SOPHIE TUCKER - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED 12/11/1953 - HFSID 321751

SOPHIE TUCKER
The Russian-born actress sends a signed letter to friends, updating them on her current life and work
Autograph letter signed: "Sophie" in blue ink. 1 page, front and verso, 7¼x10½. Written on personal letterhead. Original personalized envelope included. December 11, 1953. New York City, New York. In full: "Dear Kathy + Reg - Loved hearing from you and so glad you enjoyed T.V. show. Leaving for LA Tues. and will have a good guest. Won't get to Chey in Chicago until early May. Too tied up. Ted is getting married Dec. 20. I'm glad for him. Swell to hear you are doing on fine and both of you are well + happy. If you wired me at [illegible] very clear, then you got a note of thanks as answer all mail immediately. I feel swell. Love to you both, Yours". After immigrating from Russia as an infant, Sophie Tucker (1884-1966), born Sonia Kalish to a Jewish family in Russia, began singing in her father's kosher restaurant in Hartford, Connecticut. Moving to New York, she established herself as a popular star of vaudeville and Broadway, appearing with the Ziegfeld Follies in 1909. In 1911, she recorded "Some of These Days", which became her signature song and the title of her 1945 autobiography. Other songs made famous by Tucker included "Red-Hot Mama" (in 1928, the Palace Theater in New York billed her as "The Last of the Red-Hot Mamas", a slogan that became synonymous with the bawdy singer-entertainer). Another song, "My Yiddische Mama", became all the more popular among European Jewry after it was banned by Hitler. Tucker, who made her film debut in Honky Talk (1929), made numerous film appearances in the 1950s and 1960s, and her TV appearances include several visits to the Ed Sullivan Show. Although Tucker tried all modes of entertainment, she preferred live cabaret audiences. Normal mailing folds. Slightly toned. Corners rounded. Light surface creases. Otherwise, fine condition.