SOPHIE TUCKER - AUTOGRAPH CO-SIGNED BY: THE RITZ BROTHERS , THE RITZ BROTHERS (JIMMY RITZ), THE RITZ BROTHERS (AL RITZ), THE RITZ BROTHERS (HARRY RITZ) - HFSID 81277

SOPHIE TUCKER and THE RITZ BROTHERS: HARRY RITZ, AL RITZ and JIMMY RITZ
Small album leaf signed by singer Sophie Tucker and the Ritz Brothers comedy trio
Signature: "Sophie/Tucker" in pencil and, on verso, inscribed signature: "To Goldie - From/The Ritz Bros/Harry" and "Al" and "Jimmy" [Ritz], 4x2½. After immigrating from Russia as an infant, SOPHIE TUCKER (1884-1966) began singing in her father's kosher restaurant in Hartford. 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 tired all modes of entertainment, she preferred live cabaret audiences best of all. Brothers AL RITZ (1901-1965), JIMMY RITZ (1904-1985) and HARRY RITZ (1907-1986), who became known for their wide-eyed expressions, first became a team called the Collegians in 1925 (managed by a younger brother, George). The zany comedians debuted in Hollywood with a film short, Hotel Anchovy, in 1934. Their other movie vehicles included Sing, Baby Sing (1936), Life Begins in College (1937), The Three Musketeers (1939) and Never a Dull Moment (1943). The brothers remained popular thereafter in live performances and TV guest appearances. Jimmy and Harry appeared individually in small film roles into the mid-1970s. Lightly creased. Slightly soiled, touching the "s" in Bros and the "y" of Jimmy on verso. Overall, fine condition.