June Havoc

 "My sister was beautiful and clever - and ruthless. My mother was endearing and adorable - and lethal. They were the same person. I was the fool of the family. The one who thought I really was loved for me, for myself."

Musical theater devotees will undoubtedly know that the song "Let Me Entertain You" was from the classic musical "Gypsy,"", the born-in-a-trunk story of resilient kid troopers Gypsy Rose Lee and June Havoc who were mercilessly pushed into vaudeville careers by an unbearably headstrong mother. While the lesser-talented Gypsy, of course, became the legendary ecdysiast who turned stripping into an art form, sister June survived her "Baby June" vaudeville child days of old and the tougher road of Depression-era dance marathons to become a reputable actress of stage, screen and TV, among other things.

She made her Broadway debut in the musical "Forbidden Melody in 1936." Years passed before she earned her big break as Gladys in Rodgers and Hart's classic musical "Pal Joey" opposite Van Johnson and Gene Kelly in 1940. As a result of their scene-stealing work, the trio earned movie contracts - the two men heading off to the MGM studio and June to RKO. Unlike her male counterparts, June found herself inextricably caught up in "B" level material. Her film debut in the war-era "Four Jacks and a Jill" (1942) was followed by the equally ho-hum "Powder Town" (1942) and "Sing Your Worries Away" (1942), neither requiring much in the line of acting. Her personality was big for the screen due to her broad vaudeville background, but she nevertheless could show some true grit and talent on occasion, particularly with her support role in "My Sister Eileen" (1942).

For the next few years she experienced both highs and lows. Her Broadway shows were either hits, such as the musical "Mexican Hayride" (1944) (for which she won the Donaldson Award), and the dramatic "The Ryan Girl" (1945), or complete misses, which included a musical version of the Sadie Thompson saga Rain. June's film acting continued to be a stumbling block, scoring best when asked to play brassy, cynical dames. While she fared well as the femme fatale in "Intrigue" (1947), the racist secretary in" Gentleman's Agreement" (1947), and the gun moll "The Story of Molly X" (1949), more often than not, she was handed second-rate fodder to flounder in such as "The Iron Curtain" (1948), "Once a Thief" (1950) and "Follow the Sun" (1951).

While June may have immortalized in "Gypsy," based on her older sister's memoirs, it was a bittersweet notoriety as she felt it was a very unjust, hurtful and highly inaccurate portrait of her. It also caused a deep rift between the sisters. The estrangement between the two lasted over a decade and only ended when Gypsy told June she was dying of cancer and wanted to make amends.

"I wish my sister hadn't died at an early age. That she could have had the exquisite joy of growing old. It's just not fair to be cheated out of that."

Happy Birthday, June Havoc!