Sophie Tucker - The Last of the Red Hot Mama's!
Born January 13, 1884
Origin Czarist Russia
Died February 9, 1966
Genre(s) Jazz vaudeville
Occupation(s) Singer/Comedian
Sophie Tucker (January 13, 1884-February 9, 1966) was a singer and comedian, one of the most popular entertainers in America during the first third of the 20th century.
She was born Sonia Kalish to a Jewish family in Tsarist Russia.
Her family emigrated to the United States when she was an infant, and settled in Hartford, Connecticut.
The family changed its name to Abuza, and her parents opened a restaurant.
Sophie Tucker, 1917
TABLE OF CONTENTS
BIOGRAPHY
Early Life
She started singing for tips in her family's restaurant. In 1903, at the age of 19, she was briefly married to Louis Tuck, from which she decided to change her name to "Tucker." (She would marry twice more in her life, but neither marriage lasted more than five years.)Tucker played piano and sang burlesque and vaudeville tunes, at first in blackface. She later said that this was at the insistence of theatre managers, who said she was "too fat and ugly" to be accepted by an audience in any other context. She even sang songs that acknowledged her heft, such as "Nobody Loves a Fat Girl, But Oh How a Fat Girl Can Love."
She made a name for herself in a style that was known at the time as a "Coon Shouter", performing African American influenced songs. Not content with performing in the simple minstrel traditions, Tucker hired some of the best African American singers of the time to give her lessons, and hired African American composers to write songs for her act.
Ziegfeld Follies
Tucker made her first appearance in the Ziegfeld Follies in 1909, but didn't last long there because Florenz Ziegfeld's other female stars soon refused to share the spotlight with the popular Tucker.William Morris, the founder of the William Morris Agency booked Tucker fresh off her Follies debut at his new American Music Hall. At a 1909 appearance, the luggage containing Tucker's makeup kit was stolen shortly before the show, and she hastily went on stage without her customary blackface. Tucker was a bigger hit without her makeup than with it, and, at the advice of Morris, she never wore blackface again. She did, however, continue to draw much of her material from African American writers as well as African American culture, singing in a ragtime- and blues-influenced style, becoming known for a time as "The Ragtime Mary Garden," a reference to a famous operatic soprano of the era.
Recordings and Film
Tucker made several popular recordings. They included "Some of These Days," which came out in 1911 on Edison Records. The tune, written by Shelton Brooks, was a hit, and became Tucker's theme song. Later, it was the title of her 1945 autobiography.In 1921, Tucker hired pianist and songwriter Ted Shapiro as her accompanist and musical director, a position he would keep throughout her career.
Besides writing a number of songs for Tucker, Shapiro became part of her stage act, playing piano on stage while she sang, and exchanging banter and wisecracks with her in between numbers.
Tucker remained a popular singer through the 1920s, and hired stars such as Mamie Smith and Ethel Waters to give her lessons.
In 1925, Jack Yellen wrote one of her most famous songs, "My Yiddish Momme". The song was performed in large American cities where there were sizable Jewish audiences. Tucker explained, "Even though I loved the song and it was a sensational hit every time I sang it, I was always careful to use it only when I knew the majority of the house would understand Yiddish. However, you didn't have to be a Jew to be moved by 'My Yiddish Momme.' 'Mother' in any language means the same thing." She also made the first of her many movie appearances in the 1929 sound picture Honky Tonk.
The Last of the Red Hot Mamas
In the 1930s, Tucker brought elements of nostalgia for the early years of 20th century into her show. She was billed as The Last of the Red Hot Mamas, as her hearty sexual appetite was a frequent subject of her songs, unusual for female performers of the era. She made numerous popular film appearances, including Broadway Melody of 1938. In that film, Tucker sings a song during the big finale; even though she is playing a character and not herself, several neon lights displaying her real name light up in the background of the stage in tribute.In the 1950s and early 1960s, she made television appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show, What's My Line, Person to Person, and The Tonight Show.
She continued performing in the U.S. and the United Kingdom, until shortly before dying of lung cancer in 1966 at the age of 82. She was interred at Emanuel Cemetery in Wethersfield, Connecticut.
Tucker in 1952
From
~Wikipedia
HER MUSIC!
Sophie Tucker on Superbatone
*AVAILABLE from SUPERBATONE RECORDS*733: THE COMPLETE EARLY SOPHIE TUCKER (1910 - 1937)
For the first time anywhere, all of Sophie Tucker's early recordings are gathered together in chronological order, from her "coon shouting" for Edison in 1910, to her sophisticated night club routines recorded in England in the late '30s. In between are all her records for Aeolian, OKeh, Victor, American and English Columbia and Broadcast. An indispensable collection.
One hundred-and-one tracks on four CDs, $55.00.
Each volume may be ordered separately for $15.00.
Checks or Money orders should be made
out to Brad Kay, and sent to:
Superbatone Records, Inc.
732 Superba Ave.
Venice, CA 90291, USA.
e-mail address:
Superbatone Records
Jazz Age Hot Mamma 1922-1929
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![Follow a Star [UK IMPORT]: Living Era Series - Original Recordings from 1928-1931](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31r2HxHCGxL._SL75_.jpg)
QUOTE
From birth to age eighteen, a girl needs good parents.From eighteen to thirty-five, she needs good looks.
From thirty-five to fifty-five, she needs a good personality.
From fifty-five on, she needs good cash.
~Sophie Tucker
MP3s
QUOTE
I've been richand I've been poor.
Rich is better.
~Sophie Tucker
BOOKS
SPOTLIGHT
Sophie Tucker: First Lady of Show Business
Amazon Price: $45.00 (as of 11/27/2009)
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Used Price: $25.00
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VIDEOS
VIDEO SPOTLIGHT
Bette Midler-Sophie Tucker
Bette Midler as Sophie Tucker at Divine Madness.
Runtime: 8:30 | 31956 views | 25 Comments
automatically generated by YouTube
QUOTE
Success inshow business
depends on your
ability to make
and keep friends.
~Sophie Tucker
GUESTBOOK
WUDDUYUH HAVE TUH SAY FOR YOURSELF??
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Reply
- KimGiancaterino KimGiancaterino Jun 22, 2009 @ 6:59 pm
- I learned about Sophie Tucker from Bette Midler. Nice collection of photos. I'm giving your lens a blessing and featuring it on my Squid Angel Diary this week.
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Reply
- ChapelHillFiddler ChapelHillFiddler Jun 19, 2009 @ 12:14 pm
- I love Sophie Tucker, and this is a 5-star lens. Glad to see somebody else interested in Yiddish theater music on Squidoo!
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Reply
- Sami4u Sami4u Feb 24, 2009 @ 1:16 pm
- Hi.
Loved the lens 5 stars lots of fun :)
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Reply
- R4e4a4d4i4n4g R4e4a4d4i4n4g Aug 12, 2008 @ 1:32 pm
- I liked this lens. I really loved how you put tons of videos, pics and quotes in with the wiki biography.
GREAT WORK!!!
*Legacy and influence
Sophie Tucker's comic style is creditedwith influencing later female entertainers,
including Joan Rivers, Roseanne Barr,
and most notably Bette Midler who has
included "Soph" as one of her many stage
characters. In addition to her performing,
Tucker was active in efforts to unionize
professional actors, and was elected
president of the American Federation
of Actors in 1938.
*Stage Work
- Lulu's Husbands (1910) (Broadway)
- Earl Carroll's Vanities of 1924 (1924) (Broadway)
- Leave It to Me! (1938) (Broadway)
- High Kickers (1941) (Broadway)
*Filmography
- Honky Tonk (1929)
- Gay Love (1934)
- Paramount Headliner: Broadway Highlights No. 1 (1935) (short subject)
- Broadway Melody of 1938 (1937)
- Thoroughbreds Don't Cry (1937)
- Follow the Boys (1944)
- Sensations of 1945 (1944)
- Screen Snapshots: The Great Showman (1950) (short subject)
- Screen Snapshots: Hollywood's Great Entertainers (1953) (short subjects)
- The Heart of Show Business (1957) (short subject)
- The Joker Is Wild (1957) (Cameo)
*Tributes
- Reference to Tucker is made (using somewhat vulgar language) in the song "Roxie" which is part of the score to the musical, Chicago.
- The stage musical Meshuggah-Nuns, a sequel to the hit Nunsense, features a nun posing as Tucker, singing a song called "My Fat is My Fortune".
- She is referred to in Saul Bellow's book The Adventures of Augie March(1953)
eBAY
SHEET MUSIC
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RECORDS & 78's
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- Sophie Tucker's Visit to the Barbary Coast
- Sophie Tucker at the Latin Quarter - 1950
- Sophie Tucker at the Latin Quarter - 1950
- Sophie Tucker at the Latin Quarter - 1950
- Sophie Tucker (1884 - 1966) - Find A Grave Memorial
- Sophie Tucker (1884 - 1966) - Find A Grave Memorial
- Sophie Tucker & Vaudeville
- Sophie Tucker & Vaudeville
- Entertainer Sophie Tucker
- Entertainer Sophie Tucker
- Comedy College: Lessons in Laughter - Sophie Tucker
- Comedy College: Lessons in Laughter - Sophie Tucker
- Boot Sale Sounds: Sophie Tucker
- Boot Sale Sounds: Sophie Tucker
- Great Performances . The Crossover Artists . Sophie Tucker | PBS
- Great Performances . The Crossover Artists . Sophie Tucker | PBS
- Sophie Tucker accompanied by Miff Mole's Molers
- Sophie Tucker accompanied by Miff Mole's Molers
- Some of These Days
- Some of These Days
- Sophie Tucker -- Britannica Online Encyclopedia
- Sophie Tucker -- Britannica Online Encyclopedia
- Sophie Tucker Quotes
- Sophie Tucker Quotes
- Sophie Tucker 1889 - 1966 - Eons Obituary
- Sophie Tucker 1889 - 1966 - Eons Obituary
- Today in History: January 13
- Today in History: January 13
- Cylinder of the Month
- Cylinder of the Month
- Sophie Tucker Biography
- Sophie Tucker Biography
- Steve Goddard's History Wire: Sophie Kalish to Sophie Tucker
- Steve Goddard's History Wire: Sophie Kalish to Sophie Tucker ...
- Sophie Tucker Biography on Naxos
- Sophie Tucker Biography on Naxos
- Rotten Tomatoes: Sophie Tucker Celebrity Profile
- Rotten Tomatoes: Sophie Tucker Celebrity Profile
- BBC - Radio 4 - Woman's Hour -Sophie Tucker
- BBC - Radio 4 - Woman's Hour -Sophie Tucker
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