Name: June Havoc
Date of Birth: 8 November 1913 Musical theater lovers will undoubtedly know that the song "Let Me Entertain You" was the offspring of the classic musical "Gypsy", the born-in-a-trunk story of resilient kid troopers 'Gypsy Rose Lee' (qv) and 'June Havoc' (qv) who were mercilessly pushed into vaudeville careers by an unbearably headstrong mother. While the less-talented Gypsy, of course, became the legendary ecdysiast who turned stripping into an art form, sister June grew up to become a reputable actress of stage, screen and T... V, among other things. The Vancouver-born actress entered the world in 1913 (some sources insist 1916), the younger daughter of edacious "stage mother" Rose Thompson Hovick and husband, John Olaf Hovick, a cub reporter for a Seattle newspaper. Baby June was primed for stardom by mom by age 2 and was soon dancing with the great ballerina 'Anna Pavlova (I)' (qv) and appearing in 'Hal Roach (I)' (qv) film shorts (1918-1924) with 'Harold Lloyd (I)' (qv). A flexible, high-kicking vaudeville sensation at 5, she was featured front-and-center in an act completely built around her ("Dainty June and Her Newsboys"). Earning around $1,500 a week at her peak, the delightful child star had audiences eating out of the palm of her little hand. The unrelenting pressures and suffocating dominance of her mother, however, led to a capricious elopement in her early teens with a young boy from the act (Bobby Reed, who inspired the dancing character of Tulsa in "Gypsy"). They married in North Platte, Nebraska with each lying about their age. By the time the Depression hit, however, vaudeville, the nation's economy and her marriage had all collapsed. Now a mother of a young daughter, April (who was born out of wedlock in 1935 and later became actress 'April Kent' (qv) briefly in the 1950s), June made ends meet by modeling, posing and toiling in dance marathons. The blonde, blue-eyed stunner also found work in stock musicals and on the "Borscht Belt" circuit. She made her Broadway debut in the musical "Forbidden Melody" in 1936. Years passed before she earned her big break as Gladys in Rodgers and Hart's classic musical "Pal Joey" opposite 'Van Johnson (I)' (qv) and 'Gene Kelly (I)' (qv) in 1940. As a result of their scene-stealing work, the trio earned movie contracts - the two men heading off to the MGM studio and June to RKO. Unlike her male counterparts, June found herself inextricably caught up in "B" level material. Her film debut in the war-era _Four Jacks and a Jill (1942)_ (qv) was followed by the equally hohum _Powder Town (1942)_ (qv) and _Sing Your Worries Away (1942)_ (qv), neither requiring much in the line of acting. Too big in personality for the screen due to her broad vaudeville background, she nevertheless showed some true grit on occasion, particularly in a support role in _My Sister Eileen (1942)_ (qv). For the next few years she experienced both highs and lows. Her Broadway shows were either hits, such as the musical "Mexican Hayride" (1944) (for which she won the Donaldson Award), and the dramatic "The Ryan Girl" (1945), or complete misses, which included a musical version of the Sadie Thompson saga "Rain". June's film acting continued to be a stumbling block, scoring best when asked to play brassy, cynical dames. While she fared well as the femme fatale in _Intrigue (1947)_ (qv), the racist secretary in _Gentleman's Agreement (1947)_ (qv), and the gun moll _The Story of Molly X (1949)_ (qv), more than not she was handed second-rate fodder to flounder in such as _The Iron Curtain (1948)_ (qv), _Once a Thief (1950)_ (qv) and _Follow the Sun (1951)_ (qv). TV took up some of June's time in the early 50s, and she received her own short-lived vehicles as a lawyer in _"Willy" (1954)_ (qv) and as host of her own show _"The June Havoc Show" (1964)_ (qv). After completing her last film _Three for Jamie Dawn (1956)_ (qv), June refocused on stage and TV - particularly the former. She earned some of her best reviews both here and abroad in later years: Titania in "A Midsummer Night's Dream"; Mistress Sullen in "The Beaux' Stratagem"; Sabina in "The Skin of Our Teeth"; Millicent in "Dinner at Eight"; Jenny in "The Threepenny Opera"; Mrs. Swabb in "Habeas Corpus"; and Mrs. Lovett in "Sweeney Todd". In 1982 she pulled out all the stops on Broadway and gave a real "Rose's Turn" as a Miss Hannigan replacement in "Annie". June expanded her talents to include both playwriting and directing. In addition to "I Said the Fly", she wrote "Marathon '33" and received a 1964 Tony nomination for directing the play. It also provided the basis for the superlative, Depression-era film drama _They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969)_ (qv). June became the artistic director of the New Orleans Repertory Theatre in 1970. and later went on tour with her own one-woman show "An Evening with June Havoc" and was seen on stage broaching age 80 in "Love Letters" and "An Old Lady's Guide to Survival". A mid-career biography, "Early Havoc," was published in 1959. Married three times, June was long estranged from her sister, none too happy with Gypsy's portrayal of her in the best-selling memoir "Gypsy". The girls, noted for their trademark elongated faces and shapely gams, were estranged as children as well, but had eventually grown close for a time as adults. The sisters didn't patch things up until Gypsy told June that she was dying of lung cancer in 1970. June elaborated more about her relationship with her sister in her second autobiography, "More Havoc", in 1980.Read more June Havoc movies (actor)User Comments |
