# Sybil Jason > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Sybil_Jason > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Sybil_Jason.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sybil_Jason > Source revision: 1340308395 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|American actress (1927–2011)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}} {{Infobox person | name = Sybil Jason | image = Sybil Jason in The Little Princess (cropped).jpg | caption = Jason in ''[The Little Princess](/source/The_Little_Princess_(1939_film))'' (1939) | birth_name = Sybil Jacobson | birth_date = {{birth date|1927|11|23|df=yes}} | birth_place = [Cape Town, South Africa](/source/Cape_Town%2C_South_Africa) | death_date = {{death date and age|2011|08|23|1927|11|23|df=yes}} | death_place = [Northridge, California](/source/Northridge%2C_California), U.S. | resting_place = [Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Hollywood Hills](/source/Forest_Lawn_Memorial_Park_(Hollywood_Hills)) | occupation = Actress, singer | years_active = 1931–1940 | spouse = {{marriage|Anthony Drake|1947|2005|reason=died}} }} '''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](/source/Shirley_Temple).{{cite book| first=Sybil| last=Jason| title=My Fifteen Minutes: An Autobiography of a Child Star of the Golden Era of Hollywood| year=2005| publisher=Bear Manor Media| location=Boalsburg, Penn.| isbn=978-1-5939-3023-3}} ==Career== {{More citations needed section|date=May 2024}} Born in Cape Town, South Africa, on 23 November 1927,{{cite news| url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/sybil-jason-child-star-and-screen-rival-to-shirley-temple-dies-at-83/2011/08/26/gIQAJBw7gJ_story.html| title=Sybil Jason, child star and screen rival to Shirley Temple, dies at 83| newspaper=[The Washington Post](/source/The_Washington_Post)| accessdate=27 August 2011| first=Ben| last=Pershing| date=28 August 2011| url-access=subscription}} Sybil Jason began playing the piano at age two and, a year later, began making public appearances doing impersonations of [Maurice Chevalier](/source/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](/source/Gracie_Fields). The apex of her career came with a concert performance with [Frances Day](/source/Frances_Day) at London's [Palace Theatre](/source/Palace_Theatre%2C_London). Her theatre work led to appearances on radio and phonograph records as well as a supporting role in the film ''[Barnacle Bill](/source/Barnacle_Bill_(1935_film))'' (1935). [Irving Asher](/source/Irving_Asher), the head of [Warner Bros.](/source/Warner_Bros._Pictures)' 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](/source/Little_Big_Shot_(1935_film))'' (1935), directed by [Michael Curtiz](/source/Michael_Curtiz) and co-starring [Glenda Farrell](/source/Glenda_Farrell), [Robert Armstrong](/source/Robert_Armstrong_(actor)), and [Edward Everett Horton](/source/Edward_Everett_Horton). Jason followed this with supporting roles opposite some of Warner Bros. most popular stars, including [Kay Francis](/source/Kay_Francis) in ''[I Found Stella Parish](/source/I_Found_Stella_Parish)'' (1935), [Al Jolson](/source/Al_Jolson) in ''[The Singing Kid](/source/The_Singing_Kid)'' (1936), [Pat O'Brien](/source/Pat_O'Brien_(actor)) and [Humphrey Bogart](/source/Humphrey_Bogart) in ''The Great O'Malley'' (1937), and again with Kay Francis in ''[Comet Over Broadway](/source/Comet_Over_Broadway)'' (1938). Warners also starred her in ''The Captain's Kid'' (1937), and four [Vitaphone](/source/Vitaphone) two-reelers filmed in [Technicolor](/source/Technicolor): ''Changing of the Guard'', ''A Day at Santa Anita'', ''[Little Pioneer](/source/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](/source/20th-Century_Fox). These films — ''[The Little Princess](/source/The_Little_Princess_(1939_film))'' (1939) and ''[The Blue Bird](/source/The_Blue_Bird_(1940_film))'' (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.{{cite news| title=Sybil Jason, Cherubic Child Actress, Dies at 83| author=Slotnik, Daniel E.| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/30/movies/sybil-jason-cherubic-child-actress-dies-at-83.html| newspaper=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)| date=29 August 2011| accessdate=20 December 2011| url-access=subscription}} Their daughter, Toni Maryanna Rossi, is married to Phillip W. Rossi, producer of ''[The New Price Is Right](/source/The_Price_Is_Right_(U.S._game_show))''.{{Citation needed |date=February 2023}} She became a naturalized United States citizen in 1952.{{cite web| url=http://interactive.ancestrylibrary.com/3998/40735_1220701439_0114-01023/1902765?backurl=http%3a%2f%2fsearch.ancestrylibrary.com%2f%2fcgi-bin%2fsse.dll%3fgss%3dangs-g%26new%3d1%26rank%3d1%26gsfn%3dSybil%26gsfn_x%3d0%26gsln%3dJason%26gsln_x%3d0%26mswpn__ftp%3dSouth%2bAfrica%26mswpn%3d5206%26mswpn_PInfo%3d3-%257c0%257c1652395%257c0%257c5206%257c0%257c0%257c0%257c0%257c0%257c0%257c%26MSAV%3d0%26msbdy%3d1927%26catbucket%3drstp%26uidh%3d57k%26pcat%3dROOT_CATEGORY%26h%3d1902765%26recoff%3d8%2b21%2b23%26db%3dLosAngelsCANaturalization%26indiv%3d1%26ml_rpos%3d3&ssrc=&backlabel=ReturnRecord| title=Sybil Jason Fromlak's Petition for Naturalization as a United States Citizen (dated 16 September 1952), #154384| website=Ancestry.com| access-date=14 October 2015| url-access=subscription}} == Death == Sybil Jason died in 2011 and was buried at the [Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Hollywood Hills](/source/Forest_Lawn_Memorial_Park_(Hollywood_Hills)).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. ==Legacy== * Sybil Jason was an active member in the International Al Jolson Society and made frequent appearances at celebrity shows throughout the United States.{{cite news |title=Sybil Jason |url=https://www.thetimes.com/travel/destinations/uk-travel/england/london-travel/sybil-jason-62jl58x2hjt |date=29 August 2011 |newspaper=[The Times](/source/The_Times) |location=London |access-date=2023-04-04 |language=en |url-access=subscription}}{{Cite web |title=Al Jolson & Sybil Jason |url=https://www.jolson.org/link/sybil/jason.html |access-date=2023-02-28 |website=www.jolson.org}} * Her autobiography ''My Fifteen Minutes: An Autobiography of a Child Star of the Golden Era of Hollywood'' was published in 2004.{{cite news |last=Barnes |first=Mike |date=2011-08-27 |title=Shirley Temple Rival Sybil Jason Dies at 83 |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/shirley-temple-rival-sybil-jason-228545/ |access-date=2023-02-28 |newspaper=[The Hollywood Reporter](/source/The_Hollywood_Reporter) |language=en-US}} She also wrote a stage musical, ''Garage Sale''.{{cite news |date=2011-09-04 |title=Sybil Jason: Child actor who became Warner Bros' riposte to the phenomenal success of Shirley Temple |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/sybil-jason-child-actor-who-became-warner-bros-riposte-to-the-phenomenal-success-of-shirley-temple-2349261.html |access-date=2023-02-28 |newspaper=[The Independent](/source/The_Independent) |location=London |language=en}} ==Filmography== {|class="wikitable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes |- | 1934 | ''[He Was Her Man](/source/He_Was_Her_Man)'' | Little Girl | Uncredited |- | rowspan=6|1935 | ''[Barnacle Bill](/source/Barnacle_Bill_(1935_film))'' | Jill as a child | |- | ''[Dance Band](/source/Dance_Band)'' | Girl on train | |- | ''[Broadway Gondolier](/source/Broadway_Gondolier)'' | | (scenes deleted) |- | ''[Little Big Shot](/source/Little_Big_Shot_(1935_film))'' | Gloria "Countess" Gibbs | |- | ''A Dream Comes True'' | Herself | Uncredited |- | ''[I Found Stella Parish](/source/I_Found_Stella_Parish)'' | Gloria Parish | |- | rowspan=3|1936 | ''[The Singing Kid](/source/The_Singing_Kid)'' | Sybil Haines | |- | ''Changing of the Guard'' | Sybil | Short |- | ''[The Captain's Kid](/source/The_Captain's_Kid)'' | Abigail Prentiss | |- | rowspan=4|1937 | ''[The Great O'Malley](/source/The_Great_O'Malley)'' | Barbara "Babs" Phillips | |- | ''A Day at Santa Anita'' | Peaches Blackburn | Short |- | ''[Little Pioneer](/source/Little_Pioneer)'' | Betsy Manning | Short |- | ''The Littlest Diplomat'' | Sybil Hardwick | Short |- | 1938 | ''[Comet Over Broadway](/source/Comet_Over_Broadway)'' | Jacqueline "Jackie" Appleton | |- | rowspan=2|1939 | ''[Woman Doctor](/source/Woman_Doctor)'' | Elsa Graeme | |- | ''[The Little Princess](/source/The_Little_Princess_(1939_film))'' | Becky | |- | 1940 | ''[The Blue Bird](/source/The_Blue_Bird_(1940_film))'' | Angela Berlingot | (final film role) |} ==Bibliography== *{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B4FSAAAACAAJ |last=Jason |first=Sybil |year=2004 |title=My Fifteen Minutes: An autobiography of a child star of the Golden Age of Hollywood |publisher=BearManor Media |isbn=978-1-59393-023-3}} *{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kE77HgAACAAJ |last=Jason |first=Sybil |title=5 Minutes More |publisher=BearManor Media |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-59393-115-5}} *{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VR-jDwAAQBAJ |last=Jason |first=Sybil |title=What's It All About, Sybil? |year=2013 |publisher=BearManor Media |isbn=978-1-59393-540-5}} ==References== {{reflist}} ==Further reading== * Best, Marc (1971) ''Those Endearing Young Charms: Child Performers of the Screen'', South Brunswick and New York: Barnes & Co, pp. 128–133. ==External links== {{Commons category}} * {{IMDb name|0419279}} * {{Tcmdb name}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Jason, Sybil}} Category:1927 births Category:2011 deaths Category:20th-century American actresses Category:20th-century South African actresses Category:American child actresses Category:20th-century American women singers Category:20th-century American singers Category:American film actresses Category:South African child actresses Category:South African emigrants to the United States Category:20th-century South African women singers Category:South African film actresses Category:Warner Bros. contract players Category:Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) Category:Actresses from Cape Town Category:21st-century American women --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Sybil Jason](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sybil_Jason) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sybil_Jason?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.