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The Mammy Man
An Impression ■ of Al Jolson
Caricature by
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By CAROL JOHNSTON
THE pride and joy of Broadway— a n d the terror of Hollywood. That's Al Jolson
"Joley," his friends call him. And he used to be little Asa Yoelson, born in a tenement in Washington, D. C, son of immigrants. And he used to sing in cafes, picking up the coins tossed at him by kind-hearted customers. Today, the richest, they say, of all the actors, stage or screen — millionaire many times — he has known hunger. Maybe that's why he fails to be impressed by the palatial homes of movie stars, and why he takes the trouble to kid them. He kids everybody, including himself.
The man who has mammy-shouted and wise-cracked his way to fame is funny in real life, too. But while he is shrewd, he is also sentimental. You never know when he is going to turn the laugh to a tear. Super-showman, this W Jolson. Yet sincere, too. Curiously naif, and very hard-boiled. Kindly — and cynical. And the frankest man alive.
He doesn't care what he says or whom he says it to. He is ruthlessly honest. The least polished by fame of all celebrities, he remains himself — simple, direct. "Sure, I live at the Ritz Tower," he says. "Lots of people think it's Ritzy, but it ain't — no, really — not any more than any ('ther place."
His home in Westchester belongs to his former wife: they are divorced. It's Broadway gossip that she still
loves him. The present Jolson apartment at the Ritz Tower is conventional — living-room, bedroom and bath arrangement; the living quarters of a man too busy to bother. Now that there's a new Mrs. Jolson — Ruby Keeler — it may be different. He must have an audience. With a few people he is apt to be quiet, almost shy. But in a room filled with appreciative friends he holds the center of the stage. He stages a great show. He is vital. Two days before he married Ruby he said he had no matrimonial plans.' Then, the day he did marry her, he cried: "People keep saying: 'Don't do it. You're fifteen years older than she is.' But what difference does that make.^ I'm in love with her."
Broadway's favorite clown still believes in love. He still hopes he can be happy — although he has never been happy yet. He has fought his way up with tough times on the road. His story is romantic — and incredible-^flashy and sentimental, like his own Broadway.
He knows he's good. How can he help it? He's Al Jolson. The greatest box-office attraction on the American stage. But he is strangely untouched by his celebrity. No pretensions. He still lets slip an occasional "ain't." And to this day, they say. when a new Jolson show opens on the Big Street, the star stands trembling in the wings, afraid to go on; and they have to shove him before the audience. Once he warms up — to his role or anybody — {Continued on page 84)
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