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The Jolson Story
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==Plot== Stage-struck Asa Yoelson wants to sing in burlesque performer Steve Martin's act. Cantor Yoelson, his father, refuses to consider it. After Asa runs away but is found in Baltimore, the Yoelsons grudgingly consent. Martin eventually gives him billing, under a new name: Al Jolson. Soon afterwards, an entertainer named Tom Barron, who is in the same show as Martin and Jolson, passes out drunk, and Jolson goes on in his place. Jolson receives a job offer from minstrel-show master [[Lew Dockstader]], who is in the audience, and Martin releases Jolson. Al succeeds with the minstrel troupe and is invited to join a Broadway show (thanks to Martin, behind the scenes). Al becomes the leading player and takes the show on tour. Al hires his old mentor Martin, now unemployed, to be his manager. (In real life, Jolson never had a manager with this name. Jolson had three managers over the course of his career- Steve Martin is a composite of all three.) Jolson's career prevents him spending much time at home. He had always thought that someday he would marry his childhood friend, Ann Murray, but she eventually accepts a proposal from Roy Anderson, another childhood friend. Soon afterward, Al meets up-and-coming dancer Julie Benson. It is love at first sight for Al, who proposes to her that night. (Al Jolson was actually married four times. The character Julie Benson is modeled on his third wife, [[Ruby Keeler]].) Julie does not love him immediately, but Al refuses to take no for an answer, and she eventually agrees to consider it. After Al misses a show in order to attend the opening of Julie's first show, she realizes his feelings for her are genuine and they marry. Al electrifies the show world with his first feature film, ''[[The Jazz Singer (1927 film)|The Jazz Singer]]'', and eagerly signs for more movies. His wife wants to quit show business and settle down, but Al persuades her to continue with her career. Julie becomes a movie star, but eventually can't stand any more of Al's nonstop, show-biz lifestyle. Al realizes that the only way to keep Julie is to quit show business. Al refuses all job offers and absolutely will not sing, even for family and friends. Papa Yoelson persuades his son to join him in a song{{snd}}the music he and Mama Yoelson danced to at their wedding{{snd}}and Al gets caught up in it. They adjourn to a nightclub, where the audience demands a song. Al agrees to a single number but the crowd yells for more. Julie, seeing Al happier than he's been in years, leaves while he's performing. She walks out of the nightclub and out of his life, leaving Al to his first love: singing.
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