Gypsy: The Art of the Tease (Icons of America)

A true icon of America at a turning point in its history, Gypsy Rose Lee was the first—and the only—stripper to become a household name, write novels, and win the adulation of intellectuals, bankers, socialites, and ordinary Americans. Her outrageous blend of funny-smart sex symbol with the aura of high culture—she boasted that she liked to read Great Books and listen to classical music while taking off her clothes on-stage—inspired a musical, memoirs, a portrait by Max Ernst, and a species of rose. Gypsy is the first book about Gypsy Rose Lee’s life, fame, and place in America not written by a family member, and it reveals her deep impact on the social and cultural transformations taking shape during her life. Rachel Shteir, author of the prize-winning Striptease , gives us Gypsy’s story from her arrival in New York in 1931 to her sojourns in Hollywood, her friendships and rivalries with writers and artists, the Sondheim musical, family memoirs that retold her history in divergent ways, and a television biopic currently in the making. With verve, audacity, and native guile, Gypsy Rose Lee moved striptease from the margins of American life to Broadway, Hollywood, and Main Street. Gypsy tells how she did it, and why. The Barnes & Noble Review For a stripper who died almost 40 years ago, Gypsy Rose Lee enjoys enviable name recognition. She has the musical Gypsy to thank, of course: the Broadway adaptation of her autobiography, with music by Jule Styne and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, has made her as immortal as Sky Masterson from Guys and Dolls or Tony and Maria from West Side Story. The downside of this kind of legend, however, is that Gypsy threatens to seem as fictional as those other characters. The reality of the woman who was born Louise Hovick is all the harder to grasp because there is no adequate record of her celebrated routines. No Hollywood studio, in her 1930s heyday, was willing to put a naked stripper on screen. From the man on whom nothing was lost, a unique guide to the elements of statecraft, presented through spirited interpretations of classic literary works A true icon of America at a turning point in its history, Gypsy Rose Lee was the firstand the onlystripper to become a household name, write novels, and win the adulation of intellectuals, bankers, socialites, and ordinary Americans. Her outrageous blend of funny-smart sex symbol with the aura of high cultureshe boasted that she liked to read Great Books and listen to classical music while taking off her clothes on-stageinspired a musical, memoirs, a portrait by Max Ernst, and a species of rose. Gypsy is the first book about Gypsy Rose Lees life, fame, and place in America not written by a family member, and it reveals her deep impact on the social and cultural transformations taking shape during her life. Rachel Shteir, author of the prize-winning Striptease , gives us Gypsys story from her arrival in New York in 1931 to her sojourns in Hollywood, her friendships and rivalries with writers and artists, the Sondheim musical, family memoirs that retold her history in divergent ways, and a television biopic currently in the making. With verve, audacity, and native guile, Gypsy Rose Lee moved striptease from the margins of American life to Broadway, Hollywood, and Main Street. Gypsy tells how she did it, and why. "A true icon of America at a turning point in its history, Gypsy Rose Lee was the first - and the only - stripper to become a household name, write novels, and win the adulation of intellectuals, bankers, socialites, and ordinary Americans. Her outrageous blend of funny-smart sex symbol with the aura of high culture - she boasted that she liked to read Great Books and listen to classical music while taking off her clothes on-stage - inspired a musical, memoirs, a portrait by Max Ernst, and a species of rose. Gypsy is the first book about Gypsy Rose Lee's life, fame, and place in America not written by a family member, and it reveals her deep impact on the social and cultural transformations taking shape during her life. Rachel Shteir, author of the prize-winning Striptease, gives us Gypsy's story from her arrival in New York in 1931 to her sojourns in Hollywood, her friendships and rivalries with writers and artists, the Sondheim musical, family memoirs that retold her history in divergent ways, and a television biopic currently in the making. With verve, audacity, and native guile, Gypsy Rose Lee moved striptease from the margins of American life to Broadway, Hollywood, and Main Street. Gypsy tells how she did it, and why."--Www.books-express.co.uk (Nov. 3, 2010) Contents......Page 8 INTRODUCTION: “Particles, Legends, Romance”......Page 12 ONE: Undressing the Family Romance......Page 21 TWO: The Queen of Striptease......Page 42 THREE: To Hollywood and Back......Page 94 FOUR: The Rise and Fall of the Striptease Intellectual......Page 114 FIVE: Selling Striptease......Page 162 Conclusion......Page 196 Acknowledgments......Page 202 Notes......Page 204 Bibliography......Page 216 B......Page 222 C......Page 223 G......Page 224 J......Page 225 L......Page 226 P......Page 227 S......Page 228 V......Page 229 Z......Page 230 Credits......Page 232