Carolyn Quinn

A Myrt's Review

Mama Rose's Turn - The True Story of America's Most Notorious Stage Mother by Carolyn Quinn

The Life of Original Stage Mother

Forever immortalized in the musical 'Gypsy', as the ultimate stage mother, Rose Thompson Hovick's life was so much more than that of the single minded, brassy, iconic 'Mama Rose' of stage and screen. Both her famous daughters, child star and actress June Havoc and infamous stripper, Gypsy Rose Lee wrote books about their lives which presented wildly different perspectives of their childhoods. Gypsy's more humorous book was used as the very loose basis for the musical 'Gypsy, A Musical Fable' but the musical was taken as fact and the legend of Mama Rose, the stage mother from hell began.

The book is extremely focused and well researched. Quinn is definitely a fan of Rose's. The book gives a detailed look at Rose, starting with her European grandparents' arrival in the Midwest and Rose's childhood in North Dakota to Rose's first teenage pregnancy (a 12 pound Gypsy!) and eventual taking of her two daughters on the road. Rose's antics often go to the extreme and it's easy to see how she became the standard for all stage mothers to come to be measured by. Rose was volatile, manipulative, scheming and overwhelming at various times. She was banned from several venues where her daughter Gypsy was working. Rose was even accused of murder several times. In her later years she became a lesbian and never really had any strong male relationships. Most of her relationships, particularly with her daughters, were dysfunctional. She was always restless, working her next plan or scheme.

The book gives not only an in depth look at an intriguing woman and her attempts to make her children into stars but it also provides a fascinating look inside the days of vaudeville and burlesque. It is definitely a good read about an unusual woman and the times she lived in.

I received this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.… (mais)

Much is known about Baby June and Gypsy Rose Lee. Much has been confabulated about their mother, Rose. Based on her life, this story follows Rose struggle to provide for her daughters and the various schemes she utilizes to get her way.

I thought the first half of the book was riveting. It was an interesting weave of facts and storytelling. The second half of the book seemed to be written by a different author. At times it was more of a recitation of facts and the storytelling was lost. It almost seemed as if the author became bored with the subject matter. Needless to say I didn't quite finish the book.… (mais)

The stage mother is a caricature. Sadly, this one pretty much defines the term. Rose Hovick was a restless girl, who got pregnant early, tried to kill off her unborn, and when they insisted on living, hit the road with them to make their fortune using them in vaudeville. She had one exceptionally talented daughter, and one far more sensible and intelligent but later bloomer. The older one, June Havoc, took her leave far earlier. The younger one, Gypsy Rose Lee, stayed in the madness much longer, but with her own independent success, distanced herself from her mother as well. As much as she could.

Rose Hovik seems to be hysterical through much of her life. She is always blowing up, beside herself, screaming, badgering, bawling, and when calm, plotting and executing dirty tricks. She got herself banned from backstage at Minsky’s when the owners couldn’t take her any more, and her daughter Gypsy Rose Lee banned her when she appropriated all the furniture and pets in Gypsy’s house. Daughter June disappeared at about 18, and had nearly a decade without contact.

Rose could never see herself for who she really was. She was the always the victim. She went from aggressive stage mother to passive-aggressive manipulator, with stops at various scams, such as bathtub gin, and lesbian parties at her New York apartment. She milked her lesbian customers for every cent she could, and though Gypsy gave her the ten room apartment on the Upper West Side for herself, she rented out the rooms and conducted the parties in the parlor. Ungracious, ungrateful and constantly bitter, she lashed out in all directions. She became a lesbian, and she became pathetic. Her daughters were reduced to communicating with her only by lawyer, to avoid any physical proximity. Basically, they paid her to stay away from them. But Rose went directly to their employer/producers to accuse the girls of abandoning her, humiliating them anyway and jeopardizing their careers. She sued Gypsy for more. And then again and again. It was never enough as she built her assets base. She lived in a fantasy world of total denial and paranoia on the one hand, and scheming, subterfuge and vengeance on the other. Rose was a piece of work.

The entire family was as dysfunctional as any writer of fiction could possibly have imagined. Members listed from one disaster to another, making bad choices in between. Virtually every child was illegitimate. There were almost no men involved in the maelstrom, and those who appeared soon disappeared. The women married and divorced freely.
The book is a snowball. It seems to take forever to get the first few flakes to come together, but by the mid way point, it has critical mass and builds size and momentum as it rolls down the long steep hill. The last hundred pages are a riot of insane action and activity that legends are made of.

The defining incident for me was when June tried to reconcile with Mama Rose. She finally got a part on Broadway. She obtained and sent an opening night ticket to Rose so she could see her daughter in a starring role in a legitimate play, far from vaudeville. Rose sold the ticket instead. You don’t mess with Rose Hovick.… (mais)