Stage and Screen Actress June Havoc, Inspiration for Gypsy, Dies at 96

Actress June Havoc, whose life story helped form the basis for the classic musical Gypsy, died on March 28 in Stamford, Connecticut. She was believed to be 96 years old, although multiple birth certificates carried by her mother (the real-life Momma Rose) made her exact age uncertain.

Born in Vancouver, Ellen Evangeline Hovick became a child star on the Orpheum vaudeville circuit and eloped with one of the dancers in her show, as portrayed in the characters Dainty June and Tulsa in Gypsy. But in many respects, the actress resented how her life and career were represented in the autobiography of her older sister, who went on to fame as Gypsy Rose Lee. Rather than disappearing from the show business scene, as indicated by the musical, Havoc enjoyed a successful Broadway career that ranged from her 1936 debut in Forbidden Melody to a star turn as Miss Hannigan late in the run of the original Broadway production of Annie.

Havoc’s 13 Broadway credits as an actress included the original production of Pal Joey, in which she created the role of Gladys Bumps. As a director, she was nominated for a 1964 Tony Award for Marathon ’33, which she adapted from her book Early Havoc. Her final New York stage appearance was in the 1995 off-Broadway production of The Old Lady’s Guide to Survival. An off-Broadway theater was named in Havoc’s honor in 1999.

The actress made her feature film debut in 1942 in Four Jacks and a Jill; that same year, she played Effie Shelton my My Sister Eileen. Her final screen performance was in General Hospital in 1990.

Havoc was married and divorced three times, and her only child, April Kent, died in 1998.