George Jessel

Acting

George Jessel

Born April 3, 1898 · The Bronx, New York City, New York, USA

Died May 23, 1981 · aged 83

George Albert "Georgie" Jessel (April 3, 1898 – May 23, 1981) was an American actor, singer, songwriter, and film producer. He was famous in his lifetime as a multitalented comedic entertainer, achieving a level of recognition that transcended his limited roles in movies. He was widely known by his nickname, the "Toastmaster General of the United States," for his frequent role as the master of cer…

Known For

Valley of the DollsValley of the Dolls · 1967
Valley of the Dolls
6.01967
MovieDramaRomance
Lured by their dreams of fame and fortune, three ambitious young women enter the world of show business and discover how easy it is to sink into a celebrity nightmare of ego, alcohol and pills — the beloved "dolls."
Nightmare AlleyNightmare Alley · 1947
Nightmare Alley
7.21947
MovieDramaThriller
A roustabout joins a traveling carny and schemes to figure out the mind-reading act of Mademoiselle Zeena and her alcoholic husband.
The Other Side of the WindThe Other Side of the Wind · 2018
The Other Side of the Wind
6.72018
MovieDrama
At a media-swamped party to celebrate his seventieth birthday and screen his avant-garde film-in-progress, a legendary but jaded Hollywood director is faced both with voracious fans and unsettling questions about what became of his lead actor.
Four Jills in a JeepFour Jills in a Jeep · 1944
Four Jills in a Jeep
6.81944
MovieComedyMusic
Reenactments of actual USO experiences of its female stars entertaining troops overseas.
Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved HollywoodWon Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood · 1976
Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood
4.41976
MovieComedy
A would-be filmmaker and actress shake up the industry with a trick dog who gets discovered by a studio bus driver in the 1920s.
Vivacious LadyVivacious Lady · 1938
Vivacious Lady
7.01938
MovieComedyRomance
College town life gets turned upside down after a button-down botany professor secretly weds a sizzling night-club singer.
Stage Door CanteenStage Door Canteen · 1943
Stage Door Canteen
6.31943
MovieComedyRomance
A young soldier on a pass in New York City visits the famed Stage Door Canteen, where famous stars of theatre and film appear and host a recreational center for servicemen during the war. The soldier meets a pretty young hostess and they enjoy the many entertainers and a growing romance.
Love, Live & LaughLove, Live & Laugh · 1929
Love, Live & Laugh
9.01929
MovieDrama
Any movie that starts Jewish entertainer George Jessel as an Italian accordionist named Luigi can't be all bad. In love with the beautiful Margharita (Lila Lee), Luigi lands a job in the music store owned by the girl's uncle. Ultimately, however, our hero does the Pagliacci act when Margharita evinces a preference for handsome Pasquale (David Rollins). The film's best scene takes place in a nursery full of talented tots, a sequence that undoubtedly reminded Jessel of his days with Gus Edwards' "Schoolroom" act. Exercising his droit du seigneur, Georgie Jessel sings the title tune.

Filmography

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The I Don't Care GirlThe I Don't Care Girl · 1953
The I Don't Care Girl
7.31953
MovieMusic
This semi-film within a film opens in the office of producer George Jessel, who never saw a camera he couldn't get in front of, who is holding a story conference to determine the screen treatment for the life of Eva Tanguay, and Jessel is unhappy with what the writers present him.He tells them to look up Eddie McCoy, Eva's one-time partner, for the real inside story on the lusty and vital Eva. Eddie's version is that he discovered her working as a waitress in an Indianapolis restaurant in 1912, wherein singer Larry Woods and his partner Charles Bennett get into a fight over her and both land in the hospital, and McCoy convinces the manager to put Eva on as a single to fill their spot. She flopped, but McCoy arranges for Bennett to be her accompanist, and she went out of his life. The writers look up Bennett, now head of a music publishing company, who says McCoy's story is phony, and it was Flo Zigfeld who discovered Eva for his Follies.

Producer

Private Izzy MurphyPrivate Izzy Murphy · 1926
Private Izzy Murphy
8.01926
MovieComedyDrama
Isadore "Izzy" Goldberg changes his name to I. Patrick Murphy because his store is in an Irish-neighborhood in New York City. He meets Eileen Cohannigan, the daughter of a meat-packer, and he tells her he is Irish and a romance begins. When America enters World War I, "Izzy" enlists, is sent to France, and is wounded while engaged in a heroic rescue during a big battle. While recovering in an overseas hospital, he writes Eileen and tells her he is Jewish and not Irish. Returning home, he is parading with his regiment and he sees Eileen with Robert O'Malley, his old rival. He thinks she has thrown him over because he is Jewish. An Irish lodge comes to bestow an honor on the man they think is Patrick Murphy, an Irish hero. But O'Malley tells them his real name is Goldberg. But Eileen tels him it is he she loves, and they head for the marriage-license bureau.

I. Patrick Murphy

Can Heironymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness?Can Heironymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness? · 1969
Can Heironymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness?
4.81969
MovieComedyMusic
Heironymus Merkin is an internationally successful singer approaching middle age who retells his life story in a series of production numbers on a seashore in front of his two toddlers and aged mother. Merkin's promiscuous relationships with women are explored, particularly Polyester Poontang and the adolescent Mercy Humppe. Merkin is constantly surrounded by a Satan-like procurer, Goodtime Eddie Filth, and an angelic 'Presence' who interrupts Merkin's biography with cryptic Borscht Belt-level jokes to denote births and deaths in Merkin's life. Newley periodically steps out of character to complain about his 'Merkin' role with an unseen director, two screenwriters, the film's producers and a trio of blasé movie critics who are turned off by the story's eroticism and lack of plot.

The Presence