The Jazz Singer (1980)

Neil Diamond is a fifth-generation temple cantor who really wants to be a pop star. His  wife and his father (Lawrence Olivier) both oppose these ambitions and want him to continue in the traditional family occupation. But when Diamond gets an offer to record in LA, he jumps at the chance, assuring dad and wifey that he’ll return in two weeks. Instead he stays in LA, falls in love with a woman producer/manager, and becomes a pop sensation. His father disowns him at this point, and Diamond goes through a dark night of the soul, hitchhiking around and singing in country bars. But when one of his friends tracks him down and shows him a photo of his new baby, Diamond heads home to the girlfriend. The happy ending includes a big concert and a reconciliation with dad.

James Booth has a few lines in an early scene as  Paul Rossini, the producer for an obnoxious English rock star.  Booth wears a suit, smokes a cigar, and speaks with a forceful, Cockney-accented delivery.  He looks terrific.

Text copyright Diana Blackwell, 2002