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Being a child and being dressed from hill to head for the photo day.

Sophie Tucker, The Last of the Red-Hot Mamas Brash, bold, and her own woman, Hartford’s Sophie Tucker enjoyed a long and successful career as an entertainer, performing for almost 60 years. Nicknamed “The Last of the Red-hot Mamas,” she was an inspiration to both the entertainment and the Jewish communities, maintaining her faith throughout her life and donating money to various charities, including the Jewish War Relief Campaign. Born in Russia in 1884, Sophie Kalish and her family immigrated to the United States and by the time she was eight had moved to Hartford, where they opened a Jewish restaurant on Front Street called Abuza’s Home Restaurant. Little Sophie often entertained the restaurant’s customers with her singing and enjoyed performing so much that she soon moved on to amateur singing contests. Audience members often shouted, “Give us the fat girl!” Sophie would jump up and perform, never worried about her size or looks. She later said she wanted to put on a show that the audience would remember. She continued to perform until her first marriage at 16, and although she and her husband Louis Tuck had one son, the marriage quickly fell apart. Leaving her young son at home, Sophie moved to New York where she attempted a career as an entertainer. Upon her arrival, she wrote to her mother and explained her decision, promising to send money for the care of her young son. She changed her name to Sophie Tucker, which she thought sounded like a good name for a singer, and got a job at the German Village beer garden earning $15 a week. Her first big break came in 1907 at Chris Brown’s amateur night. The manager felt she was too big and unattractive to sing as herself so he had her go on stage in blackface, a popular practice in the early 20th century. She reluctantly accepted, performed, and quickly became a success as a “World Renowned Coon Shouter,” for which she earned $25 a week. Tucker performed for four years in blackface and hated it, feeling such shame that when she toured her act in Meriden, Connecticut, she didn’t tell her family. Shortly after, when her makeup failed to arrive for a big show in Boston, she won the audience over as herself and never performed in blackface again. In 1909, Tucker got a part in the Ziegfeld Follies, one of the biggest acts of the time, but the other performers envied her and she lost her voice due to stress. Her luck changed when she caught the eye of William Morris, a talent agent who quickly signed her and put her to work. Her new act included tunes, such as “Nobody Loves a Fat Girl but Oh How a Fat Girl Can Love,” which became known as Sophie’s “Red-hot Mama” songs. In 1911, songwriter Shelton Brooks offered her a song called “Some of These Days.” Hugely popular, it became Tucker’s signature piece, one she included in her act for the next 30 years. In 1913, Tucker returned to Hartford to perform at Poli’s Vaudeville Theatre, the same theater she visited as a girl, only now the billboards announced, “Sophie Tucker, The Pride of Hartford.” A huge success in her hometown, she would later say that the week she spent in Hartford was one of the best in her life. In 1922 Sophie toured England with Ted Shapiro, her new pianist. The duo worked well and would perform together for the rest of her career. Later, she branched into movies, television, and radio but complained about the censorship, remarking in an interview, “I couldn’t even say hell or damn and nothing, honey, is more expressive than the way I say hell or damn.” Still, between 1929 and 1945, she made eight films, including 1938’s Broadway Melody in which she played the mother to Judy Garland’s 15-year-old singer. In 1938, she became the first woman to chair the American Federation of Actors. Sophie continued appearing in nightclubs using her classic sexy act, updating it as she got older and singing songs such as “I Am Having More Fun Since I Am Sixty.” She continued to perform until her death from lung cancer in 1966. An estimated 3,000 mourners attended her funeral service at Emanuel Synagogue in Wethersfield. She is buried in the synagogue’s cemetery. Source: connecticuthistory.org/sophie-tucker-the-last-of-the-red-...

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He established Bushman's Bible and portraiture prize What do Australia's most famous portrait prize, the now-defunct Bulletin magazine, and Hyde Park fountain in the heart of Sydney all have in common? They were all made possible thanks to the work of a man named Archibald. John Feltham Archibald was a child of the goldfields. His mother died when he was four years old so his aunt raised him and he went to school while his father prospected for gold. By 14 years old he was apprenticed to the Warrnambool Examiner and worked towards his goal of becoming a journalist. He was, however, too shy to submit his articles to his own paper so he sent them to others. By 18 years old he moved to Melbourne and it was here he developed a fascination for French culture. He decided to change his name to Jules Francois Archibald. It was the name he would keep for the rest of his life. After working as a clerk in rural Queensland, Jules made his way to Sydney and picked up employment as a clerk with the Evening News. This was the platform he needed to work his way up to the status of a reporter. Then in 1880, at the age of 24, Jules and another journalist John Haynes, started up the magazine that would become the mouthpiece for rural Australia and nicknamed the Bushman's Bible, the stage for new Australian literary talent, including Henry Lawson and Banjo Paterson, and a discussion panel for issues of the day. It was called The Bulletin and its first publication came out on 31 January 1880 and sold out. The Bulletin became highly influential in Australian culture and politics. It was Australia's longest-running magazine publication until the final issue was published in January 2008. Jules and John even faced some jail time due to a libel suit brought against the magazine for its biting comments. On his only trip to England, Jules met and fell in love with Rosa Frankenstein. She followed him back to Sydney and they married in 1885. It was not the happiest of marriages as they lost their only child and Rosa turned to drink. Jules was already suffering bouts of depression and this caused him to worry about her continuously. In 1902 he finally handed over the editorship of The Bulletin and decided to launch a monthly offshoot called the Lone Hand. His sickness became obvious by 1906 when he started overpaying journalists and ordered absurd quantities of wine for the launch of the magazine. He was checked into Callan Park Asylum where he was discharged then re-admitted and stayed until 1910. He continued to write poetry and occasionally fiction, some of which got published in the Lone Hand which finished publication in 1907. In his will, Jules left money for a fountain that was built in Hyde Park, Sydney, and a bequest for a portraiture prize to encourage his love of art. It became known as the Archibald prize and still runs today through the Art Gallery of NSW. Jules Francois Archibald died on 10 September 1919 and is buried at Waverley Cemetery. Source: www.talesfromthegrave.org/post/he-established-bushman-s-b...