From her burlesque debut in 1929 to her death in 1970, Gypsy Rose Lee was known around the world for her classy, "literary" striptease act. Her life, in fact, inspired the great Styne-Sondheim musical, Gypsy. And now the Gypsy Rose Lee Archive -- a veritable treasure chest of a collection of the stripper's personal correspondence, diaries, photographs and other memorabilia -- has been opened to the public at the NY Public Library at Lincoln Center. The library aquired the archive in the early 1990s from Gypsy's son with Otto Preminger, Erik, and only recently finished cataloguing the collection.
The archive is open by appointment only Mon. and Thu. noon-7:45 PM; and Tue., Wed. and Sat. noon-5:45 PM. To schedule an appointment, call (212) 870-1639.
-- By Rebecca Paller
