Sophie Tucker: First Lady of Show Business (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Sophie Tucker appeared in only seven American stage musicals and appeared only twice on Broadway but, then, it was difficult to cast her in a show. A buxom and ebullient performer, she—and her audiences—quickly found that playing herself was most effective.

This is a biography of a vaudeville and cabaret performer who saw herself as one of the first liberated women and one of the last "red hot mamas." It tells the story of her birth as her mother traveled to Boston from Russia, her childhood in Boston, and her first public performance at Poli’s Vaudeville Theatre at the age of 13. It also tells the story of her troubled marriage to Louis Tuck and the birth of their son, her meeting with Willie Howard, a vaudeville veteran who encouraged her to go to New York and pursue a stage career, her discovery by Flo Ziegfeld (of the Ziegfeld Follies), and her rise to headliner status under the guidance of her agent William Morris. She was best known for appearing on stage with just a piano player, and openly discussing her life and Jewish upbringing.

About the Author

Armond Fields is a social historian specializing in American popular theater. He is also the author of Fred Stone: Circus Performer and Musical Comedy Star (2002), James J. Corbett: A Biography of the Heavyweight Boxing Champion and Popular Theater Headliner (2001), Lillian Russell: A Biography of "America’s Beauty" (1999) and Eddie Foy: A Biography of the Early Popular Stage Comedian (1999). He lives in Culver City, California.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: McFarland & Company (May 8, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786415770
• ISBN-13: 978-0786415779
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 7.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,818,412 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars This book is not the success that Sophie Tucker was., August 31, 2003

By	James Stettler (Los Angeles, California United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I looked forward to reading Armand Fields' book about Sophie Tucker. This is only the fourth book about the late "Queen of Show Business". There is indeed much new material not included in the other books and that makes this one worthwhile. However, this book is filled with errors. One photograph of Sophie Tucker and her grown son Bert is captioned as Sophie and her husband Frank Westphal. Also an ad from the Florentine Gardens circa 1947 is captioned as from the 1930s despite her 40s coiffure and shoulder pads.

Mr. Fields seems not to have bothered to watch her films. He calls her role in "Broadway Melody of 1938" a cameo. A role with three songs and five wardrobe changes is hardly a cameo. Sophie does sing two songs in "Sensations of 1945" but not the titles listed by Mr. Fields. He also claims that her scene was cut out of "The Joker Is Wild". She appears in every print of this film that I have ever seen.

Shelton Brooks, writer of Sophie Tucker's anthem "Some Of These Days" has his name spelled as "Sheldon" Brooks. Also, songwriter Jack Yellen's name appears as "Yellin" despite the reproduction in the book of a piece of sheet music with the correct spelling.
The author also states that Tucker recorded every song on which her picture appears on the cover. If only that were true! There are many such errors in this biography.

To pay (money) for a paperback, you really should have an accurate book as well as more pictures for your money. Sophie Tucker still has not had the treatment she desereves.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Miss Her When She's Gone, July 2, 2005

By	Kevin Killian (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Fields, the author, takes us into some rarefies show bix realms in his lavishly illustrated volume. I appreciate his industry in compiling this record, but he seems totally uncritical of Tucker, and paradoxically this makes me distrust his judgment. Was she always perfect, always on? The interesting part comes towards the end of the book when she sinks her money into an ill-fated 1963 Broadway musical version of her life (with music by talk show host and prolific composer Steve Allen), starring someone else as herself, and when the show flops, Fields reports, she is devastated, apparently seeing this as a rejection of herself by the show business she had served with such devotion for so many years.

Fields has otherwise dug up a lot of rare material. Among the most enjoyable items was reading the lyric of Irving Berlin's 1950s salute to her called "Song For Sophie." I don't believe I have ever heard this song and i wonder if it is recorded anywhere. The lyric is one of Berlin's best and captures his bewildered fascination with the show business behemoth who, like himself, was never afraid to show off his Jewish heritage and to building considerable comedy out of the contrast between their humble roots and their exalted present circumstances.

Tucker's movies are good ones, but I've only seen a few, and maybe others have her in larger parts, though I imagine she was hard to cast in the glamorous MGM of the 1930s. Wish someone would release tthe British 1934 vaudeville backstager they had the foresight to call GAY LOVE--that sounds like a pip. Until then, we can catch some of her act on DVD and in the US films THOROUGHBREDS DON'T CRY and BROADWAY MELODY OF 1938.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Armond Fields has done it again!, July 10, 2003

By	Mark Dworkin (Thornhill, Ontario) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

With this wonderful portrait of legendary American entertainer Sophie Tucker, Fields continues his important series of biographies of vaudeville and musical stage legends who came to prominence before World War One. Previous to Sophie Tucker, much needed full-length biographical treatments have been given to the vaudeville comedy act of Weber and Fields, musical stage star Lillian Russell, comedian Eddie Foy, heavyweight boxing champion turned entertainer James J. Corbett, and neglected musical comedy star Fred Stone. At the rate of one per year, with legendary actress Maud Adams next due for the Fields' treatment, one can only marvel at the uniform thoroughness of research and the excellence of each new book from this prolific author.

Sophie Tucker was one of those larger than life entertainers, inimitable and irreplaceable, and the first one of Fields's subjects I can actually remember seeing on television in my teenage years. Such unique entertainers are often difficult to capture with the printed word, but Fields does it, as my own vivid memories of seeing Sophie came back to me. Her triumphant story was unusual- she was a pioneer in many aspects of feminism and its portrayal in various entertainment media in the twentieth century, and Fields conveys it, warts and all, in a way that makes it come alive. Lavishly illustrated with photos, period billboards, and even some of Sophie's hilariously risqué lyrics, this book is a must for anyone interested in fabled American entertainment giants, or in just a plain old superb biographical writing.