Loretta Clemens Tupper
Encyclopedia
Loretta Clemens Tupper was born 6 May 1906, in Marblehead, Ohio
and died 17 September 1990, in The Bronx, New York. She was a singer and an actor. She was famous for playing the old lady in the Fruit of the Loom
commercials from the 1980s. She was a character on the PBS Television show Sesame Street
called Mrs. Mae Trump in the 1980s. She played small roles in numerous movies including:
Walls of Glass
, The Purple Rose of Cairo
, The House of God
, The First Time, The King of Comedy
, Honky Tonk Freeway
, Home Movies (film)
, Midnight Madness, Something Short of Paradise, Annie Hall
and Vitaphone Frolics.
In the early 1930s, Loretta and her brother Jack Clemens played music in a band called Loretta and Jack. Jack Clemens was a guitar player, a singer and a comedian. They recorded a number of songs including Stop! You're Breaking My Heart from the album Jazz Guitar Varieties, written by Ted Koehler
and Burton Lane
, (What Did I Do To Be So) Black and Blue written by Harry Brooks
and Andy Razaf and composed by Thomas "Fats" Waller, from the album Jazz Guitar Varieties and Just A Little Girl written by S. B. Fishburne. In the early 1930s Loretta was a member of a band called The Triolettes
, along with Eunice Miller and Marjorie Sullivan.
Jack and Loretta Clemens also starred in an hour long musical comedy radio series on NBC called The Gibson Family which was on the radio from 1934 to 1935. Loretta played a character named Dotty Marsh and Jack played a character named Bobby Gibson. The Gibson Family was sponsored by Procter & Gamble and was a very expensive show to produce partially because new music was written for every episode. The Gibson Family did not do well in the ratings and in 1935 it was reworked and renamed Uncle Charlie’s Tent Show. While the format had changed, many of the characters from The Gibson Family were in the new version of the show. Jack and Loretta Clemens remained on the show, playing the same characters that they played on the Gibson Family. Uncle Charlie’s Tent Show was broadcast for less than three months before it too was canceled.
From 1933 through 1939 Jack and Loretta Clemens had their own program. It was called Jack and Loretta Clemens, and was a brother-sister piano-patter-and-song-duo broadcast on various networks including NBC, CBS, Blue Network and Blue. The program was 15 minutes long and was broadcast up to six times per week.
Between 1934 and 1937 Loretta sang on the NBC radio program Johnny Presents. In 1936 Jack and Loretta starred in a radio program called Studio 7. Studio 7 aired three times a week on NBC. It was the story of two young people who were willed a radio station by their uncle. Jack and Loretta Clemens played themselves in the 1937 musical film Vitaphone Frolics. Jack and Loretta also performed on The Phillip Morris Show.According to "On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio," by John Dunning, Jack and Loretta Clemens were a brother and sister Piano patter song
duo. Loretta was a soprano and played piano. Jack played guitar and banjo.
Loretta's father died when she was a teenager. She and her brother Jack performed in Vaudeville
until the late 1920s or early 1930s. During this time she was in a band called Lolly and the Pops. According to The Miami News
dated June 8, 1938, Jack Clemens was the nephew of Mark Twain
(Samuel Langhorne Clemens). However, The Brooklyn Daily Eagle dated July 7, 1937 stated that Jack and Loretta Clemens were fourth cousins to Mark Twain. Jack Clemens died in 1970. Sometime during the 1930s Loretta married violinist Frederick H. Tupper who was born 5 October 1904 and died 31 May 1974. He was a respected jazz musician and big band arranger.
In 1942, she gave birth to her daughter, Rettadel Tupper, and decided to semi-retire from show business. She opened a talent school in Queens, New York where she taught such future stars as Eileen Brennan
. Her talent school included instruction in acting, dance, and piano. In 1969 the father of one of her students took some photos of her and sent them to some agents in New York. Shortly after that, Mrs. Tupper had her first new acting role advertising Parker Pens. After the death of her husband, she returned to show business, and appeared in numerous television commercials and small film roles. Directors nicknamed her One-Take Tupper for her ability to complete her part in just one take. In 1977 she won a Clio award for her first Fruit of the Loom commercial. She was in numerous commercials including Hertz
, The New York Yankees, Midas Muffler
s, Audi
and Morton's Doughnuts. In 1985 she won another Clio award for her work in a commercial for the Baltimore Orioles
. She worked steadily until the last 2 years of her life.
Marblehead, Ohio
Marblehead is a village in Ottawa County, Ohio, United States. The population was 762 at the 2000 census.It sits at the tip of the Marblehead Peninsula, which divides Lake Erie proper from Sandusky Bay...
and died 17 September 1990, in The Bronx, New York. She was a singer and an actor. She was famous for playing the old lady in the Fruit of the Loom
Fruit of the Loom
Fruit of the Loom is an American company which manufactures clothing, particularly underwear. The company's world headquarters is in Bowling Green, Kentucky. It is currently a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway.-Company profile:...
commercials from the 1980s. She was a character on the PBS Television show Sesame Street
Sesame Street
Sesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
called Mrs. Mae Trump in the 1980s. She played small roles in numerous movies including:
Walls of Glass
Walls of Glass
Walls of Glass, also known as Flanagan is a 1985 comedy - romance film directed by Scott D. Goldstein, and starring Philip Bosco as the protagonist James Flanagan. The film was released on October 30, 1985.-Plot:...
, The Purple Rose of Cairo
The Purple Rose of Cairo
The Purple Rose of Cairo is a 1985 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Woody Allen. Inspired by Sherlock, Jr., Hellzapoppin, and Pirandello's Six Characters in Search of an Author, it is the tale of a film character who leaves a fictional film of the same name and enters the real...
, The House of God
The House of God
The House of God is a satirical novel by Samuel Shem , published in 1978. It portrays the psychological harm done to medical interns during the course of medical internship in the early 1970s.-Storyline:...
, The First Time, The King of Comedy
The King of Comedy
King of Comedy may refer to:* Mack Sennett was nicknamed the King of Comedy.* The King of Comedy is a 1983 film directed by Martin Scorsese starring Robert De Niro and Jerry Lewis....
, Honky Tonk Freeway
Honky Tonk Freeway
Honky Tonk Freeway is a UK comedy film directed by John Schlesinger. It was released in August 1981 by Universal Studios. The film, conceived and co-produced by Don Boyd, was one of the most expensive box office flops in history, losing its British backers Thorn-EMI an estimated $11,000,000 and...
, Home Movies (film)
Home Movies (film)
Home Movies is a 1980 independent film directed by Brian De Palma and starring Kirk Douglas, Nancy Allen, Vincent Gardenia, Keith Gordon, Theresa Saldana, and Gerrit Graham.-Plot:...
, Midnight Madness, Something Short of Paradise, Annie Hall
Annie Hall
Annie Hall is a 1977 American romantic comedy directed by Woody Allen from a screenplay co-written with Marshall Brickman and co-starring Diane Keaton. One of Allen's most popular and most honored films, it won four Academy Awards including Best Picture...
and Vitaphone Frolics.
In the early 1930s, Loretta and her brother Jack Clemens played music in a band called Loretta and Jack. Jack Clemens was a guitar player, a singer and a comedian. They recorded a number of songs including Stop! You're Breaking My Heart from the album Jazz Guitar Varieties, written by Ted Koehler
Ted Koehler
Ted L. Koehler was an American lyricist.-Life and career:Koehler was born in Washington, D.C. He started out as a photo-engraver but was attracted to the music business, where he started out as a theater pianist for silent films. He moved on to write for vaudeville shows and Broadway, and he also...
and Burton Lane
Burton Lane
Burton Lane was an American composer and lyricist. His most popular and successful work is the musical Finian's Rainbow, "the score for which Lane will always be most remembered."-Biography:...
, (What Did I Do To Be So) Black and Blue written by Harry Brooks
Harry Brooks
Harry Brooks may refer to:*Harry W. Brooks, Jr., general of the 25th Infantry Division *Harry Brooks , jazz composer, pianist and songwriter *Harry Brooks , Tennessee state representative from Knoxville...
and Andy Razaf and composed by Thomas "Fats" Waller, from the album Jazz Guitar Varieties and Just A Little Girl written by S. B. Fishburne. In the early 1930s Loretta was a member of a band called The Triolettes
The Triolettes
The Triolettes was a band that played in the Buffalo, New York area for several years in the early 1930s. The band consisted of Marjorie Sullivan, Eunice Miller and Loretta Clemens. They were a smooth singing trio who did their own arrangements. Marjorie and Loretta were staff members of radio...
, along with Eunice Miller and Marjorie Sullivan.
Jack and Loretta Clemens also starred in an hour long musical comedy radio series on NBC called The Gibson Family which was on the radio from 1934 to 1935. Loretta played a character named Dotty Marsh and Jack played a character named Bobby Gibson. The Gibson Family was sponsored by Procter & Gamble and was a very expensive show to produce partially because new music was written for every episode. The Gibson Family did not do well in the ratings and in 1935 it was reworked and renamed Uncle Charlie’s Tent Show. While the format had changed, many of the characters from The Gibson Family were in the new version of the show. Jack and Loretta Clemens remained on the show, playing the same characters that they played on the Gibson Family. Uncle Charlie’s Tent Show was broadcast for less than three months before it too was canceled.
From 1933 through 1939 Jack and Loretta Clemens had their own program. It was called Jack and Loretta Clemens, and was a brother-sister piano-patter-and-song-duo broadcast on various networks including NBC, CBS, Blue Network and Blue. The program was 15 minutes long and was broadcast up to six times per week.
Between 1934 and 1937 Loretta sang on the NBC radio program Johnny Presents. In 1936 Jack and Loretta starred in a radio program called Studio 7. Studio 7 aired three times a week on NBC. It was the story of two young people who were willed a radio station by their uncle. Jack and Loretta Clemens played themselves in the 1937 musical film Vitaphone Frolics. Jack and Loretta also performed on The Phillip Morris Show.According to "On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio," by John Dunning, Jack and Loretta Clemens were a brother and sister Piano patter song
Patter song
The patter song is characterized by a moderately fast to very fast tempo with a rapid succession of rhythmic patterns in which each syllable of text corresponds to one note...
duo. Loretta was a soprano and played piano. Jack played guitar and banjo.
Loretta's father died when she was a teenager. She and her brother Jack performed in Vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
until the late 1920s or early 1930s. During this time she was in a band called Lolly and the Pops. According to The Miami News
The Miami News
The Miami News was the dominant evening newspaper in Miami, Florida for most of the 20th century, its chief concurrent competitor being the morning-edition of The Miami Herald. The paper started publishing in May 1896 as a weekly called The Miami Metropolis. The Metropolis had become a daily paper...
dated June 8, 1938, Jack Clemens was the nephew of Mark Twain
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
(Samuel Langhorne Clemens). However, The Brooklyn Daily Eagle dated July 7, 1937 stated that Jack and Loretta Clemens were fourth cousins to Mark Twain. Jack Clemens died in 1970. Sometime during the 1930s Loretta married violinist Frederick H. Tupper who was born 5 October 1904 and died 31 May 1974. He was a respected jazz musician and big band arranger.
In 1942, she gave birth to her daughter, Rettadel Tupper, and decided to semi-retire from show business. She opened a talent school in Queens, New York where she taught such future stars as Eileen Brennan
Eileen Brennan
Eileen Brennan is an American actress of film, television, and theater. Brennan is best known for her role as Doreen Lewis in Private Benjamin for which she received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress. She reprised the role in the TV adaption and won a Golden Globe Award and an Emmy...
. Her talent school included instruction in acting, dance, and piano. In 1969 the father of one of her students took some photos of her and sent them to some agents in New York. Shortly after that, Mrs. Tupper had her first new acting role advertising Parker Pens. After the death of her husband, she returned to show business, and appeared in numerous television commercials and small film roles. Directors nicknamed her One-Take Tupper for her ability to complete her part in just one take. In 1977 she won a Clio award for her first Fruit of the Loom commercial. She was in numerous commercials including Hertz
Hertz
The hertz is the SI unit of frequency defined as the number of cycles per second of a periodic phenomenon. One of its most common uses is the description of the sine wave, particularly those used in radio and audio applications....
, The New York Yankees, Midas Muffler
Midas Muffler
Midas, Inc. is a chain of automotive service centers headquartered in Itasca, Illinois. In the main markets of the United States and Canada, Midas stores are company-owned or franchised...
s, Audi
Audi
Audi AG is a German automobile manufacturer, from supermini to crossover SUVs in various body styles and price ranges that are marketed under the Audi brand , positioned as the premium brand within the Volkswagen Group....
and Morton's Doughnuts. In 1985 she won another Clio award for her work in a commercial for the Baltimore Orioles
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...
. She worked steadily until the last 2 years of her life.
External links
- http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Loretta_Tupper Loretta Clemens Tupper Muppet Wiki
- http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0876808/bio Loretta Clemens Tupper IMDB
- http://www.nytimes.com/1990/09/22/obituaries/loretta-tupper-84-a-radio-entertainer.html Loretta Clemens Tupper NY Times Obituary
- http://www.old-time.com/commercials/1930%27s/The%20Gibson%20Family.htm The Gibson Family
- http://books.google.com/books?id=EwtRbXNca0oC&pg=PA374&lpg=PA374&dq=%22Johnny+Presents%22+radio&source=bl&ots=H4AL8NB2xy&sig=A1z16S17oztZXgLn-4NhtxWnKjY&hl=en&ei=RXfLTOHHIM2r8AaBwZyLAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CBgQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=%22Johnny%20Presents%22%20radio&f=false On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio By John Dunning
- http://www.otrcat.com/old-time-radio-theme-music-j.html Old Time Radio Theme Music
- http://mcproductions.shawbiz.ca/jazzbluescompilations.html MC Productions Vintage Recording Page
- http://amazon.imdb.com/title/tt1584764/ Vitaphone Frolics, a 1937 film with Jack and Loretta Clemens playing themselves.
- http://www.ibdb.com/person.php?id=482477 IBDB, Rettadel Tupper, performing in a musical called Livin' the Life in 1957.
- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075686/fullcredits#cast Annie Hall, a 1977 film with film with Loretta Tupper playing a street stranger.
- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079931/fullcredits#cast Something Short of Paradise, a 1979 film with film with Loretta Tupper playing Alice Quine.
- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081159/ Midnight Madness, a 1980 film with film with Loretta Tupper playing Mr. Thorpe's Mother.
- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082525/ Honky Tonk Freeway, a 1981 film with Loretta Tupper playing Miss Barbutti.
- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085794/ The King of Comedy, a 1982 film with Loretta Tupper playing a stage door fan.
- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085546/fullcredits#cast The First Time, a 1983 film with Loretta Tupper playing Grandma.
- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087429/ The House of God, a 1984 film with Loretta Tupper playing Sophie.
- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090286/ Walls of Glass, a 1985 film with Loretta Tupper playing Old Lady #1.
- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089853/ Purple Rose of Cairo, a 1985 film with Loretta Tupper playing a music store owner.
- http://www.clioawards.com/ Clio Awards Archives, 1985.