Sophie Tucker: First Lady of Show Business
Author: Armond Fields
List Price: $45.00
Our Price: Click to see the latest and low price
ISBN: 0786415770
Publisher: McFarland & Company (08 May, 2003)
Sales Rank: 760,863
Average Customer Rating: 4.6 out of 5
Customer Reviews
Rating: 5 out of 5
The Last of the Red Hot Biographies
I learned a great deal in this easy-to-read, well-written biography, and not just about sophie Tucker but about the world of entertainment during much of the twentieth century.Armond Fields' book is a must read for lovers of Sophie, theatre, vaudeville, cabaret, or just plain histiory.
Rating: 3 out of 5
This book is not the success that Sophie Tucker was.
I looked forward to reading Armand Fields' book about Sophie Tucker. This is only the fourth book about the late "Queen of Show Business". There is indeed much new material not included in the other books and that makes this one worthwhile. However, this book is filled with errors. One photograph of Sophie Tucker and her grown son Bert is captioned as Sophie and her husband Frank Westphal. Also an ad from the Florentine Gardens circa 1947 is captioned as from the 1930s despite her 40s coiffure and shoulder pads. Mr. Fields seems not to have bothered to watch her films. He calls her role in "Broadway Melody of 1938" a cameo. A role with three songs and five wardrobe changes is hardly a cameo. Sophie does sing two songs in "Sensations of 1945" but not the titles listed by Mr. Fields. He also claims that her scene was cut out of "The Joker Is Wild". She appears in every print of this film that I have ever seen.
Shelton Brooks, writer of Sophie Tucker's anthem "Some Of These Days" has his name spelled as "Sheldon" Brooks. Also, songwriter Jack Yellen's name appears as "Yellin" despite the reproduction in the book of a piece of sheet music with the correct spelling.
The author also states that Tucker recorded every song on which her picture appears on the cover. If only that were true! There are many such errors in this biography.
To pay (money) for a paperback, you really should have an accurate book as well as more pictures for your money. Sophie Tucker still has not had the treatment she desereves.
Rating: 5 out of 5
About Time Soph Got a Good Bio
One of the most colorful and important performers of her time--and "her time" stretched from 1906 to 1966! Fields is a seasoned biographer and has done his homework; this is a thoroughly balanced and well-researched book, a must for students of theater and fans of Soph.
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