---
name: "Al Jolson"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/al-jolson"
fi1m_id: "al-jolson"
imdb_id: "nm0427231"
tmdb_id: 14286
wikidata_id: "Q128532"
roles: ["Songs"]
born: "26 May 1886"
died: "23 October 1950"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 2
average_over: 1
updated: "2026-09-25T06:25:23.273853+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Al Jolson

## Identity

Al Jolson

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/al-jolson
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** al-jolson
- **IMDb ID:** nm0427231
- **TMDB ID:** 14286
- **Wikidata ID:** Q128532
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Jolson, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q128532, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0427231/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/14286

Songs. Born 26 May 1886 in Sredniki, Kovno Governorate, Russian Empire [now Seredžius, Lithuania]. Died 23 October 1950.

## Details

- **Work:** Songs
- **Born:** 26 May 1886, Sredniki, Kovno Governorate, Russian Empire [now Seredžius, Lithuania]
- **Died:** 23 October 1950
- **Active:** 1927–1990
- **Also known as:** Asa Yoelson
- **Titles on Fi1m:** 2: 1 acting, 1 crew
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1920s 65 (1), 1990s 80 (1)
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Jolson, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q128532, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0427231/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/14286

## Streaming the US now

- **Tubi:** [*The Jazz Singer*](https://film.one/film/the-jazz-singer.md) (65)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

Al Jolson, also known as Asa Yoelson, was a Lithuanian-born American singer, comedian, actor and vaudevillian. He was born on 26 May 1886 in Sredniki, Kovno Governorate, Russian Empire (now Seredžius, Lithuania), and emigrated to the United States as a child.

Jolson appeared in numerous stage shows and films. He played Jakie Rabinowitz in the 1927 film *The Jazz Singer*. A biographical film, *The Jolson Story* (1946), featured Larry Parks in the title role with Jolson's singing voice.

*Sources: imdb.com, britannica.com, jewishvirtuallibrary.org.*

## On Fi1m (2)

### Performed in (1)

- *The Jazz Singer* (1927), Fi1m 65, as Jakie Rabinowitz — [page](https://film.one/film/the-jazz-singer.md)

### Crew (1) — the average rests on these

- *Jacob's Ladder* (1990), Fi1m 80, Songs — [page](https://film.one/film/jacobs-ladder.md)

## Complete filmography (28)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *O Filme que Fala* (2026), as Jakie Rabinowitz (archive footage)
- *Jacob's Ladder* (1990), as Songs — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/film/jacobs-ladder.md)
- *Myrna Loy: So Nice to Come Home To* (1990), as (archive footage)
- *Going Hollywood: The '30s* (1984), as (archive footage)
- *Showbiz Goes to War* (1982), as (archive footage)
- *Salsa* (1976), as (archive footage)
- *Purple Heart Diary* (1951), as Al Jolson (archive footage) (uncredited)
- *The Jolson Story* (1946), as Singing Voice / Al Jolson (uncredited)
- *Okay for Sound* (1946), Actor
- *Rhapsody in Blue* (1945), as Al Jolson
- *Take It or Leave It* (1944), as (archive footage) (uncredited)
- *Swanee River* (1939), as Edwin P. Christy
- *Hollywood Cavalcade* (1939), as Al Jolson
- *Rose of Washington Square* (1939), as Ted Cotter
- *Screen Snapshots Series 18, No. 8* (1939), as Al Jolson
- *A Day at Santa Anita* (1937), as Al Jolson (uncredited)
- *The Singing Kid* (1936), as Al Jackson
- *Go Into Your Dance* (1935), as Al Howard
- *Wonder Bar* (1934), as Al Wonder
- *Hallelujah, I'm a Bum* (1933), as Bumper
- *Big Boy* (1930), as Gus
- *Show Girl in Hollywood* (1930), as Al Jolsen
- *Mammy* (1930), as Al Fuller
- *New York Nights* (1929), as Al Jolson
- *Say It with Songs* (1929), as Joe Lane
- *The Singing Fool* (1928), as Al Stone
- *The Jazz Singer* (1927), as Jakie Rabinowitz — Fi1m 65, [page](https://film.one/film/the-jazz-singer.md)
- *Farina & The Perpetual Shine Machine*, Actor

## Gallery

- ![Al Jolson](https://film.one/media/person/396563/gallery-44a40afe9ccc.jpg) Al Jolson — Film studio, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9e/Al_Jolson_-_publicity.JPG?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Photo of Al and Erle Jolson. (1947)](https://film.one/media/person/396563/gallery-817892ab7e66.jpg) Photo of Al and Erle Jolson. (1947) — Macfadden Publications page 3, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d9/Erle_and_Al_Jolson_1947.jpg/1280px-Erle_and_Al_Jolson_1947.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Al Jolson, film actor Subjects (LCTGM): actors, motion pictures (1930)](https://film.one/media/person/396563/gallery-46fd0e4ef9a7.jpg) Al Jolson, film actor Subjects (LCTGM): actors, motion pictures (1930) — Unknown photographerUnknown photographer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ad/Al_Jolson%2C_film_actor_%28SAYRE_4261%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Al Jolson's father and stepmother, Rabbi Moses Yoelson and his wife, Ida.](https://film.one/media/person/396563/gallery-29196f6af0ec.jpg) Al Jolson's father and stepmother, Rabbi Moses Yoelson and his wife, Ida. — Harris & Ewing, Inc., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/09/Moses_and_Ida_Yoelson.jpg/1280px-Moses_and_Ida_Yoelson.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Al Jolson](https://film.one/media/person/396563/gallery-6a9f6f20a8ec.jpg) Al Jolson — Image via TMDB
- ![Al Jolson](https://film.one/media/person/396563/gallery-ad30f49e452b.jpg) Al Jolson — Image via TMDB
- ![Photo of Al and Erle Jolson with their adopted son, Asa. (1948)](https://film.one/media/person/396563/gallery-13a3d16d3dc8.jpg) Photo of Al and Erle Jolson with their adopted son, Asa. (1948) — Macfadden Publications page 2, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1a/Jolson_family_1948.jpg/1280px-Jolson_family_1948.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Al Jolson and wife Erle.](https://film.one/media/person/396563/gallery-472ffbc8adaa.jpg) Al Jolson and wife Erle. — Unknown photographer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Al_and_Erle_Jolson%2C_1946.jpg/1280px-Al_and_Erle_Jolson%2C_1946.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/al-jolson