Tommy Tucker (squirrel)

Tommy Tucker (before/in 1942 – June 25, 1949) was a male Eastern gray squirrel who became a celebrity in the United States, touring the country wearing women's fashions while performing tricks, entertaining children, and selling war bonds.

[2] In 1943 the Bullis family began taking Tommy on tour in their Packard automobile,[2] accompanied by a bulldog said to have one or more gold teeth and often wearing a fez.

[4] In an early show he performed for 500 elementary school students,[2] and in conjunction with war bond sales Tommy gave a purported radio interview alongside President Franklin Roosevelt.

[2] Tommy died in the Bullises' trailer on June 25, 1949, while en route to one of the couple's "health and pleasure trips" to the Southwest United States, ostensibly due to "a heart attack brought on by old age"[3][2] (The average lifespan of Eastern gray squirrels in captivity is about twenty years.)

[3] The Archives Center at the National Museum of American History holds a collection of articles, papers, and photographs related to Tommy Tucker.