Since the beginning of time, humans have found ways to entertain themselves. Of course these forms of entertainment have changed drastically from then till now. One of the most influential decades of modern entertainment was the Jazz Era, or the 1920's. The 1920's brought forth the beginning popularity of entertainment such as movies and television, radio, jazz music, and the occasional fads which were the "it" activity for one week and forgotten about the next.

Movie and television stars really began to shine in the 20's. In the earlier years, all movies were silent (Brittan 21). Not completely silent; there were instruments and sound effects in the background, but without spoken words. Charlie Chaplin, who portrayed the Little Tramp, was one of the silent-era's most famous stars. With his trademark waddle and comedic but sincere films Chaplin created a classic, memorable character

(Brittan 44-45). Near the later part of the 20's, movies went through the evolution from silent to sound. In 1927 the first fully spoken movie, starring Al Jolson, was brought to theaters. This revolutionary film called the Jazz Singer, being the first "talkie" movie ever made, br

The reason that music became so popular in this decade was

brass instruments, but frequently also included the saxophone, a violin, cornet, piano, and drums (Jackson 9). The first known Big Band leader was a man named Johann Strauss (9). In the 20's however, one of the most famous composers of jazz music was a man by the name of Duke Ellington. Like many other Big Band leaders at this time, Ellington was a young black man whose career started in the 20's and progressed into later years (B3). Another very popular jazz artist was George Gershwin. Unlike many of the other jazz composers of this era, George was white and did not lead a Big Band. He was a jazz pianist who wrote many

because of World War One. Music became an escape during and after the war for those who had been deeply affected by it. It helped them forget their problems and the ugliness of war, and therefore was not only a source of entertainment for many people, but also a sort of therapy (Jackson 10).

orchestrated and theater pieces, which are still often heard today. Some of his most famous works are Rhapsody in Blue, Porgy and Bess, and I Got Rythem.

grow more widely liked and profitable in the 20's (27). People began to idolize sports figures, making them seem more like heroes than normal people. Babe Ruth, Bobby Jones, and Bill Tilden were just a few of these new sports icons (28). Indeed, Hollywood had become a large influence in the lives of America's public.

music in general, radio gradually grew in popularity (B3). From this early start in the 20's is where radio spawned into the su

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Approximate Word count = 1064
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)