. Filmed only a short time before his death in 1953, Harry shows none of the punch he was alluded to have possessed, when he was billed as the "The Operatic Blackface Comedian," and yet you can see a glimmer of his personality, and his love for his brother, Al.
This clip is part of the IAJS Video, A Day At Santa Anita with Additional Selections, available from the IAJS Video Department |
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From Harry Jolson's solo vaudeville days, here is a photo from January 11, 1913, a day before his 31st birthday, and a review of his act at the time. | |
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Updated 18 Apr 24 |