Marie "The Body" McDonald Mug & Holder - for The Tropics
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This is a mug shaped like a woman's nude torso and is marked for "Sugie's Tropics" both on the holder and reverse of mug.
The holder also has what looks like a tiny ashtray in front which might have been simply to lay your garnish in before finishing your drink...
These sorts of nudie torso mugs were fairly common in the 1940s and 1950s, often made by amateur ceramicists or marked for various places. However, the holder and markings make this one unique.
The Tropics was a very popular "pre-Tiki" establishment and was later bought by Steve Crane and turned into The Luau in Beverly Hills.
This mug is mentioned in The Tropics menu and was used to serve "The Body", one of Sugie's popular cocktails named after famous celebrities (he was later influential in getting the Walk of Stars developed as well). In this case, you could buy a champagne cocktail for $1 and if you paid $3 you got to keep this mug inspired by Marie McDonald, who starred in several films, including Pardon My Sarong (1942), which earned her the nickname "The Body" for her shapely physique. Pardon My Sarong features two Chicago bus drivers (Bud Abbott, Lou Costello) who land on a Pacific isle with natives and crooks. Marie played the part of Ferna.
*Using an online calculator for inflation, $3 for the mug in 1942 would be like $47.92 in 2020 dollars, not considering accumulated collector value since then.
Production
- Producer
- The Tropics - Beverly Hills
Release
- Cost
- USD 3.00
Physical Characteristics
- Material
- Ceramic
- Shape
- Hiball
- Colour
- Beige
- Imagery
- Wahine or Woman
- Marking
- "Sugie's Tropics" on front of holder and "Sugie's Tropics Bev. Hills" on reverse of mug.