Born
Rose Louise Hovick
January 8, 1911
Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Died
April 26, 1970 (aged 59)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation
Actress, author, playwright, vedette, dancer, entertainer
Years active
1928–69
Spouse(s)
Robert Mizzy
(m. 1937; div. 1941)
Alexander Kirkland
(m. 1942; div. 1944)
Julio de Diego
(m. 1948; div. 1955)
Children
1
Parent(s)
John Olaf Hovick
Rose Thompson Hovick
Relatives
June Havoc (sister)
Gypsy Rose Lee was born in Seattle, Washington, on January 8, 1911; however, she always gave January 9 as her date of birth. She was known as Louise to her family. Her sister, actress June Havoc, was born in 1912. Their mother, Rose Thompson Hovick, forged various birth certificates for each of her daughters—older when needed to evade varying state child labor laws, and younger for reduced or free train fares. The girls were unsure until later in life what their years of birth were.
Career
Louise's singing and dancing talents were insufficient to sustain the act without June. Eventually, it became apparent that Louise could make money in burlesque, which earned her legendary status as an elegant and witty striptease artist. Initially, her act was propelled forward when a shoulder strap on one of her gowns gave way, causing her dress to fall to her feet despite her efforts to cover herself; encouraged by the audience's response, she went on to make the trick the focus of her performance.
Her innovations were an almost casual stripping style compared to the herky-jerky styles of most burlesque strippers (she emphasized the "tease" in "striptease"), and she brought a sharp sense of humor into her act as well. She became as famous for her onstage wit as for her stripping style, and—changing her stage name to Gypsy Rose Lee—she became one of the biggest stars of Minsky's Burlesque, where she performed for four years. She was frequently arrested in raids on the Minsky brothers' shows. During the Great Depression, Lee spoke at various union meetings in support of New York laborers. According to activist Harry Fisher, her talks were among those that attracted the largest audiences.
In 1937 and 1938, billed as Louise Hovick, she made five films in Hollywood. But her acting was generally panned, so she returned to New York City where she had an affair with film producer Michael Todd and co-produced and appeared in his 1942 musical revue, Star and Garter.
Lee viewed herself as a "high-class" stripper, and she approved of H. L. Mencken's term "ecdysiast", which he coined as a more "dignified" way of referring to the profession. Her style of intellectual recitation while stripping was spoofed in the number "Zip!" in Rodgers and Hart's Pal Joey, a musical in which Havoc had appeared on Broadway, opposite Gene Kelly. Lee performed an abbreviated version of her act (intellectual recitation and all) in the 1943 film Stage Door Canteen.
In 1941, Lee authored a mystery thriller called The G-String Murders, which was made into the sanitized 1943 film, Lady of Burlesque starring Barbara Stanwyck. While some assert this was in fact ghost-written by Craig Rice, there are those who claim that there is more than sufficient written evidence in the form of manuscripts and Lee's own correspondence to prove that she wrote a large part of the novel herself under the guidance of Rice and others, including her editor George Davis, a friend, and mentor. Lee's second murder mystery, Mother Finds a Body, was published in 1942. In December 1942, preliminary papers alleging breach of contract were filed in the Supreme Court against Lee by Dorothy Wheelock, associate editor of Harper's Bazaar, alleging that in August 1940 she and Gypsy entered into what Wheelock described as "an oral agreement to collaborate on a joint venture involving the conception, construction, development, writing, and exploitation of a literary work with a burlesque background. The agreement, Miss Wheelock went on, called for a 50:50 split on all income from sale of the book. She charged that she had lined up a publisher for the book when, in November 1940, Gypsy called off the collaboration ... Lee said she turned over notes and other material to Miss Wheelock and that the latter had then written 'a sample book'. However this sample book is not the book that was published, Gypsy declared. She denied any resemblance between Miss Wheelock's book and the book published under her own name, except such similarities might stem from the notes Gypsy turned over to Miss Wheelock. Simon & Schuster agreed to publish the book, Gypsy said, after the first three chapters were shown to them by Janet Flanner, a New York writer". The case was settled out of court.
Kate Francis is getting her MA in Fashion History and Fashion Design from the University of Nebraska Lincoln. She studies fashion and culture from the 1920s-1940s, and wears it too!
When Kimmie isn’t at the beach, she’s buying vintage goodies, browsing antique cars, or getting baby dolled up for a pin up contest.
Kimmie is a member of the North Florida Luscious Ladies.
Konnichiwa from Kimmie Khaos. I am a curvy Luscious Lady who loves traveling, antiques, classic cars, and music with soul. My passions are beach life, biology, and babies. The pinup culture allows me the opportunity to share my platform of “Loving The Skin You Are In”with my community. The best things in life are the people we love, the places we’ve been, and the memories we’ve made along the way.
My name Lady Black Velvet is the perfect way to describe me, sweet and soft with a mysterious side! I'm the perfect definition of an introverted extrovert. I am family oriented and enjoy the simple things in life, but I am also very adventurous and love going new places and challenging myself with doing new things. I have a very vintage, yet eclectic, sense of style that falls right in line with different pinup eras. Furthermore, I also love all different hair and makeup styles, which all in all makes being a pinup gal that much more fun!!
A lover of all things glam. About a year and a half ago I was introduced to this incredible world through my hair and makeup craft. With over 12 years in the beauty industry, I’ve worked with multiple designers, celebrities, and my work has been published both internationally and domestic, In addition I have a bridal team in multiple cities. My story with Pinup started when I partnered with Glitter Glam Studios for a session and we quickly became her official hair and makeup team. It’s been an incredible journey, with multiple magazine spreads and cover, fulfilling a dream to become a model. Fully immersed, I now have a Retro hair and makeup team with goals to keep expanding and become the go to glam at all pinup events, we have had the honor to work with published pinups and our work can be seen in Retro Lovely, Modern Day PinUp, Bombshell, Holidays, NYLON, and so much more.
I am a Jersey Girl at Heart but live in Florida for the last 20 years. I found a Gem of a Local Store called the Parisian Hostess and met the owner Tamara. I fell in love with her store and would shop there on a weekly basis. Her inspiration made me want to be a Pin Up Model. I joined the classes she gave about how to do Makeup, Victory Rolls, Eye Lashes and Posing. I was nervous in the beginning but she built up my confidence and self esteem. Tamara even helped coming up with my name Lavender Lady because of my Purple Hair and Tattoos. Doing Pin Up gives me so much happiness and confidence in myself. Can’t wait to see what the Future holds for me.
Monroe found herself at the center of a scandal in March 1952, when she revealed that she had posed for nude pictures in 1949, which were now featured in a calendar.[86] The studio had learned of the upcoming publication of the calendar some weeks prior, and together with Monroe decided that to avoid damaging her career it was best to admit to them while stressing that she had been broke at the time.[87] The strategy gained her public sympathy and increased interest in her films, for which she was now receiving top-billing. In the wake of the scandal, Monroe was featured on the cover of Life as the "Talk of Hollywood" and gossip columnist Hedda Hopper declared her the "cheesecake queen" turned "box office smash".[88] Fox released three of Monroe's films —Clash by Night, Don't Bother to Knock and We're Not Married!— soon after to capitalize on the public interest.[89]
When Niagara was released in January 1953, women's clubs protested it as immoral, but it proved popular with audiences.[115] While Variety deemed it "clichéd" and "morbid", The New York Times commented that "the falls and Miss Monroe are something to see", as although Monroe may not be "the perfect actress at this point ... she can be seductive—even when she walks".[116][117] Monroe continued to attract attention by wearing revealing outfits, most famously at the Photoplay awards in January 1953, where she won the "Fastest Rising Star" award.[118] She wore a skin-tight gold lamé dress, which prompted veteran star Joan Crawford to publicly call her behavior "unbecoming an actress and a lady".[118]
While Niagara made Monroe a sex symbol and established her "look", her second film of 1953, the satirical musical comedy Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, cemented her screen persona as a "dumb blonde".[119] Based on Anita Loos' novel and its Broadway version, the film focuses on two "gold-digging" showgirls played by Monroe and Jane Russell. Monroe's role was originally intended for Betty Grable, who had been 20th Century-Fox's most popular "blonde bombshell" in the 1940s; Monroe was fast eclipsing her as a star who could appeal to both male and female audiences.[120] As part of the film's publicity campaign, she and Russell pressed their hand and footprints in wet concrete outside Grauman's Chinese Theatre in June.[121] Gentlemen Prefer Blondes was released shortly after and became one of the biggest box office successes of the year.[122] Crowther of The New York Times and William Brogdon of Variety both commented favorably on Monroe, especially noting her performance of "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend"; according to the latter, she demonstrated the "ability to sex a song as well as point up the eye values of a scene by her presence".[123][124]
I have loved everything, pinup and vintage for as long as I can remember. To me, Pin Up style represents ultimate femininity, playfulness and fun. I have treated myself to some pinup themed photo shoots in the past, but always just for me. Now I am officially learning of the amazing pin up circuit and thrilled to meet and interact with so many likeminded people! Hoping to learn the ropes on getting published and see where this exciting journey takes me! I welcome any and all mentoring I can get!
Mia works for an IT department. She has two boys and one English bull dog. Her hobbies include time with her boyfriend and a lot sand volleyball.
Published pinup model, vintage hair and wig stylist, makeup artist, creator of The Vintage Pinup Parlor. Vintage hair educator specializing in retro inspired and traditional hairstyling methods.
