There have been many stories about “stage mothers”, who pushed their children into show business. Harridans who forced their sometimes talented, but often ordinary children into the limelight, whether or not they wished it. None was pushier…nor more famous for being so…than Rose Hovick, Madam Rose, the mother of June Havoc and Gypsy Rose Lee.

Gypsy Rose Lee was born Louise Rose Hovick in Seattle, in 1911. Two years later, a sister, June, was born. Rose’s father had not permitted her to go into show business, so she was anxious to give her children the opportunity that she had missed. Her husband, a newspaper ad salesman, insisted that their budget could not stretch to dancing lessons for the girls, but Rose soon divorced the uncooperative man and moved her family in with her parents. By the age of 2, little June could dance on point, and was performing in local vaudeville shows. Louise didn’t seem to have either the talent, nor the interest in the theater that her mother wished, and for a while, avoided the work and exposure that her small sister was getting. Rose decided that her children were the commodity that would support her, and so Louise was forced to perform in the vaudeville shows along with June. It was a hard life, hard for an adult, and miserable for young children. Madam Rose continued to push the girls, expecting impossibly professional behavior from both of them. When Louise still showed no interest in the profession, she was told that if she didn’t work harder, she would be given away. Madam Rose also encouraged the girls to lie about their ages, to truant officers and train conductors, to steal the sheets and towels from hotels, and to sneak out without paying. Both girls became accomplished shoplifters. June once said that after the age of 5, she never believed anything her mother said. When June was 16, she ran off with a boy from the show, and got married, thus extricating herself from her mother’s clutches. Rose was left with the largely untalented Louise as her only support.

Vaudeville was dying. The Burlesque show was on the rise. In a sea of bump and grind strippers, Louise was now a leggy brunette with a perfect figure. Although reluctant, Louise discovered that she could now make a living with no talent at all. Her “hook” was her sense of humor. In the early 1930s, she discarded the name Louise, moved to New York, and became Gypsy Rose Lee. Her act had become a parody of strippers’ acts. She revealed little actual skin, but her comedy made her a hit with men and women alike. She became the toast of New York cafe society. She tried a run at Hollywood, without much success, and she penned a play, which also failed. Her novel, “The G-String Murders”, however was a critical and commercial success, and later was made into a movie starring Barbara Stanwyck.

In the meantime, Madam Rose, whose daughters had both found the success in show business that she had always dreamed of, became even more mentally unbalanced. She tried to blackmail both of her daughters, demanding money and gifts. Although she was well-provided for, she would appear at their performances dressed shabbily, claiming to be poor and ill. Neither June, now a successful Hollywood actress, nor Gypsy communicated with their mother except through their lawyers. In 1954, her mother, Madam Rose, died. Her last words were a threat to Gypsy, promising to drag her daughter into death with her.

With her mother gone, Gypsy was free to exploit the story of her childhood without fear of legal action. She wrote her memoirs, “Gypsy”, which was an instant best seller. She turned down a movie deal for $200,000, opting instead to sell the rights to her story for $4000 against a percentage of the gross, to be made into a musical. “Gypsy – A Musical Fable” which featured music and lyrics by Jule Styne and Stephen Sondheim, has been called the greatest American musical. With songs like “Everything’s Coming Up Roses” and “Let Me Entertain You”, the play translated brilliantly to film, starring Rosalind Russell as Madam Rose, and a young Natalie Wood as Gypsy.

Gypsy Rose Lee retired to a home in Beverly Hills and spent her later years guest starring on television game shows and talk shows. The Queen of Burlesque, and our Tart of the Week, she died in 1970, leaving her book and the musical it inspired as her legacy.