Ada Reeve
Encyclopedia
Ada Reeve 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.
Red Riding Hood on Boxing Day
1878 at the Mile End Pavilion Theatre in London's 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 innuendo
s 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.
Reeve married actor Bert Gilbert (Joseph Gilbert Hazlewood) in 1894, and returned to starring in provincial pantomimes and touring as Haidee in Don Juan. She soon became famous in one of George Edwardes
' earliest musical comedies
at the Gaiety Theatre
, starring as Bessie Brent, the title role in The Shop Girl
(1894) opposite Seymour Hicks
. She was pregnant, however, and had to be replaced in the role by Hicks' wife, Ellaline Terriss
. She returned in All Abroad at the Criterion Theatre
(1895), and as the title character in the hit The Girl from Paris (1896) at the Duke of York's Theatre
. She and her husband then toured Australia
in 1897 with J. C. Williamson
in 1897–98. She starred as Robin Hood and later Maid Marion in Williamson's hit pantomime Babes in the Wood
, drawing popular and critical praise. However, the marriage with Gilbert had turned sour, with Reeve claiming extreme cruelty and petitioning for divorce while still in Australia. On the return sea journey to England, Reeve was forced to appeal to the captain of the ship for protection from him. Once in England, the couple separated, and the divorce was finalized in 1900. Ada settled in London with her two daughters, Bessie Adelaide Hazlewood (b. 28 March 1895 in Wolverhampton) and Lillian Mary "Goody" Hazlewood (b. Jan 1897 in London).
Still in 1898, Reeve played the role of "Madame Celeste" in Milord, Sir Smith, followed by the role of Cleopatra in The Great Caesar in 1899. Later that year, she created the role of Lady Holyrood in the hit musical comedy Florodora
at the Lyric Theatre
. She reprised her role as principal boy in Aladdin at the Prince's Theatre, Bristol, over Christmas 1899–1900. In 1900-01, she again toured Australia, returning to Britain to tour in Florodora. Reeve joined the cast of the hit musical San Toy
, in 1901, playing Dudley and later taking over the title role from Marie Tempest
. The music was written down for Reeve's lower voice. Late in the year, she succeeded Evie Greene
in the title role of "Kitty Grey", followed by Ada Branscombe in Three Little Maids
, in 1902. In between these engagements, she continued to play in pantomime, which she enjoyed very much, often as Aladdin.
. That year, she leased the Eden Theatre, Brighton, on behalf of her new husband. However, she caught typhoid fever on a trip to Germany and consequently was too ill to perform that Christmas. Under her husband's management, in 1903, she played Miss Ventnor in The Medal and the Maid. Next, in 1904, she co-produced with her husband, and played the title role in, the play Winnie Brooke, Widow. In 1905, she played the title role in The Adventures of Moll on tour and appeared in Birmingham again as Aladdin in the Christmas pantomime. In 1906, Reeve toured South Africa
with her husband, becoming very popular. Back in England, she appeared at the Tivoli and Empire theatres and on tour and, in 1908, played Rhodanthe in the musical Butterflies at the Apollo Theatre
, which she produced. In 1909, they toured South Africa again and then toured Butterflies in Britain. She played the title role in the 'Christmas 1908 and 1909 pantomimes of Jack and the Beanstalk, with George Robey
as her stage mother.
Over the following years, Reeve played in variety
in England and enjoyed extensive and lucrative foreign tours, including South Africa and the U.S. in 1911, South Africa in 1913, Australia in 1914, Australia and South Africa in 1917–1918 (including a return engagement at the Tivoli in Melbourne in You're in Love), South Africa in 1920, Australia and New Zealand from 1922 to 1924 (again often in Aladdin with the Williamson company), and in 1926 and 1929, the last time playing in vaudeville
. She was absent from England from 1929 to 1935. Both of her daughters, Bessie and Goody, had in the meantime settled in Australia, where both married and had children, Goody becoming a well known radio personality. Bessie died of an illness in 1954. Upon Ada's return to England, she appeared in cabarets, revue
s and variety. Her next dramatic role was in 1940 in the musical Black Velvet.
After a few more years on stage, in 1944 Reeve began appearing in films as Mrs. Barley in They Came to a City. She appeared in a total of nine movies and continued her stage work in the 1940s and 1950s. At the age of 80, she retired from the stage but made two more films, the last of which was at the age of 83 in A Passionate Stranger in 1957.
Ada Reeve died in 1966 at the age of 92.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
actress of both stage and film. Reeve began to perform in pantomime
Pantomime
Pantomime — not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime—is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is mostly performed during the...
and music hall
Music hall
Music Hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960. The term can refer to:# A particular form of variety entertainment involving a mixture of popular song, comedy and speciality acts...
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.
Early career
Reeve was born in London, England, 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 made her first appearance on the stage at the age of four in the pantomimePantomime
Pantomime — not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime—is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is mostly performed during the...
Red Riding Hood on Boxing Day
Boxing Day
Boxing Day is a bank or public holiday that occurs on 26 December, or the first or second weekday after Christmas Day, depending on national or regional laws. It is observed in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and some other Commonwealth nations. In Ireland, it is recognized as...
1878 at the Mile End Pavilion Theatre in London's Whitechapel
Whitechapel
Whitechapel is a built-up inner city district in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, London, England. It is located east of Charing Cross and roughly bounded by the Bishopsgate thoroughfare on the west, Fashion Street on the north, Brady Street and Cavell Street on the east and The Highway on the...
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
Huntley Wright
Huntley Wright was an English stage and film actor, comedian, dancer and singer, best known for creating roles in many important Edwardian musical comedies....
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
Music hall
Music Hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960. The term can refer to:# A particular form of variety entertainment involving a mixture of popular song, comedy and speciality acts...
performer, finding immediate success. As a child, she performed under the name "Little Ada Reeves", but she shortened her surname to Reeve by 1886.
Innuendo
An innuendo is a baseless invention of thoughts or ideas. It can also be a remark or question, typically disparaging , that works obliquely by allusion...
s 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
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, 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.
Reeve married actor Bert Gilbert (Joseph Gilbert Hazlewood) in 1894, and returned to starring in provincial pantomimes and touring as Haidee in Don Juan. She soon became famous in one of George Edwardes
George Edwardes
George Joseph Edwardes was an English theatre manager of Irish ancestry who brought a new era in musical theatre to the British stage and beyond....
' earliest musical comedies
Edwardian Musical Comedy
Edwardian musical comedies were British musical theatre shows from the period between the early 1890s, when the Gilbert and Sullivan operas' dominance had ended, until the rise of the American musicals by Jerome Kern, Rodgers and Hart, George Gershwin and Cole Porter following World War I.Between...
at the Gaiety Theatre
Gaiety Theatre, London
The Gaiety Theatre, London was a West End theatre in London, located on Aldwych at the eastern end of the Strand. The theatre was established as the Strand Musick Hall , in 1864 on the former site of the Lyceum Theatre. It was rebuilt several times, but closed from the beginning of World War II...
, starring as Bessie Brent, the title role in The Shop Girl
The Shop Girl
The Shop Girl was a musical comedy in two acts written by H. J. W. Dam, with Lyrics by Dam and Adrian Ross and music by Ivan Caryll, and additional numbers by Lionel Monckton and Ross. It was first produced by George Edwardes at the Gaiety Theatre in London, opening on 24 November 1894...
(1894) opposite Seymour Hicks
Seymour Hicks
Sir Arthur Seymour Hicks , better known as Seymour Hicks, was a British actor, music hall performer, playwright, screenwriter, theatre manager and producer. He married the actress Ellaline Terriss in 1893...
. She was pregnant, however, and had to be replaced in the role by Hicks' wife, Ellaline Terriss
Ellaline Terriss
Ellaline Terriss, born Ellaline Lewin , was a popular English actress and singer, best known for her performances in Edwardian musical comedies...
. She returned in All Abroad at the Criterion Theatre
Criterion Theatre
The Criterion Theatre is a West End theatre situated on Piccadilly Circus in the City of Westminster, and is a Grade II* listed building. It has an official capacity of 588.-Building the theatre:...
(1895), and as the title character in the hit The Girl from Paris (1896) at the Duke of York's Theatre
Duke of York's Theatre
The Duke of York's Theatre is a West End Theatre in St Martin's Lane, in the City of Westminster. It was built for Frank Wyatt and his wife, Violet Melnotte, who retained ownership of the theatre, until her death in 1935. It opened on 10 September 1892 as the Trafalgar Square Theatre, with Wedding...
. She and her husband then toured Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
in 1897 with J. C. Williamson
J. C. Williamson
James Cassius Williamson was an American actor and later Australia's foremost theatrical manager, founding J. C. Williamson Ltd....
in 1897–98. She starred as Robin Hood and later Maid Marion in Williamson's hit pantomime Babes in the Wood
Babes in the Wood
Babes in the Wood is a traditional children's tale, as well as a popular pantomime subject. It has also been the name of some other unrelated works. The expression has passed into common language, referring to inexperienced innocents entering unawares into any potentially dangerous or hostile...
, drawing popular and critical praise. However, the marriage with Gilbert had turned sour, with Reeve claiming extreme cruelty and petitioning for divorce while still in Australia. On the return sea journey to England, Reeve was forced to appeal to the captain of the ship for protection from him. Once in England, the couple separated, and the divorce was finalized in 1900. Ada settled in London with her two daughters, Bessie Adelaide Hazlewood (b. 28 March 1895 in Wolverhampton) and Lillian Mary "Goody" Hazlewood (b. Jan 1897 in London).
Still in 1898, Reeve played the role of "Madame Celeste" in Milord, Sir Smith, followed by the role of Cleopatra in The Great Caesar in 1899. Later that year, she created the role of Lady Holyrood in the hit musical comedy Florodora
Florodora
Florodora is an Edwardian musical comedy and became one of the first successful Broadway musicals of the 20th century. The book was written by Jimmy Davis under the pseudonym Owen Hall, the music was by Leslie Stuart with additional songs by Paul Rubens, and the lyrics were by Edward Boyd-Jones...
at the Lyric Theatre
Lyric Theatre (London)
The Lyric Theatre is a West End theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster.Designed by architect C. J. Phipps, it was built by producer Henry Leslie with profits from the Alfred Cellier and B. C. Stephenson hit, Dorothy, which he transferred from the Prince of Wales Theatre to open...
. She reprised her role as principal boy in Aladdin at the Prince's Theatre, Bristol, over Christmas 1899–1900. In 1900-01, she again toured Australia, returning to Britain to tour in Florodora. Reeve joined the cast of the hit musical San Toy
San Toy
San Toy, or The Emperor's Own is a "Chinese" musical comedy in two acts, first performed at Daly's Theatre, London, on 21 October 1899, and ran for 768 performances...
, in 1901, playing Dudley and later taking over the title role from Marie Tempest
Marie Tempest
Dame Marie Tempest DBE was an English singer and actress known as the "queen of her profession".Tempest became the most famous soprano in late Victorian light opera and Edwardian musical comedies. Later, she became a leading comic actress and toured widely in North America and elsewhere...
. The music was written down for Reeve's lower voice. Late in the year, she succeeded Evie Greene
Evie Greene
Edith Elizabeth Greene was a much-photographed English actress and singer who played in Edwardian musical comedies in London and on Broadway. She is most notable for starring as Dolores, the central character in the international hit musical Florodora...
in the title role of "Kitty Grey", followed by Ada Branscombe in Three Little Maids
Three Little Maids
Three Little Maids is an English musical by Paul Rubens with additional songs by Percy Greenbank and Howard Talbot. The story concerns three simple curate's daughters who go to London to earn their livings serving tea in a Bond Street tea shop...
, in 1902. In between these engagements, she continued to play in pantomime, which she enjoyed very much, often as Aladdin.
Later years
Reeve remarried in 1902 to Wilfred Cotton, a manager and actor who was the uncle of Lily ElsieLily Elsie
Lily Elsie was a popular English actress and singer during the Edwardian era, best known for her starring role in the hit London premiere of Franz Lehár's operetta The Merry Widow....
. That year, she leased the Eden Theatre, Brighton, on behalf of her new husband. However, she caught typhoid fever on a trip to Germany and consequently was too ill to perform that Christmas. Under her husband's management, in 1903, she played Miss Ventnor in The Medal and the Maid. Next, in 1904, she co-produced with her husband, and played the title role in, the play Winnie Brooke, Widow. In 1905, she played the title role in The Adventures of Moll on tour and appeared in Birmingham again as Aladdin in the Christmas pantomime. In 1906, Reeve toured South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
with her husband, becoming very popular. Back in England, she appeared at the Tivoli and Empire theatres and on tour and, in 1908, played Rhodanthe in the musical Butterflies at the Apollo Theatre
Apollo Theatre
The Apollo Theatre is a Grade II listed West End theatre, on Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster. Designed by architect Lewin Sharp for owner Henry Lowenfield, and the fourth legitimate theatre to be constructed on the street, its doors opened on 21 February 1901 with the American...
, which she produced. In 1909, they toured South Africa again and then toured Butterflies in Britain. She played the title role in the 'Christmas 1908 and 1909 pantomimes of Jack and the Beanstalk, with George Robey
George Robey
Sir George Edward Wade , better known by his stage name, George Robey, was an English music hall comedian and star. He was marketed as the "Prime Minister of Mirth".-Early life:...
as her stage mother.
Over the following years, Reeve played in variety
Variety show
A variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is an entertainment made up of a variety of acts, especially musical performances and sketch comedy, and normally introduced by a compère or host. Other types of acts include magic, animal and circus acts, acrobatics, juggling...
in England and enjoyed extensive and lucrative foreign tours, including South Africa and the U.S. in 1911, South Africa in 1913, Australia in 1914, Australia and South Africa in 1917–1918 (including a return engagement at the Tivoli in Melbourne in You're in Love), South Africa in 1920, Australia and New Zealand from 1922 to 1924 (again often in Aladdin with the Williamson company), and in 1926 and 1929, the last time playing in vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
. She was absent from England from 1929 to 1935. Both of her daughters, Bessie and Goody, had in the meantime settled in Australia, where both married and had children, Goody becoming a well known radio personality. Bessie died of an illness in 1954. Upon Ada's return to England, she appeared in cabarets, revue
Revue
A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century American popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own during its golden years from 1916 to 1932...
s and variety. Her next dramatic role was in 1940 in the musical Black Velvet.
After a few more years on stage, in 1944 Reeve began appearing in films as Mrs. Barley in They Came to a City. She appeared in a total of nine movies and continued her stage work in the 1940s and 1950s. At the age of 80, she retired from the stage but made two more films, the last of which was at the age of 83 in A Passionate Stranger in 1957.
Ada Reeve died in 1966 at the age of 92.
Filmography
- 1919 - ComradeshipComradeship (1919 film)Comradeship is a 1919 British silent film drama, directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Lily Elsie, Gerald Ames and Guy Newall. The film's action covers the entire span of World War I, from the months before the outbreak of hostilities to the declaration of peace.-Background:Comradeship was the...
[Betty Mortimore] - 1944 - They Came to a CityThey Came to a CityThey Came to a City is a 1945 British film directed by Basil Dearden adapted from a J. B. Priestley play, starring John Clements, Googie Withers and Raymond Huntley with a cameo from Priestley himself. The plot concerns the experiences of various people coming to their "ideal" city....
[Mrs. Barley] - 1947 - When the Bough BreaksWhen the Bough Breaks (1947 film)When the Bough Breaks is a 1947 film by Gainsborough Pictures, J. Arthur Rank and Sydney Box Productions. It is an adaptation of an original story-line by Herbert Victor on adoption and the competing ties of one child's birth and foster family.-Cast:...
[2nd Landlady] - 1947 - Meet Me at DawnMeet Me at DawnMeet Me at Dawn is a 1947 British comedy film directed by Peter Creswell and Thornton Freeland and starring William Eythe, Stanley Holloway and Hazel Court. A very skilled pistol shot hires himself out to fight duels in early twentieth century Paris.-Cast:...
[Concierge] - 1949 - Dear Mr. ProhackDear Mr. ProhackDear Mr. Prohack is a 1949 British comedy film directed by Thornton Freeland and starring Cecil Parker, Glynis Johns and Dirk Bogarde.-Plot:...
[Mrs. Griggs] - 1950 - Night and the City [Molly]
- 1952 - I Believe in You [Mrs. Crockett]
- 1953 - Time Bomb [Old Lady]
- 1956 - EyewitnessEyewitness (1956 film)Eyewitness is a 1956 British thriller film directed by Muriel Box and starring Donald Sinden, Muriel Pavlow, Belinda Lee, Michael Craig, Nigel Stock and Richard Wattis. It was made by the Rank Organisation.-Plot:...
[Mrs. Hudson] - 1957 - The Passionate StrangerThe Passionate StrangerThe Passionate Stranger is a 1957 British drama film, directed by Muriel Box and starring Margaret Leighton and Ralph Richardson. It uses the film within a film device, with the "real" part of the plot shot in black-and-white and the "fictional" element in colour...
[Old Woman]