American Rose: A Nation Laid Bare: The Life and Times of Gypsy Rose Lee (54 page)

43
Great Northern Railway: Ibid., 24.

44
“Indian necklaces”: Carney et al., n.p.

45
“Vaudeville was America”: Gilbert, 3.

46
the more popular term: Ibid., 4.

47
George Washington:
The New York Times
, April 24, 1927.

48
“coon shouters”: Tucker, 4.

49
two dozen eggs: Gilbert, 53.

50
“The Haymakers”: Ibid., 11.

51
Bertha Mills: Ibid., 20–22.

52
“This is a very”: Gerald Marks interview, “Vaudeville,” a PBS
American Masters
special, 1997.

53
Tony Pastor:
The New York Times
, August 16, 1908.

54
new commandments of vaudeville: Author’s interview with June Havoc, March 2008.

55
Catholic boarding school: There is a record for an “R. Thompson” in an 1898 attendance book for Holy Names Academy in Seattle, Washington. This individual was enrolled for one semester, from August 1898 through December 1898. If “R. Thompson” is Rose Thompson, she would have been six years old during her tenure at Holy Names and certainly wouldn’t have escaped to elope, or to run away with any vaudeville troupe (research contributed by Carolyn Quinn).

56
“learn manners and obedience”: Havoc,
More Havoc
, 23.

57
“God wouldn’t like”: Ibid., 24.

58
paper doll family: Ibid.

59
she joined any roving vaudeville troupe:
New York Sunday News
, June 22, 1941.

60
“We always,” June said: Ibid.

61
“Plug”: Lee,
Gypsy
, 11.

62
“I’m a hard-boiled rose”: Series VIII, Box 56, Folder 1, Gypsy Rose Lee Papers; BRTD.

63
“The rose step”: Lee,
Gypsy
, 10.

64
“Fank you”: Ibid.

1
“A Minsky never says die”:
The New York Times
, September 7, 1930.

2
“Billy Minsky!”: Minsky and Machlin, 19.

3
14th Street and Second Avenue: The Minsky family’s home address was 228 Second Avenue, at Fourteenth Street. New York City telephone directory, May, October 1912–February 1913, Reel 23.

4
Wasn’t it just a few weeks ago: Trager, 334–335.

5
“This is a get-things-done-quick age”: Quoted in Barber, 27.

6
the most crowded neighborhood in the world: Trager, 697.

7
“As I enter”: Barber, 58.

8
“gutter education”: Minsky and Machlin, 18.

9
adult height: Michael William Minsky passport application; U.S. Passport Applications, 1795–1925 (database online), Provo, Utah, USA,
www.ancestry.com
.

10
“In God We Trust”:
The New York Times
, November 14, 1907; undated clipping, Burlesque Clippings Files, Museum of the City of New York.

11
Billy counted it as a win: Barber, 77.

12
Gladys Vanderbilt’s wedding:
The New York Times
, October 27, 1907.

13
behind the event’s barred doors: Louis Sobol, “The Voice of Broadway,” Burlesque Clippings Files, Museum of the City of New York.

14
laundry lines: Jackson, 1129.

15
Hit men abided by:
The New York Times
, November 8, 1908.

16
Billy’s father had faced: Author’s interview with Edward Orzac, nephew of Abraham Minsky, November 2009.

17
Louis Salzberg became: Ibid.

18
“How can you stand it?”: Minsky and Machlin, 15.

19
“The politicians used to”: Kisseloff, 37.

20
“Mayor of Grand Street”:
The New York Times
, April 30, 1904.

21
“I would spend $10,000”:
The New York Times
, September 16, 1898.

22
“Do you know who I am?”:
The New York Times
, April 29, 1904.

23
Louis was arrested: Ibid.

24
“I will have stories”: Ibid.

25
a cyclical pawning system: Barber, 23.

26
his scheme to defraud:
The New York Times
, May 14, 1909.

27
more than 45 million Americans:
The New York Times
, January 3, 1909.

28
“It amounts practically”:
Billboard
, September 15, 1906.

29
Houston Street Hippodrome: Minsky and Machlin, 17.

30
S. Erschowsky & Sons Deli: National Winter Garden program, 1921, Burlesque programs after 1900, Museum of the City of New York.

31
“You know those slides”: Barber, 24.

32
“Yiddish Broadway”: Irving Lewis Allen, 61.

33
“Listen, Pop”: Minsky and Machlin, 20.

1
“He was just a taker”: June Havoc, interview with Laura Jacobs, 2002.

2
They pose for pictures: Series IX, Box 75, Folder 1, Gypsy Rose Lee Papers, BRTD.

3
“I am not a stripper” exchange: Cohn, 95–96.

4
“I like my men”: Gypsy Rose Lee to Charlotte Seitlin, July 7, 1941, Series VI, Box 45, Folder 18, Gypsy Rose Lee Papers, BRTD.

5
When he was nine: Todd, Jr., 17.

6
“Dear Louise”: Rose Thompson Hovick to Gypsy Rose Lee, January 27, 1940, Series I, Box 1, Folder 10, Gypsy Rose Lee Papers, BRTD.

7
“I thought you would like”: Michael Todd to Gypsy Rose Lee, November 29, 1940, Series I, Box 3, Folder 8, Gypsy Rose Lee Papers, BRTD.

8
one girlfriend on the side: Cohn, 47–48.

1
“However paradoxical”: Alice Miller, 10.

2
she played a frog: Series VI, Box 42, Folder 4, Gypsy Rose Lee Papers, BRTD.

3
“Come quickly, darling”: Havoc,
Early Havoc
, 17.

4
“Baby June Hovick,” etc.: Ibid., 62;
Los Angeles Times
, December 6, 1917.

5
the “little tot” led:
Los Angeles Times
, February 12, 1917.

6
“Hush, children”: Havoc,
Early Havoc
, 26.

7
“the most beautiful child alive”: Ibid., 15.

8
“Norwegian beak”: Havoc,
More Havoc
, 18.

9
“She was haughty”: June Havoc, interview with George Bettinger, 1997.

10
“Only actresses”: Lee,
Gypsy
, 63.

11
“I wanted desperately”: Ibid.

12
“Never lie, never steal”: Havoc,
Early Havoc
, 58.

13
“If you don’t succeed”: Ibid., 25.

14
“Mother was,” June thought: June Havoc, interview with Laura Jacobs, 2002.

15
“I know that Louise”: From a vignette written by June Havoc about her family and career, courtesy of June Havoc and Tana Sibilio (June Havoc’s papers are now housed in the June Havoc Collection, Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center, Boston University).

16
“excess baggage”: Ibid.

17
“What
is
the matter”: Lee,
Gypsy
, 64.

18
“When she’s away”: From a vignette in the June Havoc Collection.

19
Aunt Hilma: Lee,
Gypsy
, 64 (Gypsy calls her “Aunt Helma” in her memoir).

20
a freak menstrual hemorrhage: Author’s interview with Bette Solomon, September 18, 2009.

21
Rose enrolled Louise: Frankel, 4.

22
“Mother says you’re the luckiest”: Lee,
Gypsy
, 65–66.

23
“The Hollywood Baby”: Havoc,
Early Havoc
, 121;
Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune
, June 6, 1922.

24
“beribboned, beflowered”: Havoc,
Early Havoc
, 18.

25
“She’ll do”: Ibid., 19.

26
“Darling,” she said: Ibid., 20.

27
“You’re my trouper”: Ibid., 62.

28
She unfurls her arms: See a clip of June’s performance in
On the Jump
at
www.KarenAbbott.net
.

1
“America is the only country”: Quoted in Roger and Bowman, 181.

2
SS
Lafayette: The New York Times
, June 13, 1916.

3
“The second coming of Christ”:
The New York Times
, May 22, 1916.

4
explosion on Black Tom Island: Trager, 359.

5
Charlie Chaplin: Castle, 77–79.

6
Anna Pavlova: Ibid.

7
“The Kangaroo Boxer”: Ibid., 30.

8
These ladies were tradition: Ibid., 37.

9
Abe had been to the Moulin Rouge: Minsky and Machlin, 32.

10
before a fire closed: Pessis and Crepineau, 9.

11
“To deprive Paris”: Castle, 28.

12
Access to the seats: Barber, 30.

13
the roof of Madison Square Garden:
The New York Times
, May 31, 1914.

14
The Black Crook:
Zeidman, 21.

15
Did You Ever Send Your Wife to Jersey?:
Brown, 524.

16
“Variety became vaudeville”: Zeidman, 43.

17
“wheels”: For an excellent discussion of the burlesque wheel system, see Zeidman, 76–100.

18
in late spring of 1916: Minsky and Machlin, 27.

19
belonging to shiksas: Roskolenko, 144–145.

20
a woman dressed:
The New York Times
, April 28, 1911.

1
“You have made your stake”: George Davis to Gypsy Rose Lee, undated (but likely December 1940), Series I, Box 3, Folder 2, Gypsy Rose Lee Papers, BRTD.

2
“If I have night lunch”: Gypsy Rose Lee to Lee Wright, July 21, 1941, Series VI, Box 45, Folder 18, Gypsy Rose Lee Papers, BRTD.

3
the house at 7 Middagh Street: Tippins, photograph following page 146.

4
“like a whirlwind”: Carr,
Paul Bowles
, 151.

5
“Leave them hungry”: Carr,
The Lonely Hunter
, 118.

6
Annemarie Clarac-Schwarzenbach: Ibid., 119.

7
Nearly every night: Tippins, 107.

8
“We ran for several blocks”: Carr,
The Lonely Hunter
, 121.

9
“H. I. Moss didn’t care much”: Lee,
The G-String Murders
, 7.

10
“get my ass pounded”: Gypsy Rose Lee to Lee Wright, February 2, 1941, Series VI, Box 45, Folder 18, Gypsy Rose Lee Papers, BRTD.

11
“I read you are too smart”: Michael Todd to Gypsy Rose Lee, undated, Series I, Box 3, Folder 8, Gypsy Rose Lee Papers, BRTD.

12
catering not to the elite: Todd, Jr., 69.

1
at least one more marriage proposal: A Seattle-based researcher and I checked the state of Washington for more marriage certificates under Rose Thompson Hovick, to no avail. Researcher Carolyn Quinn also checked records in California and found no evidence of another marriage. June says four husbands
(Early Havoc
, 25); Gypsy, three
(Gypsy
, 12–13).

2
“removed”: Havoc,
More Havoc
, 75.

3
“They are little show kiddies”: Lee,
Gypsy
, 14.

4
“nest egg”: Ibid., 16.

5
“harum-scarum”: Ibid., 18.

6
Four women played:
The Vancouver Sun
, April 29, 2009.

7
“I had a little bird”: Ellis, 510.

8
Theaters across the country:
The New York Times
, October 6, 1918.

9
“June would be in pictures today”: Series VI, Box 42, Folder 4, Gypsy Rose Lee Papers, BRTD.

10
a waiter, a bartender, and a pimp: Connors, 50.

11
He owned fifteen theaters: Tarrach, 22.

12
Each man shanghaied performers: Gilbert, 219.

13
“Take it or leave it”: Tarrach, 22.

14
vowed to burn: Connors, 50.

15
occasionally disturbing: Tarrach, 51.

16
Guglielmo Marconi: Ibid., 88.

17
“You’ll hear from us”: Lee,
Gypsy
, 18.

18
“She was so ruffley”: Laura Drake Seattle Historic Theaters Project Oral History Collection, Box 1 Folder 3, Mora Lucille Cody recollections, University of Washington Libraries.

19
always mistook Louise for a boy: Ibid.

20
“It’s here, papa”: Lee,
Gypsy
, 17.

21
“Master Laddie Kenneth”:
Orlean Evening Herald
, December 29, 1922.

22
“King of the Ballad Songsters”:
Eau Claire
(Wisc.)
Leader
, June 29, 1922.

23
“Baby June and Her Pals”: Havoc,
Early Havoc
, 66.

24
“Honey Louise”:
Wisconsin State Journal
, October 21, 1922.

25
“The Doll Girl”: Havoc,
Early Havoc
, 66.

26
“clever Juvenile character actress”:
Eau Claire
(Wisc.)
Leader
, June 29, 1922.

27
Pantages offered: Lee,
Gypsy
, 18. I couldn’t find any such agreement with Pantages in Gypsy’s papers at the New York Public Library, but it’s likely those contract files aren’t comprehensive.

28
On to Tacoma: Tarrach, 22.

29
Louise and Master Laddie Kenneth: Havoc,
Early Havoc
, 66–68.

30
“I got hurt a lot”: June Havoc, commentary, “Vaudeville,” a PBS
American Masters
special, 1997.