Sophie Tucker (January 13, 1887 – February 9, 1966) was a Ukrainian-born American singer, comedian, actress, and radio personality. Known for her stentorian delivery of comical and risqué songs, she was one of the most popular entertainers in America during the first half of the 20th century. She was widely known by the nickname "The Last of the Red Hot Mamas."
Success in show business depends on your ability to make and keep friends.
2
I've been rich and I've been poor. Believe me, honey, rich is better.
3
From birth to age 18, a girl needs good parents, from 18 to 35 she needs good looks, from 35 to 55 she needs a good personality, and from 55 on she needs cash.
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Fact
1
Profiled in book "Funny Ladies" by Stephen Silverman. [1999]
2
Referred to jokingly as "our favorite American group" by Paul McCartney, during a 1963 televised performance by The Beatles.
3
Increasingly known for her philanthropy, Tucker's favorite charities targeted youth centers, a high school wing in Israel, the Theater Arts program at Brandeis University, a maternity clinic at Denver's General Rose Memorial Hospital, and Hartford's Emmanuel Synagogue. In 1955 Tucker raised almost one million dollars in a benefit performance on behalf of the Hebrew Old People's Home.
4
She beat Marlene Dietrich to the punch by creating a national scandal when she introduced pants to the U.S.
5
Another ribald entertainer, Bette Midler, was greatly influenced by Sophie and shamelessly borrowed many of her more risqué jokes for her own highly successful nightclub acts and big forum concerts in the 1970s.
6
She married and divorced three times. She married first husband Louis Tuck while in her hometown as a teen; her second husband, Frank Westphal, was her pianist at the time; and third husband Al Lackey was a fan who turned into her business manager. It led to her promise in the song "I'm Living Alone": "There isn't going to be a fourth Mr. Ex / and I'll be darned if I'm paying anymore alimony checks / I'm living alone and I like it!"
7
According to Michael Rogin's book, "Blackface, White Noise: Jewish Immigrants and the Hollywood Melting Pot," Sophie Tucker, originally billed as the "World Renowned Coon Shouter," subsequently was given the sobriquet "Queen of Jazz."
8
Durable singer and occasional actress whose career spanned more than six decades. A formidable lady both personally and as a singer, posessed of a clear alto voice and saucy wit, her theme song and biggest hit was "Some of These Days," but she also introduced such standards as "M-O-T-H-E-R (A Word That Means the World to Me)" and "My Yiddishe Momma."
Actress
Title
Year
Status
Character
The Joker Is Wild
1957
Sophie Tucker
All Star Revue
1952-1953
TV Series
Guest Actress / Vocalist
Sensations of 1945
1944
Sophie Tucker
Follow the Boys
1944
Sophie Tucker
Thoroughbreds Don't Cry
1937
Mother Ralph
Broadway Melody of 1938
1937
Alice Clayton
Gay Love
1934
Sophie Tucker - Singer
Honky Tonk
1929
Sophie Leonard
A Social Sleuth
1920
Short
Soundtrack
Title
Year
Status
Character
The Great Gatsby
2013
performer: "Where The Wind Blows"
Boardwalk Empire
2010
TV Series performer - 1 episode
Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1920s: The Dawn of the Hollywood Musical
2008
Video documentary performer: "Some of These Days" - uncredited
Cold Case
2007
TV Series performer - 1 episode
Good Neighbors
1975
TV Series performer - 1 episode
Flesh
1968
performer: "Makin' Wicky Wacky Down in Waikiki"
Follow the Boys
1944
performer: "The Bigger the Army and the Navy", "Some of These Days" 1910 - uncredited
For Me and My Gal
1942
performer: "Some of These Days" 1910 - uncredited
Broadway Melody of 1938
1937
performer: "Everybody Sing" 1937, "Some of These Days" 1910, "Your Broadway and My Broadway" 1937 - uncredited
Honky Tonk
1929
performer: "I'm the Last of the Red Hot Mamas", "Some of These Days" - uncredited
Self
Title
Year
Status
Character
The Ed Sullivan Show
1951-1965
TV Series
Herself / Herself - Singer
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
1963-1964
TV Series
Herself - Guest / Herself
The Celebrity Game
1964
TV Series
Herself
Blackpool Night Out
1964
TV Series
Herself
What's My Line?
1957-1963
TV Series
Herself - Mystery Guest
The 16th Annual Tony Awards
1962
TV Special
Herself - Audience Member
Val Parnell's Sunday Night at the London Palladium
1959
TV Series
Herself
The Jerry Lewis Show
1958
TV Special
Herself
Alan Melville Takes You from A-Z
1957
TV Series
Herself
Washington Square
1957
TV Series
Herself
The Heart of Show Business
1957
Short
Herself
The Eamonn Andrews Show
1957
TV Series
Herself
Person to Person
1955
TV Series documentary
Herself
Texaco Star Theatre
1955
TV Series
Herself - Singer
A Star Is Born World Premiere
1954
TV Short
Herself
This Is Your Life
1954
TV Series
Herself
Screen Snapshots: Hollywood's Great Entertainers
1953
Short
Herself
All Star Revue
1951
TV Series
Herself - Guest Vocalist
Screen Snapshots: The Great Showman
1950
Short
Herself
The Candid Camera Story (Very Candid) of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures 1937 Convention
$850,000
