Ginger Rogers

Ginger Rogers (1911-1995), American motion-picture actor, singer, and dancer, best remembered for her graceful ballroom dancing as the partner of Fred Astaire in classic musical comedies of the 1930s. Born Virginia Katherine McMath in Independence, Missouri, she began dancing professionally at the age of 14 and toured the vaudeville circuit until 1929, when she was cast as the second lead in the popular Broadway musical Top Speed.
She began her film career while still starring on the New York City stage and in 1931 went to Hollywood, where she shot a series of minor comedies and dramas for the Pathé, Paramount, and Radio-Keith-Orpheum (RKO) studios.
Rogers was first matched with Astaire in the 1933 film Flying Down to Rio. Although they danced together in only one scene, their elegance, agility, and obvious chemistry stole the show. Subsequently, RKO paired them in vehicles of their own, including the legendary musicals Top Hat (1935), Swing Time (1936), and Follow The Fleet (1936). Their ten feature films together perfectly exemplified the refined and light-hearted charm of Hollywood’s so-called Golden Age (from about 1920 to about 1950).
Astaire was considered the better dancer of the duo, but Rogers had far greater acting range, as she proved with an Academy Award-winning performance in Kitty Foyle (1940). She was equally effective in the bubbly romantic farce The Major and the Minor (1942).
Rogers appeared regularly on screen throughout the 1940s and 1950s and returned briefly to the Broadway stage in 1965, replacing Carol Channing in Hello Dolly! In later years she made occasional television appearances and served as a fashion consultant for the J.C. Penney stores. Her autobiography, Ginger: My Story, was published in 1991.

Swing Time~Rogers and Astair

Al Jolson

Al Jolson (1886-1950),most noted for his role in the motion picture The Jazz Singer.
He was born Asa Yoelson in Seredzius, Russia (now in Lithuania). As a child he sang in the synagogue where his father was a cantor.
At the age of 13 he made his first stage appearance in Children of the Ghetto in New York City. He became a circus performer and café entertainer. Then he toured in vaudeville and with a company known as Dockstader's Minstrels; minstrel-style singing in blackface makeup became Jolson's trademark. In 1911 he made his musical comedy debut in La Belle Paree.
Jolson achieved wide popularity starring on Broadway in many musicals tailored to his talents; these included Robinson Crusoe, Jr. (1916), Sinbad (1918), Big Boy (1925), and Wonder Bar (1931). In 1927 he starred in The Jazz Singer, the first important motion picture with synchronized sound and the first of many successful films for the star. He was also a popular radio and recording artist.

Trailers from the movie "The Jazz Singer"
"Blue Skies" Toot Toot Tootsie" "My Mammy"

Blue Skies

Toot Toot Tootsie



My Mammy