482 School St SW

Washington, DC

Al Jolson (b. May 26, 1886; d. October 23, 1950) was a Jewish, Lithuanian emigrant who became the quintessential American entertainer at the turn of the 20th century. Starting out as a street performer with his brother, he built a career of singing, acting and comedy. He was a regular on the Vaudeville circuit, performed in Broadway shows like La Belle Paree, Bombo, Robinson Crusoe, Jr. and Sinbad—several of which were unscripted and relied on Jolson’s improvisation—and was the star of the very first talking picture (or talkie), The Jazz Singer. Jolson’s father was the first of his family to emigrate to the United States, in the early 1890s. Jolson, his mother and three siblings followed a few years later and the entire family settled in DC, first at 208 4 1/2 Street SW and later at 482 School Street SW. His home on School Street has since been razed and the site is now occupied by an office building. 

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