Sunday, February 22, 2009



Al Jolson musical is performed in Britain without 'blackface' make-up



We read:
"In an age long before the rise of the politically correct mafia he was the world's most celebrated entertainer. And, central to Al Jolson's remarkble success were the memorable jazz and blues songs he performed in 'blackface' make-up.

But a new musical based on the American superstar's life has air-brushed away this key facet of the Jolson story to avoid causing offence. The producer of the stage show, which opens in Edinburgh next week, feared that diversity-conscious 2009 audiences may object to watching a white actor wearing black make-up - even if it was for the sake of an accurate portrayal of a world famous performer.

The decision was not supported by Allan Stewart, the actor who has the starring role in Jolson & Co and sings 17 songs, including several, such as Swanee, which Jolson typically performed in blackface....

In Britain, blacking up survived in mainstream entertainment until much more recently. It was not until 1978 that the Black and White Minstrel show ended its 20 year run.

Ironically, Jewish immigrant Jolson was a champion of racial equality in America at a time when racism was endemic. Born in 1886, he was fighting black discrimination on the Broadway stage by 1911. His promotion of equality helped pave the way for artists such as Louis Armstrong and Fats Waller.

Source

5 comments:

The Times Observer said...

You know, it's funny and sad at the same time. I've often heard that Liberals wanted to rewrite history to make it more "pleasing".

But this looks like it was to counteract any Liberal complaints and look what it cost everyone: True History.

Yes, Jolson performed in black face, which was done for a very long time. However, that did not make him a racist and as stated in the article, he helped many black performers during a time when it was not popular to do so.

In fact, Jolson was so beloved by the black community, that he was invited to night clubs in Harlem where most white entertainers were never allowed in nor invited.

But this political correctness is really getting out of hand. People need to know history, despite whatever feelings it will create.

Anonymous said...

The below link is the result of Britains weakness and growing attraction to socialism. They have opened their arms (and closed their minds) and allowed "an army" of radical Muslims to settle in Britain, and now they've lost their country, their way of life, their freedoms, and the respect of the world, assuming they had any.
theihttp://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article2261166.ece?OTC-RSS&ATTR=Newsr

Anonymous said...

Dont you get a little tired of all this PC poppycock bull kaka? Its getting rediculous i mean its like a version of TOM SAWYER,HUCLEBERY FINN where they were calling INJIN JOE as CRAZY JOE i mean its a good thing RUBYARD KIPLING didnt have to put up with this PC poppycock otherwise he would have called it THE RAINFOREST BOOK and this jerk MICHEAL W. FOX who wanted PET SHOPS to rename them COMPANION ANIMAL SHOPS and those who wanted ZOOS to be called WILDLIFE CONSERVATION PARKS showing how rediculous PC is

Anonymous said...

The UK's 'Sun' newspaper is a crap tabloid that likes to exaggerate problems with immigrants, asylum-seekers and muslims. Even if the core of the stories have some merit, the articles themselves are extremely biased.

Anonymous said...

Just more liberal historical revisionism. Not surprising. Some day in the probably not to distant future, we'll look up an article on Al Jolson in the future, and he'll be listed as a Hispanic opera singer. And unfortunately, the world will probably believe it.