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Al Jolson

Celebrated song-and-dance man who was a major Broadway attraction before gaining worldwide fame as the star of the so-called "first" talking picture, "The Jazz Singer" (1927). Known as both "The World's Greatest Entertainer" and the biggest egomaniac in show business, Jolson got his start as a blackface singer in vaudeville around 1906. By the 1910s, he was starring in both book and variety shows on Broadway, including "The Honeymoon Express" (1913), "Robinson Crusoe Jr." (1916), "Sinbad" (1918) and "Bombo" (1921). His hammy, exuberant singing style and his obvious love of entertaining made him a huge star of both stage and recordings.