For some of us, the Gypsy years can go on forever ... That isn't such a bad thing. When all is said and done, they're a lot of fun. The truth is, I liked being a Gypsy. It's who I was. And it's still a lot of who I am. Gypsy, it's a good word.
Like most business people, I want every aspect of my business to be perfect. I know that this goal is unachievable, but it is nevertheless what I strive to achieve .
The business aspect and the social aspect of FEED go hand in hand. The more we can strengthen our business, the more we are able to give. And the more we can focus on giving back, the more customers will want to buy our products, thus strengthening our business.
It is very important that people understand how important flamenco is to the Gypsy community. There have been some amazing Gypsy artists. It's important that we give visibility to that, but at the same time people have to be fair and recognise that Paco de Lucia was the biggest guitar player in this style of music in the world and he wasn't Gypsy.
(Actually now I’m remembering that the goodbye chow isn’t spelled that way. It’s ciao or something weird like that. It’s Italian, right? But I’m not an Italian gypsy, I’m a hungry gypsy. So spelling it chow makes total sense.)
I spent three years researching American Rose, research that included connecting with Gypsy's sister, the late actress June Havoc (I was the last person to interview her) and Gypsy's son, and also spending countless hours immersed in Gypsy's expansive archives at the New York Public Library. I became obsessed with figuring out the person behind the persona.
My father's family can be traced back to 1400. I've been told by gypsies that there is unmistakeably gypsy blood in me. Lee is a gypsy name, you know.
There are so many different aspects of my life - the on-camera aspect, the laid-back aspect with my friends and family, the career-oriented aspect, the design aspect.
One of the biggest questions to me was whether or not Gypsy the person was capable of loving anyone or anything beyond Gypsy Rose Lee the creation, and even that was a conflicted, tortured relationship.
I'd like to think my strengths are in connecting with people and the relationship aspect of this business.
The white moth to the closing vine,
The bee to the open clover,
And the Gypsy blood to the Gypsy blood
Ever the wide world over.
I like to act. Every other aspect of show business I find uninteresting.
Gypsy [Rose Lee ] was a masterful storyteller, and her memoir and by extension, the musical weren't only Gypsy's monument; they were also her chance for monumental revisionism.
The literary aspect of the film business excites me, but show business in general doesn't take any mental giant.
I wrote a couple of songs that had gypsy references in them. The only reason it happened was because that's what was coming through and I liked the idea at that period of time. But that doesn't mean that it's a myth or that I'm a gypsy. It's gotten totally out of context.
The business aspect of this sport is a contradiction to what it's really about, and that's knowing something for what it is and not just what it looks like.