Bobby Breen

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title: "Bobby Breen" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1925-births", "2016-deaths", "boy-sopranos", "american-male-child-actors", "apex-records-artists", "canadian-emigrants-to-the-united-states", "canadian-people-of-ukrainian-jewish-descent", "jewish-american-male-actors", "jewish-canadian-male-actors", "jewish-canadian-musicians", "national-recording-corporation-artists", "american-people-of-ukrainian-jewish-descent", "male-actors-from-montreal", "musicians-from-montreal", "people-from-tamarac,-florida", "21st-century-american-jews", "decca-records-artists", "male-actors-from-broward-county,-florida"] description: "Canadian-American actor and singer (1925–2016)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Breen" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Canadian-American actor and singer (1925–2016) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]

Field	Value
name	Bobby Breen
image	Bobby Breen.JPG
birth_name	Isadore Borsuk
birth_date
birth_place	Montreal, Quebec, Canada
death_date
death_place	Pompano Beach, Florida, U.S.
occupation
years_active	1936–2016
spouse	{{plainlist
* {{marriage	Jocelyn Lesh
children	1
::

| name = Bobby Breen | image = Bobby Breen.JPG | image_size = | caption = | birth_name = Isadore Borsuk | birth_date = | birth_place = Montreal, Quebec, Canada | death_date = | death_place = Pompano Beach, Florida, U.S. | other_names = | occupation = | years_active = 1936–2016 | spouse = {{plainlist|

| children = 1 | website =

Bobby Breen (born Isadore Borsuk; November 4, 1925 – September 19, 2016) 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.

Early life

Breen was born Isadore Borsuk in Montréal, Canada, on November 4, 1925 (although some sources have claimed 1927 or 1928).{{cite news|last= Bergan|first= Ronald |title= Bobby Breen obituary |url= https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/sep/27/bobby-breen-obituary|access-date= November 2, 2016|newspaper =The Guardian |date=September 27, 2016}} 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 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 (more Gaelicised, as it is an Irish surname) prior to their arrival in the United States.

Child star at RKO

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Let's_Sing_Again_(1936)_still_1.jpg" caption="Bobby Breen and [[Henry Armetta]] in ''Let's Sing Again'' (1936)"] ::

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 CBS radio show, Texaco Town, 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.

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 (Decca 798) 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 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. 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 described the sudden voice change in a 1977 article:

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

In the military

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. For his war efforts, he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal.

Adult years

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 as well as some radio appearances in New York during this period. Because of his voice having changed since becoming an adult, he took singing lessons to reinvent himself by adapting to a new tenor singing 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 ("How Can We Tell Him" b/w "Better Late Than Never" and "You're Just Like You" b/w "Here Comes That Heartache"), and produced an unreleased album in 1964, called Better Late Than Never. 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. The business idea is called a "condominium circuit". In later years, it has focused on hiring aged stars of the past, including Debbie Reynolds, Mickey Rooney and Ann Blyth.

Personal life

In November 1948, he went missing while on a private flight from Waukesha, Wisconsin, to Hayward, Wisconsin. Several planes went searching for him for a day and a half before it was discovered that he had been staying at a hotel anonymously without telling anyone. He was fined 300 U.S. dollars.

Breen married fashion model Jocelyn Lesh on November 9, 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 finalized until February 1961. He married the president of the City of Hope National Medical Center, Audrey Howard (known legally as Audrey Horwitz), in New York 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, he underwent bypass surgery due to blocked arteries in his heart.

Death

He died of natural causes in Pompano Beach, Florida, on September 19, 2016, three days following the death of his wife.{{cite news|url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/bobby-breen-dead-soprano-singer-931949|title= Bobby Breen, Boy Soprano of 1930s Hollywood Musicals, Dies at 88 |date= September 22, 2016| access-date=September 23, 2016|work=The Hollywood Reporter}}

Awards

On February 12, 2012, he was the recipient of the "Forest Trace Honorary Octogenarian: Turn Back Time" award.

Filmography

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d2/Louise_Beavers_Bobby_Breen_Rainbow_on_the_River.jpg" caption="With [[Louise Beavers]] in ''Rainbow on the River'' (1936)"] ::

::data[format=table]

Year	Title	Role
1936	Let's Sing Again	Billy Gordon
Rainbow on the River	Philip Ainsworth
	1937	Make a Wish
1938	Hawaii Calls	Billy Coulter
Breaking the Ice	Tommy Martin
1939	Fisherman's Wharf	Tony Roma
Way Down South	Timothy Reid Jr
Escape to Paradise	Roberto Ramos
	1942	Johnny Doughboy
::

In popular culture

Breen was one of the people represented on the cover of The Beatles' album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. He found his inclusion on the album cover surprising.

Lenny Bruce mentioned Breen in his comedy routine "The Palladium".

References

References

1. "Archived copy".
2. The National Archives in Washington, DC; Washington, DC, USA; Petitions For Naturalization, U.s. District Court For the Central District of California (Los Angeles), 1940-1991; NAI Number: 594890; Record Group Title: Records of District Courts of the United States, 1685-2009; Record Group Number: Records of District Courts of the United States, 1685-2009
3. (September 24, 2016). "Bobby Breen, a Child Star Who Hit a High Note in the 1930s, Dies at 87". [[The New York Times]].
4. Foster (2003) p. 37.
5. Shaffer, George. (October 24, 1937). "Bobby Breen's Success Story". Unidentified.
6. (January 9, 1938). "Coming soon: Hawaii Calls". [[The Montana Standard]].
7. Shaffer, George. (October 24, 1937). "Bobby Breen's Success Story". Unidentified.
8. (February 21, 1937). "Bobby Breen Is Vet Trouper At Age of 9". [[Brownsville Herald]].
9. Breen, Bobby. (February 11, 1974). "Bobby Breen Now Florida Producer". [[Monroe News Star]].
10. (October 4, 1936). "Young singing sensation is in Ritz treat". [[Anniston Star]].
11. (July 18, 1936). "Bobby Breen, boy radio star, in 'Let's Sing Again'". [[Ames Daily Tribune]].
12. "BLUEBIRD 78rpm numerical listing discography: 7000 - 7500".
13. (December 26, 1936). "Bobby Breen wins audiences in Iowa". [[Cedar Rapids Gazette]].
14. (September 2, 1937). "Bobby Breen to sing at Olympic". [[Altoona Mirror]].
15. Tildesley, Alice. (October 23, 1938). "What Are Your Child's Chances in Hollywood?". [[Ogden Standard Examiner]].
16. Thomas, Elsia. (January 5, 1944). "Eddie Cantor brings back two proteges". [[Bluefield Daily Telegraph]].
17. (December 2, 1939). "Bobby Breen quits as voice changes". Ogden Standard Examiner.
18. Othman, Frederick. (August 27, 1942). "Veterans of Movies, Still in High School, Reminisce About the "Good Old Days"". [[Mason City Globe-Gazette]].
19. Vale, Virginia. (September 10, 1942). "Star Dust". Albert City Appeal.
20. (November 11, 1942). "Bobby Breen big boy now". [[Medicine Hat News]].
21. Quirk, Florence. (October 2, 1942). "Romantic twosomes". [[The Paris News]].
22. (December 27, 1967). "Around New Mexico". [[Albuquerque Journal]].
23. Lawrence, Larry. (April 30, 1948). "Bobby @Breen Bounces Back Into Stardom: Women Still Claim Him". The Journal.
24. (March 28, 1945). "Mickey Rooney And Bobby Breen Patients Of Local Soldiers". Charleroi Mail.
25. (February 25, 1946). "Bobby Breen Will Make Appearance". [[Ames Tribune]].
26. Luther, Paul. (November 28, 1947). "Inside radio". Cumberland Evening Times.
27. Johnson, Erskine. (October 28, 1952). "Hollywood...". [[DuBois, Pennsylvania#Print.
28. Foster (2003) p. 50-51.
29. "Motown Album Discography, Part 1 (1961-1981)".
30. Lyons, Leonard. (October 2, 1953). "The Lyons Den". [[Amarillo Daily News]].
31. Frame, Lanie. (April 22, 1977). "New Concept Brings Stars To Audiences". Port Charlotte Daily Herald.
32. (November 23, 1948). "Former Boy Soprano Bobby Breen Lost In Plane". [[Medicine Hat News]].
33. (November 24, 1948). "Bobby Breen Apologizes". [[The Athens Messenger]].
34. Wilson, Earl. (November 11, 1952). "It Happened Last Night". Defiance Crescent News.
35. (February 17, 1961). "Bobby Breen Divorced". Lake Charles American-Press.
36. Gubernick, Lisa. (November 22, 1999). "Bobby and Audre Breen Give Aging Stars A Place to Shine on the Condo Circuit". [[The Wall Street Journal]].
37. Foster (2003) p. 51.
38. [[New York City Municipal Archives]]; New York, New York; Borough: Manhattan
39. "Once Upon a Time in Paradise: Canadians in the Golden Age of Hollywood".
40. Foster (2003) p. 55.
41. Baron, Sharon. (February 16, 2012). "Tamarac Resident is Presented with Honorary Octogenarian Award". Tamarac Talk.
42. Julien (2009) p. 93.
43. Foster (2003) p. 50.
44. (December 12, 2006). "Chopped garlic An obit of note Georgia Gibbs".

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