Not One Day without Mae

My my, Mae West. Not one day goes by without Mae West's name appearing in the news somewhere. How many actresses have left such a huge fingerprint on popular culture?
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Even if you have never seen one of her movies, you can hear Mae's distinctive voice this instant, thanks to the nice folks at The History Channel.
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Want to hear the "Words that Changed the World"?
The History Channel notes that: "Our vast collection of speeches is drawn from the most famous broadcasts and recordings of the twentieth century."
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Here is where you will find four pages of links to audio clips of speeches and interviews including: Neil Armstrong as he took his first steps on the Moon; King Edward VIII's abdication speech; Thomas Edison on the development of electricity; and even the inimitable Mae West talking about men, women, and diamonds and speaking her famous line: "Come up and see me sometime. Anytime. The sooner the better" (1949).

Mae West, U.S. actress and writer: On men, women, and diamonds
http://www.historychannel.com/speeches/archive/speech_411.html
- - from The History Channel - -
http://www.historychannel.com/
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mae west

Mae West perch: Ravenswood [570 North Rossmore]

A longtime Mae West perch was The Ravenswood at 570 North Rossmore [Los Angeles].
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Well, well - quoth The Ravenswood: "Mae West Evermore!"
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Ted Soqui, writing in L.A. Weekly, had this to say:
"Not far from the point where Vine Street turns into Rossmore, a tall and elegant row of apartment buildings appears. . . ."
According to an article written by Ted Soqui [published in L.A. Weekly], Mae West owned the Ravenswood and lived in apartment # 611 until her death in 1980.
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Also according to journalist Ted Soqui, John F. Kennedy had lived in the penthouse of the streamlined classic moderne Mauretania, designed by Milton J. Black for actor Jack Haley (the Tin Man), during the Democratic National Convention in the summer of 1960 and rendez-voused with Marilyn Monroe. And the El Royale in recent years has been called a dormitory for agents and others with entertainment glamour jobs. . . .
- - SOURCE of this information - -
an article in L.A. Weekly
"Rossmore Glamour"
by TED SOQUI
LA Weekly, CA - - Apr 27, 2005

If Your Sun Sign Is Leo, Mae West Wants You

Come Up and See Mae on Her Birthday—Especially If You’re a Leo
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(source: PRLEAP.COM) New York, NY: “I like two kinds of men,” Mae West used to say, “foreign and domestic.” In order to raise the ROAR of the crowd on August 17, 2005 when Mae West’s birthday will be celebrated in Manhattan in a haunted nineteenth century mansion, the organizers are looking for Leos [domestic or foreign]. Ten adults born between July 23rd - August 23rd, and before 1980, will be admitted free to this star-studded Benefit.
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To enter, send a copy of your photo I.D. that proves you were born under the sign of Leo, and tell us [in 100 words or less] why you want to come up and see Mae at her totally fabulous birthday party in midtown Manhattan on the evening of August 17th. Enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope for notification. Entries without a reply envelope will be disqualified.
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Mailing address: MAE WEST c/o 24 Fifth Avenue, Box 6-11, NYC 10011. Entries must be received by July 20, 2005. Travel expenses to and from New York are NOT included. The decision of the judges is final.
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- - http://MaeWest.blogspot.com - - - - - -
MEDIA coverage invited – SPONSORSHIP opportunities available
WHAT: Mae’s Birthday Gala & Seance: Fundraiser for Courting Mae West
WHAT’S SPECIAL: A&E will film this evening as part of a reality TV Program
WHEN: Wednesday evening August 17th, 2005 on Mae’s birthday
WHERE: on East 54th Street in a haunted 19th century mansion in Manhattan
WHO: Dr. Lauren Thibodeau, Medium and Psychic, with celebrity guests
EXTRA: Joe Franklin speaks about his friend Mae West
HOW MANY: 200 - 285 adults expected to attend Mae West’s Birthday Gala
TICKETS: 3 Tiers of Admission [Séance tickets are limited to 40 attendees]
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Mae West: Salvatore De Guarda's Phallic Symbol

What Would Mae West Think of Salvatore De Guarda's Phallic Symbol?
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Actor Salvatore DeGuarda parlayed his swimming skills into a movie career, taking roles as "John Dexter," and he now looks back with great fondness at that remarkable experience of his life. . . .
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A member of the Stunt Man Hall of Fame for his work in movies, Salvatore DeGuarda had a leading role in "Buffalo Bill Rides Again" and was with Mae West in her film "The Heat's On." You can find his name in countless movies from the 1940s. He also lived with the famous actress, along with some other people, for a year, and has a pile of interesting stories. He doesn't deny taking Mae West up on her offer to "come up and see" her sometime.
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Nonetheless, if he is able to raise the $4 million it will cost to build a giant replica of a statue that was already awesome in 1939, he will go down in history with a legacy that transcends being a former movie actor who was briefly associated with the original Hollywood sex goddess. . . .
- - this is an excerpt from - -
'Pacifica II Project' plans 80-ft statue on Treasure Island
By Chris Hunter http://www.pacificatribune.com/
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mae west

Mae West: Dialing 1-800-Not-Dead

Mae West Establishes a Free Rumors Hotline
By I.M. Sirius

HOLLYWOOD - Actress Mae West, whose father was a prizefighter, has come out swinging in an effort to put an end to rumors about her relationship with D.P.s [departed people]. Beginning at 9:00 a.m. (PST) on Monday August 15th, 2005, concerned Mae West fans will be able to dial 1-800-NOT-DEAD to hear the blonde bombshell deny in her own voice various rumors being printed about her in the magazines and tabloids, some founded by her nemesis William Randolph Hearst.
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"At $1.99 a minute billed automatically to the telephone number from which a call is made, this service represents a great bargain for Mae West followers everywhere," said West's publicists at William Morris. "It's one thing for fans to read about Mae's latest denouncement of vicious lies about her premature death and burial in publications founded by Hearst, the father of 'yellow journalism,' but quite another for devotees of the diva to hear the note of disdain in her Brooklyn-accented voice as she refers to Hearst's editors - - one by one and by name - - as that 'two-bit rumor-mongering whore'."
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Save-the-date notices are being mailed about Mae West's birthday party in midtown Manhattan on the evening of Wednesday August 17th, 2005. There are only 84 shopping days left until Mae's birthday, so start browsing jewelry sites. Mae didn't christen herself "Diamond Lil" for nothing.
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Updates on this new hotline will appear on http://MaeWest.blogspot.com shortly.

Mae's Men: Baring Cary

In the film "I'm No Angel" (1933), CARY GRANT was treated to Mae West's rolling innuendo.
• • MAE WEST: "I like a sophisticated man to take me out."
• • CARY GRANT: "I'm not really sophisticated."
• • MAE WEST: "You're not really out yet, either."
• • How many folks in Hollywood realized that the debonair British actor born in Bristol was gay?
• • Gary Cooper, that straight-shooting womaniser, declared Grant ambiguous.
• • Marlene Dietrich marked Grant an F for fag after Blonde Venus (1932).
• • According to book reviewer Chris Petit, Cary Grant was the invention of a sarcastic Englishman with the improbable name of Archibald Leach. Leach was the finest physical specimen ever to come out of Bristol and as Grant he became one of the great inventions of the 20th century, to Hollywood what Ralph Lauren would be to the garment trade, selling a carefully tailored variety of ersatz Englishness. . . .
• • In his biography, Marc Eliot maintains Archie Leach was fundamentally homosexual and resurfaced in times of crisis and disorientation in Cary Grant's life: his master's voice. Grant had a propensity for dragging-up at costume parties and a stated preference for women's underwear, worn for practical reasons (easier to rinse and dry, saving on hotel laundry bills). Eliot claims the actor Randolph Scott was Grant's housemate and lover, but this old chestnut remains unproven despite Eliot's best efforts, and owes a lot to Grant's cultivated ambiguity. . . .
— — excerpt from this book review — —
• • Cary Grant by Marc Eliot (434 pp, Aurum, £18.99)
• • The concept of Cary by Chris Petit
• • Saturday — — 21 May 2005
• • The Observer — — http://books.guardian.co.uk/

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Mae West: Goin' Digital

Hollywood can't wait to go digital.
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Studios look forward to the day when they can slash by 75% the $1.2 billion they spend each year to make film prints and ship them in bulky metal cans to and from theaters. With digital, they transmit encrypted signals to theaters via satellite or ship a small, reusable hard drive with the film preloaded.
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"The studios have already said in principle that they will pay" for the digital equipment, says Bud Mayo, CEO of Access Integrated Technologies, a publicly traded firm that offers software and services to help theaters manage digital films and programming. "But the exhibitors have to have some skin in the game," such as by agreeing to cover maintenance costs for the equipment.
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Bud Mayo, who expects the digital transition to be virtually complete by the end of 2008, is doing his part to move things along.
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This month Bud Mayo installed digital projectors for five of the eight screens in a Brooklyn movie house he owns, a former vaudeville palace that headlined stars such as Jimmy Durante, Mae West, and Abbott & Costello.
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Mayo will use his theater to showcase Access Integrated's software and services. "This is a disruptive technology, and the little guys often win in that market because they're single-minded," he says.
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Others are less sure about the pace of transition.
"You're talking about a seven- to eight-year rollout or possibly longer," says Levin.
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Studios may not be able to invest heavily on digital projectors. Their costs will probably rise as they have to simultaneously support digital and analog. . . .
- - excerpt from an article in USA Today - -
Digital film revolution poised to start rolling
By David Lieberman, USA TODAY
May 17, 2005

Mae West & Richard Ireland, Spiritual Adviser

Mae West yearned to stay in touch with her loved ones, especially her deceased mother, father, and kid brother Jack West. Two successive spiritual advisers, Reverend Jack Kelly and later on Dr. Richard Ireland, encouraged Mae to communicate with her dearest departed.
• • Acquaintances would be invited to attend seances or ESP demonstrations at the Santa Monica beach house that the actress purchased in the 1950s. Often these would feature (or be led by) Dr. Ireland.
• • Based in Phoenix, Arizona, Dr. Richard Ireland, a widely known psychic and entertainer, had founded the University of Life Center in 1960. [Ireland's involvement with his church ended with his death in 1992.]
• • Dr. Richard Ireland taught and demonstrated psychic ability all over the world along with counseling celebrities and Hollywood personalities such as Mae West, "Gunsmoke" actress Amanda Blake, David ["The Fugitive"] Janssen, and Darrell Zanuck, founder of 20th Century Fox Studios.
• • His work with Hollywoodites earned Dr. Ireland a nickname: "Psychic to the stars." [For more details, see his autobiography: "The Phoenix Oracle" by Richard Ireland.]
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Mae West
• • Photo:
NYC
Mae West.

Mae West: Corset Cutie

Growing old gracefully comes easily to some, but not to others. Vanity pays a heavy price in later years, and the aging actress may be one of the hardest hit in this respect.
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Before cosmetic surgery to enhance one’s beauty became commonplace, various alternative approaches were used to achieve the same end. Indeed, in the world of the theatre, the heroically corseted diva (to quote Alistair McLean) was the rule rather than the exception. Mae West and Margaret Dumont, amongst many others, both relied heavily on their corsets for most of their careers.
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I have chosen these two ladies to illustrate a point here, since their approach to corsetry was so dramatically different. To Mae, born in 1893, and Margaret in 1889, corsets were an everyday item. However, Mae, who tended to plumpness, used them to control her waist and present a figure that never changed. As the real and the fantasy Mae West blurred in later life, she was described, in embarrassing detail by a reporter who visited her at home.
Her face was almost immobile from make-up; her wig perched atop her head equally motionless. She could barely totter so tightly was she corseted and clothed. She never sat during the interview, but simply leant against a piano, cunningly placed so that her movements never required more than a few steps. . . . [Mae wore corsets made by Spirella.]
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Margaret Dumont, on the other hand, wore the corsets appropriate to her age and peer group. She was genuinely 'classy', and suffered the outrageous antics of the Marx Brothers with every emotion from stoicism to hysterics. . . .
- - this is an excerpt from Ivy Leaf's "A Tribute to the Corset" - -
http://www.corsetiere.net/

Is Jane "Fonda" Mae West?

The mothers of all three of Jane Fonda's ex-husbands — filmmaker Roger Vadim, politician-activist Tom Hayden and media mogul Ted Turner — treated her just fine. So who were Fonda's role models for "Monster-in-Law," in which she plays Viola, a prospective mother-in-law from hell?
"To tell you the truth, a little bit Mae West, but also Ted Turner," Fonda told The Associated Press. "I had the privilege and pleasure of spending 10 years with him - - and talk about someone who's bigger than life and over the top."
"So I got to see what that's like up close and personal, and how you can be over the top and still very lovable. . ." .
- - an excerpt from this article by Associated Press - -
Fonda: Turner Inspired 'Monster' Role
By DAVID GERMAIN, AP Movie Writer Wed May 11, 2005

Diamond Lil's Theatre to Be Renamed

Mae West's Play "Diamond Lil" Was a Huge Hit for the Royale in 1928
Renaming on Broadway - - Plymouth and Royale Re-Dedicated as Schoenfeld and Jacobs Theatres on May 9

Change will come to two of Broadway's blazing marquees at 7:30 PM May 9, when the Plymouth Theatre becomes the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre and the Royale becomes the Bernard B. Jacobs. The new names honor the men who have guided the theatre-owning and producing giant, The Shubert Organization. The public unveiling of the new marquees — with New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Dame Edna, movie and stage star Hugh Jackman and the cast of Avenue Q in attendance — is set for 7:30 PM.

The Royale is at 242 W. 45th Street.
Schoenfeld has been the chairman of the Shubert Organization since 1972.
Bernard B. Jacobs was president of the Shubert Organization from 1972 until his death in 1996. Also in the mix at the outdoor ceremony on 45th Street will be New York State Assemblyman Richard Brodsky and the Board of Directors of the Shubert Organization, Inc. Michael I. Sovern will speak on behalf of the Shubert Board.


The Royale Theatre, to be renamed the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, was built in 1927. Its history includes such plays as Diamond Lil, The Magnificent Yankee, The Corn is Green, The Glass Menagerie, The Front Page, DuBarry Was a Lady, and The Entertainer, featuring such players as Mae West, Bert Lahr, Bette Davis, Ethel Merman, James Dean, Julie Andrews, John Gielgud, and Laurence Olivier.

The Board members of the Shubert Organization are John Kluge, Gerald Schoenfeld, Lee J. Seidler, Philip J. Smith, Michael I. Sovern, Stuart Subotnick, and Irving M. Wall. . . . .
- - this is an excerpt from an article published by Playbill - -
By Kenneth Jones [09 May 2005]
www.Playbill.com/

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Come Up & See Mae on Her Birthday

It's a Séance and you are invited to "Come Up and See Mae"!

A Mae West Séance on August 17, 2005 in a Haunted NYC Mansion Is a Fundraiser for the play "Courting Mae West"

Actress MAE WEST [1893-1980] wrote a book on ESP, consulted psychics, and was writing a book on Reverend Jack Kelly, her favorite Medium from Lily Dale Assembly, when she died in Los Angeles twenty-five years ago. The body of Mae West was returned to New York and placed inside the family crypt.

It is expected that MAE WEST will attend her birthday party in a nineteenth century townhouse on East 54th Street when Dr. Lauren summons the actress on August 17th. Built in 1888, the mansion is unchanged since 1923 and a host of ghosts reside there.

Who is Dr. Lauren?
Lauren Thibodeau, Ph.D., NCC, MBA, author of Natural-Born Intuition: How to Awaken & Develop Your Inner Wisdom, is a psychic medium and intuitive consultant in NYC and Princeton. She is a credentialed counselor, faculty member of Atlantic University of Virginia, and is affiliated with The Arthur Findlay College of Mediumship outside London. A Registered Medium at the renowned Lily Dale Assembly in Chautauqua County, NY, "Dr. Lauren" 'knows' Mae West in a way that few others do.

Lily Dale is the largest center for mediumship in the world today, and was a summer retreat of Mae West, who wrote a book on ESP. Mae is rumored to have romanced-or been romanced by-one of the most popular mediums of the era, the roguish Jack Kelly, whose biography she had planned to write. Mae West participated in many a séance there, including some held at Dr. Lauren's Lily Dale summer home built in 1879, where séances are still held in the time-honored Spiritualist tradition. Dr. Lauren changed her vacation plans to be with us on Mae's birthday because, as she puts it, "Mae West wouldn't let me say 'no!'"

Visit our séance facilitator Dr. Lauren online: www.drlauren.com/
Info on the fundraiser is here: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com

Mae West: Born on August 17

Veteran radio personality and former TV host JOE FRANKLIN vividly recalls a seance he had attended in Manhattan: "The moment wasn't the moment. Something got loose, hunting the vision of itself."
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An old friend of MAE WEST, JOE FRANKLIN is looking forward to attending the birthday party for the blonde bombshell on August 17, 2005 at a haunted mansion in midtown. FRANKLIN will mingle with the star-studded crowd.
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August 17th's Roaring 20s-theme festivities are being organized as a fundraiser for the play "Courting Mae West" and other good causes.
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Up-dates: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com

Mae West on Sex, Health & ESP

It was thirty years ago that Mae West could be found in bookstores between the sheets.

Mae West on Sex, Health, and ESP
by Mae West
Publisher: London - New York: W. H. Allen, 1975. (237 pages)
ISBN: 0491016131

Quote from Mae West about sex: "Such a big issue over such a little tissue!"

Mae West & Psychic Kenny Kingston

Inner View with Kenny Kingston: On Mae West and Being Psychic

Many Hands did this article. Here is an excerpt.
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Kenny Kingston, America's leading psychic to the stars has been wowing audiences for decades. A spiritualist medium and expert in the field of psychic phenomena, Kingston has given psychic messages and readings to celebrities from all over the world including Marilyn Monroe, John Wayne, the Duchess of Windsor and even presidents Eisenhower and Truman. Born to the seven daughter of a seventh daughter, Kingston said that his psychic life began with tea readings.
His clairvoyance has catapulted him into the spotlight with books, infomercials and all the trappings of fame, but behind it all is a sweet spirit.
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MH: What is a psychic? Do you see names, dates, or do you just get impressions?
KK: All three. But I am a psychic/ medium.
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MH: What was your first psychic experience?
KK: I think the tea leaves. My mother had a newspaper friend and as I looked at the leaves I said to her 'Crash, crash. crash.' She was about to take a train and she decided not to take that train and it did crash, but I don not remember it.
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MH: Now what is the legacy of being born to the seven daughter of a seventh daughter?
KK: Well, you know that it is very Irish.
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MH: Do you ever do phone readings?
KK: Yes. Would you believe it. I have an application right here from someone in India who wants a phone reading. Phone reading employs what is known as 'clairaudience.'
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MH: Is that what you learned from Mae West?
KK: Well, nobody really teaches you this. When I was three or four my grandmother, Catherine Walsh Clarke, taught me tea leaf reading. Then my mother, Kaye, taught me psychometry. Then when I was 7 or 8 Mae West was a close friend of my mother's and she practiced clairaudience, which is listening to the sound of the voice and picking up the vibrations. Did you know that she wrote all of her plays while in a trance?
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MH: No kidding?
KK: She was a multi-millionairess with property that she bought when she was in trance. She would just listen to that little tiny voice inside.
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MH: We just need to be able to hear it, right?
KK: Yes, and you can do this through meditation. What is mediation? Meditation is listening to God, just as praying is talking to Him.
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MH: How much do you charge for a private reading?
KK: Please call 213-650-7007 to make an appointment.
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this is an excerpt from - - http://www.manyhands.com/innerview/kingston.html

Mae West: Psychic Jack Kelly

Mae West: Psychic Jack Kelly and Manifestations of the Hereafter

- - - this text is an excerpt from a N.Y. Times article by Tom Burke - - -

Los Angeles. It was pathetic, Hollywood observers scoffed, that a woman over 80 should star in a movie opposite six young and handsome leading men. That was last spring when Mae West declared that she would return to the screen in an updated version of her play "Sextette." They may have chuckled patronizingly when Miss West announced her comeback, but will they still be laughing when they see "Sextette"? Skeptics are in for a surprise, for the lady is in remarkably fine shape. The famous amble is not arthritic, the voice is not depleted, the skin is not archaic. Precisely two minutes after one is received in the white and gold apartment on top of the Ravenswood, in Hollywood's old Wilshire district, by Paul, a pleasant, maybe middle-aged man who is dressed in a blue suit and built like a gangster, and shown into the white and gold living room (the white and gold piano is painted with a vaguely licentious pastoral tableau), she appears, wearing a long white and gold gown, blonde wig, and vaguely come-hither grin. . . .
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Well, I don't live in the past, Mae West insists -- "though I like t' see people from then.
Cary Grant comes t' see me. Gilbert Roland, Bette Davis, Garbo. Jack LaRue, before he passed on, and George Raft. I almost married George. W. C. Fields? I never spoke to Fields but when there was other people around. Universal teamed us for, uh, commercial exploitation, then built a feud between us for publicity, but we got on okay, 'cause we never talked. I don't like people sayin' we collaborated in the writing of 'My Little Chickadee.' Fields wrote maybe eight pages to my 130."

Deferentially, Paul points out that in 1970 she also had to doctor the "Myra Breckinridge" scenario. "Yeh, our director, what's-his-name, yeh, Michael Sarne, he still working? He thought he was another Fellini, but he messed us up. I had t' write my lines myself. Originally, I started writin' 'cause I had to, nobody else understood how I made fun of sex, so I couldn't find the right vehicles. When I came to movies, I was already a skilled writer, I coulda made it on the writin' alone. I always took it serious: when the papers printed I made more money than anybody but Hearst, he phoned and asked me up to San Simeon. He wanted a romance. I coulda married him, but I was busy. See, I never was one for parties, I always been two people, with two jobs -- writer and star. An' listen, you gotta think to write."

She starts work, she says, by settling the beginning and end of a story, then dictates to a secretary for three to four hours a day. Current and future projects include scenarios of her play "The Constant Sinner" and her play and novel "Pleasure Man," and a prose adaptation of "The Drag."

The Afterlife & Jack Kelly
Agent Irving Lazar is handling the American version of her book "Sex, Health and ESP" ("It's already a big seller in England"), and she's completing "The Amazing Mr. Kelly," a biography of the Reverend Jack Kelly, who "passed on" 10 years ago.

"He was the world's greatest psychic. And he's come back. I always figured when you're dead, you're dead, but I wanted to know the truth. I had this yogi master travelin' with me for five years, I gave him a hotel suite, a car, everything, but he never convinced me. Then one day a few years ago, I come into this room from my boudoir, and there was Mr. Kelly, sittin' right there were you are, on that couch. I screamed for Paul, who was in my chamber answerin' fan mail. Some it's addressed just to 'Mae West, Hollywood,' and they deliver it. Anyway, Paul runs in, and Mr. Kelly vanished. An' I don't kid myself or have mystical illusions. I never drink or take anything."

She has witnessed other manifestations, too. Her deceased brother and pet woolly monkey appeared to her, separately, on the cornice of her bedroom wall. "And several groups of handsome young men have come and stood beside my bed. I extended my hand to them, like this, and they disappeared."

The Cheshire smile, the seductive murmur in the silence following her remarks, again imply the put-on. But evidently she is quite serious this time, at least about Reverend Kelly.

"I was already workin' on his biography, see, an' he came back to show me there is an afterlife, so now I know."

She sounded utterly logical. Under the make-up, what may be dark spots of fatigue have appeared, yet she rises almost athletically. "Paul and I gotta drive down t'the beach now." She still maintains an elaborate Santa Monica house, and her ranch in the San Fernando Valley, but likes town best. "We go to pictures a lot, some 'a these modern styles are terrific. I like movies about strong women. I was the first liberated woman, y' know. No guy was gonna get the best of me, that's what I wrote all my scripts about."

- - - - - - - this text is an excerpt from this article - - - - -
Mae West to Star Opposite Six Leading Men
by Tom Burke
Tom Burke is the author of "Burke's Steerage," a collection of essays and interviews with personalities in the arts.
The New York Times
article published on July 25, 1976
- - - - - - - this text is an excerpt from this article - - - - -

Mae West: Psychic Messages at Lily Dale

Among the notable visitors to Lily Dale Assembly were Mae West, Harry Houdini, Mahatma Gandhi, Franklin & Eleanor Roosevelt, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Susan B. Anthony, Russian Countess Alexandra Tolstoy, and many others.
"The Dale" [nestled right next to the lake near Cassadaga located in the heart of Chautauqua County] first opened in 1879 and has become world famous.

The lakeside town was a haunt (so to speak) of the famous Mae West, who was rumored to have had a medium-boyfriend in the lakeside hamlet.

Lily Dale Assembly, Lily Dale, NY 14752
Lily Dale is a community dedicated to the religion of Spiritualism.
Definition of A Spiritualist
One who believes, as the basis of his or her religion, in the continuity of life and in individual responsibility. Some, but not all, Spiritualists are Mediums and/or Healers. Spiritualists endeavor to find the truth in all things and to live their lives in accordance therewith.

- excerpt from the May issue, Budget Travel magazine -
"At a strange little village an hour south of Buffalo, talking to the dead is a way of life. Founded by the Laona Free Thinkers Association in 1879, when spiritualism was an obsession of America’s elite, Lily Dale attracted legends such as Susan B. Anthony, Mae West, and Harry Houdini. Today, “the Dale,” pop. 500, unlocks its picket fences each summer to admit soul-searchers. . . .
(This year: June 25 to September 5;visitors pay $7 for every 24 hours they visit; 716/595-8721, www.lilydaleassembly.com.)

Free Psychic Service: Take the gravel path at the edge of the village into the Leolyn Woods, past the tilted, moss-covered gravestones of the pet cemetery, and into the towering old-growth forest where “message services” have been held since 1898. At 1 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. each day, mediums “serve spirit” to believers sitting expectantly on benches. Also try the free 4 p.m. service at the tiny Forest Temple nearby. The pamphlet at the Healing Temple on East Street admonishes, “Spiritual healing is not a substitute for medical treatment.” But daily at 10:30 a.m. and 7 p.m., men and women in white stroke the invisible energy fields of ailing visitors.

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The Mediums: More than 30 residents of this tree-shaded town are clairvoyants who purport to help people connect with departed family, friends, and spirit guides. On their gingerbread-trimmed homes, look for signs soliciting private sessions ($50 to $75 for 30 to 60 minutes). . . .
- excerpt from the May issue, Budget Travel magazine -

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