1912-2010
Either born Ellen Evangeline Hovick or Ellen June Hovick (probably the later) on November 8 (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada). She was famous for being pushed into vaudevillian work, along with her sister, by an over-bearing mother. Eventually, she and her sister, who was famous as Gypsy Rose Lee went on to fame in different, but related lines of work. Her acting career is known from the 1940's, but she appears in two Harold Lloyd film as a child, both dating from 1918. They are: On The Jump and Hey There; both films feature Bebe Daniels and Snub Pollard. In both films, she was billed as June Hovick ("The Child"). She was not in another film until 1942, when she was nearing her 30th birthday. In the time between she had been a stage actress, toiled as a model, danced in chorus lines and finally, made her big stage debut on Broadway. She had also become a mother (her daughter would eventually also do some acting). Her return to film in 1942 came in the Ray Bolger film Four Jacks and a Jill made for RKO. Her acting career took off from there. She didn't move formally to the west coast until the late 1940's (and reportedly never really like it there), but here and her sister both still had to contend with their grasping mother in their lives until her death in 1954. Her constant threats of suing them was gone and both sisters turned to writing (this would eventually cause trouble between the two). By this time, she was already working in television, having made her debut in 1950 episode of This Is Show Business. For younger a generation, it is her television work for which she is remembered. She appeared in all types of television: from drama to horror, children's shows to soap operas (she was member of the cast of General Hospital). There was even a June Havoc Show for a short time. Her last film, funnily enough, was Larry Cohen's A Return To Salem's Lot in 1987 as Aunt Clara. Finally, she was twice on Murder She Wrote, her last appearance coming in 1989. Havoc was even by this time in semi-retirement on here complex in Connecticut and deeply involved in the building of that compound and using it for animals of all kinds in need. She retired to her animal good works in New England. She passed away there in Stamford (North Wilton) on the 28th of March in 2010 at the age of 97. She was cremated and her ashes were scattered in her garden. Note: Sources often cite her birth year as 1913 or 1916, but she confirmed the correct year to be 1912.
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