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Al Jolson (born May 26, 1886, Srednike, Russia [now Seredžius, Lithuania]—died October 23, 1950, San Francisco, California, U.S.) was a popular American singer and blackface comedian of the musical stage and motion pictures, from before World War I to 1940. His unique singing style and personal magnetism established an immediate rapport with audiences. Taken to the United States when he was seven years old, Jolson was reared in Washington, D.C., where he made his first...