(1886–1950)
a US singer and actor, born in Lithuania. He performed on Broadway in the 1920s and painted his face black to pretend to be an African American . He was in the first sound film, The Jazz Singer . Jolson sang with great emotion, and his most successful songs included Swanee , Mammy , Sonny Boy and April Showers . His story was told in two films, the Jolson Story (1946) and Jolson Sings Again (1949) with Larry Parks as Jolson.