Bootleg Betty
A Taste Of Soph Jokes
By Mister D
November 8, 2023
In the early 1970s, Midler created a character named Soph as a tribute to the legendary vaudeville performer Sophie Tucker. Soph was a loose impersonation of Tucker, and Midler would often perform in character as Soph, telling bawdy jokes and singing risqué songs. Soph became a popular character in Midler’s act and helped to establish her as a major star in the entertainment industry.
Here is an example of a joke that Soph would tell:
“I was in bed one night with my boyfriend Ernie. He began combing his hair, and there was a great shower of dandruff all about the bed. I said to him, ‘Ernie, what’s that?’ He said to me, ‘Soph, those are the snows of Kilimanjaro.’ He leaped from the bed and ran to the loo. I could hear him relieving himself violently, tsk tsk tsk. I said to him, ‘Ernie, what the hell is that?’ He said to me, ‘Soph, those are the rains of Rangipour.’ On the way back from the loo, he had an attack of flatulence, the cheese was cut. I said to him, ‘Ernie, what the hell is that?’ He said to me, ‘Soph, those are the winds of Krakatoa.’”
Bing & Me
