Gypsy Rose Lee strip routine

This is footage of the legendary Gypsy Rose Lee performing an abbreviated (and very clean) version of her famous routine, "The Psychology of a Stripteaser" in the 1943 film Stage Door Canteen. For more about Gypsy, visit: www.americanrosethebook.com.

[@MrJoeydano]

I was suprised to find out that my father was her Trumpet player for years ! what a mind blower ~!!!

[@dans9463]

You mean trumpet 🎺 blower

[@based_prophet]

You dummy lol

[@Seeker0fTruth]

He’s a blower of some kind…For sure!

[@DJRandomHajile]

If you wanna bump it: Bump it with a trumpet.

[@retalbtaylor370]

That’s cool!

[@tonyv205]

This woman was very special to me and many of the combat wounded Vietnam military personnel hospitalized at Camp Zama Japan in 1969. She came by our beds, signed autographs and took photos with us. Gypsy was very patriotic and had a soul of gold, how many elite stars would do that today? I will always cherish her photo of us together and she will always be in my prayers. She passed away shortly after visiting us from cancer.

[@EagleRockers]

Great story! I also met her a few years earlier under completely different circumstances. She was so very kind to me.

[@ellenmurphy2150]

I'm glad you got to meet Gypsy.☺

[@johnkochen7264]

So basically, she was dying and was very likely aware of that but still went to Japan to cheer up the troops? That, my friend, is the mark of a very great lady.

[@Lauralaey5]

Holly cow, how old was she by then?

[@tonyv205]

@@johnkochen7264 absolutely, she is a heroine, a great lady in deed.

[@gtlfb]

She was famous for her routines that emphasized humor over actual disrobing. The song "Zip!" from "Pal Joey" was based on her. I recall reading about a journalist who attended one of her press conferences. She was dressed very sedately, but with above the elbow gloves. As she was talking, she was also very slowly undoing one button after another on a glove. He wrote that he was so fixated on that glove, he later couldn't recall a thing she said!

[@IrvONeil-fn6cp]

Great story about the journalist watching her gloves. Thanks for sharing that!😅

[@LordMondegrene]

I'd never heard her speak before... she's an amazing comedienne! Perfect timing! Flawless delivery! Brava!

[@pascal1947]

I believe Gypsy was a staple of early TV talk shows. I can remember her having appeared on Jack Paar, The Tonight Show in the 50s. I think she was also on Mike Stokey's Pantomime Quiz. Of course, by then she was tapped for her celebrity status and was not performing. She was even a panelist on What's My Line.

[@sadeatthewhip1846]

@@pascal1947 I did not know that. And to think the only mainstream Gypsy Rose we know these days is the Munchausen-by-proxy victim who killed her mom and ended up the subject of documentaries and countless KZbin true crime money grabs I MEAN videos

[@doctormorbius6430]

@@pascal1947 Gypsy actually had her own talk show for at least four years in the mid-1960s.

[@LordMondegrene]

@@pascal1947 YES! I recall her name from childhood in front of the TV. I think I saw her on "Password", "Hoĺlywood Squares" and "Mike Douglas", etc. but I think all her risque humor must have sailed high over my head. Sigh. I didn't know I was watching a genius, tho I loved Fields, Chaplin, and Laurel & Hardy. They were more accessible to four-year-old me, who didn't get adult humor at all.

[@rainespells1273]

Apparently she was also semi-blacklisted during the McCarthy era for her earlier political affiliations and her ongoing union work. She (understandably) faced objections from Christian orgs and censorship boards too when she was starting to appear in films. I read that she appeared before the HUAC people and cleared herself (and without naming anyone else.) She was a treasure and deserved all the success she got and much more.

[@kurayamidesu]

To all the people saying things like "celebrities today should look at her", like...you guys realize that what she did wasn't necessarily considered "classy" back then? We simply have a greater appreciation for it now. But at the same time, you can't hate women that are made by companies to dress and act certain ways in order to sell things. If there was a female celebrity doing the same things Gypsy Rose Lee did (and there probably are), do you really think we would be saying "oh, she's so classyyy"?

[@elluc1510]

Yes!

[@dylanseymour1638]

Dita Von Teese

[@kurayamidesu]

Dylan seymour She gets called out for PLENTY. Not necessarily by fans of striptease, but I doubt a musical and/or movie based on Dita von Teese would get anywhere near the amount of love that "Gypsy" got.

[@dylanseymour1638]

Yes. You are right there. The thing is that Gypsy is the bench mark that everybody else has to try to live up to although no one ever really will. But why I mentioned Dita Von Teese is because she at least keeps the artform alive. But I doubt when I think about it that people will remember her sixty years from now. But they will remember Gypsy.

[@zeedo666]

Female body shouldn´t be rare. look at nature, there should be a healthy ratio of males to females. when it's not, the population struggles. so making female body scarce is against our nature, i.e. it's just a social construct, which btw. brings a lot of suffering because when something you need is scarce, you become neurotic about it. Do you remember the bad guy from Mad MAx 3? He made "water" a scarcity. Do you remember how his people behaved when he tapped some water it off? Would you react the same way? No. Because you have plenty. Men behave neurotic when they don't get enough sex, and then they behave resentful, creepy and rapey. The mass media like keeping female body as something scarce, this way they can rule your minds (now they can sell all that new gadgets, cars, clothing, perfumes etc. that will make you finally f*ck). A society that lives in scarcity is easier to rule. Nobody then thinks "does my government treat me fair?", but instead "God, I need to F*CK!!!! Give me sth to f*ck!!!"

[@Emrose93]

She was such an intelligent performer. And really left her audience wanting more. Like this video represents.

[@dkupke]

The first rule of showbiz, after all.

[@barich3353]

Not exactly, the audience wanted more and she gave it to them...

[@merchantfan]

Yes though they note this was a very clean version of it since it was in a movie. And movies in the 40s couldn't really do nudity beyond the coverage of a bikini unless it was some kind of low budget stag film (and I haven't come across too many from the 40s)

[@Blech-h9z]

She and her sister, June Havoc, were both fiercely intelligent, both victims of the stage mother to end all stage mothers (Mother Rose, Mother Judy, and Mother Veronica all demanded support payments from their children). Gypsy Rose and June Havoc were friends and supporters of the arts. Considering how many of old Hollywood stage babies came to sad ends, Gypsy and June did fine.

[@daveallen63]

Not many people know that she was an author and playwright, her crown jewel was "The G-string Murders". She lived a short life really, passing away at 59 in 1970.

[@thegreencat9947]

I had that book.

[@jessistepaloupuss7960]

Her entire story is unbelievable when she was a child working along side her sister in vaudeville her mother forged numerous birth certificates to aviod the child labor laws she also never knew her real age and the reason she got into strip was because her mother had forced her into being a last minute replacement for the star stripper her mother was so determined to make one of her daughers famous. June(gypsys sister) and louise(gypsy) we terrified to mention their mother in any kind of interviews for the fear that she would sue them for money. rose hovic(mother of june and gypsy)was insane.

[@lilyelizabeth7747]

have you seen the film gypsy?

[@jessnovak2113]

+lily elizabeth i preformed in the musical a couple years back

[@lilyelizabeth7747]

Jess Novak ahhh that's insanly cool, who did you play?x

[@stillayl]

I'd read in Gypsy's autobiography that she went after Tulsa with a gun once she found out he and June were married.:( She couldn't have been all there.:(

[@daninmills]

Apparently Rose Thompson Hovick, Gypsy's mother, also killed several people in her lifetime. One was a woman at a lesbian boarding house who was, according to Gypsy's son, Rose's lover, who she shot and killed after she made a pass at Gypsy. It was officially ruled as a suicide, so she wasn't charged. She also pushed a hotel manager out of a window, but claimed self defense and wasn't charged, and she attempted to murder the husband of Gypsy's sister, June.

[@douglasdaniel4504]

One thing about burlesque in those days, it was way more about the tease than the strip.

[@musicaltheatergeek79]

This film was from 1943, nearly 10 years after the Hays Code went into effect. They weren't going to show her actual routine, which included more bare skin.

[@marisanewland9509]

While you’re not completely wrong that was actually Gypsy Rose’s signature. She always focused on the tease part but that certainly wasn’t everyone. She actually caught criticism a few times for not being “committed” and even got called boring because of it.

[@poetcomic1]

Gypsy was VERY much a stripper don't kid yourself. She had a walk and a rhythm combined with a non-stop comic patter that was absolutely mesmerizing. At the LEAST her stage act left her in pasties (if the law demanded) and the tiniest of G strings. Sometimes neither as she played peekaboo with giant powder puffs, feather fans etc. and stark naked.

[@cynthiawilson4500]

Google Dita Von Tease

[@makeupbytony]

thats what burlesque means

[@iprobablyforgotsomething]

She's flat-out telling them she's often performing in body but in mind is miles away, uninterested in their titillation because of how routine it has become for her -- for how often she has performed thus-and-thus actions, because there is no end to the appetite of the hungry paying masses -- and occupying herself with thoughts both mundane and not to relieve her own boredom. Her any given audience isn't special to her as it would like to believe, but another faceless mass to play to in order to pay the bills. And the audience is so amused and enraptured that they love her for this hard truth because of how well she delivers it. THAT is dang impressive. Bravo, lady, bravo. (Not to say that she didn't need to be aware of the mood of a crowd, or have to care if she interpreted it right, and have at least a little enjoyment for even some small aspect of her work in order to retain her sanity. Obviously, as with any successful performer, this is a given. But not everyone can get away with telling people to their face that it's all an act, and still get paid and admired for it!)

[@sometimessnarky1642]

I'm reminded of the "Lily VonSchtup" song from blazing saddles.

[@musikgirl7]

@@sometimessnarky1642 "it’s twue, it’s twue."

[@tracyarmstrong2953]

I interviewed her son (with Otto Preminger) several times and have come to love Gypsy! She was a remarkable woman and the hardest worker in the entertainment industry!

[@itskindofafunnystory...3237]

I played Gypsy Rose Lee in a musical at school in 10th grade. I remember it was controversial at our school because she was a performer. I hope I did her justice!

[@newmoon54]

WHY WOULD A 10TH GRADE CLASS, KIDS WHO JUST GOT OUT OF JUNIOR HIGH MIND YOU,, DO A MUSICAL INVOLVING STRIP-TEASE ?!?! HOW OLD ARE YOU??? SCREWED UP SOCIETY WE HAVE TODAY!!! ANY WOMAN WANTING A GOOD FUTURE, AND NOT A TAINTED PAST,, SHOULD KEEP HER PRIVATES,,, JUST THAT,,, ~~PRIVATE~~ YOUR FUTURE HUSBAND WILL THANK YOU,, AND SO WILL YOUR KIDS~!~!~!~

[@CornerLog]

@@newmoon54 My future spouse and future children shouldn’t be judging me for my sexual promiscuity. It’s none of their business what I decide to do with my body.

[@michelewalburn4376]

@@CornerLog Amen sister. Why would your kids care who you had sex with before or after they were born?

[@michelewalburn4376]

Nobody's sex life is our business unless we are having or planning to have sex with them. Why is that so hard to grasp?

[@Lauralaey5]

Holly cow ! Stop shouting, and get over yourself, judgemental creep.

[@primusmossjr]

She was fascinating! I never saw a routine like that. It was very classy. I see why she was famous! Beautiful and smart. The routine was clever

[@JamesToupin]

Watching this video I can see why she became such a huge star. She isn't the world's greatest beauty, nor it's greatest talent, but she has personality and charisma that just shines through!

[@55Quirll]

Agreed, there are few entertainers of today that do that. Sadly most of them have passed on

[@robertshows5100]

Yea. now I know what the big deal was. i would buy a ticket.

[@iconsonscreen7291]

What personality, what charisma? All i see is a woman who did something that was taboo and prohibited and also was exploited by the opposite sex excactly for those reasons and so she did what she is doing. Nothing special, just barrier breaking.

[@CathyKeating]

@@iconsonscreen7291 Actually, I think she was doing a lot more than that. And she was ground breaking because of it. She was making sure that her audience didn't think they owned her. She was not to be exploited. She was educated, witty, charming and powerful. She was in charge of her body and she was happy to provide, in a small way, for appropriate compensation of course, a glimpse of it in a way that absolutely delighted people. Men and women. She was a revolutionary in the burlesque world, and you can see that here. Much tamer, I'm sure, than what she did in her ordinary routine. But you really get a sense of it, and I'm so glad I watched this. I've been a fan of Gypsy, the film for many, many years.

[@iconsonscreen7291]

@@CathyKeating i didnt say she wasn't smart! One has to be smart to achieve something in life.

[@iprobablyforgotsomething]

She has a very pleasant voice. I know, random and not the focus of the vid / her routine, but she does.

[@ShaylaAsh]

Fascinating! Fully clothed, took her undergarments off and the crowd went nuts! Very different today!

[@zeedo666]

the crowd must have been really miserable back then. :(

[@musicaltheatergeek79]

This was obviously a censored version of her routine, which included more bare skin. This film is from 1943, nearly ten years after the Hays Code went into effect and forbade such things.

[@SuperLordHawHaw]

I'll guess they were acting

[@ellenmurphy2150]

Trust me this is the G rated version. You don't think she was Always like this and guys would go wild over her?

[@YouAdii]

My grandmother always use to tell me, 'Men have very active imaginations, it doesn't take much." Just watch the' Piano" if you dont believe me.

[@musicaltheatergeek79]

*FYI:* This is a censored version of Gypsy's strip routine. It is from the 1943 film _Stage Door Canteen,_ released nearly 10 years after the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code (aka Hays Code) which restricted what could and could not be shown/spoken on screen. The Code lasted until 1968, when it was replaced by the Motion Picture Association film rating system still in use today: G, PG, PG-13, R, NC-17. Anyway, Gypsy's costumes were often way skimpier than what was shown in the film (see below): i.pinimg.com/originals/ea/fb/cd/eafbcd3c2595907b43db88e5f120e0ed.jpg

[@Ma_Ba]

Thnx! "The Night They Raided Minsky's" film background and production notes on wikipedia says they edited stock footage from burlesque into it. It is otherwise a fictionalized version of how striptease began in burlesque.

[@kattat919]

Yes I figured it was a little bit more risque than what they were showing thank you

[@davidletasi3322]

I met Gypsy Rose Lee in the summer of 1969. I was stationed at United States Naval Station in Yokosuka, Japan. Ms. Lee was touring with Bob Hope in Viet Nam and west pac military bases. I was a surgical technician under the command of Dr. Philip Geib, our cheif of surgery. Hope and Lee visited our post-op bay and intensive care unit. Mr Hope stopped and spoke with every patient, many who were suffering from extreme combat injuries. Ms. Lee asked to see and tour our operating surgical suite. I and several surgical techs showed her our setup and equipment as well. We asked her if she would like some coffee. Surprisingly, she said she would be delighted. We escourted her to our break room lounge, and she sat with us having coffee. We all wanted to know about her career, and she told us several stories how she started in the entertainment industry. She then asked each one of us about ourselves and she spent several hours with us. We knew very well that she had extended her time with us just to make us comfortable and feeling like we were home. I was 23 at the time, but she treated me as if she were my Mom! Over the years, I followed the history of her life and career. She was a remarkable woman, and she gave me a little bit of feelings like I was back home, as we all were away from our families for some time. She was only with us several hours, but I will always fondly remember her and her kindness. She was an American hero to our team and a comfort while working in the horrific casualties of war! THANK YOU GYPSY❤

[@BerryBerry1465]

I enjoyed reading your stort❤

[@Catherine2859]

She is so witty and has the whole crowd in the palm of her hands ;)

[@Tarabara]

Apparently my grandfather once fixed a watch for her.

[@deaddocreallydeaddoc5244]

Stage Door Canteen is a great film from the war. My wife and I watch it every year during the holidays. It reminds me of my parents. My dad was in the Navy in signals and my mother worked in Washington DC. I love the old entertainers of that era. I am old enough to remember them a bit myself as some of them were still active when I was a child and of course, many appeared in films that were played on TV.

[@gmamagillmore4812]

I was her spotlight operator on RAS when I was a teenager.

[@mump4]

She really knew how to perform and play to the crowd

[@scottwilliams8334]

Just watched her last night in "Belle of the Yukon". I've always been fascinated by her and how she made her self a star with pure determination.

[@vdosvixen]

It's sad to see that the classic playfulness of the original Burlesque has devolved into a combination of porn and freak show. Ah Gypsy, we miss ya girl!

[@nenagarcia2912]

all sex, anyway

[@EagleRockers]

Happy Birthday, Gypsy! Thank you for being so kind and loving to this 12 year old boy back in 1964. I will remember you forever!

[@abbottkahler]

That's so sweet! Are you comfortable relating that story?

[@EagleRockers]

@@abbottkahler Yes, I am.

[@abbottkahler]

@@EagleRockers If you have time, email me: [e-mail]

[@EagleRockers]

@@abbottkahler Sorry so late to reply, I just saw your message. Do you still want to hear my GRL story?

[@michelewalburn4376]

@@EagleRockers I do

[@donh7909]

As a very young boy, I used to watch 'The Gypsy Rose Lee' tv show, broadcasting from a local Boston station..

[@amazinggrace5692]

My dad saw her when he was a GI. He’s such a straight-laced normal guy,it made me laugh!

[@Bunnia31]

there is nothing more sexier then a intelligent women.

[@danielagrowney580]

Earlier today my grandad said that I was related to a old actress called gypsy rose lee so I looked her up and this is what I found and OMFG

[@themaggattack]

daniela growney 😂😂😂😂👌

[@Abfabrob4u]

Lucky you! OMG! She was fabulous!!!

[@bonniepotter7193]

Weather for the week end Meridian I'd

[@livelaughlove0209]

Yeah right

[@mollyflora7299]

How are you related to her?

[@EagleRockers]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Gypsy Rose Lee! You are loved!

[@9ine0nline]

Currently in a Gypsy production, decided to see the real thing! Her stage presence is stunning!

[@tomeverett2212]

Back when a celebrity could speak a complete sentence without stumbling.

[@trueaussie9230]

And without an auto-prompter

[@Ma_Ba]

"Oh boys I couldn't. I'd get cold." Another comment linked a photo of her real costume.

[@george40nelson4]

I was sitting with a group of military physicians at a restaurant called the Mayflower in Saigon in 1968 during the Vietnam War . In walked a statuesque woman with exceptional posture accompanied by a group of U.S. Army and ARVN brass. One of the guys recognized her as Gypsy and she came right to our table. He wanted to take her picture but she refused saying it was too dark in the restaurant. ..so she took him by the hand and brought him into the men's room and he took her picture next to the urinal. She was funny classy and unforgettable. Apparently she was next going to Thailand ...and was already suffering from breast cancer I believe at that time

[@ScarlettFire341]

Mel Brook's Blazing Saddles had Madeline Kahn doing "She's Tired" in a very similar light ... now I know where it came from !

[@niceclaup1]

Madeline Kahn's character was actually based on Marlene Dietrich--- hence the accent and demeanor of ennui. Check her out: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nnmympmHosSVgtU

[@NAVEMAN3]

You are a beautiful woman Louise. I'm sorry your mother treated you and your sister badly.

[@Catherine2859]

Without Gypsy Rose we wouldn't have any of the amazing Burlesque dancers today.

[@marilyn6556]

Dita Von Teese comes to mind! I think that it’s so much classier than strip poles.

[@EagleRockers]

Happy Birthday, Miss Lee! And thanks for the memories!

[@TalentedDilittante]

"Don't you ever smile, Mr. Sparks" . . . "I'm smiling now" (!!!) ROFL, LMAO, DL!

[@subbtopp]

aww that was incredible thanks for post.. bless her

[@oldwizard75]

Gypsy Rose Lee travelled with a large carnival outfit called The Royal American Shows in the early 1950s. She was featured in a side show named after her. I was about 14 or 15 at the time. My buddies and I were standing outside the show tent watching the 'barker/talker' doing his spiel. He used to pick one kid from the crowd to come up on stage and he'd ask embarrassing questions to amuse the crowd. As a result my buddies and I got in free. What a funny lady!

[@EagleRockers]

Great story!

[@triggertrei8820]

Funny always wins.

[@TalentedDilittante]

Brilliant performer! Clearly, it was her blatantly obvious intelligence and refined sense of life that set off her stunning face and body. Any man would want her as wife and partner in life's adventures. Wow!

[@poetcomic1]

After her last husband she didn't want any man, she wanted a child so she picked the smartest man that she most admired, tough film director Otto Preminger and their son Erik Lee Preminger was indeed smart, handsome, witty and so charming that after Gypsy died of cancer Preminger officially adopted him. There is no mistaking his father's looks.

[@ellenmurphy2150]

This is the G version. Trust me she wasn't always in so much clothing

[@pascal1947]

A song in the musical Pal Joey is an affectionate send-up of Gypsy's dual role as stripper and intellectual. Here is the song "Zip" with Frank Sinatra and Rita Hayworth kzbin.info/www/bejne/pqioemCepa5jmqM

[@mikmik9034]

Simply a Scene cut from the Movie. Not a recording of her stage (Nightclub) show. She was tame by all standards, and censorship of the movie really cut even that down to nothing. By today's standards this is a kid's show. Expect nothing and you cannot be disappointed.

[@comeagyn]

Innuendo is the sexiest thing sometimes because it lets the imagination fill in the blanks

[@hansmiller664]

This gal knew how to SELL! Just make them wanting more... The best merchandise recipe up to nowadays!

[@wonderlandgirlable]

She made her own costumes...

[@bar10ml44]

I don’t think I had ever seen Ms. Lee live until now. What a stunning presence.

[@winklejd]

What a legend!

[@TheCleaner76]

Died in 1970 aged only 59 of lung cancer Her sister June Havoc died in 2010 aged 97

[@apseudonym]

She is just adorable!

[@Dominiqueuqinimod]

She is striking and intelligent and very witty. It seems you had to have a modicum of talent to be a stripper (fan dancer) back then. What an amazing woman.

[@emmitstewart1921]

Actually, it didn't take that much talent, Gypsy just had a lot more than any of the others.

[@Nosjjddjjd]

@@emmitstewart1921 exactly. She was unusual, a novelty. Basically invented an art form on her own

[@HorrorFrogPrincess]

I forget where, but I thought I had heard years ago that Gypsy wasn't attractive. They LIED! Lied like lying liars. She's crazy funny, very classy, I love that dress, and has them all eating out of her hand.

[@ellenmurphy2150]

HorrorFrogPrincess Yes Gypsy was attractive but combine that with her self-confidence and sense of humor? No wonder men adored her.

[@emncaity]

Joshstoph: Yes. In fact, the "Zip" number in Pal Joey was written specifically as a sort of homage-by-parody of GRL's act. In another weird twist, her own sister June -- who had left the family act years earlier -- ended up in that very play, in its original run.

[@Ma_Ba]

Just watched a clip of Elaine Stritch doing "Zip" before this. I remember Gypsy Rose Lee on midday talk shows before the 1pm old movies on television in the 1960's in NYC. I was a little girl and I liked the way she talked. I loved Natalie Wood, so that was my first version of watching Gypsy in a movie version. Wish I had seen mama Rose played by Tyne Daly and Patti Lupone.Hear a new 2019 movie version is in the works.

[@DaveLH]

"Oh boys I couldn't -- I'd catch cold!" -- Gypsy channeling Jane Austen's Mr. Woodhouse. 😄

[@randomquirkyusername]

That was adorable!

[@ambyglam]

True burlesque isnt meant to be just sexy...its meant to be funny!

[@lesliezemeckis1822]

Love this Karen Abbott!!! You wrote a great book. I've got a little about Gypsy in my BEHIND THE BURLY Q.

[@audra5942]

I love your book!

[@thehair1474]

Gypsy was not only smart, she was hilarious.

[@ivorypenelope8444]

This performance can't be done today. Everyone went so far in unbaring everyone and everything that it would get booed off stage for not doing anything.

[@oliviabb73849]

They would be mad she was even talking.

[@alixinthemiddle]

that was adorable! she was lovely

[@rickhigson3881]

Thanks,she was wonderful!

[@updownstate]

The "Stage door canteen" were wonderful! Any that you can get hold will be worth your time. Also "Broadway melody of [year.]"

[@BurlesqueAcademyofMalta]

That woman is a legend!!

[@scottsatterthwaite4073]

From the days when (the majority of) entertainers still had class, regardless of genre.

[@cdgross]

There is a song based on this routine called "Zip" by Rodgers ^ Hart. It was written for the musical "Pal Joey."

[@vincenzoridente9994]

The classiest stripper of all time she made stripping an art

[@EagleRockers]

Happy Birthday, Miss Lee!

[@nancycrognale3950]

What a wonderful talented performer

[@suetravis9159]

She had a fabulous talk show in the 60’s

[@alixinthemiddle]

if anyone knows where i can find the full monologue, i'd be extremely grateful

[@DaveLH]

I'd like to find a lot of her monologues. If you Google "Gypsy Rose Lee monologues", you just get monologues from the musical, not her actual routines.

[@davidpar2]

Her dress with those diamonds reminds me of a tree skirt my grandmother made in the 60s

[@SuperLordHawHaw]

She has more clothes on than an eskimo

[@dmarrs4330]

Saw her As an actress in Belle of the Yukon very beautiful Woman. Loved her voice and beautiful face

[@Que-tu9or]

She was very charming.

[@shishiwakamaru4]

Well, she entertained me that's for sure

[@Arkansasdiamonddenis]

She is my 3rd cousin on my momma's side

[@leealvarez6857]

Obviously her Strip Act on stage was more risque' than her film teases but she knows how to work the crowd and is entertaining. Still i wish i could've seen her stage act

[@mommat794]

'Sexy' is a frame of mind.

[@Ma_Ba]

Check out this movie: "The Night They Raided Minsky's" - film background and production notes on wikipedia says they edited stock footage from burlesque into it. It is otherwise a fictionalized version of how striptease began in burlesque.

[@user-je6ye9rh1o]

She used to have a morning TV talk show in San Francisco.

[@SuzanneU]

Very clever! far more suggested than seen.

[@eszterstorm8113]

Inspired me to become a burlesque dancer..

[@EagleRockers]

Another Happy Birthday to you, Miss Lee!

[@sarahichri5353]

she was stunning

[@joshstoph]

Anyone notice the striking similarities in her monologue with Rita Hayworth's when she does her "Zip" number in "Pal Joey"? Anyone else know what I'm talking about?

[@brunnhilde7193]

joshstoph Rodgers and Hart wrote it as a homage to Gypsy Rose Lee.

[@Ma_Ba]

Just watched Elaine Stritch doing "Zip" too. Rita Hayworth too? Sounds well cast!

[@phanpiggy]

THAT'S how you strip with class!

[@l.t.ciaccio4334]

I don't know what burlesque you're referring to, but it sounds like you're just picking the wrong shows. Do you go to the Hall of Fame in Vegas or the Burlesque Festival in NYC? They're good places to find the very best performers.

[@audra5942]

Burlesque had a very different definition back then.

[@hellyh6081]

Love your book Karen

[@ellenmurphy2150]

Gypsy Rose Lee wasn't the best actress or singer but what she had was Very Sexy-- Self Confidence.And in this clip she is very funny and self confident.

[@marielucier7982]

I saw the movie of her life ages ago when I was a kid. Someone below mention a biography or autobiography. I think I’ll get a copy.

[@nilo70]

I saw her when she was a panelist for “I ve got a secret” or was it “what’s my line” ? Both were very popular in the day.

[@ricksmith6637]

Gypsy's strip routine was quite surprising in the days of the hays office

[@jessicanelmondo]

Anyone knows where to find out the text of this show?

[@daughteroftiaran]

There was only one like her.

[@lorettascott5477]

I love this so much lol 😂 😆 😂 😆 😘💕

[@lazyorangehousecat9164]

She's wonderful!

[@TalentedDilittante]

​ LordVader1094 I write this not for you, seeing that your have too much to learn to warrant a discussion here, but for the mystified people who read your post: No one in human history ever thought women or men were innocent. PeasantVader, people, male or female were naive or not. Gypsy Rose Lee defined the stage she performed on, raising its social and moral quality to humor that was appreciative of her femininity but eons and light years away--as far away on the "right" side of the tracks from the 21st-century sewer on the "wrong" side as can possibly be. (It's not that you don't recognize quality, Vader, it's that you're incapable.)