Isadore Borsuk (November 4, 1927 â€" September 19, 2016), better known
as Bobby Breen, was a Canadian-born American actor and singer. He was
a popular male child singer during the 1930s and reached major
popularity with film and radio appearances.Breen was born Isadore
Borsuk on November 4, 1927 (according to some sources he was born in
1928) in Montréal, Canada, the son of Hyman (Chaim) and Rebecca
Borsuk. His parents were poor Jewish immigrants from present-day
Ukraine. They, along with Breen's three older siblings (Gertrude,
Sally, and Michael), migrated from Kiev to Montreal, Quebec, Canada,
in 1927. Soon after, they relocated to Toronto. His singing talent as
a boy soprano was discovered at age three by his sister Sally, herself
an aspiring musical student who was several years his senior. While
their parents did not show any particular interest, Sally decided to
help him achieve stardom. With the assistance from her music teacher,
Breen got a chance to perform in front of an audience in a nightclub.
Soon, he began winning prizes in theatre competitions, providing
significant amount of income to the poor family. Due to his gained
popularity, the two siblings decided to look for work and recognition
in the United States. Financed by Sally, they traveled to Chicago by
bus in 1934, where he began working with people such as Gloria Swanson
and Milton Berle in local theater productions. Breen later relocated
to New York City. The foreign-sounding last name of Borsuk had been
anglicised to Breen prior to their arrival in the United States.Breen
went to Hollywood in 1935, where he received singing lessons from a
vocal coach. Film producer Sol Lesser, who had discovered Jackie
Coogan, signed Breen to RKO Radio Pictures. Around this time, he
became a regular performer on Eddie Cantor's weekly radio show in
1936, where his talents as a boy soprano were appreciated by the
listeners. Prior to the release of his first motion picture, Let's
Sing Again, he was compared to other child stars of the era such as
Freddie Bartholomew and Shirley Temple. In terms of his vocalist
abilities, he was described as a combination of Allan Jones, Nelson
Eddy and Al Jolson. His debut saw him being top-billed with Henry
Armetta as his co-star. He sang La donna è mobile, among other songs,
in the movie.
as Bobby Breen, was a Canadian-born American actor and singer. He was
a popular male child singer during the 1930s and reached major
popularity with film and radio appearances.Breen was born Isadore
Borsuk on November 4, 1927 (according to some sources he was born in
1928) in Montréal, Canada, the son of Hyman (Chaim) and Rebecca
Borsuk. His parents were poor Jewish immigrants from present-day
Ukraine. They, along with Breen's three older siblings (Gertrude,
Sally, and Michael), migrated from Kiev to Montreal, Quebec, Canada,
in 1927. Soon after, they relocated to Toronto. His singing talent as
a boy soprano was discovered at age three by his sister Sally, herself
an aspiring musical student who was several years his senior. While
their parents did not show any particular interest, Sally decided to
help him achieve stardom. With the assistance from her music teacher,
Breen got a chance to perform in front of an audience in a nightclub.
Soon, he began winning prizes in theatre competitions, providing
significant amount of income to the poor family. Due to his gained
popularity, the two siblings decided to look for work and recognition
in the United States. Financed by Sally, they traveled to Chicago by
bus in 1934, where he began working with people such as Gloria Swanson
and Milton Berle in local theater productions. Breen later relocated
to New York City. The foreign-sounding last name of Borsuk had been
anglicised to Breen prior to their arrival in the United States.Breen
went to Hollywood in 1935, where he received singing lessons from a
vocal coach. Film producer Sol Lesser, who had discovered Jackie
Coogan, signed Breen to RKO Radio Pictures. Around this time, he
became a regular performer on Eddie Cantor's weekly radio show in
1936, where his talents as a boy soprano were appreciated by the
listeners. Prior to the release of his first motion picture, Let's
Sing Again, he was compared to other child stars of the era such as
Freddie Bartholomew and Shirley Temple. In terms of his vocalist
abilities, he was described as a combination of Allan Jones, Nelson
Eddy and Al Jolson. His debut saw him being top-billed with Henry
Armetta as his co-star. He sang La donna è mobile, among other songs,
in the movie.
Share this
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
Join us for free and get valuable content delivered right through your inbox.