Description
Book SynopsisThis entertaining biography of the “Last of the Red Hot Mamas” reveals how Sophie Tucker became one of the most powerful women in show business, blazing a trail for performers such as Judy Garland, Carol Channing, and Bette Midler.
Trade ReviewSklaroff assembled an engrossing portrait of this oft-overlooked legend of early Broadway. * Playbill *
Sklaroff does Tucker proud; this volume is a winner on every level that should find a well-deserved place in popular culture collections from the Borscht Belt to Tinseltown. * Library Journal, Starred Review *
An enjoyable portrait of a remarkable woman. * Theater Jones *
Sophie Tucker didn’t influence Madonna or Lady Gaga— she anticipated them. . . . Sklaroff traces Tucker from her beginnings as a singing waitress at her parents’ kosher restaurant through stardom and her genial fade into nostalgia. * Milwaukee Shepherd Express *
Sklaroff celebrates Tucker as a pioneer who helped make possible the success of subsequent female performers who did not conform to conventional expectations of what a star’s personality or physique should be. * The Jewish News of Northern California *
This biography makes a significiant contribution to our understanding of American history...through the wealth of archival material on which it draws and its engagement with the cultural forces that shaped not only Tucker's life but also the lives of the female immigrants who shared her struggle to belong in a foreign environment. * Journal of American History *
Tucker shines as the bold star of her own show in
Red Hot Mama...What Tucker represents as a woman, a Jew, a businessperson, and an entertainer means that this biography is critical to appreciating many of these issues in our recent history. * American Jewish History *
Sklaroff tells [Sophie Tucker's] story in a thoroughly engrossing way…Scholars and lay readers alike will enjoy learning about this remarkable woman and, at the same time, will broaden their understanding of key historical developments, such as urbanization, Jewish immigration, racism and race relations in the entertainment industry, labor organizing, and changing tastes and technologies in music and other forms of popular culture. * The Historian *
Bold and sassy, the legendary Sophie Tucker influenced generations of women entertainers. . . Sklaroff sensitively traces the unlikely rise of the daughter of Jewish immigrants, a woman who never fit the svelte body image of popular female entertainers and whose ‘sexual movements and provocative delivery’ shocked some viewers. * Kirkus Reviews *
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- 1. Breaking with Tradition
- 2. Finding a Place in the City
- 3. Acceptance as a Rising Star
- 4. The Hazards of Becoming a Jazz Queen
- 5. Everybody’s Mama
- 6. Grasping for Recognition
- 7. The Value of Devotion
- 8. Sophie Tucker for President
- Epilogue
- Acknowledgments
- Notes
- Photo Credits
- Index
