It was on this date, January 9, 1911, that burlesque-era stripper Gypsy Rose Lee was born Rose Louise Hovick in Seattle, Washington. Sister of actress June Havoc, Gypsy started dancing and stripping at burlesque houses from the age of 15, under the oppressive hand of her mother, Rose. She took her stage name while dancing for Minsky’s theater in New York – “Gypsy” for her fortune-telling, “Rose” for her mother, and “Lee” on a whim.

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Originally published January 2003 by Ronald Bruce Meyer.