Sybil Jason (born Sybil Jacobson; 23 November 1927 – 23 August 2011) was an American child film actress who, in the late 1930s, was presented as a rival to Shirley Temple.[1]
Born in Cape Town, South Africa, on 23 November 1927,[2] Sybil Jason began playing the piano at age two and, a year later, began making public appearances doing impersonations of Maurice Chevalier. 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. The apex of her career came with a concert performance with Frances Day at London's Palace Theatre. Her theatre work led to appearances on radio and phonograph records as well as a supporting role in the film Barnacle Bill (1935).
Jason followed this with supporting roles opposite some of Warner Bros. most popular stars, including Kay Francis in I Found Stella Parish (1935), Al Jolson in The Singing Kid (1936), Pat O'Brien and Humphrey Bogart in The Great O'Malley (1937), and again with Kay Francis in Comet Over Broadway (1938). Warners also starred her in The Captain's Kid (1937), and four Vitaphone two-reelers filmed in Technicolor: Changing of the Guard, A Day at Santa Anita, Little Pioneer, 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.[2]
Personal life
Jason married Anthony Albert Fromlak (aka Anthony Drake) on 30 December 1950. He died in 2005.[3] Their daughter, Toni Maryanna Rossi, is married to Phillip W. Rossi, producer of The New Price Is Right.[citation needed]
She became a naturalized United States citizen in 1952.[4]
Sybil Jason was an active member in the International Al Jolson Society and made frequent appearances at celebrity shows throughout the United States.[6][7]
Her autobiography My Fifteen Minutes: An Autobiography of a Child Star of the Golden Era of Hollywood was published in 2004.[8] She also wrote a stage musical, Garage Sale.[9]
^Jason, Sybil (2005). My Fifteen Minutes: An Autobiography of a Child Star of the Golden Era of Hollywood. Boalsburg, Penn.: Bear Manor Media. ISBN978-1-5939-3023-3.
^Wilson, Scott. Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed.: 2 (Kindle Locations 25047-25048). McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. Kindle Edition.