You are clearly an Al Jolson fan (as am I), but the fact is, Mdlle. Deslys had a fragile, effervescent charm; audiences loved her as much as Jolson (at least on the same stage) loathed her.
@footlightnotes Sorry. As a Jolson SCHOLAR and professor of music history, (and quite a fan of Mlle, DeLys) she did NOT up-stage Jolson. First of all, by all accounts she was a LADY. She would not up-stage anyone. Secondly, when Jolson did steal the scene from her and began improvising to the tumultuous applause of the audience, she very graciously took a seat on stage and remained, respectfully, still.
With all due respect to the author: Gaby Deslys did not upstage AL JOLSON; within 3 months of the opening at the Winter Garden, Mr. Jolson took TOP billing from Ms.
for those who've never heard of Gaby Deslys, she was a captivating actress, singer, dancer caught somewhere between girl-and-woman. She and perhaps Lillian Russell were two of the most photographed women 100 years ago. Theatre books usually have some mention of Gaby for she had a short life dying in 1920 before talking movies. At least one recent biography has been written on her. Now with the internet available dozens of her pictures many of them rare can be seen once again.
How do you pronounce her last name ?
TaraMoriah 7 months ago in playlist 20th Century part I
@TaraMoriah I'm not exactly sure, but having a rather rudimentary knowledge or French, I would assume it's pronounced "day-lee".
grooveyloop 5 months ago
@TaraMoriah
"day-lees "
papoocanada 3 months ago
MUCH better voice than I'd ever expected!
albanybeardguy 1 year ago
You are clearly an Al Jolson fan (as am I), but the fact is, Mdlle. Deslys had a fragile, effervescent charm; audiences loved her as much as Jolson (at least on the same stage) loathed her.
footlightnotes 1 year ago
@footlightnotes Sorry. As a Jolson SCHOLAR and professor of music history, (and quite a fan of Mlle, DeLys) she did NOT up-stage Jolson. First of all, by all accounts she was a LADY. She would not up-stage anyone. Secondly, when Jolson did steal the scene from her and began improvising to the tumultuous applause of the audience, she very graciously took a seat on stage and remained, respectfully, still.
You do her a great injustice.
LazlosPlane 1 month ago
@LazlosPlane
Nobody, male or female could upstage Jolson.
He was the BEST stage entertainer EVER.
ugha323a 2 weeks ago
With all due respect to the author: Gaby Deslys did not upstage AL JOLSON; within 3 months of the opening at the Winter Garden, Mr. Jolson took TOP billing from Ms.
Deslys. In retrospect, one can understand why!
kachzvi7 1 year ago
She even has her own Wikipedia entry that tells about her dying of complications from a throat infection.
MadameLil 1 year ago
for those who've never heard of Gaby Deslys, she was a captivating actress, singer, dancer caught somewhere between girl-and-woman. She and perhaps Lillian Russell were two of the most photographed women 100 years ago. Theatre books usually have some mention of Gaby for she had a short life dying in 1920 before talking movies. At least one recent biography has been written on her. Now with the internet available dozens of her pictures many of them rare can be seen once again.
deepseadirt 1 year ago
and she was girlfriend of the portuguese king D. Manuel II
tossedecao 1 year ago
now i understant why king manuel fell in love with her :)
xXxFreakGirlxXx 1 year ago
I liked her little laugh at the end. : )
RupertDCD27 1 year ago