SOPHIE TUCKER - AUTOGRAPHED INSCRIBED PHOTOGRAPH 1929 - HFSID 292180

SOPHIE TUCKER
Vintage 8½x11¾ photo from "Doc" Salomon's collection, inscribed in fountain pen
Photograph inscribed and signed: "To/Maxine/Compliments/of/Sophie Tucker/1929". Sepia, 8½x11¾. After immigrating from Russia as an infant, Sophie Tucker (1884-1966), born Sonia Kalish 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 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. Although not inscribed to A. M. "Doc" Salomon, this photo was part of his collection.Salomon, a friend of studio mogul Jack Warner who rose to head the London branch of Warner Bros. studios, compiled an extensive collection of celebrity autographs during his nearly 30 years with the studio. A V-1 rocket demolished his London studio in July 1944 and killed Salomon, but his photo collection miraculously survived. Clear adhesive tape around edges on front and verso. Silvering. Corners worn. Multiple surface damages and unknown stains. Signature beaded and light but legible. Otherwise, fine condition.