Gypsy Rose Lee Biography, Age, Height, Husband, Net Worth, Family

Despite these rumors, June and Louise's act continued to be successful throughout the 1920s. At the end of the decade June was 13 and had been re-christened Dainty June. By this time it was clear that vaudeville was a dying art form. Rose, however, still chased after her dream, and still made June up to be a cute baby. June resented it, and finally she married one of the chorus boys in the act (she was still only 13) and ran away with him. Not even this could stop Rose, however. This time she formed a new act, centering it around Louise. Called Rose Louise and Her Hollywood Blondes, she and her chorus girls performed slightly risqué musical numbers, and were moderately successful. Still, vaudeville continued to die out, which hurt the act. However, there was one form of vaudeville that still drew crowds: burlesque. Eventually, Rose, Louise and company had to take a job in a burlesque house. Sometime during their stay there the star stripper was not able to go on for a performance. Rose, never one to pass up an opportunity, volunteered Louise for the job. So Louise, just 15 at the time, stepped on stage, wearing not much more than a grass skirt, and slowly and teasingly. . . didn't take much off. Audiences responded favorably to this new kind of striptease act, which was more "tease" than "strip," more tantalizing than tawdry. Louise had finally found her calling. For her stage name she took Gypsy, a nickname she derived from her hobby of reading tea leaves, and combined it with her real first name, Rose, and Lee, which she added on a whim. As Gypsy Rose Lee she launched a hugely successful career in burlesque, incorporating humor and intelligence, as well as the requisite removal of various articles of clothing, into her act. She became extremely popular, even appearing at the last place anyone would expect, high society balls. Once she had conquered the stages of burlesque, she decided to try her hand at movies.
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