Sybil Jason (born Sybil Jacobson; 23 November 1927 – 23 August 2011) was a South African-born, American child film actress who, in the late 1930s, was presented as a rival to

Shirley Temple Shirley Temple Black (born Shirley Jane Temple;While Temple occasionally used "Jane" as a middle name, her birth certificate reads "Shirley Temple". Her birth certificate was altered to prolong her babyhood shortly after she signed with Fox in ...

Career

Born in Cape Town, South Africa, on 23 November 1927, Sybil Jason began playing the piano at age two and, a year later, began making public appearances doing impersonations of

Maurice Chevalier Maurice Auguste Chevalier (; 12 September 1888 – 1 January 1972) was a French singer, actor and entertainer. He is perhaps best known for his signature songs, including " Livin' In The Sunlight", " Valentine", " Louise", " Mimi", and " Thank H ...

. She was introduced to the theatre-going public of London by way of her uncle, Harry Jacobson, a then-popular London orchestra leader and also pianist for

Gracie Fields Dame Gracie Fields (born Grace Stansfield; 9 January 189827 September 1979) was an English actress, singer, comedian and star of cinema and music hall who was one of the top ten film stars in Britain during the 1930s and was considered the h ...

. The apex of her career came with a concert performance with

Frances Day Frances Day (born Frances Victoria Schenk; December 16, 1907April 29, 1984) was an American actress and singer who achieved great popularity in the UK in the 1930s. Her career began as a nightclub cabaret singer in New York City and London. ...

at London's

Palace Theatre Palace Theatre, or Palace Theater, is the name of many theatres in different countries, including: Australia * Palace Theatre, Melbourne, Victoria *Palace Theatre, Sydney, New South Wales Canada *Palace Theatre, housed in the Robillard Block, M ...

. Her theatre work led to appearances on radio and phonograph records as well as a supporting role in the film '' Barnacle Bill'' (1935).

Irving Asher Irving Asher (September 1903 – March 1985) was an American film producer. Born in San Francisco in September 1903, he began his film production career in Hollywood in 1919. After joining the staff of Warner Brothers he was sent over to England a ...

, the head of Warner Bros.' London studio, saw Jason's performance in ''Barnacle Bill'' and arranged for her to make a screen test for the studio. The test was a success, resulting in Warner Bros. signing her to a contract. Her American film debut came as the lead in '' Little Big Shot'' (1935), directed by

Michael Curtiz Michael Curtiz ( ; born Manó Kaminer; since 1905 Mihály Kertész; hu, Kertész Mihály; December 24, 1886 April 10, 1962) was a Hungarian-American film director, recognized as one of the most prolific directors in history. He directed cla ...

and co-starring

Glenda Farrell Glenda Farrell (June 30, 1904 – May 1, 1971) was an American actress. Farrell personified the smart and sassy, wisecracking blonde of the Classical Hollywood films. Farrell's career spanned more than 50 years, appearing in numerous Broadwa ...

, Robert Armstrong, and Edward Everett Horton. Jason followed this with supporting roles opposite some of Warner Bros. most popular stars, including Kay Francis in ''

I Found Stella Parish ''I Found Stella Parish'' is a 1935 melodrama starring Kay Francis as a beloved actress whose dark secret is revealed to the world.. Plot In London, Stella Parish (Kay Francis) has her greatest stage triumph in a play produced and directed by Ste ...

'' (1935),

Al Jolson Al Jolson (born Eizer Yoelson; June 9, 1886 – October 23, 1950) was a Lithuanian-American Jewish singer, comedian, actor, and vaudevillian. He was one of the United States' most famous and highest-paid stars of the 1920s, and was self-billed ...

in ''The Singing Kid'' (1936), Pat O'Brien and

Humphrey Bogart Humphrey DeForest Bogart (; December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957), nicknamed Bogie, was an American film and stage actor. His performances in Classical Hollywood cinema films made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film In ...

in ''The Great O'Malley'' (1937), and again with Kay Francis in ''

Comet Over Broadway ''Comet over Broadway'' (1938) is an American film starring Kay Francis and released by Warner Brothers. John Farrow stepped in as director when Busby Berkeley became ill, but Farrow was uncredited on the film. Plot Eve Appleton (Francis), wife ...

'' (1938). Warners also starred her in ''The Captain's Kid'' (1937), and four

Vitaphone Vitaphone was a sound film system used for feature films and nearly 1,000 short subjects made by Warner Bros. and its sister studio First National from 1926 to 1931. Vitaphone was the last major analog sound-on-disc system and the only one ...

two-reelers filmed in

Technicolor Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...

: ''Changing of the Guard'', ''A Day at Santa Anita'', ''

Little Pioneer ''Little Pioneer'' was a 1937 Warner Brothers/Vitaphone short subject. Plot outline In 1880 South Africa, young Betsy has an adventure involving Zulu tribesmen, Dutch settlers, the Voortrekkers, and her older brother's romance of Katie Snee. Cre ...

,'' and ''The Littlest Diplomat''. Jason never became the major rival to Shirley Temple that Warner Bros. had hoped, and her film career ended after playing two supporting roles at 20th-Century Fox. These films — '' The Little Princess'' (1939) and '' The Blue Bird'' (1940) — supported Temple, who became her lifelong friend.

Personal life

Jason married Anthony Albert Fromlak (aka Anthony Drake) on 30 December 1950. He died in 2005. Their daughter, Toni Maryanna Rossi, is married to Phillip W. Rossi, producer of '' The New Price Is Right''. Sybil Jason became a naturalized United States citizen in 1952. She died in 2011 and was buried at the

Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Hollywood Hills Forest Lawn Memorial Park – Hollywood Hills is one of the six Forest Lawn cemeteries in Southern California. It is located at 6300 Forest Lawn Drive, Los Angeles, California 90068, in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles. Histor ...

Legacy

* Sybil Jason was an active member in the International Al Jolson Society and made frequent appearances at celebrity shows throughout the United States. * Her autobiography ''My Fifteen Minutes: An Autobiography of a Child Star of the Golden Era of Hollywood'' was published in 2004. She also wrote a stage musical, ''Garage Sale''.

Filmography

Bibliography

* * *

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jason, Sybil 1927 births 2011 deaths 20th-century American actresses 20th-century South African actresses American child actresses 20th-century American women singers 20th-century American singers American film actresses South African child actresses South African emigrants to the United States 20th-century South African women singers South African film actresses Warner Bros. contract players Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) Actresses from Cape Town 21st-century American women