Rose Evangeline Hovick (née Thompson; August 31, 1890 – January 28, 1954) was the mother of two famous performing daughters: burlesque artist

Gypsy Rose Lee Gypsy Rose Lee (born Rose Louise Hovick, January 8, 1911 – April 26, 1970) was an American burlesque entertainer, stripper and vedette famous for her striptease act. Also an actress, author, and playwright, her 1957 memoir was adapted into ...

and actress and dancer

June Havoc June Havoc (born Ellen Evangeline Hovick; November 8, 1912 – March 28, 2010) was a Canadian American actress, dancer, stage director and memoirist. Havoc was a child vaudeville performer under the tutelage of her mother Rose Thompson Hovick, ...

. Her career as her daughters' manager is dramatized in the musical ''

Gypsy The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sign ...

''.

Life and career

Rose Evangeline Thompson was born in

Wahpeton, North Dakota Wahpeton ( ) is a city in Richland County, in southeast North Dakota along the Bois de Sioux River at its confluence with the Otter Tail River, which forms the Red River of the North. Wahpeton is the county seat of Richland County. The populat ...

on August 31, 1890, the daughter of Anna (née Egle) and Charles J. Thompson. Her maternal grandparents were German. Rose Thompson married her first husband, Jack Hovick, when she was a teenager. She gave birth to Rose Louise Hovick on January 8, 1911, in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

, and her second daughter, Ellen June Hovick, in

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, on November 8, 1912. Some sources indicate she was born Ellen Evangeline Hovick in 1913, but Havoc herself acknowledged the earlier year not long before she died. She reportedly had numerous birth certificates for both girls that listed them as being either several years older or younger than they actually were. The former were to evade

child labor law Child labour laws are statutes placing restrictions and regulations on the work of minors. Child labour increased during the Industrial Revolution due to the children's abilities to access smaller spaces and the ability to pay children less wage ...

s and the latter for reduced or free fares. As a result, for many years, they were never entirely sure of their actual ages.Karen Abbott (2010) ''American Rose: A Nation Laid Bare, The Life and Times of Gypsy Rose Lee'', New York: Random House; ;

Laura Jacobs Laura Jacobs is a novelist, journalist, and critic. Jacobs is a regular contributor to ''The Wall Street Journal'', where she reviews museum exhibitions on fashion. She was a staff writer at '' Vanity Fair'' from 1995 to 2018, where she wrote awar ...

(March 2003) "Taking it all off", '' Vanity Fair'', Vol. 511, p. 198. Later in their careers, the two daughters would adopt their more famous stage names,

and

. Rose's drive to create a performing career for her daughters eventually led to the end of her marriage to Jack Hovick, who disagreed with her intentions for the girls. Rose married her second husband, Judson Brennerman, a traveling salesman, May 26, 1916, at the Unitarian church in Seattle, Washington, with Reverend J. D. A. Powers officiating.Ancestry.com. Washington, Marriage Records, 1865–2004 from Washington State Archives. Olympia, Washington: Washington State Archives. Many years later, Rose ran both a farm in

Highland Mills, New York Highland Mills is a hamlet and former census-designated place (CDP) in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 3,468 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Poughkeepsie– Newburgh– Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistic ...

, and a boardinghouse, some of whose tenants were

lesbians A lesbian is a homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with fem ...

, in a ten-room apartment on the seedy

West End Avenue West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some R ...

in Manhattan. At some point, a young woman by the name of Genevieve Augustine, who was said to be Mother Rose's own lover, allegedly made a pass at the visiting Lee; in a jealous rage, Mother Rose shot the woman dead. This incident was publicly explained as a suicide. After the young woman's mother demanded an investigation, a case was opened, but a jury declined to indict. Mother Rose's biographer strongly refutes the notion that Augustine was Rose's lover and doubts Rose's complicity in her death in light of her previous suicide attempts.

Karen Abbott Abbott Kahler, formerly known as Karen Abbott (born January 23, 1973) is an American author of historical nonfiction. Her works include ''Sin in the Second City'', ''American Rose'', ''Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy'' and ''The Ghosts of Eden Park ...

's biography of Gypsy Rose Lee references two other violent incidents from Thompson Hovick's life. One involved an unidentified "hotel manager" whom Thompson Hovick pushed out a window to his death. She claimed self-defense and was not charged. She also tried to shoot Bobby Reed, the young man who eloped with Baby June in 1928, in a police station after cops found him and brought him to the station house. A police officer had told the two to make their peace. Reed approached with his hand extended, and Thompson Hovick withdrew a concealed gun and aimed it at Reed, but the safety was still on and no bullets were discharged. A policeman tried to hold her, but she broke free and viciously attacked the hapless Reed, punching and scratching him. Thompson Hovick reportedly continued demanding money and gifts from her daughters until her death in 1954.

''"Gypsy"''

Thompson Hovick became known as the ultimate stage mother by way of the classic

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

'' Gypsy: A Musical Fable'', based on the memoirs of Gypsy Rose Lee. Originally staged in 1959, ''Gypsy'' – with music by

Jule Styne Jule Styne (; born Julius Kerwin Stein; December 31, 1905 – September 20, 1994) was an English-American songwriter and composer best known for a series of Broadway musicals, including several famous frequently-revived shows that also became s ...

, lyrics by

Stephen Sondheim Stephen Joshua Sondheim (; March 22, 1930November 26, 2021) was an American composer and lyricist. One of the most important figures in twentieth-century musical theater, Sondheim is credited for having "reinvented the American musical" with sho ...

, and book by

Arthur Laurents Arthur Laurents (July 14, 1917 – May 5, 2011) was an American playwright, theatre director, film producer and screenwriter. After writing scripts for radio shows after college and then training films for the U.S. Army during World War II, ...

– has since been performed in countless venues on stage and in film. Both versions portray her as a domineering, take-no-prisoners stage mother who will do anything to further the success of her daughters in show business. While the character as portrayed in ''Gypsy'' is commonly referred to as "Mama Rose" (or "Momma Rose"), this is a

sobriquet A sobriquet ( ), or soubriquet, is a nickname, sometimes assumed, but often given by another, that is descriptive. A sobriquet is distinct from a pseudonym, as it is typically a familiar name used in place of a real name, without the need of expla ...

that does not appear in the script, and was adamantly dismissed by its author, Arthur Laurents. In the musical ''Gypsy'', the character is called Momma, Rose, or Madame Rose. The role has been portrayed on stage and screen by a number of notable Broadway and film stars, including

Ethel Merman Ethel Merman (born Ethel Agnes Zimmermann, January 16, 1908 – February 15, 1984) was an American actress and singer, known for her distinctive, powerful voice, and for leading roles in musical theatre.Obituary ''Variety'', February 22, 1984. ...

in the original 1959 Broadway production of ''

'',

Angela Lansbury Dame Angela Brigid Lansbury (October 16, 1925 – October 11, 2022) was an Irish-British and American film, stage, and television actress. Her career spanned eight decades, much of it in the United States, and her work received a great deal ...

in the original London production and a Broadway revival, and

Rosalind Russell Catherine Rosalind Russell (June 4, 1907November 28, 1976) was an American actress, comedienne, screenwriter, and singer,Obituary ''Variety'', December 1, 1976, p. 79. known for her role as fast-talking newspaper reporter Hildy Johnson in the H ...

in the Warner Bros 1962 film ''

''. Stage revivals have starred

Tyne Daly Ellen Tyne Daly (; born February 21, 1946) is an American actress. She has won six Emmy Awards for her television work, a Tony Award and is a 2011 American Theatre Hall of Fame inductee. Daly began her career on stage in summer stock in New York, ...

Linda Lavin Linda Lavin (born October 15, 1937) is an American actress and singer. She is known for playing the title character in the sitcom '' Alice'' and for her stage performances, both on and off-Broadway. After acting as a child, Lavin joined the Co ...

Bernadette Peters Bernadette Peters ( ''née'' Lazzara; born February 28, 1948) is an American actress, singer, and children's book author. Over a career spanning more than six decades, she has starred in musical theatre, television and film, performed in solo co ...

Patti LuPone Patti Ann LuPone (born April 21, 1949) is an American actress and singer best known for her work in musical theater. She has won three Tony Awards, two Olivier Awards, two Grammy Awards, and was a 2006 inductee to the American Theater Hall of Fa ...

Betty Buckley Betty Lynn Buckley (born July 3, 1947) is an American actress and singer. Buckley is the winner of a Tony Award, and was nominated for two Daytime Emmy Awards, two Grammy Awards, and an Olivier Award. In 2012, she was inducted into the American T ...

Leslie Uggams Leslie Marian Uggams (born May 25, 1943) is an American actress and singer. Beginning her career as a child in the early 1950s, Uggams is recognized for portraying Kizzy Reynolds in the television miniseries ''Roots'' (1977), earning Golden Glob ...

and

Imelda Staunton Imelda Mary Philomena Bernadette Staunton (born 9 January 1956) is an English actress and singer. After training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Staunton began her career in repertory theatre in 1976 and appeared in various theatre produ ...

. Lupone's 2008 revival of ''Gypsy'', won her a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical, as did Lansbury's 1973 portrayal and Daly's 1990 portrayal. A

television movie A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

starring

Bette Midler Bette Midler (;''Inside the Actors Studio'', 2004 born December 1, 1945) is an American singer, actress, comedian and author. Throughout her career, which spans over five decades, Midler has received List of awards and nominations received by Be ...

premiered in 1993.

Death

Hovick died of

colorectal cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel m ...

on January 28, 1954, aged 63, in

Nyack, New York Nyack () is a Village (New York), village located primarily in the Town (New York), town of Orangetown, New York, Orangetown in Rockland County, New York, Rockland County, New York (state), New York, United States. Incorporated in 1872, it retai ...

. She had suffered a stroke two weeks earlier.

References

External links

"The Online Encyclopedia of Washington State History"
historylink.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Hovick, Rose Thompson 1890 births 1954 deaths Deaths from cancer in New York (state) Deaths from colorectal cancer People from Seattle People from Wahpeton, North Dakota American people of German descent LGBT people from North Dakota 20th-century LGBT people