| Sophie Tucker: First Lady of Show Business Contributor(s): Fields, Armond (Author) |
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ISBN: 0786415770 ISBN-13: 9780786415779 Publisher: McFarland & Company OUR PRICE: $39.55 Product Type: Paperback Published: May 2003 Annotation: 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, sheand her audiencesquickly 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 Polis 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. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Biography & Autobiography | Entertainment & Performing Arts - Biography & Autobiography | Women - Performing Arts | Theater - General |
| Dewey: B |
| LCCN: 2003006011 |
| Physical Information: 0.66" H x 7.24" W x 9.72" (1.05 lbs) 272 pages |
| Themes: - Sex & Gender - Feminine |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher 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. |