British postcard in the Picturegoer Series, London, no. 1118. Photo: Radio.
British postcard in the Picturegoer Series, London, no. 1118b. Photo: Radio. Bobby Breen in Rainbow on the River (Kurt Neumann, 1936).
Boy soprano
Bobby Breen was born Isadore Borsuk in Montréal, Canada, in 1925 (though some sources claim 1927 or 1928). He was the son of Hyman (Chaim) and Rebecca Borsuk. His parents were poor Jewish immigrants from Ukraine. They, along with Breen's three older siblings (Gertrude, Sally, and Michael), migrated from Kyiv to Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in 1927. Soon after, they relocated to Toronto.
His singing talent as a boy soprano was discovered at the age of three by his sister, Sally, herself an aspiring musical student several years his senior. Although their parents showed no particular interest, Sally decided to help him achieve stardom.
With the help of her music teacher, Breen had the chance to perform in front of an audience at a nightclub. Soon, he began winning prizes in theatre competitions, which provided a significant amount of income for the poor family.
Because of his newfound popularity, the two siblings decided to seek work and recognition in the United States. Financed by Sally, they travelled to Chicago by bus in 1934, where he began working with people such as Gloria Swanson and Milton Berle in local theatre productions.
Bobby and Sally Breen later relocated to New York City. The foreign-sounding last name Borsuk had been Anglicised to Breen before they arrived in the United States.
Vintage postcard. Photo: R.K.O.
Dutch postcard by J.S.A., no. 112. Sent by mail in 1941. Photo: R.K.O. Radio Pictures.
A deal with RKO
Bobby 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. In 1936, he became a regular performer on Eddie Cantor's weekly CBS radio show, Texaco Town. Before the release of his first film, 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 vocal abilities, he was described as a combination of Allan Jones, Nelson Eddy and Al Jolson.
His debut, Let's Sing Again (Kurt Neumann, 1936), saw him being top-billed with Henry Armetta as his co-star. He sang 'La donna è mobile' and other songs in the film. He also signed a contract with Decca Records and had moderate success with a series of 78 rpm records in the late 1930s. The title song from 'Let's Sing Again' would become a success in the summer of 1936. Satisfied with his debut for the studio, RKO signed a deal with him for three additional films.
He was cast in another musical, Rainbow on the River (Kurt Neumann, 1936), co-starring May Robson and Alan Mowbray. He sang 'Ave Maria' and the film's title song 'Rainbow on the River'. The film is about a boy from the Southern States who is raised by a former slave after the Civil War. Kurt Neumann, who had directed Breen in his first two pictures, worked with him for the last time in Make a Wish (Kurt Neumann, 1937) with Basil Rathbone.
By the time he had completed his eighth film, Escape to Paradise (Erle C. Kenton, 1939), his voice was gradually changing due to puberty. As a result, he retired from the film industry, despite having been contracted for two additional films, and instead focused on his education at Beverly Hills High School. He had earned so much money that his family was able to buy a house in California.He described the sudden voice change in a 1977 article: "When you've been a child star and suddenly find yourself with a husky voice, it's hard to convince agents that you're not over the hill. I stopped singing at 16 because of the huskiness and took up the piano. I had the knack for it, but never wanted to be a concert pianist. I just wanted to be back in the world I'd known all my life."
His popularity did not wane immediately during his hiatus. Breen received mail from numerous fans across the United States and the United Kingdom. He briefly returned to the screen in 1942 to appear as himself in Johnny Doughboy (John H. Auer, 1942), starring Jane Withers. The film did not afford him the chance to sing solo but only gave him one number, shared with Carl 'Alfalfa' Switzer and George 'Spanky' McFarland of Our Gang. The plot revolved around has-been child stars trying to put together a USO show.
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Sheet music by Leo Feist for Rainbow on the River (Kurt Neumann, 1936). Collection: Rossano aka Bud Care @ Flickr. Rossano: Paul Francis Webster wrote lyrics for many title songs in the 1950s. Louis Alter was an American pianist, songwriter and composer. He was 13 when he began playing piano in theaters showing silent films. He studied at the New England Conservatory of Music. Best known for 'Manhattan Serenade' and 'Nina Never Knew'.
British postcard by K Ltd.
The comeback story
Bobby Breen enlisted in the U.S. Army infantry during World War II. He and fellow Hollywood actor Mickey Rooney were soon assigned to entertain the troops, even though he had retired from show business. Breen was hospitalised in France in 1945, towards the end of the war. For his war efforts, he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal. After his discharge from the U.S. Army in 1946, he initially struggled to find work as he returned to show business. He did some theatre work and radio appearances in New York during this period. Because his voice had changed since becoming an adult, he took singing lessons to reinvent himself by adopting a new tenor style.
Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, he worked as a singer in nightclubs and as a musical performer in stock theatre, later serving as a guest pianist for the NBC Symphony Orchestra on radio, and hosting a local TV show in New York. He also recorded briefly for the Motown label, singing on two singles and on an unreleased album titled 'Better Late Than Never' in 1964. Berry Gordy had hoped for Breen to become his first white contracted artist, but ultimately changed his mind because the singer did not suit the type of music Motown produced.
In 1953, Breen appeared on ABC's reality show, The Comeback Story, to explain how his career nose-dived as he entered his teen years and how he fought to recover. Since the 1970s, he and his wife, Audrey, had been working in Florida as entrepreneurs, booking agents, and producers arranging musical shows performed by various entertainers at smaller, affordable venues. In later years, it focused on hiring ageing stars, including Debbie Reynolds, Mickey Rooney, and Ann Blyth.
Bobby Breen married fashion model Jocelyn Lesh in 1952. The couple had a son, Hunter Keith Breen, in 1954. Four years later, the marriage became unsustainable, with Jocelyn claiming that he had physically injured her. They went their separate ways, but the divorce was not finalised until 1961. He married Audrey Howard in 1962.
He lived with his family in Tamarac, Florida, and worked as the owner/operator of Bobby Breen Enterprises, a local talent agency. Starting in 2002, he made occasional concert appearances. His sister Sally died in 1999. That same year, Bobby Breen underwent bypass surgery due to blocked arteries in his heart. He died of natural causes in Pompano Beach, Florida, in 2016, three days following the death of his wife, Audrey, to whom he had been married for 54 years. He was 90.
Dutch postcard by J.S.A., no. 20. Photo: R.K.O. Radio Pictures.
Dutch postcard by Takken, no. 3526. Photo: RKO Radio Films / Archief Film en Toneel.
Source: Wikipedia (English and German) and IMDb.
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