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FOUR PIONEERS WITH YIDDISH ACCENTS
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Despite the blackfaced disguise he wore to sing minstrel-like songs such as "My Mammy," Jolson's performances also retained aspects of his Jewish heritage: his rapid, staccato delivery of lines when not in blackface and his cantorlike crooning of ballads were not far removed from the sounds of the religious household of his youth.
Fanny Brice and Eddie Cantor were considered comics first and singers second, but both had a distinctive way of delivering a song that made no effort to disguise their Jewishness. She was born Fanny Borach in New York City and, like Tucker, began her career singing in her parents' tavern. While Tucker softened her Yiddish accent with a sophisticated, bluesy flavor, Brice exaggerated hers and turned each song she sang into a burlesque of human misery. She was also noticed by Flo Ziegfeld, who featured her in his "Follies of 1910," as well as in six subsequent editions he produced. Brice also appeared in book musicals, but like Jolson's and Tucker's, her character remained essentially the same: a wisecracking, put-upon Yiddish spinster whose dreams seem never to come true. Sometimes she altered this persona a bit to deliver a torch song like "My Man." Later, she developed the bratty Baby Snooks character that became especially popular on radio. Brice's overly Jewish performances were as appealing to Gentiles as to Jewish audiences; the Yiddish culture seemed less foreign and strange when delivered with such zest and precise comic timing.
Eddie Cantor also had superb comic timing, and the camera seemed to pick up his antics with ease; he was the only one of the foursome to enjoy an extended career in Hollywood films. He was born Isidore Itzkowitz in New York and worked as a singing waiter before being discovered in an amateur contest. After gaining experience in vaudeville houses in the United States and England, Cantor got his big break in the "Ziegfeld Follies of 1917," rolling his eyes, giving the audience a mischievous leer, and prancing about the stage singing and waving his handkerchief. Cantor was particularly adept at delivering a seemingly innocent lyric in a slyly suggestive way; what Tucker had done with a ribald twinkle in her eye, Cantor did with his popped-out, rolling eyes. Even listening to his recordings of "Makin' Whoopee" and "You'd Be Surprised," one can sense the suggestive tone and practically see the mock innocence on his face. Without dropping his nervous, naughty persona, Cantor was able to play various roles in Broadway and Hollywood musicals. He was also successful on the radio, on records, and even on television. While some of his comic bits harked back to the 1880s, Cantor was fresh, lively, and farcical.
It is ironic that all four performers first found fame in the "Ziegfeld Follies," a very WASP entertainment that glorified the American girl and, less overtly, middle-American values. Yet these four pioneers triumphed in Ziegfeld's shows and everywhere else -- and they did it without totally losing their Yiddish accents.
Top banner photos: Judy Garland in THE WIZARD OF OZ, Benny Goodman, and Fanny Brice. |
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Sophie Tucker as Alice Clayton in BROADWAY MELODY OF 1938. |
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Al Jolson as Ted Cotter in ROSE OF WASHINGTON SQUARE. |
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This program is not available on VHS or DVD. |
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