Ada Reeve
| Ada Reeve | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
3 March 1874 London, UK |
| Died | 5 October 1966 (aged 92) London, UK |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1878-1957 |
| Spouse(s) | Bert Gilbert (1894-1900) 2 daughters Wilfred Cotton (1902-?) |
Ada Reeve (3 March 1874 – 5 October 1966) was an English actress of both stage and film. Reeve began to perform in pantomime and music hall as a child. She gained fame in Edwardian musical comedies in the 1890s.
Reeve found considerable success on tour in Australia, South Africa, America and other places in pantomime, variety and vaudeville in the new century. At the age of 70 she began a film career, which she pursued for over a dozen years.
Reeve was born in London, under the name Adelaide Mary Reeve. Her father was Samuel Isaacs, an actor who changed his name to Charles Reeves, and her mother was Harriet née Seaman, a dancer. She was of Jewish descent. She made her first appearance on the stage at the age of four in the pantomime Red Riding Hood on Boxing Day 1878 at the Pavilion Theatre, Whitechapel and continued to play in pantomimes. As a young child, she toured for several years with the Frederick Wright Dramatic Company, performing with the young Huntley Wright and his family. Her first role with them was "Little Willie" in East Lynne. A series of pantomime and dramatic roles followed, many at the Pavilion. When she was 14 years old, Reeve's father's health failed, and she was left to support her family, so she began working as a music hall performer, finding immediate success. As a child, she performed under the name "Little Ada Reeves", but she shortened her surname to Reeve by 1886.
"She Was a Clergyman's Daughter" (sheet music shown at right) was a seemingly innocent, but actually risqué music hall song about a clergyman's daughter who was not as naive or charitable as she would have you imagine. Reeve performed the song in a demure costume of a flounced dress and bonnet, letting the audience in on the racy innuendos of the song through knowing winks and gestures. She continued to perform in pantomimes, being promoted to principal boy in 1891 in The Old Bogie of the Sea at the Britannia Theatre and playing the title role in Aladdin at the Prince of Wales's Theatre, Birmingham, in 1892, where she sang her hit song "What Do I Care?" In 1893, she played Bo-Peep in Bo-Peep and Bonnie Boy Blue at the same theatre.
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