User:Daughterphoenix/sandbox: Difference between revisions
No edit summary |
No edit summary |
||
| Line 3: | Line 3: | ||
| image = File:Pet-Squirrel-Grid-LIFE-1944.jpg |
| image = File:Pet-Squirrel-Grid-LIFE-1944.jpg |
||
| caption = |
| caption = |
||
| species = |
| species =Eastern gray squirrel |
||
| breed = |
| breed = |
||
| gender = |
| gender =male |
||
| resting_place = |
| resting_place =Prince George's Country lawyer's office |
||
| years_active = |
| years_active =1943 - 1949 |
||
|birth_date=|death_date=June 25, 1949|known_for=selling war bonds}} |
|||
}} |
|||
'''Tommy Tucker''' was a celebrity squirrel in the United States. Adopted |
'''Tommy Tucker''' was a celebrity [[Eastern gray squirrel]] in the United States. Adopted in 1942 by Mrs. Zaidee Bullis and her husband Mark C. Bullis, Tommy toured the country to perform tricks in women's fashions, selling war bonds and entertaining small children. A Washington Post columnist noted him as "the most famous squirrel ever to come from Washington."<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/tommy-tucker-washingtons-most-famous-squirrel/2012/04/08/gIQAddnZ4S_story.html|title=Tommy Tucker, Washington’s most famous squirrel|website=Washington Post|access-date=2016-10-02}}</ref> |
||
== |
== Personal life == |
||
Origin stories differ, though Tommy was believed to have been orphaned as a baby and adopted by Zaidee in 1942. He may have been named after the 18th century nursery rhyme "[[Little Tommy Tucker]]." Zaidee chose to dress Tommy exclusively in women's clothing to circumvent tailoring around his bushy tail. |
|||
In the early 1940s, LIFE magazine reported that a Mrs. Mark Bullis of Washington, D.C., had adopted a squirrel “before his eyes were open, when his mother died and left him in a tree” in the Bullis’s back yard. Here, in a series of photos by Nina Leen, LIFE.com chronicles the quiet, rodential adventures and sartorial splendor of Tommy Tucker, the orphaned — and, in 1940s America, the celebrated — squirrel. |
|||
Following World War I he married a squirrel named Buzzy, of which little is known.<ref name=":0" /> |
|||
== Career == |
== Career == |
||
In 1943, Zaidee and Mark began taking Tommy on tour in their Packard Touring Car. Tommy's lovingly crafted patriotic attire and unusually docile demeanor charmed the nation. One of his earliest shows included a performance for 500 students at Silver Spring's Woodside Elementary School. |
|||
... |
|||
Accompanying the three on their adventures was a bulldog, who purportedly had at least one gold tooth and commonly wore a fez.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/tommy-tucker-eternitys-satin-doll-of-a-squirrel-is-at-last-located/2012/04/18/gIQAu5jeRT_story.html|title=Tommy Tucker: Eternity’s satin doll of a squirrel is at last located|website=Washington Post|access-date=2016-10-02}}</ref> |
|||
=== Selling war bonds === |
|||
In 1944 the squirrel was featured in [[Life (magazine)|LIFE]] magazine, complete with a gallery of photos by [[Nina Leen]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://time.com/3517606/a-squirrels-guide-to-fashion/|title=A Squirrel's Guide to Fashion|last=Cosgrove|first=Ben|website=TIME.com|access-date=2016-10-02}}</ref> In the article, a reporter notes: “Mrs. Bullis’ main interest in Tommy...is in dressing him up in 30 specially made costumes. Tommy has a coat and hat for going to market, a silk pleated dress for company, a Red Cross uniform for visiting the hospital.”<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QFUEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA93&lpg=PA93&dq=%22Tommy+Tucker%22+squirrel&source=bl&ots=kf5RmguVJk&sig=fv4GgGB2aByURPZH9nyCveyaExM&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjdv727hb3PAhVX6WMKHUnRBUMQ6AEIazAP#v=onepage&q=%22Tommy%20Tucker%22%20squirrel&f=false|title=LIFE|last=|first=|date=January 31, 1944|work=LIFE|access-date=October 2, 2016|via=books.google.com}}</ref> |
|||
At the height of his fame in 1945, Tommy's fanclub, the Tommy Tucker Club, had over 30,000 members. |
|||
=== Life after World War II === |
|||
After the war, Tommy spent more time investing in his personal life. Headlines featuring the squirrel largely disappeared until January 1948, where the Bullises were denied entry to California. (Agricultural officials wouldn't recognize Tommy as a pet, rather than a wild animal, for several days.)<ref name=":0" /> He was also barred from visiting Mexico. |
|||
| ⚫ | |||
Tommy died in his trailer on June 25, 1949. Harold Bryant said his cause of death was “apparently of a heart attack brought on by old age.”<ref name=":0" /> The average lifespan of Eastern gray squirrels in captivity is about 20 years. |
|||
His taxidermied body is currently on display in a plastic case at a law office in Prince George's County. He was stuffed at Jonas Bros. Taxidermy in Denver, Colorado, where one taxidermist said "he was mounted with his arms out so you could pull the clothes over him."<ref name=":0" /> |
|||
| ⚫ | |||
Zaidee aimed to have Tommy's remains donated to the [[Smithsonian Institution|Smithsonian]], but their curators never took a significant interest. |
|||
Mrs. Bullis specially sewed for Tommy favorite pet 30 costumes: silk pleated dress for visits and receptions, nurse’s costume for a visit to the vet, coat and hat for a shopping to the market … |
|||
Revision as of 21:38, 2 October 2016
 | |
| Species | Eastern gray squirrel |
|---|---|
| Sex | male |
| Died | June 25, 1949 |
| Resting place | Prince George's Country lawyer's office |
| Years active | 1943 - 1949 |
| Known for | selling war bonds |
Tommy Tucker was a celebrity Eastern gray squirrel in the United States. Adopted in 1942 by Mrs. Zaidee Bullis and her husband Mark C. Bullis, Tommy toured the country to perform tricks in women's fashions, selling war bonds and entertaining small children. A Washington Post columnist noted him as "the most famous squirrel ever to come from Washington."[1]
Personal life
Origin stories differ, though Tommy was believed to have been orphaned as a baby and adopted by Zaidee in 1942. He may have been named after the 18th century nursery rhyme "Little Tommy Tucker." Zaidee chose to dress Tommy exclusively in women's clothing to circumvent tailoring around his bushy tail.
Following World War I he married a squirrel named Buzzy, of which little is known.[1]
Career
In 1943, Zaidee and Mark began taking Tommy on tour in their Packard Touring Car. Tommy's lovingly crafted patriotic attire and unusually docile demeanor charmed the nation. One of his earliest shows included a performance for 500 students at Silver Spring's Woodside Elementary School.
Accompanying the three on their adventures was a bulldog, who purportedly had at least one gold tooth and commonly wore a fez.[2]
Selling war bonds
In 1944 the squirrel was featured in LIFE magazine, complete with a gallery of photos by Nina Leen.[3] In the article, a reporter notes: “Mrs. Bullis’ main interest in Tommy...is in dressing him up in 30 specially made costumes. Tommy has a coat and hat for going to market, a silk pleated dress for company, a Red Cross uniform for visiting the hospital.”[4]
At the height of his fame in 1945, Tommy's fanclub, the Tommy Tucker Club, had over 30,000 members.
Life after World War II
After the war, Tommy spent more time investing in his personal life. Headlines featuring the squirrel largely disappeared until January 1948, where the Bullises were denied entry to California. (Agricultural officials wouldn't recognize Tommy as a pet, rather than a wild animal, for several days.)[1] He was also barred from visiting Mexico.
Death
Tommy died in his trailer on June 25, 1949. Harold Bryant said his cause of death was “apparently of a heart attack brought on by old age.”[1] The average lifespan of Eastern gray squirrels in captivity is about 20 years.
His taxidermied body is currently on display in a plastic case at a law office in Prince George's County. He was stuffed at Jonas Bros. Taxidermy in Denver, Colorado, where one taxidermist said "he was mounted with his arms out so you could pull the clothes over him."[1]
Zaidee aimed to have Tommy's remains donated to the Smithsonian, but their curators never took a significant interest.
- ^ a b c d e "Tommy Tucker, Washington's most famous squirrel". Washington Post. Retrieved 2016-10-02.
- ^ "Tommy Tucker: Eternity's satin doll of a squirrel is at last located". Washington Post. Retrieved 2016-10-02.
- ^ Cosgrove, Ben. "A Squirrel's Guide to Fashion". TIME.com. Retrieved 2016-10-02.
- ^ "LIFE". LIFE. January 31, 1944. Retrieved October 2, 2016 – via books.google.com.