Marie Cahill

Cahill, Marie (1870–1933), singer and comedienne. The tiny, plump, feisty performer made her debut in her hometown, Brooklyn, in Kathleen Mavourneen, then made her Manhattan debut in 1888 in C. O. D. After appearing briefly in McKenna's Flirtation and a revival of A Tin Soldier in 1889, she left for Europe, where she spent the next several seasons in Paris and London. When Cahill returned, she earned remarkable notices as Lady Patty Larceny, forever seeking the perfect mate, in Victor Herbert's short‐lived The Gold Bug (1896), in which she stopped the show singing “When I First Began to Marry, Years Ago.” After several other supporting roles, she won widespread attention introducing “Nancy Brown” in The Wild Rose (1902). Her most famous song was “Under the Bamboo Tree,” which she first sang while playing the title role in Sally in Our Alley (1902). Star parts followed in Nancy Brown (1903), It Happened in Nordland (1904), Moonshine (1905), Marrying Mary (1906), The Boys and Betty (1908), Judy Forgot (1910), The Opera Ball (1912), and Ninety in the Shade (1915). Thereafter her career began to falter, although she remained popular in vaudeville. Her last appearances were in the revue Merry‐Go‐Round (1927) and as the gigolo‐seeking Park Avenue matron Mrs. Wentworth in The New Yorkers (1930). During her career, the strong‐willed actress often won notoriety by insisting on inserting her own interpolations, her battles sometimes costing her important roles.