February 9

Events

1914 - Never too young to shake it for the public for money - Rose Louise Hovick, better known as Gypsy Rose Lee, was born on this date. She was not yet 10 when she was being used by her mother as a meal ticket in show business. She first came on the scene as a child when she and her sister June Hovick performed in a small time act called "Dainty June and her newsboy songsters" and later "Madame Rose and her dancing daughters." Later she had her own dancing act called "Rose Louise and Her Hollywood Blondes." She learned her craft as a stripper from Burlesque dancer "Tessie the Tassle Twirler." Lee began to work as a stripper when she was only fifteen. She wrote novels and a play, headlined the 1939 New York World's Fair, starred in films and became a television celebrity. Her own autobiography, "Gypsy," was turned into a Broadway musical and, later, a major motion picture.

1978 - How old is James, now? - Lance Kerwin was a ten and pedo favorite as the star of James At 15 on television. In an episode broadcast on this date, James lost his virginity to a Swedish exchange student. James could not use a condom because, NBC reasoned, the fear of pregnancy should erode their relationship and emphasize the point that sex holds serious consequences. The show's writer and director, Dan Wakefield, quit about not being allowed to discuss contraception. Incidentally (or maybe not so incidentally) this episode was the first one aired with the show's new title: James at 16. I guess 15 was a bit too young for him to be scoring.

1996 - The one who gives the film title legitimacy is .... - The movie Beautiful Girls was released on this date. The film centers on a group of high school friends gathering for a reunion. One main character is Willie Conway, played by Timothy Hutton, who has returned to the small town after being away for a long time. His relationship with his girlfriend is uncertain and so he develops an infatuation with a Marty, played by Natalie Portman, the 13 year old girl next door. She starts to fall for him as well. In the film the two quite maturely discuss the possibility of them having a relationship and what obstacles there might be to it. The two develop a rapport that shows that despite their age difference there can be a real connection between these two people allowing them to share their hopes, dreams, fears, and feelings.

2002 - I red the news today, oh boy! - The British communist publication called The Weekly Worker printed a story on this date about Amy Gehring, a 26-year-old biology teacher from Canada who was acquitted of "seducing" and "indecently assaulting" two brothers aged 14 and 15. The article said, "What is truly outrageous of course is that the case went to a criminal court at all. Whatever the exact - possibly unedifying - details may be, a cursory examination of the facts clearly reveals that we are looking at consenting sexual activity. Indeed, the jury was explicitly told by the judge that, although the boys had obviously been willing sexual agents, Gehring’s conduct was criminal by mere virtue of the fact that they were under the legal age of consent (ie, 16 years old). The nonsense starts from here." Even the commies know you can't rape the willing, unless, of course, you own the means of production. But that's another story altogether....