January 8, 2011

"May your bare ass always be shining" — a telegraph message from Eleanor Roosevelt...

... to Gypsy Rose Lee.

12 comments:

Wince said...

May your bare ass always be shining.

Forever Young

May God bless and keep you always,
May your wishes all come true,
May you always do for others
And let others do for you.
May you build a ladder to the stars
And climb on every rung,
May you stay forever young,
Forever young, forever young,
May you stay forever young.
May you grow up to be righteous,
May you grow up to be true,
May you always know the truth
And see the lights surrounding you.
May you always be courageous,
Stand upright and be strong,
May you stay forever young,
Forever young, forever young,
May you stay forever young.
May your hands always be busy,
May your feet always be swift,
May you have a strong foundation
When the winds of changes shift.
May your heart always be joyful,
May your song always be sung,
May you stay forever young,
Forever young, forever young,
May you stay forever young.

ricpic said...

I think it is pathetic that Gypsy Rose Lee's younger sister, June Havoc, said publicly that her mother was crazy and topping that the author of this article says that today there would be help for her. We get smaller and smaller and smaller.

ricpic said...

that her sister

Roger J. said...

kudos to both Ms Roosevelt and Ms Lee--the only thing i am left with in Ms Rose's life is "WHY OTTO PREMINGER?) I was available.

Unknown said...

OT, sorry - but a Congresswoman has been shot in Arizona. In the head. Awful story.

Anonymous said...

Strippers back in those days were quite unlike strippers today. You all know exactly what I mean :(

Peter

David said...

"And would you shine it on me, just once?"

The Roosevelts were complex, to say the least.

ricpic said...

Why?

Because there's a difference between living on the edge - which is the price for what Gypsy Rose Lee did, she created and paid the price for creating a successful persona - and being crazy. It's a belittlement, the whole therapy crazy industry.

Hagar said...

Who knew that Gypsy Rose Lee was a squarehead?

And I am proud to accept her as a member of the tribe.

Ricpic is apparently confused. June Havoc said her mother was mentally ill, not Gypsy Rose.

And this sort of behavior is common enough that I have no doubt it has already been given a name as a "syndrome."

ricpic said...

Oh, well if Havoc said her mother was crazy...nevermind. ;^)

Hagar said...

At that, Eleanor would not just naturally have used this sort of language on her own. It has to be a reference to some other incident. Anyone have an idea what?

William said...

The bare facts of the mother's life make her sound pretty ghastly. But both her daughters reached a measure of fame and success. Maybe she had some other, better qualities that the children glommed onto and that are now lost in the wash. At any rate, the mother, in her incarnation as the mother in Gypsy, is now the archetype for all stage mothers and will be famous forever......Victor Borge used a concert recital as the occasion of his comic patter. Was he using a variant of Gypsy's act? Was she using a variant of W.C. Fields act as clumsy juggler? Can Adam Sandler reignite his career by telling jokes while doing a lap dance?