Gypsy Rose Lee(1911-1970)
- Actress
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Born Rose Louise Hovick in Seattle, Washington, in 1911, but called
Louise from early childhood, Gypsy Rose Lee was the daughter of a
mild-mannered businessman and a restless, fiery young woman named Rose,
who was determined to get out of Seattle and make a life for herself
and her daughter in show business. In 1912, Rose had another child,
June. Rose thought June was much more beautiful, photogenic and
talented than Louise apparently could ever hope to be, which soon
caused her to pack up her two children and search for a career in
vaudeville (she divorced her husband when he objected to a career in
show business). By the time Louise was seven and June five, they had
put together a very successful act, Baby June and Her Farmboys. June
was, of course, the star, and Louise was put in the chorus, though she
did get an occasional moment in the spotlight. The act was making $1500
a week, but the family was not exactly living in high style, having to
scrimp and save much of the time in order to buy food, and often in
debt. There are many who believe that Rose was squandering the money.
There were also rumors about Rose during this time, about how she had
to dodge the police, who enforced strict child labor laws, and even
about how she may have murdered a man she thought was pestering her
children. Despite these rumors, June and Louise's act continued to be
successful throughout the 1920s. At the end of the decade June was 13
and had been re-christened Dainty June. By this time it was clear that
vaudeville was a dying art form. Rose, however, still chased after her
dream, and still made June up to be a cute baby. June resented it, and
finally she married one of the chorus boys in the act (she was still
only 13) and ran away with him. Not even this could stop Rose, however.
This time she formed a new act, centering it around Louise. Called Rose
Louise and Her Hollywood Blondes, she and her chorus girls performed
slightly risqué musical numbers, and were moderately successful. Still,
vaudeville continued to die out, which hurt the act. However, there was
one form of vaudeville that still drew crowds: burlesque. Eventually,
Rose, Louise and company had to take a job in a burlesque house.
Sometime during their stay there the star stripper was not able to go
on for a performance. Rose, never one to pass up an opportunity,
volunteered Louise for the job. So Louise, just 15 at the time, stepped
on stage, wearing not much more than a grass skirt, and slowly and
teasingly . . . didn't take much off. Audiences responded favorably to
this new kind of striptease act, which was more "tease" than "strip,"
more tantalizing than tawdry. Louise had finally found her calling.
For her stage name she took Gypsy, a nickname she derived from her
hobby of reading tea leaves, and combined it with her real first name,
Rose, and Lee, which she added on a whim. As Gypsy Rose Lee she
launched a hugely successful career in burlesque, incorporating humor
and intelligence, as well as the requisite removal of various articles
of clothing, into her act. She became extremely popular, even appearing
at the last place anyone would expect, high society balls. Once she had
conquered the stages of burlesque, she decided to try her hand at
movies. Billed under her real name, Louise Hovick--because the studio
heads were afraid her stage name would scare people away--she made her
film debut in
Ali Baba Goes to Town (1937).
It was a forgettable film, and her performance wasn't much more
memorable. She appeared in three more films in the 1930s, and two more
in the 1940s, but her film career was pretty much a bust. She tried her
hand at writing with the "burlesque mystery" novel "The G-String
Murders" (1941), which was made into the film
Lady of Burlesque (1943),
starring Barbara Stanwyck. By the
1950s, however, she was comfortable just being a sort of queen mother
of burlesque. She had gone through three unhappy marriages, as well as
affairs with showman Mike Todd
and director Otto Preminger; the latter
was the father of her only child,
Erik Lee Preminger. She was not close
to her sister June, who by this time had changed her name and was known
as actress/dancer June Havoc. She also still
had to contend with Mama Rose, who constantly tried to extort money
from her with vicious threats. It wasn't until Rose died from terminal
cancer in 1954 that Gypsy truly felt safe to write her memoirs, without
having to worry anymore about her mother's repercussions. Her
autobiography, "Gypsy", was published in 1957. Detailing her childhood
in vaudeville and her relationship with her mother. It was an immediate
bestseller. Broadway producers also noticed it and decided it would
make a great musical, and so was born what many consider the best
Broadway musical of all time: "Gypsy". With book by
Arthur Laurents, music by
Jule Styne and lyrics by
Stephen Sondheim, it premiered in 1959
and was an immediate smash. However, though Gypsy was an important
character, of course, it did not focus on her alone, but rather on the
hard-boiled, driven, single-minded, even monstrous stage mother that
was Mama Rose.
This time it was Rose who was the star, which, as the musical implies,
was perhaps what she always wanted. The musical has been frequently
revived and been made into two films. The role of Mama Rose has been
played by, among others, Ethel Merman,
Angela Lansbury,
Tyne Daly,
Bette Midler and
Betty Buckley. Gypsy Rose Lee was
able to enjoy the musical's success in her last years. She had appeared
in three films in the 1950s, and made three more in the 1960s,
including a cameo in, of all films, the family comedy
The Trouble with Angels (1966),
opposite Hayley Mills and
Rosalind Russell, who played
Mama Rose in the first screen version of the play,
Gypsy (1962). The real Gypsy even hosted
two incarnations of her own talk show. She died of cancer in 1970. Even
if her film career wasn't spectacular, she was immortalized on the
stage of both burlesque and Broadway.
Louise from early childhood, Gypsy Rose Lee was the daughter of a
mild-mannered businessman and a restless, fiery young woman named Rose,
who was determined to get out of Seattle and make a life for herself
and her daughter in show business. In 1912, Rose had another child,
June. Rose thought June was much more beautiful, photogenic and
talented than Louise apparently could ever hope to be, which soon
caused her to pack up her two children and search for a career in
vaudeville (she divorced her husband when he objected to a career in
show business). By the time Louise was seven and June five, they had
put together a very successful act, Baby June and Her Farmboys. June
was, of course, the star, and Louise was put in the chorus, though she
did get an occasional moment in the spotlight. The act was making $1500
a week, but the family was not exactly living in high style, having to
scrimp and save much of the time in order to buy food, and often in
debt. There are many who believe that Rose was squandering the money.
There were also rumors about Rose during this time, about how she had
to dodge the police, who enforced strict child labor laws, and even
about how she may have murdered a man she thought was pestering her
children. Despite these rumors, June and Louise's act continued to be
successful throughout the 1920s. At the end of the decade June was 13
and had been re-christened Dainty June. By this time it was clear that
vaudeville was a dying art form. Rose, however, still chased after her
dream, and still made June up to be a cute baby. June resented it, and
finally she married one of the chorus boys in the act (she was still
only 13) and ran away with him. Not even this could stop Rose, however.
This time she formed a new act, centering it around Louise. Called Rose
Louise and Her Hollywood Blondes, she and her chorus girls performed
slightly risqué musical numbers, and were moderately successful. Still,
vaudeville continued to die out, which hurt the act. However, there was
one form of vaudeville that still drew crowds: burlesque. Eventually,
Rose, Louise and company had to take a job in a burlesque house.
Sometime during their stay there the star stripper was not able to go
on for a performance. Rose, never one to pass up an opportunity,
volunteered Louise for the job. So Louise, just 15 at the time, stepped
on stage, wearing not much more than a grass skirt, and slowly and
teasingly . . . didn't take much off. Audiences responded favorably to
this new kind of striptease act, which was more "tease" than "strip,"
more tantalizing than tawdry. Louise had finally found her calling.
For her stage name she took Gypsy, a nickname she derived from her
hobby of reading tea leaves, and combined it with her real first name,
Rose, and Lee, which she added on a whim. As Gypsy Rose Lee she
launched a hugely successful career in burlesque, incorporating humor
and intelligence, as well as the requisite removal of various articles
of clothing, into her act. She became extremely popular, even appearing
at the last place anyone would expect, high society balls. Once she had
conquered the stages of burlesque, she decided to try her hand at
movies. Billed under her real name, Louise Hovick--because the studio
heads were afraid her stage name would scare people away--she made her
film debut in
Ali Baba Goes to Town (1937).
It was a forgettable film, and her performance wasn't much more
memorable. She appeared in three more films in the 1930s, and two more
in the 1940s, but her film career was pretty much a bust. She tried her
hand at writing with the "burlesque mystery" novel "The G-String
Murders" (1941), which was made into the film
Lady of Burlesque (1943),
starring Barbara Stanwyck. By the
1950s, however, she was comfortable just being a sort of queen mother
of burlesque. She had gone through three unhappy marriages, as well as
affairs with showman Mike Todd
and director Otto Preminger; the latter
was the father of her only child,
Erik Lee Preminger. She was not close
to her sister June, who by this time had changed her name and was known
as actress/dancer June Havoc. She also still
had to contend with Mama Rose, who constantly tried to extort money
from her with vicious threats. It wasn't until Rose died from terminal
cancer in 1954 that Gypsy truly felt safe to write her memoirs, without
having to worry anymore about her mother's repercussions. Her
autobiography, "Gypsy", was published in 1957. Detailing her childhood
in vaudeville and her relationship with her mother. It was an immediate
bestseller. Broadway producers also noticed it and decided it would
make a great musical, and so was born what many consider the best
Broadway musical of all time: "Gypsy". With book by
Arthur Laurents, music by
Jule Styne and lyrics by
Stephen Sondheim, it premiered in 1959
and was an immediate smash. However, though Gypsy was an important
character, of course, it did not focus on her alone, but rather on the
hard-boiled, driven, single-minded, even monstrous stage mother that
was Mama Rose.
This time it was Rose who was the star, which, as the musical implies,
was perhaps what she always wanted. The musical has been frequently
revived and been made into two films. The role of Mama Rose has been
played by, among others, Ethel Merman,
Angela Lansbury,
Tyne Daly,
Bette Midler and
Betty Buckley. Gypsy Rose Lee was
able to enjoy the musical's success in her last years. She had appeared
in three films in the 1950s, and made three more in the 1960s,
including a cameo in, of all films, the family comedy
The Trouble with Angels (1966),
opposite Hayley Mills and
Rosalind Russell, who played
Mama Rose in the first screen version of the play,
Gypsy (1962). The real Gypsy even hosted
two incarnations of her own talk show. She died of cancer in 1970. Even
if her film career wasn't spectacular, she was immortalized on the
stage of both burlesque and Broadway.