Sol Ginsberg, a.k.a. Sol Violinsky was born in Russia on July 4, 1888 and came to the U.S. One of the things that was unusual about him was that he had a flashy, gimmicky vaudeville act (he played violin and piano at the same time) , but he was also a genuine, solid composer and songwriter, who worked with people like Billy Rose and Ben Ryan AND played for the New York Symphony Orchestra!
In 1929 he starred in a Vitaphone short, showing off his flashy skills, in a turn called The Eccentric Entertainer. He died in 1963
To find out more about vaudeville, consult No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous.
