Name	Sophie Tucker (Sonia Kalish)
Other Name(s)	The Last of the Red Hot Mamas
Build	Large
Hair Color	Blonde
Date of Birth	January 13, 1884
Birthplace	Czarist Russia
Star Sign	Capricorn
Died	February 9, 1966 (Aged 82)
Location of Death	New York, New York, USA
Cause of Death	lung cancer
Nationality	Russian
Ethnicity	White
Religion	Jewish
Occupation	Singer
Celebrity Index	So
Claim to Fame	Some of These Days
Rate this Date	Please select   1 - (out of 10)   2 - (out of 10)   3 - (out of 10)   4 - (out of 10)   5 - (out of 10)   6 - (out of 10)   7 - (out of 10)   8 - (out of 10)   9 - (out of 10) 10 - (out of 10)

Quotes

I`ve been rich and I’ve been poor -- and believe me, rich is better.

(quotationspage.com)

Trivia

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.

She beat Marlene Dietrich to the punch by creating a national scandal when she introduced pants to the U.S.

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.

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!"

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."

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."

See also Trivia Index (S) :: Quotes Index (S) :: Connections Index (S)

• Sophie Tucker and Courtney Edison

Super Star Sites

Silver Sites

• Do you have a Sophie Tucker Fansite?

• Exchange links with this page.

• 
  Olivia de Havilland
• 
  Don Johnson
• 
  Michael Hutchence