Cleopatra's Boudoir: Prince Alexis N. Gagarin

Prince Alexis N. Gagarin of Fifth Avenue, New York.

Had a laboratory at 684 St. Mark's Ave, New York City.

The prince spent the majority of his time waiting tables and washing dishes to pay for his tuition at the University of Nebraska. After graduation, he made his living working in telephone manholes in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Prince Gagarin Perfumes

Prince Alexis N. Gagarin, Inc., New York, had opened sales and executive offices at 551 Fifth ave., that city. Officers were president, Prince Alexis N. Gagarin; vice-president, V. A. Hanson; secretary- treasurer, B. G. Hamilton.

The prince was born on Jul. 17, 1905. Married to Doris Pless and had son, Gregory Gagarin and Helen Quigley (in 1928), father of Tanya Gagarin (born 1930).

He died on Dec. 7, 1946.

Biographical Note from University of South Florida library collection:

Alexis Nicholaevitch Gagarin, also known as Miroslav Marek and Alexis Miasiakoff, was born on July 17, 1905 in St. Petersburg, Russia. Purporting to be a cousin of Czar Nicholas II, Gagarin escaped after the Russian Revolution, eventually settling in the United States. A businessman, perfume purveyor, resort hotel social director, and ballet dancer, Gagarin also is known for his close relationship with business associate Jose L. Avellanal, with whom he attempted to prove the identity of a woman claiming to be the Grand Duchess Anastasia. While living in Tampa, Gagarin participated in many organizations, including the First Florida Defense Medical Service Regiment, Orange Cross Sanitarium, the National Cancer Relief Foundation, the Pan-American Federation, and the American Order of the White Cross. Gagarin became a naturalized citizen several years before his death in 1946.

Seattle Daily Times (Seattle, WA) -- Friday, May 7, 1937
NOTED DANCER TO APPEAR IN REVIEW HERE:

Buoyancy is a characteristic impossible to miss in the everyday manner of Alexis Gagarin. He is the kind of man who would laugh lustily if abandoned in the middle of the Russian steppes, his breath turning to a cloud of white. Alexis Gagarin gets along. Yet there is no arrogance, and no false modesty, when Alexis Gagarin admits cheerfully that he – …

Was a Russian prince when Nicholas II was Tsar, but lost his parents, four sisters, title, wealth and prestige during the revolution…
Developed an adigo dance in New York, but lost his dancing career there, because talking pictures "caused vaudeville to do a blackout...

Fortune Made and Lost
Amassed a fortune in the perfume business, then lost it when the United States went off the gold standard.
This is his story, and there is conviction in his calm words:

"I'm from St. Petersburg—not Leningrad, nor Petrograd. My family was executed by the Bolsheviks in Ekaterinburg, Siberia. It was on my thirteenth birthday, July 17, 1918. I was sick in the hospital. A friend helped me out the window to escape."When Kalchak's forces occupied the city I joined as a cadet volunteer. Then I went on my own to Manchuria, Japan, China, Indo-China, Suez, Italy, Germany, France and America."
As it has for many immigrants, New York provided opportunity for Alexis Gagarin. He danced for a living; he played sixteen weeks in the Winter Garden Theatre; then work became slack. He turned to manufacturing perfume.

Business Collapses
Alexis Gagarin carries perfume advertisements printed a few years ago in some of America's smartest magazines. They bear the simple name: "Prince Alexis N. Gagarin." It was a good business, but prices on imported raw oils were quadrupled. The business collapsed.
After a nervous breakdown, after roaming Alaska, Alexis Gagarin now is dancing again. He and his partner, Miss Laurell Willman, will perform at 8:30 o'clock tomorrow night at the Russian Maytime Review, an annual spring ball sponsored by Seattle's Russian colony. It will be in the Woman's Century Club.