At the age of 16 she eloped with a beer cart driver, Louis Tuck. They had a son three years later but Tucker was not impressed with her husband's work ethic and asked for a separation. With a letter of introduction to composer Howard Von Tilzer from a mutual friend, she changed her name to Tucker and left Hartford for New York. Von Tilzer wasn't impressed but she found work anyway in beer gardens and cafes singing for rent money and meals. Her big break came in 1907 singing in Chris Brown's amateur night. She overheard Brown telling a colleague, "This one's so big and ugly, the crowd out front will razz her. Better get some cork and black her up." Even though she protested, the only way they would employ her was if she wore blackface.
She was booked on the New England vaudeville circuit and quickly became known as a "world renowned coon singer", a role she was too ashamed to explain to her family. Two years into the circuit, her costumes failed to arrive at a Boston performance and Tucker was finally able to appear as herself, shocking her audience by denouncing the black face and claiming her Jewish heritage. She was a hit. Emboldened by her popularity as her authentic self, she began incorporating songs that made fun of her size into her act such as "I Don't Want To Be Thin" and "Nobody Loves A Fat Girl, But Oh How a Fat Girl Can Love" Songs with double meanings also became a staple as well as songs of female empowerment which included, "I'm Livin' Alone And I Like It", "I Ain't Takin' Orders From No One" and "No Man Is Ever Gonna Worry Me", all of them popular with female and male audiences alike.
In 1910, Tucker bought the rights to Sheldon Brooks' song "Some Of These Days" which became her theme song. Her connection to the African-American performing community was a strong one. Her friendships with Ethel Waters and Mamie Smith exposed her to jazz and the blues and Tucker became one of the first performers to introduce jazz to white vaudeville audiences. Experiencing racial prejudice as a Jewish female gave her a good deal of sympathy for her black friends and she was often a behind the scenes supporter. Later in life she would lend her energies and financial support to organizations such as the Negro Actors Guild and The Will Rogers Memorial Hospital among others.
In 1921, Tucker hired pianist and songwriter Ted Shapiro to be her accompanist and musical director, a relationship that would last throughout her career. Shapiro wrote several songs for her and would play piano. The two would tell jokes and wisecrack in between songs as part of her act. In 1925, Jack Yellon wrote "My Yiddishe Momme", one of her most famous songs. It was especially popular in cities with a sizable Jewish population but as Tucker stated, "You didn't have to be a Jew to be moved by 'My Yiddishe Momme'". Tucker's popularity spread across the Atlantic and she made her first tour of Europe in 1926, entertaining the King and Queen of England and recording with Ted Lewis' band.
As the age of vaudeville began to fade in the 20's, Tucker turned to film and radio to sustain her career, making 11 films between 1929 and 1957. She continued to sing songs attesting to her sexual appetites which endeared her to a public that was shocked and delighted by her continued challenges to gender, size and a woman's sexuality with a healthy dose of humor. She had her own radio show between 1938 and 1939 and was a frequent guest on other shows.In the 50's and 60's she appeared on many television shows billed as "The First Lady of Show Business." She also continued to tour, especially in England where she was adored. Tucker never retired, working until weeks before her death of a lung aliment. Her legacy lives on in her contributions to many charities and her inimitable style which gave power and legitimacy to the idea of a strong woman with healthy appetites.
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