Editing June Havoc (section)

===Film and stage===
[[File:June Havoc photo from Pal Joey 1941.jpg|thumb|right|June Havoc with chorus boy Van Johnson in the 1940 original production of ''[[Pal Joey (musical)|Pal Joey]]'']]
She adopted the surname Havoc, a variant of her birth name. In 1936, Havoc got her first part on Broadway in the [[Sigmund Romberg]] operetta ''[[Forbidden Melody]]''. In 1940, she gave a show-stopping performance as Gladys Bumps in the [[Rodgers and Hart]] musical ''[[Pal Joey (musical)|Pal Joey]]'', with [[Gene Kelly]] in the lead role and [[Van Johnson]], who was in the chorus, along with future film director [[Stanley Donen]].<ref>Mordden, Ethan (1999) ''Beautiful Mornin’: The Broadway Musical in the 1940's''. Oxford University Press p. 55.</ref> Based on their success, Havoc, Johnson and Kelly were beckoned by Hollywood. Havoc made her first film in 1942, and she began to alternate film roles with returns to the Broadway stage. From 1942 to 1944, Havoc appeared in 11 films, including ''[[My Sister Eileen (1942 film)|My Sister Eileen]]'' with [[Rosalind Russell]], and ''[[No Time for Love (1943 film)|No Time for Love]]'' with [[Claudette Colbert]] and [[Fred MacMurray]]. She then returned to Broadway in the 1943–44 season, co-starring with [[Bobby Clark (comedy actor)|Bobby Clark]] in the [[Cole Porter]] musical ''[[Mexican Hayride]]'', for which she received the Donaldson Award for best performance by an actress in a supporting role in a musical.

In 1944, [[Ethel Merman]] was tapped to star as the title character in the musical play ''[[Sadie Thompson (musical)|Sadie Thompson]]'', with a score by [[Vernon Duke]] and [[Howard Dietz]], directed and produced by [[Rouben Mamoulian]]. The musical play was based on the short story ''[[Rain (short story)|Rain]]'' by [[W. Somerset Maugham]].<ref>Kellow, Brian (2007). ''Ethel Merman: A Life''. Viking Press, pp. 104–105.</ref> The serious production was a departure from Merman’s string of successful musical comedies.<ref>Kellow, Brian (2007). ''Ethel Merman: A Life''. Viking Press, pp. 104–105 ("Kellow").</ref> Moreover, during rehearsals, Merman had difficulties memorizing the lyrics, and she blamed Dietz for his use of sophisticated and foreign words. She had her husband, newspaper promotion director Bob Levitt, tone down some of the lyrics.<ref name="Kellow, pp.104-105">Kellow, pp. 104–105</ref> Dietz took exception to Merman’s singing the altered lyrics and gave her an ultimatum to sing his original lyrics or leave the show.<ref name="Kellow, p. 105">Kellow, p. 105</ref> In response, Merman withdrew from the production.<ref name="Kellow, p. 105"/> (Some have since speculated that Merman's departure was probably due to her reluctance to assume such a serious role in her first dramatic musical.)<ref>I Like the Likes of Duke (v "Sadie Thompson" (11/16/44 – 01/06/45)), That’s Entertainment (September 7, 2015) jacksonhupperco.com/tag/june-havoc, accessed on September 9, 2020; Mordden, Ethan (1999) ''Beautiful Mornin’: The Broadway Musical in the 1940's''. Oxford University Press p. 113.<!-- ISSN/ISBN needed --></ref>
[[File:June Havoc photograph of Ms. Havoc in Sadie Thompson 1943.jpg|thumb|left|June Havoc in the title role in the 1943 Broadway musical ''[[Sadie Thompson (musical)|Sadie Thompson]]'']]

Havoc left her starring role in ''[[Mexican Hayride]]'', and assumed the role written for Merman.<ref name="Kellow, p. 105"/> The production of ''[[Sadie Thompson (musical)|Sadie Thompson]]'' had a difficult out-of-town tryout with songs being deleted and other songs added.<ref>I Like the Likes of Duke (v "Sadie Thompson" (11/16/44 – 01/06/45)), That’s Entertainment (September 7, 2015) jacksonhupperco.com/tag/june-havoc, accessed on September 9, 2020.</ref> Indeed, even after the Broadway opening, musical numbers continued to be cut and other numbers added.<ref>Dietz, Dan (2015) The Complete Book of 1940's Broadway Musicals. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, ("Dietz") p. 248.</ref> ''[[Sadie Thompson (musical)|Sadie Thompson]]'' opened on Broadway on November 16, 1944, to mixed reviews.<ref name="auto">Dietz, p. 247.</ref> Havoc received almost uniformly favorable reviews.<ref name="Dietz, p. 248">Dietz, p. 248</ref> She was called the “most enjoyable asset” of the show and praised for the “consummate skill of her artistry.”<ref name="Dietz, p. 248"/> Her performance was described as “surprisingly effective“ and “truly touching,” and she was deemed a “worthy successor” to Jeanne Eagels, who had famously first portrayed the role on Broadway in the play ''[[Rain (play)|Rain]]''.<ref>Dietz, p. 248.</ref> The score and the book received mixed reviews, with the score called “undistinguished.”<ref>Dietz, p. 247</ref> However, one reviewer compared the show favorably to ''[[Oklahoma!]]'', which Mamoulian had also directed.<ref name="auto"/> Nonetheless, the show lasted only 60 performances and closed on January 6, 1945.<ref name="Dietz, p. 248"/> In 1945, Havoc was featured in the film ''[[Brewster's Millions (1945 film)|Brewster's Millions]]'', and starred in ''[[The Ryan Girl]]'' on Broadway.

In Hollywood, Havoc played the second female lead for three of the most popular musical movie stars in the 1940s and early 1950s: [[Alice Faye]] in ''[[Hello, Frisco, Hello]]'' with [[John Payne (actor)|John Payne]]
(1943); [[Betty Grable]] in ''[[When My Baby Smiles at Me (film)|When My Baby Smiles at Me]]'' with [[Dan Dailey]] (1948); and [[Betty Hutton]] in ''[[Red, Hot and Blue (film)|Red, Hot, and Blue]]'' with [[Victor Mature]] (1949). She also played leading roles in several films noir: ''[[Intrigue (1947 film)|Intrigue]]'' with [[George Raft]] (1947), ''[[Chicago Deadline]]'' with [[Alan Ladd]] (1949), ''[[The Story of Molly X]]'' with [[John Russell (actor)|John Russell]] (1949), and ''[[Once a Thief (1950 film)|Once A Thief]]'' with [[Cesar Romero]] (1950). Havoc's best-remembered film role was probably as the Jewish, yet closeted about her identity, secretary in the [[Elia Kazan]] Oscar-winning best film ''[[Gentleman's Agreement]]''.<ref name="auto2">Gates, Anita (March 29, 2010) "June Havoc, Vaudeville Star, Is Dead" [[New York Times]].</ref>

In the late 1950s, Havoc decided that she wanted to act in classic plays. In 1956, she worked with the Phoenix Theatre Company, first starring as Queen Jocasta opposite [[John Kerr (actor)|John Kerr]] in ''[[The Infernal Machine (play)|The Infernal Machine]]'', playwright [[Jean Cocteau]]’s retelling of the Oedipus myth. ''New York Times'' critic [[Brooks Atkinson]] opined that her performance brought “a gravity and force that become the tragic situation.”<ref>{{cite news |last1=Atkinson |first1=Brooks |title=Theatre: The Oedipus Myth Retold; ' Infernal Machine' by Cocteau at Phoenix |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1958/02/04/archives/theatre-the-oedipus-myth-retold-infernal-machine-by-cocteau-at.html |work=The New York Times |date=4 February 1958 }}</ref> Next Havoc played Titania in ''[[A Midsummer Night's Dream]]'' at the American Shakespeare Festival Theater & Academy. Atkinson called her Titania “conspicuously delightful” and found her performance, along with those of Barbara Barrie and Inga Swenson, “a fine Shakespeare revel.”<ref>{{cite news |last1=Atkinson |first1=Brooks |title='A Midsummer Night's Dream' at Festival; Exuberant Production in Stratford, Conn. Actors Excel in Play Within the Play |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1958/06/23/archives/a-midsummer-nights-dream-at-festival-exuberant-production-in.html |work=The New York Times |date=23 June 1958 }}</ref> She then returned to the Phoenix Theatre company for the production of ''[[The Beaux' Stratagem]]''. Atkinson observed that Havoc played Mrs. Sullen “as a lovely lady with an infectious sense of humor.”<ref>{{cite news |last1=Atkinson |first1=Brooks |title=The Theatre: Restoration Comedy; 'The Beaux' Stratagem' Revived at Phoenix Stuart Vaughan Directs Play by Farquhar |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1959/02/25/archives/the-theatre-restoration-comedy-the-beaux-stratagem-revived-at.html |work=The New York Times |date=25 February 1959 }}</ref>

Havoc and her sister continued to get demands for money and gifts from their mother until her death in 1954.<ref>Beck, Kathrine K. (April 8, 2004). "Historylink.org". Historylink.org. Retrieved December 22, 2011.</ref> After their mother's death, the sisters then were free to write about her without risking a lawsuit. Lee's memoir, ''Gypsy'', published in 1957, inspired the [[Jule Styne]], [[Stephen Sondheim]], and [[Arthur Laurents]] Broadway musical ''[[Gypsy (musical)|Gypsy: A Musical Fable]]''. Havoc did not like the way she or her mother were portrayed in the piece, which became a source of disagreement between the sisters, but did nothing to obstruct the production. <ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.today.com/popculture/june-havoc-immortalized-gypsy-dies-97-wbna36085662 | title=June Havoc, immortalized in 'Gypsy,' dies at 97 | date=March 29, 2010 }}</ref>  Havoc and Lee were estranged for many years, but reconciled shortly before Lee's death in 1970.<ref name=playbill>{{cite web | url=https://www.playbill.com/article/june-havoc-stage-star-whose-life-became-legend-in-gypsy-dies-at-96-com-167189 | title=June Havoc, Stage Star Whose Life Became Legend in Gypsy, Dies at 96 | first=Robert | last=Simonson | author-link=Robert Simonson | date=March 28, 2010 | work=[[Playbill]] | access-date=June 26, 2020 | archive-date=June 27, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200627055912/https://www.playbill.com/article/june-havoc-stage-star-whose-life-became-legend-in-gypsy-dies-at-96-com-167189 | url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1960, [[President Dwight D. Eisenhower]] authorized the creation of the President’s Special International Program, under the United States Department of State and its agent, the International Cultural Exchange Service of America.<ref>Langner, Lawrence (1960) “A Note about the Theatre Guild American Repertory Theatre Company” National Theatre program for the week commencing February 28, 1960, Aires Publishing Co., p. 18.</ref> The Program, with the American National Theatre and Academy, established the Theatre Guild American Repertory Theatre to perform a program of plays abroad.<ref>Langner, Lawrence (1960) “A Note about the Theatre Guild American Repertory Theatre Company” National Theatre program for the week commencing February 28, 1960 Aires Publishing Co., p. 18 ("Langner").</ref> Havoc, as well as [[Helen Hayes]], [[Leif Erickson (actor)|Leif Erickson]] and others, made six-month commitments to participate in the repertory company.<ref name="Langner, p.18">Langner, p.18.</ref> Three plays were selected to be performed in repertory: ''[[The Skin of Our Teeth]]'', in which Havoc played Sabina and Hayes portrayed Mrs. Antrobus; ''[[The Miracle Worker]]'', in which Havoc portrayed Mrs. Keller; and ''[[The Glass Menagerie]]'', in which Hayes played the mother.<ref>National Theatre program for the week commencing February 28, 1960, Aires Publishing Co., pp. 7–12.</ref> The playwrights, [[Thornton Wilder]], [[William Gibson]] and [[Tennessee Williams]], all personally supervised the productions of their plays.<ref name="Langner, p.18"/> In February and early March 1960, the repertory company performed the plays at the National Theater in Washington, D.C.<ref>Langner, p. 18.</ref> Commencing later in March, the company toured in Europe and the Middle East, performing the plays in major cities in Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Greece, Egypt, Israel, Turkey, Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Italy, Switzerland and France.<ref name="Langner, p.18"/> Later in the year, the repertory company toured Latin America, performing the same plays, and was the first American repertory theater company to perform in Latin America.<ref name="Langner, p.18"/>
[[File:Julie Harris - 1963.jpg|thumb|Julie Harris in the Broadway production of ''Marathon '33'' (1963)]]
In 1959, Havoc's first memoir, ''Early Havoc'', was published. ''The New York Times'' critic called the book "spirited" and "entertaining."<ref>Nichols, Lewis. (May 24, 1959) "Always On State," New York Times, p. 138.</ref> In the memoir, Havoc recounted her life from childhood to 1933, when she first competed in a marathon dance contest. The chapters alternated between a chronological progression and a description of the grueling marathon dance contest, detailing the desperation and degradation she experienced and observed.<ref>Havoc, June (1959). ''Early Havoc''. Simon and Schuster, pp. 1–27.</ref> At the time of the book's publication, Havoc was appearing on Broadway in the play ''The Warm Peninsula'', co-starring [[Julie Harris]] and [[Farley Granger]]. Harris read the memoir, and was so taken with the dance contest chapters that she urged Havoc to write a play based upon that experience.<ref name="Playbill 1964 p. 38">''Playbill'', vol. 1 (January 1964) No. 1, Marathon ’33, p. 38.</ref> At first she demurred, never having written a play. However, Harris persisted, and when she said that she would star as Havoc's character in the play, Havoc was finally persuaded to write the play.<ref name="Playbill 1964 p. 38"/> Upon completion, the play ''[[Marathon '33]]'' was performed in a workshop at the [[Actors Studio]].<ref name="Playbill 1964 p. 38"/> [[David Merrick]] optioned the play for Broadway with [[Gower Champion]] set to direct.<ref>Esterow, Milton. (May 22, 1962) "June Havoc Play Will Be Shelved, New York Times, p. 30.</ref> However, Havoc canceled the option, explaining that Merrick wanted to turn the play into a musical.<ref>Esterow, Milton. (May 22, 1962) "June Havoc Play Will Be Shelved, New York Times, p. 30 ("Esterow").</ref> Champion responded that Havoc had canceled the option because Merrick had wanted her to work with another writer to revise the play, and she had refused.<ref>Esterow, p. 30.</ref>

Havoc then planned to present ''Marathon '33'' in the Riviera Terrace ballroom, an actual dance hall.<ref name="Filichia, Peter 2015 p. 183">Filichia, Peter (2015). ''The Great Parade: Broadway's Astonishing Never-To-Be-Forgotten 1963–1964 Season''. St. Martin's Press, p. 183.</ref> However, when the ballroom was sold, she agreed to present her play on Broadway.<ref name="Filichia, Peter 2015 p. 183"/> As director and choreographer, Havoc turned the stage at the ANTA Theatre into a dance hall.<ref name="Filichia, Peter 2015 p. 183"/> ''Marathon '33'' proved to be a flop, opening on December 22, 1963, running for 48 performances and closing on February 1, 1964.<ref>{{cite news | last=Klein | first=Alvin | date=November 6, 1983 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/11/06/nyregion/the-lively-arts-theater-bows-with-marathon-33.html?pagewanted=all | title=The Lively Arts; Theater Bows With 'Marathon'33' | work=The New York Times | access-date=April 4, 2016 | archive-date=April 16, 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160416232928/http://www.nytimes.com/1983/11/06/nyregion/the-lively-arts-theater-bows-with-marathon-33.html?pagewanted=all | url-status=live }}</ref> The play featured 34 actors, several of whom had highly successful careers, including [[Doris Roberts]], [[Joe Don Baker]], [[Conrad Janis]], [[Gabriel Dell]] and [[Ralph Waite]].<ref>''Playbill'', vol. 1 (January 1964) No. 1, Marathon ’33, pp. 23–27.</ref> The play earned four Tony nominations, including nominations for Havoc for best direction of a play and for Harris as best actress in a play.<ref>Filichia, Peter (2015). ''The Great Parade: Broadway's Astonishing Never-To-Be-Forgotten 1963–1964 Season''. St. Martin's Press, pp. 267–268.</ref>
[[File:June Havoc Ms. Havoc as Sabina in 1970.jpg|thumb|right|June Havoc as Sabina in ''[[The Skin of Our Teeth]]'' at The Repertory Theatre, New Orleans in 1970]]<ref>Glover, William. (March 28, 1971) "Swinging Drama" (Theater Week story on changing theater), Associated Press.</ref>
Havoc wrote three more plays, ''[[I, Said The Fly]]'', ''[[The Great State of Hysteria]]'' and ''[[The Great Elinor Glyn Emancipation Gun Powder Love Regatta]]''; the book and lyrics for a musical, ''[[Oh Glorious Tintinnabulation]]''; as well as a one-woman show and a second memoir, titled ''[[More Havoc]]''. In reviewing ''[[More Havoc,]]'' ''The New York Times'' critic called Havoc a "writer of consequence" and described the book as "a vivid, biting and painfully real remembrance of her own walk on the wild side of the Depression years and on up through her triumph in ''Pal Joey'' and Hollywood stardom."<ref>[[Charlotte Curtis|Curtis, Charlotte]]. (June 19, 1980) "Entertaining Ladies," The New York Times, p. 50</ref>

In 1966, Havoc appeared as Millicent Jordan in an all-star revival of ''[[Dinner at Eight (play)|Dinner at Eight]]'' on Broadway, directed by Sir [[Tyrone Guthrie]], and featuring Walter Pidgeon, Arlene Francis, Darren McGavin and Pamela Tiffin. ''The New York Times'' critic Walter Kerr lauded Havoc’s performance as the hostess of the dinner, noting that she was becoming this country’s [[Vivien Leigh]]. Kerr observed: “She makes the prospect of spending the entire day on the telephone rounding up a guest list, sound like work for a contented dove. That is to say, she coos cheerily, even with a pencil in her mouth, as she sets about buttering up all the people who can’t say, “no,” and she caresses her very chic white French phone with the exquisite finesse of a Victorian gentlewoman doing needlework.”<ref>Kerr, Walter (September 28, 1966). “Theatre: ‘Dinner At Eight’ at Alvin: Kaufman-Ferber Play Directed by Guthrie”, The New York Times; p. 38</ref>

[[File:Havoc annie.jpg|thumb|left|June Havoc as Miss Hannigan in the Broadway production of ''[[Annie (musical)|Annie]]'', with Alyson Kirk as Annie, in 1982]]

During the presidency of [[Lyndon B. Johnson]], the National Endowment for the Arts and the U.S. Department of Education provided funding in 1966 for the creation of professional theater programs in three cities: Los Angeles, New Orleans and Providence, Rhode Island.<ref>”Classy Acts” (March 1, 2011) myneworleans.com, accessed February 28, 2021 (“myneworleans”).</ref> In New Orleans, the professional theater company was named The Repertory Theatre, New Orleans (“the Repertory Theatre”).<ref name="auto3">myneworleans.</ref> The program involved 48,000 high school students, who saw four plays each year after reading the plays in class.<ref name="auto3"/> The productions included guest actors, such as Havoc, who portrayed Mrs. Malaprop in ''[[The Rivals]]'', and also lectured in the schools.{{citation needed|date=August 2021}}

After President [[Richard M. Nixon]] took office in January 1969, the federal funding ended.<ref>”Lack of Money Threatens Life of N.O. Theatre” (“N.O. Theatre”) (December 6, 1970) Sunday Advocate Baton Rouge, La., p. 6-B.</ref> The Repertory Theatre sought to become self-sustaining and hired Havoc as the artistic director.<ref name="auto5">N.O. Theatre, p. 6-B.</ref> She created a theater in a vacant 100-year-old synagogue, constructing a thrust stage with audience members seated on three sides.<ref>myneworleans; N.O. Theatre, p. 6-B.</ref> She also established an apprentice program for teenagers, an acting school, and a space for an African American theater group.<ref name="auto5"/> Havoc was able to lure well-known actors to participate in productions, such as [[Julie Harris]] and [[Jessica Walter]] in ''[[The Women (play)|The Women]]''. After the 1970 season, Havoc resigned due to budgetary limitations.<ref>N.O. Theatre, p. 6-B</ref> Her farewell production in November 1970 was ''[[The Skin of Our Teeth]]'', with Havoc portraying Sabina and at age 58, performing on a trapeze {{convert|60|feet}} above the audience.{{citation needed|date=August 2021}}

In the fall of 1982, Havoc became the eighth and final actress to portray the featured role of the villainous "Miss Hannigan" in the long-running original Broadway production of the musical ''[[Annie (musical)|Annie]]''.<ref>Guernsby, Jr., Otis L. (1983) ''The Best Plays of 1982–1983'' Dodd, Mead & Company, p. 436.</ref> She continued in the role until the show closed after more than four years on January 2, 1983.<ref>Guernsby, Jr., Otis L. (1983) ''The Best Plays of 1982–1983'' Dodd, Mead & Company, p. 453.</ref> In 1995, she made her last New York stage appearance at age 82 as the title character in ''[[The Old Lady’s Guide to Survival]]'' at the Off-Broadway [[Lamb's Theatre]]. Her performance was cited as one of the season's five best by an actress in a primary role by the editors of ''[[The Best Plays of 1994–1995]]''.<ref>Guernsey, Jr., Otis L. and Jeffrey Sweet (1995). ''The Best Plays of 1994–1995''. Limelight Editions, p. 28.</ref> At age 88, Havoc starred with [[Dick Cavett]] in the [[Tennessee Williams]] one-act play ''[[Lifeboat Drill]]'' as part of the January 26, 2002, fourth Tennessee Williams marathon at the Hartford Stage Company.<ref>Frank Rizzo (January 24, 2002) "Stars Come Out for Tennessee Williams Marathon," ''Hartford Courant''.</ref>