Bobby Breen

Isadore Borsuk (November 4, 1927 – September 19, 2016), better known as Bobby Breen, was a Canadian-born American actor and singer.

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.

He was a popular male child singer during the 1930s and reached major popularity with film and radio appearances.

He also signed a contract with Decca Records and had moderate success with a series of 78 rpm records in the late 1930s.

By the 21st century, Breen was the only male artist with a pre-World War II hit record still living (Rose Marie, who charted as an eight-year-old in 1932 with "Say That You Were Teasing Me", died in 2017, a year after Breen).

Satisfied with his debut for the studio, RKO signed a deal with him for three additional movies.

He was cast in another musical later the same year called Rainbow on the River, co-starring May Robson and Alan Mowbray.

He sang Ave Maria and the film's title song Rainbow on the River.

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.

The title song from Let's Sing Again (Decca 798) would become a national hit, charting at #14 in the summer of 1936.

Kurt Neumann, who had directed Breen in his first two pictures, worked with him for the last time in Make a Wish in 1937.

His co-star was Basil Rathbone.

In a 1938 article, he was referred to as one of the rare cases of child actors succeeding in an adult-dominated industry.

By the time he had completed filming Escape to Paradise in 1939, his voice was gradually changing due to puberty.

As a result, he retired from the film industry, despite being originally contracted for two additional movies, and instead focused on his education at Beverly Hills High School.

He briefly returned to the screen in 1942 to appear as himself in Johnny Doughboy, starring Jane Withers.

As an adult, he expressed skepticism about children working in the entertainment industry.

Breen enlisted in the infantry in the U.S. Army during World War II.

He and fellow Hollywood actor Mickey Rooney were soon assigned to entertain the troops, despite him having retired from show business.

Breen was hospitalized in France in 1945 towards the end of the war.

He described the sudden voice change in a 1977 article:

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His popularity did not immediately wane during his hiatus, receiving mail from numerous fans across the United States and United Kingdom.