Say, Has Anybody Seen My Sweet Gypsy Rose?
Self-proclaimed prude becomes Queen of Burlesque
On January 9, 1911, legendary striptease artist Gypsy Rose Lee was born as Rose Louise Hovick in Seattle, Washington. One of the most popular performers of the 1940s and 1950s, Gypsy was much more than a pretty girl who provocatively removed clothing. She was a brainy businesswoman who created a winning persona and a unique approach to burlesque. Gypsy has been an inspiration and role model for those who have followed her, including modern burlesque queens, including Dita von Teese.
Growing up, Louise (as she went by as a child) and her sister, actress June Novac were at the mercy of the archetypical stage mother from hell. A single parent, Rose Thompson Hovick forced her daughters into vaudeville to support the family. She felt June had the most potential, and when she eloped at age 15 in 1928, she decided Louise’s only hope was to go into burlesque.
This was the beginning of Gypsy Rose Lee, the stripper who was just as renowned for her witty banter as she was for shedding her costumes. Why the name Gypsy? When her son Erik Lee Preminger was asked if she ever explained her choice, he replied,
“Her favorite line about this is, ‘Darling, I told that story so many different ways, I don’t remember which one is true.’”
