Sonny Tufts: Difference between revisions
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In an episode of ''[[My Mother the Car]]'' titled "And Leave The Drive-In To Us," Mother wants to go to a [[drive-in]] to see Sonny Tufts for her birthday. Tufts himself makes an appearance at the very end of the episode, much to Mother's appreciation, and causing her radiator cap to pop! |
In an episode of ''[[My Mother the Car]]'' titled "And Leave The Drive-In To Us," Mother wants to go to a [[drive-in]] to see Sonny Tufts for her birthday. Tufts himself makes an appearance at the very end of the episode, much to Mother's appreciation, and causing her radiator cap to pop! |
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In the November 26, 1966 episode of ''[[The Monkees]]'', "I've Got a |
In the November 26, 1966 episode of ''[[The Monkees]]'', "I've Got a Little Song Here", [[Micky Dolenz]], posing as a Hollywood studio head, says he's making a blockbuster movie, starring, "... [[Gregory Peck]], [[Elizabeth Taylor]], [[Doris Day]], and Sonny Tufts." To which the other person exclaims incredulously, "Sonny T---?? What a production!". |
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Tufts is the subject of an [[urban legend]]. The legend holds that he had been selected to host a well-known radio show as a last-minute replacement for a better known celebrity. The week before Tufts's episode was scheduled, the previous host introduced him with a combination of surprise and outrage, shocked that a relatively unknown actor would succeed him as host. There is no evidence, however, that such an incident occurred.<ref>[http://www.snopes.com/radiotv/radio/tufts.asp Sonny Tufts?] 22 July 2005</ref> Tufts himself parodied this legend in frequent appearances on ''[[Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In]]'': seated in a director's chair with his name printed on it, he would turn around to face the camera and utter a word or phrase relevant to the previous bit, in mock contempt. |
Tufts is the subject of an [[urban legend]]. The legend holds that he had been selected to host a well-known radio show as a last-minute replacement for a better known celebrity. The week before Tufts's episode was scheduled, the previous host introduced him with a combination of surprise and outrage, shocked that a relatively unknown actor would succeed him as host. There is no evidence, however, that such an incident occurred.<ref>[http://www.snopes.com/radiotv/radio/tufts.asp Sonny Tufts?] 22 July 2005</ref> Tufts himself parodied this legend in frequent appearances on ''[[Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In]]'': seated in a director's chair with his name printed on it, he would turn around to face the camera and utter a word or phrase relevant to the previous bit, in mock contempt. |
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Revision as of 05:10, 7 March 2014
Sonny Tufts | |
|---|---|
| File:Sonny Tufts.jpg Tufts ca. 1955 | |
| Born | Bowen Charlton Tufts III July 16, 1911 |
| Died | June 4, 1970 (aged 58) |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Yale University |
| Occupation | Hollywood actor |
| Years active | 1943–1968 |
| Known for | The Seven Year Itch (1955) Blaze of Noon (1947) The Well-Groomed Bride (1946) Here Come the Waves (1944) Government Girl (1943) Johnny Carson often referenced Tufts on The Tonight Show |
| Spouse | Barbara Dare (married 1938-1953) |
| Relatives | Charles Tufts |
Sonny Tufts (born Bowen Charlton Tufts III, July 16, 1911, Boston, Massachusetts - June 4, 1970, Santa Monica, California) was a United States film actor.
Biography
Tufts was born into a prominent banking family, whose patriarch had supposedly sailed to America from England in 1638. He broke with the family banking tradition by studying opera at Yale, where he was an editor of campus humor magazine The Yale Record,[1] as well as a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity (Phi chapter) and Skull and Bones.[2]
After graduating from college in 1935, he auditioned with the Metropolitan Opera in New York but eventually worked on the Broadway stage. In 1942, Tufts went to Hollywood. He attained some fame during World War II, principally because, due to an old college football injury, he was one of the few handsome male actors not serving overseas in the war. In 1944 he was voted the number one "Star of Tomorrow" by exhibitors.[3]
He was married to Spanish dancer Barbara Dare from 1938 to 1953.
He is a relative of Charles Tufts, for whom Tufts University is named.
Tufts died of pneumonia at age 58 in Santa Monica, California, on June 4, 1970.
Sonny Tufts References in the Media
In a non sequitur on the cartoon show Rocky and His Friends, in the Jet Fuel Formula story arc, Bullwinkle J. Moose becomes very upset when Boris Badenov steals his autographed picture of Sonny Tufts. Also, Tufts is mentioned in the last sentence of the third sketch of the 48th show of the second season of the Rocky and Bullwinkle Show (also featuring Wailing Whale episodes 5 & 6), which was first aired on May 13, 1961.
In an episode of The Dick Van Dyke Show, Rob sees a flying saucer that makes a noise "Uhny Uftz", which Rob mis-hears as "Sonny Tufts"[4]
In an episode of My Mother the Car titled "And Leave The Drive-In To Us," Mother wants to go to a drive-in to see Sonny Tufts for her birthday. Tufts himself makes an appearance at the very end of the episode, much to Mother's appreciation, and causing her radiator cap to pop!
In the November 26, 1966 episode of The Monkees, "I've Got a Little Song Here", Micky Dolenz, posing as a Hollywood studio head, says he's making a blockbuster movie, starring, "... Gregory Peck, Elizabeth Taylor, Doris Day, and Sonny Tufts." To which the other person exclaims incredulously, "Sonny T---?? What a production!".
Tufts is the subject of an urban legend. The legend holds that he had been selected to host a well-known radio show as a last-minute replacement for a better known celebrity. The week before Tufts's episode was scheduled, the previous host introduced him with a combination of surprise and outrage, shocked that a relatively unknown actor would succeed him as host. There is no evidence, however, that such an incident occurred.[5] Tufts himself parodied this legend in frequent appearances on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In: seated in a director's chair with his name printed on it, he would turn around to face the camera and utter a word or phrase relevant to the previous bit, in mock contempt.
Years after Tuft's death, during the 1980s, he became known as one of the semi-random people and places that TV host Johnny Carson used in his jokes on The Tonight Show.
Select Credits
- So Proudly We Hail! (1943)
- Government Girl (1943)
- Here Come the Waves (1944)
- Miss Susie Slagle's (1945)
- The Well-Groomed Bride (1946)
- The Virginian (1946)
- Cross My Heart (1946)
- Easy Come, Easy Go (1947)
- Blaze of Noon (1947)
- The Crooked Way (1949)
- Easy Living (1949)
- The Gift Horse (UK – 1950)
- The Seven Year Itch (1955)
References
- ^ "Sonny Tufts, Boston And Yale Scion, Makes Good In Movies". Miami Daily News. July 7, 1943. p. 21.
- ^ Success Stories. Harper Collins. 1996. p. 37.
- ^ "SAGA OF THE HIGH SEAS". The Mercury (Hobart, Tas. : 1860 - 1954). Hobart, Tas.: National Library of Australia. 11 November 1944. p. 9. Retrieved 24 April 2012.
- ^ Sonny Tufts at IMDb
- ^ Sonny Tufts? 22 July 2005
External links
- Sonny Tufts at IMDb
- Sonny Tufts at the Internet Broadway Database
- Sonny Tufts at Find a Grave
- Don't Drink and Act (Movie Morlocks on Sonny Tufts)
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