Editing Gypsy Rose Lee (section)

==Later years==
[[Image:Gypsy Rose Lee NYWTS 2.jpg|left|thumb|Gypsy Rose Lee in 1956]]
After the death of their mother, the sisters felt free to write about her without risking a lawsuit. ''[[Gypsy: A Memoir]]'' was published in 1957 and served as inspiration for the [[Jule Styne]], [[Stephen Sondheim]], and [[Arthur Laurents]] 1959 musical ''[[Gypsy (musical)|Gypsy]]''. June did not like the way she was portrayed in the piece, but she was eventually persuaded not to oppose it for her sister's sake.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2003/03/inspiration-story-gypsy-musical|title=The Women Who Inspired Gypsy|date=March 1, 2003|magazine=[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]}}</ref> The show and the [[Gypsy (1962 film)|1962 movie adaptation]] assured Gypsy a steady income. The sisters were estranged for a period of time but reconciled. June, in turn, wrote ''Early Havoc'' and ''More Havoc'', to tell her version of their history.{{cn|date=May 2025}}

Lee went on to host a daytime San Francisco [[KGO-TV]] television talk show, '' The Gypsy Rose Lee Show'' (754 episodes, aired 1965–1968).<ref name="nypl/research/b15809423">{{cite book |last1=Weatherwax |first1=Tom |title=Gypsy Rose Lee. Episode #526: Paul Lynde and Gretchen Wyler |url=https://www.nypl.org/research/research-catalog/bib/b15809423 |via=The New York Public Library |publisher=Seven Arts Television |access-date=16 August 2023 |date=May 22, 1967 |quote=Videotaped for KGO-TV, San Francisco, Calif., May 22, 1967.}}</ref><ref name="nypl/research/b15454072">{{cite book |last1=Baker |first1=James F |title=Gypsy Rose Lee. Episode #721: Chita Rivera and Paul Lynde |url=https://www.nypl.org/research/research-catalog/bib/b15454072 |via=The New York Public Library |publisher=American International Television, Inc. |access-date=16 August 2023 |date=1968 |quote=Videotaped for KGO-TV, Channel 7, San Francisco, Calif., Feb. 20, 1968}}</ref> The popular afternoon show featured such guests as [[Judy Garland]], [[Agnes Moorehead]], and [[Woody Allen]], showcasing her love of people, pets and knitting among other interests.

Like well-known artists such as [[Pablo Picasso]] and [[Ernest Hemingway]], Gypsy Rose Lee was a supporter of the [[Popular Front (Spain)|Popular Front]] movement in the [[Spanish Civil War]] and raised money for charity to alleviate the suffering of Spanish children during the conflict. "She became politically active, and supported Spanish Loyalists during Spain's Civil War. She also became a fixture at [[Communist United Front]] meetings, and was investigated by the [[House Un-American Activities Committee|House Committee on un-American activities]]."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/authors/interviews/article/45655-the-monday-interview-with-karen-abbott.html|newspaper=Publishers Weekly|title=The Monday Interview with Karen Abbott|date=January 3, 2011}}</ref> 

Lee was a [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] who supported the campaign of [[Adlai Stevenson II|Adlai Stevenson]] in the [[1952 United States presidential election|1952 presidential election]].<ref>''Motion Picture and Television Magazine'', November 1952, p. 33, Ideal Publishers</ref> The walls of her Los Angeles home were adorned with pictures by [[Joan Miró]], [[Pablo Picasso]], [[Marc Chagall]], [[Max Ernst]], and [[Dorothea Tanning]], all reportedly given to her by the artists themselves.{{citation needed|date=June 2017}}
[[File:Gypsy Rose Lee Grave.jpg|thumb|Grave of Gypsy Rose Lee at Inglewood Park Cemetery (with wrong year of birth)]]

In 1969, she performed for American troops in Vietnam, who, she said, "considered her their sexy grandmother".<ref>[https://www.cbsnews.com/news/a-revealing-look-at-gypsy-rose-lee/ A revealing look at Gypsy Rose Lee], cbsnews.com. Retrieved 18 September 2022.</ref>