Broadway Star June Havoc Dies

The actress June Havoc has passed away at the age of 96. Her childhood of archetypal stage daughter pushed to stardom by her overbearing mother was the inspiration for Baby June in the Broadway musical Gypsy which was based on the life of her older sister the stripper Gypsy Rose Lee.

Born in Vancouver, Havoc began treading the boards as a two year old Vaudeville performer known as "Dainty June, the Darling of Vaudeville".

She appeared in over 20 films and 22 Broadway plays including Cole Porter’s Mexican Hayride and Pal Joey, in which she appeared with Gene Kelly and Van Johnson. Her last Broadway appearance came in the early 1980s when she took on the role of Miss Hannigan in Annie.

This all led to her becoming a member of the Theatre Hall of Fame and receiving a double honouree on the Hollywood Walk of Fame as the star of several silent films.

Miss Havoc wrote four plays, one of which - 1963's Marathon '33 - won her a Tony nomination as best director, and two widely read autobiographies, including Early Havoc and More Havoc.