Sybil Jason

Born: 1927-11-23

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Sybil Jacon was a South African-born, American child film actress who, in the late 1930s, was presented as a rival to Shirley Temple. Born in Cape Town, South Africa, she 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. Irving Asher, 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, directed by Michael Curtiz and co-starring Glenda Farrell, 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, Al Jolson in The Singing Kid, Pat O'Brien and Humphrey Bogart in The Great O'Malley, and again with Kay Francis in Comet Over Broadway. Warners also starred her in The Captain's Kid, 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 and The Blue Bird — were supported Temple, who became her lifelong friend.


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The Little Princess

as Becky
Released: 1939-03-17

A little girl goes in search of her father who is reported missing by the military during the...

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The Blue Bird

as Angela Berlingot
Released: 1940-01-15

An ungrateful girl and her little brother are transported in their dreams by a fairy to a...

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The Great O'Malley

as Barbara 'Babs' Phillips
Released: 1937-02-13

His role in the plight of an unemployed man (Humphrey Bogart) and his disabled daughter...

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Comet Over Broadway

as Jackie
Released: 1938-12-03

Story of a rising stage star and the trouble she causes by her ambition.

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I Found Stella Parish

as Gloria Parish
Released: 1935-11-16

A blackmailer preys on an actress who is trying to protect her daughter from her past.

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Musical Movieland

as Scottish Girl
Released: 1944-09-09

A group of tourists is given a tour of a movie studio lot. They see the various permanent sets...

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Little Big Shot

as Gloria Gibbs
Released: 1935-09-07

A con man and his partner inherit a dead gangster's precocious daughter.

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The Singing Kid

as Sybil Haines
Released: 1936-04-10

Neurotic Broadway star Al Jackson faces professional ruin when he loses his voice. While...

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Woman Doctor

as Elsa Graeme
Released: 1939-02-06

Woman Doctor is a 1939 American drama film

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Little Pioneer

as Betsy Manning
Released: 1937-06-25

In 1880 South Africa, young Betsy has an adventure involving Zulu Tribesmen, Dutch Settlers, The...

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A Dream Comes True

as Herself (uncredited)
Released: 1935-12-31

A promotional short to hype the production of A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935).

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A Day at Santa Anita

as Peaches Blackburn
Released: 1937-05-22

Orphaned horse-trainer's little daughter has reciprocated bond with horse, which needs her...

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The Captain's Kid

as Abigail Prentiss
Released: 1936-11-14

In this children's adventure, the children of a small town are enthralled by the tales of the...

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Dance Band

as Little Girl On Train
Released: 1935-07-01

Life gets complicated for bandleader Buddy when he falls for his greatest rival – the leader of...

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The Littlest Diplomat

as Sybil Hardwick
Released: 1937-09-06

Young Sybil visits her grandfather, a British Colonel stationed at a garrison in India, and she...

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