The Outrageous Sophie Tucker

The late great Sophie Tucker was one the World’s most popular and successful entertainers for the first half of the 20 Century. This very early superstar with her wonderful range of comic and risque songs was one of the first women in show business who pioneered the way grabbing top billing in Vaudeville Theater, on the Radio, in early Talking Movies and later on Television. She was literally larger than life defying the norm of other females treading the boards as when she started out as she was in her words ‘fat, ugly, too old’ and a married Jewish lady to boot. However, in her career spanning some five decades she revelled in her differences, especially her size, and made it an integral part of her act.

Born in Connecticut in 1887 to Orthodox Jewish parents who had escaped persecution in Ukraine, she eloped with the first boy who was nice to her when she was just 16 years old. Her parents eventually acknowledged her husband Bert Tuck a local beer cart driver who gave her half her name (!) and their son Albert. The marriage lasted just five years, which coincidentally so did her next two marriages later in life, although she never had any more children. Leaving Albert in the care of her sister, she left for the bright lights of New York to start her career.

Sophie started singing for cents and dimes in Saloon Bars but within 2 years she got her first big break on Broadway in Ziegfeld Follies. Not the headliner yet, but it did lead to her recording one of her biggest hits ‘Some Of These Days’ and her career really took off. By the 1920’s her fame had spread to Europe and her tour of England started with performing for the King and Queen. In 1921 she met Ted Shapiro who became her accompanist and ‘straight man’ in her act and they performed together right up to her death 45 years later.

Sophie did an annual sell-out season at Lou Walter’s infamous Latin Quarter Club in Miami Beach for years, as well as headlining in his New York Nightclub, something that his daughter Barbara testified too. She was, as celebrities of the day lined up to joyously affirm, bigger in that period than the Elvis’s and the Madonna’s of the future would ever become. What comes shining through all the archival footage in this new documentary was that her popularity was just as big away from the footlights. Stories like those of her forcing people to buy her autobiography after the show if fans wanted an autograph and refusing to make change even if a $50 bill is proffer claiming ‘it all goes to help Israel’ are hysterically funny. She just loved people as is evident with all the hundreds of scrapbooks that she accumulated over the years having her photograph taken with total strangers who instantly became her new best friends. She may have made swift work quickly dispatching the men in her life, but as the movie mentions (although never really explores) Sophie always had a lady in her life who was evidently so much more than just a ‘companion’.

Sophie Tucker was a true epitome of camp in every sense of the word, and not just because her second movie was called ‘Big Gay Love’ (sic) but because her flamboyant and often ridiculous costumes were much more about getting noticed than attempting to flatter her matronly figure. A mentor to the likes of young Judy Garland, a best friend to stars like Frank Sinatra, and even at the end of her career she was adored by the new boys on the block in the 60’s i.e. The Beatles, and she truly earned the title ‘The Last of The Red Hot Mamas’.

Sadly this fawning tribute by first-time producers husband and wife Lloyd & Susan Ecker is not what Ms Tucker’s legacy deserves. This couple who never met the star but are somehow self-appointed guardians of this iconic performer’s history, personally take up too much screen time with their own take on the story rather than let the wealth of extraordinary celebrities and stars who actually knew her share more of their interesting anecdotes and memories. Lloyd Ecker’s excruciatingly embarrassing tearful description of Ms Tucker’s death is, like the most of his contributions, annoying to say the very least.

Despite the Eckers, its hard not to be enamoured by this uniquely wonderful performer and see why she held audiences in the palms of her hands for over 50 years. There is a great story in there waiting to be told well, as this rather wasted opportunity is not it.