Eva Tanguay Papers
The Eva Tanguay papers document the life of one of vaudeville's most charismatic stars. The collection includes a large amount of sheet music and lyrics, many of which were penned by Tanguay herself.
Biographical / Historical Note
Eva Tanguay was a showstopper - one of vaudeville's most charismatic stars. Long before performers like Madonna made their mark, Eva Tanguay was wowing them on the vaudeville stage.
The flamboyant singing comedienne was the highest paid performer...
MoreEva Tanguay was a showstopper - one of vaudeville's most charismatic stars. Long before performers like Madonna made their mark, Eva Tanguay was wowing them on the vaudeville stage.
The flamboyant singing comedienne was the highest paid performer for over a decade during the heyday of American vaudeville in the early 1900s. Known as the "I Don’t Care Girl" after her most famous song, Eva's bold, self-confident songs symbolized a new, emancipated American woman.
Born in Canada in 1878, Eva Tanguay grew up in Holyoke, Massachusetts. As a child, Eva was already an actress, touring in productions like "Little Lord Fauntleroy." By the turn of the 20th century, Eva turned from stock and Broadway plays to the two-a-day vaudeville circuit, making her New York vaudeville debut at Hammerstein's Victoria Theater in 1904. About this time, she made a huge splash with her performance of the tune, "I Don’t Care," which became her signature song. Eva steadily rose from being a $500 a week performer to earning as much as $3,500 a week by 1910.
Outrageous, full of energy, and often risqué, the wild-haired blonde defied conventional values as she flaunted her irreverent sense of humor and sensuality. Eva's audiences flocked to her performances - not to hear a lovely voice (which was average and rather brassy), but for her ability to light up the stage with her performances. Eva could really sell a song. People were intrigued by what she was wearing and how she was behaving. Her daring, revealing and, often, flamboyant costumes caused scandal in their day. Eva once quipped, "When I put on tights, my name went up in lights!" Eva toured not only the American circuit, but was a hit in cities like Toronto and London as well. Tanguay also made two movies, "Energetic Eva" (1916) and "The Wild Girl" (1917), though they met with little success.
Eva well understood the value of self-promotion. She would take each city by storm, spending liberally on publicity and advertising. She was often billed as "The Genius of Mirth and Song," and "The Evangelist of Joy."
Eva Tanguay's many fans loved her - her exuberant personality fascinated vaudeville audiences for more than three decades. Late in her career, the show business publication Variety wrote, "What Ruth is to baseball, Dempsey to pugilism and Chaplin to pictures, Tanguay is to vaudeville. She embodies the spirit of youth in her work, her personality is elusive and baffling as ever, and she has the color that penetrates beyond the four walls of a theatre and cashes in at the box office."
Yet, as vaudeville began to fade in the late 1920s, so too did Eva's luck. She lost a fortune during the 1929 stock market crash. Cataracts had dramatically affected her vision by the early 1930s, but her sight was restored by an operation paid for by admirer Sophie Tucker. Arthritis slowed Eva in 1937 and she became more and more reclusive. By the time of her death on January 11, 1947 in Hollywood, California, her once vast fortune was reduced to $500.
- Miller, Jeanine H. (2006, June). Eva Tanguay, Vaudeville’s Star. Retrieved from http://www.thehenryford.org/exhibits/pic/2006/06_june.asp.
LessScope and Content Note
The Eva Tanguay papers chronicle the career of the vaudeville legend and "I Don’t Care Girl" Eva Tanguay. The collection is divided into four series, Personal and Professional Papers, Photographs, Orchestration and Lyrics, and
MoreThe Eva Tanguay papers chronicle the career of the vaudeville legend and "I Don’t Care Girl" Eva Tanguay. The collection is divided into four series, Personal and Professional Papers, Photographs, Orchestration and Lyrics, and Promotional Material.
The Personal and Professional Papers series, 1898-1938, contain some of Eva's personal correspondence and documents such as her marriage certificate. Professional papers include business correspondence and contracts, scripts and playbills, performance reviews, and ephemera such as menus from dinners held in her honor and advertisements for products she sponsored.
The Photographs series, 1880-1939, consists primarily of professionally produced promotional photographs of Eva (mostly 8 x 10 black and white images and some postcards). There are also a small number of personal photographs of family and friends. The photographs are largely undated and have been arranged by approximate dates and date ranges. Some of the photographs have been signed or otherwise annotated by Eva.
The Orchestration and Lyrics series includes sheet music and lyrics for a number of songs, many of which were penned by Eva herself. Included in this series are a number of working and annotated copies of Eva's major hit, "I Don’t Care."
The Promotional Materials series, 1892-1947, contains newspaper clippings, fliers, posters, scrapbooks, and magazine articles related to Eva and her career. The series includes a serial article that she wrote and published in American Weekly in January of 1947.
LessCollection Details
Object ID: 2005.100.0
Creator: Tanguay, Eva, 1878-1947
Inclusive Dates: 1885-1947
Size: 2.8 cubic ft. and 3 oversizes boxes
Language: English
Collection Access & Use
Item Location: Not Currently On Exhibit
Access Restrictions: The collection are open for research.
Credit: From the Collections of The Henry Ford.
Digitized Artifacts From This Collection
In many cases, not all artifacts have been digitized.
Contact us for more information about this collection.
Young Eva Tanguay as Lord Fauntleroy, 1888
Artifact
Cabinet photograph
Date Made
1888
Creators
Keywords
Object ID
2005.100.3
Credit
From the Collections of The Henry Ford.
Location
By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center
Get more details in Digital Collections at:
Young Eva Tanguay as Lord Fauntleroy, 1888
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Eva Tanguay in Costume, circa 1911-1920
Artifact
Photographic print
Object ID
2005.100.10
Credit
From the Collections of The Henry Ford.
Location
By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center
Get more details in Digital Collections at:
Eva Tanguay in Costume, circa 1911-1920
What is The Henry Ford?
The national attraction for discovering your ingenuity while exploring America’s spirit of innovation. There is always much to see and do at The Henry Ford.
Eva Tanguay in Vaudeville Costume, 1910-1919
Artifact
Photographic print
Date Made
1910-1919
Creators
Place of Creation
Keywords
Object ID
2005.100.5
Credit
From the Collections of The Henry Ford.
Location
By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center
Get more details in Digital Collections at:
Eva Tanguay in Vaudeville Costume, 1910-1919
What is The Henry Ford?
The national attraction for discovering your ingenuity while exploring America’s spirit of innovation. There is always much to see and do at The Henry Ford.
Banner Advertising Eva Tanguay at the Majestic Theatre and Her Song "America I Love You," 1915
Details
Banner Advertising Eva Tanguay at the Majestic Theatre and Her Song "America I Love You," 1915
Artifact
Photographic print
Creators
Place of Creation
Keywords
Object ID
2005.100.8
Credit
From the Collections of The Henry Ford.
Location
By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center
Get more details in Digital Collections at:
Banner Advertising Eva Tanguay at the Majestic Theatre and Her Song "America I Love You," 1915
What is The Henry Ford?
The national attraction for discovering your ingenuity while exploring America’s spirit of innovation. There is always much to see and do at The Henry Ford.
Eva Tanguay in Flag-Themed Vaudeville Costume, circa 1918
Artifact
Photographic print
Date Made
circa 1918
Creators
Place of Creation
Keywords
Object ID
2005.100.4
Credit
From the Collections of The Henry Ford.
Location
By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center
Get more details in Digital Collections at:
Eva Tanguay in Flag-Themed Vaudeville Costume, circa 1918
What is The Henry Ford?
The national attraction for discovering your ingenuity while exploring America’s spirit of innovation. There is always much to see and do at The Henry Ford.
Ladies of Eva Tanguay's Family, 1915-1920
Artifact
Photographic print
Date Made
1915-1920
Creators
Place of Creation
Object ID
2006.9.1
Credit
From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of Marc Friend and Robert Heintz Family.
Location
By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center
Get more details in Digital Collections at:
Ladies of Eva Tanguay's Family, 1915-1920
What is The Henry Ford?
The national attraction for discovering your ingenuity while exploring America’s spirit of innovation. There is always much to see and do at The Henry Ford.
Eva Tanguay Walking Her Dog, circa 1912
Artifact
Photographic print
Date Made
circa 1912
Object ID
2006.9.4
Credit
From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of Marc Friend and Robert Heintz Family.
Location
By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center
Get more details in Digital Collections at:
Eva Tanguay Walking Her Dog, circa 1912
What is The Henry Ford?
The national attraction for discovering your ingenuity while exploring America’s spirit of innovation. There is always much to see and do at The Henry Ford.
Young Eva Tanguay Holding a Tambourine, 1887-1888
Artifact
Photographic print
Keywords
Object ID
2005.100.2
Credit
From the Collections of The Henry Ford.
Location
By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center
Get more details in Digital Collections at:
Young Eva Tanguay Holding a Tambourine, 1887-1888
What is The Henry Ford?
The national attraction for discovering your ingenuity while exploring America’s spirit of innovation. There is always much to see and do at The Henry Ford.
Tribute to Eva Tanguay by Frank Carolan O'Neill, "Here's to the Girl with the Touseled Hair," 1908
Details
Tribute to Eva Tanguay by Frank Carolan O'Neill, "Here's to the Girl with the Touseled Hair," 1908
Artifact
Pen and ink drawing
Date Made
1908
Creators
Keywords
Object ID
2005.100.6
Credit
From the Collections of The Henry Ford.
Location
By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center
Get more details in Digital Collections at:
Tribute to Eva Tanguay by Frank Carolan O'Neill, "Here's to the Girl with the Touseled Hair," 1908
What is The Henry Ford?
The national attraction for discovering your ingenuity while exploring America’s spirit of innovation. There is always much to see and do at The Henry Ford.
