The Jazz Singer is a 1927 American musical drama film directed by Alan Crosland and produced by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is the first feature-length motion picture with both synchronized recorded music score as well as lip-synchronous singing and speech. Its release heralded the commercial ascendance of sound films and effectively marked the end of the silent film era with the Vitaphone sound-on-disc system and features six songs performed by Al Jolson. Based on the 1925 play of the same title by Samson Raphaelson, the plot was adapted from his short story "The Day of Atonement".
Louis Wolfe Gilbert was a Russian Empire–born American songwriter of Tin Pan Alley. He is best remembered as the lyricist for "Ramona" (1928), the first movie theme song ever written.
Stuart Erwin was an American actor of stage, film, and television.
George Albert "Georgie" Jessel was an American actor, singer, songwriter, film producer, and illustrated song "model." He was famous in his lifetime as a multitalented comedic entertainer, achieving a level of recognition that transcended his limited roles in movies. He was widely known by his nickname, the "Toastmaster General of the United States," for his frequent role as the master of ceremonies at political and entertainment gatherings. Jessel originated the title role in the stage production of The Jazz Singer.
Norman Rae Taurog was an American film director and screenwriter. From 1920 to 1968, Taurog directed 180 films. At the age of 32, he received the Academy Award for Best Director for Skippy (1931). He is the second youngest person ever to win the award after Damien Chazelle, who won for La La Land in 2017. He was later nominated for Best Director for the film Boys Town (1938). He directed some of the best-known actors of the twentieth century, including his nephew Jackie Cooper, Spencer Tracy, Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland, Deanna Durbin, Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Deborah Kerr, Peter Lawford, Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, and Elvis Presley. Taurog directed six Martin and Lewis films, and nine Elvis Presley films, more than any other director.
The Singing Fool is a 1928 American musical drama part-talkie motion picture directed by Lloyd Bacon which was released by Warner Bros. The film stars Al Jolson and is a follow-up to his previous film, The Jazz Singer. It is credited with helping to cement the popularity of American films of both sound and the musical genre.
Catherine Townsend Johnson was an American stage and film actress.
Carl Stockdale also known as Carlton Stockdale was one of the longest-working Hollywood veteran actors, with a career dating from the early 1910s. He also made the difficult transition from silent films to talkies.
Samuel Howard Stept was an American songwriter who wrote for Broadway, Hollywood and the big bands. He became known simply as Sam Stept or Sam H. Stept – he rarely used his full middle name.
John Miljan was an American actor. He appeared in more than 200 films between 1924 and 1958.
Audrey Minerva Ferris was an American film actress of the silent film era of the late 1920s and into the early 1930s, a singer, and a dancer.
Duane Thompson was an American film actress during Hollywood's silent film era. When Talkies pushed silent films into the background, she worked in stock theater for a time before moving to radio drama. She was married twice, to comedian Buddy Wattles and to radio producer William T. Johnson.
Carrie Daumery was a Belgian-born American film actress. She appeared in more than 60 films between 1908 and 1937.
Robert Carroll Nye was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 50 films between 1925 and 1944. His most memorable role was Frank Kennedy, Scarlett's second husband, in Gone with the Wind.
John G. Blystone was an American film director. He directed 100 films between 1915 and 1938. He was born in Rice Lake, Wisconsin and died in Los Angeles, California from a heart attack. His grave is located at Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery.
Al Jolson was a Lithuanian-American Jewish singer, comedian, actor, and vaudevillian. He was one of the United States' most famous and highest-paid stars of the 1920s, and was self-billed as "The World's Greatest Entertainer." Jolson was known for his "shamelessly sentimental, melodramatic approach" towards performing, as well as for popularizing many of the songs he sang. Jolson has been referred to by modern critics as "the king of blackface performers."
Broadway Babies, aka Broadway Daddies (UK) and Ragazze d'America (Italy), is a 1929 all-talking Pre-Code black and white American musical film produced and distributed by First National Pictures, a subsidiary of Warner Brothers. The film was directed by Mervyn LeRoy and starred Alice White and Charles Delaney. This was White's first sound film with dialogue.
Minna Stern, known professionally as Hermine Sterler, was a German-American actress whose career spanned both the silent and the talkie film eras on two continents.
Mary Doran was an American actress. She appeared in more than 80 films from 1927 to 1944.
Rosa Rosanova was a Russian-born stage and film actress. She appeared in numerous American films as a starring or supporting actress in the 1920s and 1930s
