Eva Tanguay facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Eva Tanguay
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Tanguay, c.1898
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| Born | August 1, 1878 Marbleton, Quebec, Canada
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| Died | January 11, 1947 (aged 68) Hollywood, California, U.S.
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| Occupation | Singer, entertainer |
| Years active | 1888–1930s |
| Spouse(s) |
Johnny Ford
(m. 1913; div. 1917) |
Eva Tanguay (born August 1, 1878 – died January 11, 1947) was a famous Canadian singer and entertainer. She called herself "the girl who made vaudeville famous." People knew her as "The Queen of Vaudeville" when she was most popular, from the early 1900s to the early 1920s.
Eva Tanguay also acted in movies. She was one of the first performers to become a national celebrity. Newspapers and publicists wrote about her tours all over the country. At one point, she earned more money than famous people like Enrico Caruso and Harry Houdini.
Contents
Early Life and First Performances
Eva Tanguay was born in 1878 in Marbleton, Quebec, Canada. Her father was a doctor. Before she turned six, her family moved from Quebec to Holyoke, Massachusetts. Her father passed away soon after.
As a child, Eva became interested in performing. She first appeared on stage around 1886, when she was eight years old. This was at an amateur night in Holyoke. An older musician named Paul C. Winkelmann helped her early on. He even held a special show for her at the Holyoke Opera House.
Starting a Professional Career
Two years later, Eva was touring professionally. She was in a play based on the popular book Little Lord Fauntleroy. In 1901, Tanguay got a part in a Broadway musical called My Lady.
Her career really took off with the 1904 show The Chaperons. In 1904 and 1905, she became even more famous. She starred in The Sambo Girl, where she first sang "I Don't Care." This song was written just for her. By 1905, she also started performing alone in vaudeville shows. She continued doing this for most of her career.
Becoming a Vaudeville Star
Eva Tanguay might not have had the best singing voice. But her energetic performances of catchy songs quickly made her a crowd favorite. She had a very long and successful career in vaudeville. She earned one of the highest salaries of any performer at the time. Around 1910, she made as much as $3,500 a week.
Eva Tanguay was known for her bold and confident songs. These songs often showed a modern, independent woman. Some of her famous songs included "It's All Been Done Before but Not the Way I Do It" and "I Want Someone to Go Wild with Me." People in showbiz called her the "I Don't Care Girl." This was because of her most famous song, "I Don't Care".
In 1909, she was asked to star in the Ziegfeld Follies. She replaced another famous couple, Jack Norworth and Nora Bayes. Eva even asked for a song called "Moving Day in Jungle Town" to be given to her instead of rising star Sophie Tucker. Despite this, Eva and Sophie later became close friends.
Publicity and Costumes
Eva Tanguay spent a lot of money on advertising and costumes. A smart manager once told her that "money made money." She never forgot this advice. She would buy huge advertisements for herself. Sometimes, she even spent twice her salary on publicity.
She was also good at getting free attention by doing unusual things. She often made headlines. She was known for her wild and exciting personality.
Her costumes were as amazing as her personality. In 1910, she appeared on stage wearing a coat completely covered in the new Lincoln pennies.
Recordings and Films
Eva Tanguay only made one known recording. It was her famous song "I Don't Care" in 1922. Besides her singing, she also starred in two comedy films. These movies captured her lively stage energy. The first film, Energetic Eva, was made in 1916. The next year, she starred with Tom Moore in The Wild Girl.
Later Life and Retirement
Eva Tanguay lost a lot of money, over $2 million, during the Wall Street crash of 1929. In the 1930s, she stopped performing. She developed cataracts, which caused her to lose her eyesight. However, her friend Sophie Tucker paid for an operation that helped her see again.
Autobiography and Death
When she passed away, Eva Tanguay was writing her life story. It was going to be called Up and Down the Ladder. Parts of her autobiography were published in newspapers in 1946 and 1947.
Eva Tanguay died on January 11, 1947, in Hollywood, California. She was 68 years old. She was buried in the Hollywood Memorial Park Cemetery, which is now called Hollywood Forever Cemetery.
Legacy and Family
In 1953, actress Mitzi Gaynor played Eva Tanguay in a movie about her life. The movie was called The I Don't Care Girl.
Eva Tanguay was married two times. Her first marriage was to a dancer named John Ford in 1913. They divorced after four years.
In 1927, when she was 49, Eva Tanguay married her piano player, Al Parado. He was 25 years old. This marriage was very short and ended quickly.
See also
- Blanche Merrill
Literature
- Andrew L. Erdman: Queen of Vaudeville: the story of Eva Tanguay, Ithaca, NY: Cornell Univ. Press, 2012, ISBN: 978-0-8014-4970-3
