June Havoc Dies at 97

Tony nominee June Havoc, who first appeared on vaudeville stages when she was 2 and went on to a successful stage and film acting career, has died according to a report in The New York Times. She was believed to have been 97.

Havoc’s early years in vaudeville are perhaps best known because of the musical Gypsy, which is based on her sister Gypsy Rose Lee’s memoir about their lives together and in which she is known first as Baby June and then Dainty June. Havoc ultimately left the act which she and her sister performed to pursue a career on her own.

Havoc made her Broadway debut in 1936 in Forbidden Melody and followed this with the original production of Pal Joey in which she played Gladys Bumps. Her other Broadway credits include Mexican Hayride and Sadie Thompson. Her final Broadway appearance was in the early 1980s when she play Miss Hannigan in Annie. She received a Tony Award nomination for her direction of her play Marathon ’33, which was based on her experiences in dance marathons in the 1930s.

On screen, she was seen in films such as Gentleman’s Agreement, My Sister Eileen, When My Baby Smiles at Me, Intrigue, and Lady Possessed.