Al Jolson - Toot, Toot, Tootsie (Goo’ Bye!)

1927 brought us The Jazz Singer, the first feature-length film to include (some) spoken dialogue. It starred Al Jolson, famous already for his work in vaudeville (especially blackface). The film itself suffers, but it’s importance remains in that it marked the end of the era of silent films and the beginning of popular ‘talkies.’

The very first words ever spoken in a full length feature film, “Wait a minute, wait a minute. You ain’t heard nothin’ yet!” were not in the script. Al Jolson said those words to continue a long-running joke after he’d interrupted the applause for operatic tenor Enrico Caruso in 1918 by running on stage and yelling “You ain’t heard nothin’ yet.” Jolson was notorious for his ego and if he weren’t the best-selling, most entertaining singer of his era, it would be easy to come down on him.