- Paperback: 408 pages
- Publisher: Frog Books (July 15 1999)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1883319951
- ISBN-13: 978-1883319953
- Product Dimensions: 14.6 x 2.8 x 21.6 cm
- Shipping Weight: 544 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #189,867 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
Review
"... will delight anyone who has a love for the annals of the American stage."
- Newsweek
"This is show business, this America... this is Gypsy Rose Lee!"
- Tennessee Williams
"I found it irresistable. It's quite a performance. I bet some of it is even true, and if it wasn't, it is now."
- John Steinbeck
- Newsweek
"This is show business, this America... this is Gypsy Rose Lee!"
- Tennessee Williams
"I found it irresistable. It's quite a performance. I bet some of it is even true, and if it wasn't, it is now."
- John Steinbeck
Product Description
Gypsy Rose Lee’s memoir became a New York Times bestseller in 1957, inspiring the 1959 hit musical, two movies, and three revivals. Now a fourth, directed by Arthur Laurents and starring Patti LuPone, is lighting up New York, winning top Broadway theatre awards, including three 2008 Tony Awards, as well as raves from critics and audiences:
“No matter how long you live, you’ll never see a more exciting production.” —Terry Teachout, The Wall Street Journal
“Watch out, New York! This GYPSY is a wallop-packing show of raw power.” —Ben Brantley, The New York Times
“Not your ordinary theater experience. This is the best production of the best damn musical ever.” —Liz Smith, Syndicated Columnist
The memoir, which Gypsy began as a series of pieces for The New Yorker, contains photographs and newspaper clippings from her personal scrapbooks and an afterword by her son, Erik Lee Preminger. At turns touching and hilarious, Gypsy describes her childhood trouping across 1920s America through her rise to stardom as The Queen of Burlesque in 1930s New York—where gin came in bathtubs, gangsters were celebrities, and Walter Winchell was king.
Gypsy’s story features outrageous characters—among them Broadway’s funny girl, Fanny Brice, who schooled Gypsy in how to be a star; gangster Waxy Gordon, who fixed her teeth; and her indomitable mother, Rose, who lived by her own version of the Golden Rule: “Do unto others … before they do you.”
“No matter how long you live, you’ll never see a more exciting production.” —Terry Teachout, The Wall Street Journal
“Watch out, New York! This GYPSY is a wallop-packing show of raw power.” —Ben Brantley, The New York Times
“Not your ordinary theater experience. This is the best production of the best damn musical ever.” —Liz Smith, Syndicated Columnist
The memoir, which Gypsy began as a series of pieces for The New Yorker, contains photographs and newspaper clippings from her personal scrapbooks and an afterword by her son, Erik Lee Preminger. At turns touching and hilarious, Gypsy describes her childhood trouping across 1920s America through her rise to stardom as The Queen of Burlesque in 1930s New York—where gin came in bathtubs, gangsters were celebrities, and Walter Winchell was king.
Gypsy’s story features outrageous characters—among them Broadway’s funny girl, Fanny Brice, who schooled Gypsy in how to be a star; gangster Waxy Gordon, who fixed her teeth; and her indomitable mother, Rose, who lived by her own version of the Golden Rule: “Do unto others … before they do you.”
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Most helpful customer reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Exciting, but Leaves 'em Wanting More,
By mziemba3 (Ann Arbor, MI USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Gypsy: Memoirs of America's Most Celebrated Stripper (Paperback)
Much like the style of her burlesque, Gypsy Rose Lee's memoir offers just a tantalizing glimpse of the real Louise Rose Hovick.Breathlessly relating her childhood spent in the popular, family-oriented entertainment of the early 1900s vaudeville variety show circuit with her star younger sister, "Dainty" June, and their shrewd stage manager and mother, Rose, Lee easily engages readers. Pages fly by, from skits in front of local lodge brothers to shows before burgeoning audiences in lavish theaters across the country as they tirelessly shop their ever-polished singing, dancing and comedy act. A faint picture slowly emerges of Lee as a bright, introverted young girl yearning for more attention. Despite the rough road life and her own disappointment, not much self-pity shows. What does show clearly is Lee's budding business savvy. After her sister leaves the act, Lee turns the tragedy into opportunity with a little peroxide and PR. Cleverly, she also leaves her hair dark, creating a distinguishing detail out of a common hair color. As vaudeville dries up and she transitions to burlesque, she again demonstrates uncanny sense in choosing her famous stage name. A shorter portion of the book details her rise to the top of the burlesque world, a story peppered with desperate scam artists, benevolent gangsters and jealous stars. Disappointing is the absence of some relevant detail. Dates are rarely specified, which might otherwise allow readers to more easily trace Lee's story and place it in context with other historical events. No discussion is offered about burlesque and the law, or Lee's thoughts about it. Famous vaudevillians such as Abbott and Costello are mentioned, but only in passing. Significant details are also conspicuously absent. Despite mention of her son, Erik, no mention is made of his father, and hardly any of her relationships are discussed. Privacy, timing and taboo may account for these latter absences, however. Perhaps, in not telling all, Gypsy Rose Lee suggests her greatest talent, grace.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Gypsy Fan,
By A Customer
This review is from: Gypsy: Memoirs of America's Most Celebrated Stripper (Paperback)
If you like the movie, you'll love the book. Although be prepared, they are different in many ways.I enjoyed the writing and content. She made a hard life entertaining yet real. Being a fan made this book even more enjoyable.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Gypsy a book that can make you laugh, cry, and strip!,
By meredith gifford (Pontiac, MI USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Gypsy: Memoirs of America's Most Celebrated Stripper (Paperback)
I could not put this book down! I felt that Gypsy Rose Lee was talking to me directly. It was as if I was her friend, and she was just telling me her life story. I was captivated from beginning to end always wondering what the next adventure would be. From their childhood, where they toured Vaudeville to Gypsy's rise to stardom in Burlesque, there was never a dull moment.Along the way you come across an incredible cast of characters. Starting with Rose Louise Havick (Gypsy's birth name), who lived her younger sister's shadow for years. June (her sister) was supposed to be the star not Louise. Mama Rose, Gypsy and June's mother who wanted nothing more than to have one of her daughters become a star. There are also many famous faces in this book, from Broadway's funny girl, Fanny Brice to gangster, Waxy Gordon. You even meet Gypsy's first love (of course you will have to read the book to find out who that is)! Gypsy is the ugly duckling who discovered that she was really a beautiful swan. When June ran away to get married at 13, Gypsy's life turned upside down. She went from chorus "boy" to becoming the most well known stripper this country has ever known. And you can bet her mother was there every step of the way. This is a story for anyone who has ever been told they are not good enough. Gypsy Rose Lee was told that...and look where she ended up!
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