Tag Archives: Sophie Tucker

Sophie Rosenberg

Sophie Rosenberg

The discovery of a feature in Dance Magazine from December 1924 about the New York modiste Sophie Rosenberg has sent me on a slight detour from my current research. It would appear that she was a significant figure in the New York fashion design world from 1915 right through to the mid 1950s. Taking her inspiration from her yearly trips to Paris, Rosenberg created original designs with a Parisian air. Her enterprises evolved in 1915 in conjunction with her husband under various names and in 1935 she entered into a rather disastrous and short-lived business arrangement with Gloria Vanderbilt before re-establishing her independence.

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Round in 50

Round in 50

Julian Wylie’s 1922 spectacular show for the London Hippodrome was Round in 50. It was not a golf problem but a ‘musical adventure’ designed as a vehicle for the hugely popular comedian George Robey, with the later addition of the American vaudeville star Sophie Tucker.

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The Kit Cat Club

The Kit Cat Club

The fashionable Kit Cat Club in the Haymarket, which to many people today still epitomises the gay carefree days of the 1920s, was opened in the summer of 1925 and immediately became one of the most famous nocturnal haunts in London. Decked out with the last word in restaurant and dance floor equipment it was regarded as the most sumptuous resort in Europe and was the only club in London that had been built expressly for the purpose of a club.

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Les Copeland: a life of Ragtime

Les Copeland

One of the great ragtime stylists of the early 20th Century, Les Copeland was a popular American composer, pianist and performer, who reached success in the USA in the teens but achieved greater fame amongst the ex-patriot American community in Paris during the 1920s. Gershwin regarded him as one of his favourite pianists. Continue reading Les Copeland: a life of Ragtime