Loretta Clemens Tupper

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. Her father was Rollin Jay Clemons and her mother was Amanda Eberwine Clemons. In her early career she was known as Loretta Clemens and in her later career she was known as Loretta Tupper. 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 Fredrick 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 Mufflers, 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.

References

1. ^ Pancakes and Patter, by Dora Albert. The Oakland Tribune (Oakland, California) Dated March 8, 1936. This article is a full-page story about the lives and careers of Jack and Loretta Clemens.

1. ^ Americas Favorite Granny, by Diane Casselberry Manuel. The Chronicle-Telegram (Elyria, Ohio) Dated November 7, 1982. This article is a full-page story about the life of Loretta Clemens Tupper.

1. ^ Obituary for Frederick H. Tupper. The New York Times (New York City, New York) Dated June 3, 1974.

1. ^ Between Broadway, by Boarman Byrd. The Miami News (Miami, Florida) Dated June 8, 1937.

External links

• [1] Loretta Clemens Tupper Muppet Wiki
• [2] Loretta Clemens Tupper IMDB
• [3] Loretta Clemens Tupper NY Times Obituary
• [4] The Gibson Family
• [5] On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio By John Dunning
• [6] MC Productions Vintage Recording Page
• [7] Vitaphone Frolics, a 1937 film with Jack and Loretta Clemens playing themselves.
• [8] IBDB, Rettadel Tupper, performing in a musical called Livin' the Life in 1957.
• [9] Annie Hall, a 1977 film with Loretta Tupper playing a street stranger.
• [10] Something Short of Paradise, a 1979 film with Loretta Tupper playing Alice Quine.
• [11] Midnight Madness, a 1980 film with Loretta Tupper playing Mr. Thorpe's Mother.
• [12] Honky Tonk Freeway, a 1981 film with Loretta Tupper playing Miss Barbutti.
• [13] The King of Comedy, a 1982 film with Loretta Tupper playing a stage door fan.
• [14] The First Time, a 1983 film with Loretta Tupper playing Grandma.
• [15] The House of God, a 1984 film with Loretta Tupper playing Sophie.
• [16] Walls of Glass, a 1985 film with Loretta Tupper playing Old Lady #1.
• [17] Purple Rose of Cairo, a 1985 film with Loretta Tupper playing a music store owner.
• [18] Clio Awards Archives, 1985.