Vaudeville His most famous comedy
skit was called "Hello Mama" or "Phone Call from Mama," which portrayed a one-sided telephone conversation. In 1919 he produced his own solo show, ''George Jessel's Troubles''. Jessel co-wrote the lyrics for a hit tune, "Oh How I Laugh When I Think How I Cried About You," and he performed in several successful comedy stage shows in the early 1920s. In 1921 he recorded a hit single, "The Toastmaster." He sometimes appeared in
blackface in his vaudeville shows.
Film and broadcasting Jessel appeared in his first motion picture, the silent movie ''
The Other Man's Wife'' (1919). In 1924, he appeared in a brief comedy sketch in a short film made in the
DeForest Phonofilm sound-on-film process. In 1925, he emerged as one of the most popular leading men on Broadway with the starring role in the stage production of
The Jazz Singer. The success of the show prompted
Warner Bros.—after their success with
Don Juan (1926) with music and sound effects only—to adapt
The Jazz Singer as the first "
talkie" with dialogue and to cast Jessel in the lead role. However, the studio refused his salary demands, so Jessel turned down the movie role, which was eventually played by
Al Jolson. According to Jessel during an interview around 1980, Warner Bros. still owed Jessel money for earlier roles and lacked enough funds to produce this movie with a leading star. Jolson, the biographical inspiration for the movie, became the movie's main financial backer. Jessel's next movie role was in
Private Izzy Murphy (1926). Whereas Jolson's film career skyrocketed after the 1927 release of
The Jazz Singer, Jessel remained in smaller movie roles, often intended for audiences fond of Jewish and other "ethnic" humor. In the mid-1940s, he began producing musicals for
20th Century Fox, producing 24 films in all in a career that lasted through the 1950s and 1960s. At the same time he became known as a host on the banquet circuit, famous for his good-natured wit aimed at his fellow celebrities. In 1946, he was one of the founding members of the California branch of the
Friars Club. (A recording exists of an example of his "blue" work in front of a stag audience, although it was actually recorded at a
roast hosted by the Friars' rival, the Masquers Club.) He also traveled widely overseas with the
USO entertaining troops. As he grew older, he wrote eulogies for many of his contemporaries in Hollywood. He wrote three volumes of memoirs,
So Help Me (1943),
This Way, Miss (1955), and
The World I Lived In (1975). Jessel produced a number of Hollywood films, including
The Dolly Sisters (1945),
Nightmare Alley (1947),
Golden Girl (1951) and ''
The I Don't Care Girl'' (1953). In the early 1950s, he performed on the radio in
The George Jessel Show, which became a
television series of the same name from 1953 to 1954. He guest-starred on NBC's
The Jimmy Durante Show. In 1968, he starred in
Here Come the Stars, a syndicated variety show. However, his attempt to extend his career was undermined by a perception that his style of comedy was outdated, as well as by his outspoken support of the
American entry into the Vietnam War and of conservative political causes. Later film roles included a
cameo as himself in
Valley of the Dolls (1967),
The Busy Body (1967) opposite
Sid Caesar, and the controversial musical
Can Heironymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness? (1969) directed by and starring
Anthony Newley. He made additional cameos in other all-star films such as
The Phynx (1970) and
Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood (1976). His last film cameo appearances would be in
Reds (1981), where he was featured as one of numerous contemporaries of
John Reed and
Louise Bryant, and
The Other Side of the Wind, which was released in 2018. == Personal life ==