Millie Cavendish
Millie Cavendish (died January 23, 1867) was a British singer and stage actress, best known for performing You Naughty, Naughty Men in the role of Carline in the play The Black Crook, which debuted in New York in September 1866.[1] The song's music was by George Bickwell, with lyrics by Theodore Kennick.[2] Though Cavendish's role in the play was minor, and the song had no relation to the play's plot, her performance was a highlight.[3] It was also an early example of sex exploitation, as music writer David Ewen has noted: "When Milly Cavendish stepped lightly in front of the footlights, wagged a provocative finger at the men in her audience, and sang in her high-pitched baby voice, “You Naughty, Naughty Men” – by T. Kennick and G. Bicknell—the American musical theater and the American popular song both started their long and active careers in sex exploitation."
Cavendish starred in that role for only a short time. She died in New York on January 23, 1867 after a short illness[4] and was buried at Green-Wood Cemetery.[5] Some superstitious actors blamed her early death on the fact that Sunday rehearsals had been held for the play, it being a common superstition among American and English actors at the time that Sunday rehearsals were bad luck.[6][7]
References
- ^ From Traveling Show to Vaudeville: Theatrical Spectacle in America, 1830–1910, p. 212 (2010)
- ^ Gilbert, Douglas. Lost Chords: The Diverting Story of American Popular Songs, p. 47 (1942)
- ^ Kenirck, John. Musical Theatre: A History, p. 65 (Paperback ed. 2010)
- ^ (25 January 1867). Died, The New York Times
- ^ (26 January 18670. Miss Millie Cavendish, Evening Telegraph (Philadelphia)
- ^ En Passant, The Threatre (September 1, 1879), p. 106
- ^ Huggett, Richard. Supernatural on Stage: Ghosts and Superstitions of the Theatre, p. 71 (1975)
External links
- Millie Cavendish at the Internet Broadway Database
- Music score for You naughty, naughty, men "composed for and sang by Miss Millie Cavendish" (Library of Congress)