Tuesday, June 28, 2005

JOE FRANKLIN Talks about MAE WEST on WBBR Radio

JOE FRANKLIN Talks about MAE WEST on WBBR Radio with the Author of "Courting Mae West"
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TV and radio legend JOE FRANKLIN interviewed New York writer LindaAnn Loschiavo about her play "Courting Mae West." Set during the 1920s and based on true events, this play, which has had 2 public readings in Manhattan, has already been seen by approximately 600 adults.
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On Saturday July 2nd, 2005, this intriguing 8-minute interview will be broadcast eight different times on Bloomberg Radio's affiliated stations beginning at 1:37 AM.
Bloomberg Radio has 35 million listeners coast to coast.
The play will have a mini-performance on August 17, 2005 - - at the Mae West Birthday Gala, which is a fundraiser for this play. Joe Franklin will speak about his friend Mae West during this Benefit.
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Admission on August 17th is free for anyone who comes dressed as Mae West.
[Pre-registration for free admission is required before August 1, 2005.]
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August 17th Gala tickets are also available online.
For details, please visit www.MaeWest.blogspot.com
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Bloomberg Radio is the creation of Michael Bloomberg, Mayor of New York and a former journalist who generously supports theatre and culture.
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Hear Bloomberg Radio nationwide on satellite radio:
XM channel 129 or Sirius stream 102.
In New York City, tune to WBBR 1130 on the AM dial.
In the Hamptons, 96.7 FM.
Find your local channel here:
http://www.bloomberg.com/radio/
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Sunday, June 26, 2005

Mae West in "Hollywood & the Supernatural"


Mae West's interest in the occult is discussed in a book by Brad Steiger and Sherry Hanson Steiger, authors of "Hollywood and the Supernatural" (St. Martin's, 1990).
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A colleague of Mae's, Stanley Musgrove had helped organize some of her spiritual evenings that sometimes took place at his home [near Universal Studios]. Musgrove invited the Canadian psychic-astrologer Clarisa Bernhardt to conduct a seance on the occasion of a book launch. Musgrove had written a Mae West biography with George Eels.
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Musgrove and Eels arranged for numerous press people to attend, including Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, The National Enquirer, as well as other reporters from the L. A. area.
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Also attending the seance: several of Mae's closest friends including Sibyl Brand and her close friend and bodyguard who had been with her for years.
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According to Brad Steiger's book, Mae does not like the term seance -- and she prefers to refer to that experience as an "interdimensional communication" instead.
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One reporter from a newspaper published in Oklahoma [on the edge of the Bible Belt] wrote an article about that event. Instead of using the phrase "Inter-dimensional Communication," the news man wrote, "Mae did not like the term 'seance" and she preferred to refer to it as an Inter-denominational Communication."
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Of interest to Mae West fans: "Hollywood and The Supernatural" (St. Martin's, 1990).
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Stanley Musgrove was an old friend of Mae West. Musgrove was quick to say he was not her agent, but he was [or became] her publicist. He often "ran interference" for the star, screening her visitors, as well as autograph-hunters or admirers who were after her picture. He signed some of her correspondence and was privy to her thoughts on everything from her attendance at functions, to what were the appropriate fees she received for appearances, interviews, and the like. Musgrove came to know many Hollywood personalities, from actors to directors. In 1982 he collaborated with George Eells on Mae West: A Biography [NY: William Morrow].
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Mae West: Hand Trouble?

Why Mae West Never Shook Hands
. . . During the next few years, Bob Thompson toured with Mae West and her entourage of musclemen. Impressed by Bob, Mae West demanded that he be her piano teacher, although they never even shook hands.

"Mae West believed when you shook hands with someone, their spiritual forces could take over your being," says Paula, who went on tours across the globe with Bob. "She did everything else with everyone. But she didn't shake hands."

After building a musical reputation playing with a big name like Mae West, Thompson got his big break in 1958 with a record deal from RCA. Signed alongside Esquivel, Billy May, Nelson Riddle and a crop of other musicians destined to be Hollywood stars, Thompson was asked to be the answer to Ray Conniff, on rival label Columbia. There was just one problem.

"Bob hated Ray Conniff," says Spenser Thompson. "My father thought Ray Conniff was a total square. You see, Bob was hip. Bob had soul." . . .
- - an excerpt from this article by Delfin Vigil - -
HEY, MR. SPACE MAN
San Francisco Chronicle
Sunday, June 26, 2005
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Friday, June 24, 2005

Eternally Rested Mae West

Eternally Arresting: Mae West
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An article recently featured on "Coast to Coast AM" discusses Mae West's personal experiences with ESP, Mae's favorite psychic Rev. Jack Kelly, and séances.
Please see:
Midtown Mansion to Host a Séance and Birthday Party for Mae West
www.the-book-of-thoth.com/modules. php?name=News&file=article&sid=464 -
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Wednesday, June 22, 2005

The antics of the sultry Mae West

Those Days When SIN Was Not "In"

. . . public disapproval of celebrity immorality extended to the content of films themselves. The Hays Code was voluntarily implemented in 1934 by the movie industry in response to public outcry over the antics of the sultry Mae West. The Code stated, "No picture shall be produced that will lower the moral standards of those who see it. Hence the sympathy of the audience should never be thrown to the side of crime, wrongdoing, evil, or sin." The Code remained in force until the early 1960s. The Hays Code has been derided since its demise as quaint and oppressive, but it is no coincidence that the greatest movies ever made were filmed during this period.
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For a long while after the demise of the Hays Code, Americans accepted celebrity scandal and movie immorality. The erosion of traditional moral standards in the 1960s made Americans more tolerant of immoral behavior on screen and off.
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But perhaps Americans are beginning to wake up to the degradation of our culture by celebrity worship and Hollywood . . .
- - an excerpt from this article - -
"Fighting the Michael Jackson culture"
Ben Shapiro on http://www.townhall.com/
June 22, 2005
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Tuesday, June 21, 2005

Come Up & See Mae - - Come Up & BE Mae

— Mae West Birthday Team Offers FREE Admission to Any Guest Dressed as Mae West —

New York, NY — Two Paramount classics starring MAE WEST will be at Film Forum on Thursday July 21, 2005. Fans of the buxom blonde from Brooklyn can come up and see Mae in "She Done Him Wrong" [with Cary Grant] and in "Night after Night" [with George Raft].
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Seeing these films on the big screen may encourage viewers to channel their inner Mae West.
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Now your inner Mae West has a place to go. The organizers of a birthday party for MAE WEST, a fundraiser taking place on Wednesday evening August 17, 2005 in midtown Manhattan, are extending an offer of FREE admission to this Benefit to anyone who arrives attired and made up to look like Mae West. [Advance registration required by August 1st.]
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Details by email: MaeWestOnstageNY@aol.com.
Shy or budget-conscious Mae West fans can also purchase discounted tickets before July 23rd at www.TheField.org [$250 admission before July 23rd; $300 after July 23rd; and $100 admission before July 23rd; $130 after July 23rd]. Roaring 20s attire is suggested.
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- - - Who, What, Where, When - - -
An Exciting Nightlife Event to Celebrate the Birthday of Mae West

What: Birthday Party & Seance for Mae West: Fundraiser for "Courting Mae West"
What’s Special: A&E is filming this evening as part of a reality TV Program
When: evening of August 17th, 2005 - Mae’s birthday
Where: Bill’s Gay 90s on East 54th Street, NYC
Who: psychic and medium Dr. Lauren; also celebrity guests
Extra: Joe Franklin speaks about his friend Mae West
How Many: 200 - 285 adults expected
Fiscal Sponsorship: The Field, a 501 (c)(3), a non-profit serving the performing arts community
Credit Card Payments: buy tickets online at www.PayPal.com
E: ComeUpSeeMae@aol.com
- - Info Online: - -
The Field is a not-for-profit, tax exempt, 501(c)(3) organization serving the New York City performing arts community. Contributions made to The Field and earmarked for COURTING MAE WEST are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. A copy of The Field’s latest annual report may be obtained, upon request, from The Field or from the Office of the Attorney General, Charities Bureau, 120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271.
August 17th Gala telephone: 212-614-9683.
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Come Up & See Mae on Thursday July 21


Film Forum: 2 Mae West classics for the price of one admission

"SHE DONE HIM WRONG"
DIRECTOR: Lowell Sherman
WRITER: Mae West, based on her play "Diamond Lil"
STARS: Mae West, Cary Grant
SUPPORTING PLAYERS: Louise Beavers
1933, 66m
Academy Award Nomination: Best Picture

"Though directed by Lowell Sherman with a fine eye for plush Bowery saloons, what matters is Mae, the honey pot around which the bees cluster. It remains refreshing to experience her unbridled and luxurious enjoyment of men, sin and diamonds -- not necessarily in that order." -- David Shipman.

"Mae West, the great shady lady of the screen, wriggles and sings "Easy Rider" and seduces ... a classic comedy and a classic seduction." -- Pauline Kael

“Is that a gun in your pocket or are you just glad to see me?” One of the lines that got Mae West in hot water and a Depression-stricken Paramount into the black, in Mae’s blockbuster adaptation of her stage hit “Diamond Lil,” with Salvation Army captain Cary Grant as the hunk she asks to “come up sometime and see me.”

SHOWTIMES: 2:00, 4:50, 7:40
CO-FEATURE: "NIGHT AFTER NIGHT"
Box Office: 212-727-8110.
Film Forum at 209 Weat Houston Street [betw 6th & 7th Avenue] in New York City
only on JULY 21, 2005 THURSDAY
- - - http://www.filmforum.org - - - - -
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CBS Shows the Best of Mae West

Mae West's Film Quotes: Unforgettable after all these years
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Here is an introduction to AFI's 100 Years . . . 100 Quotes: America's Greatest Quips, Comebacks and Catchphrases, a frothy, three-hour CBS Tuesday special - the eighth in an ongoing series dealing with film history. . . .
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In case you're not up to speed on famous film quotes, "You can't handle the truth!" was Jack Nicholson's explosive courtroom line in A Few Good Men. "Snap out of it!" was Cher's signature phrase from Moonstruck, the ethnic comedy about Italian life in New York, while "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn," resonates as the famous quote uttered by Clark Gable, the dashing Rhett Butler, to Vivien Leigh (Scarlett O'Hara) in Gone With the Wind.
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Other famous quotes that probably will be among the top 10:
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• "Why don't you come up and see me some time?" - Mae West in She Done Him Wrong.
• "Here's looking at you, kid." - Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca.
• "Show me the money!" - Cuba Gooding Jr. in Jerry McGuire.
• "I'll have what she's having!" - the response of the elderly female diner following Meg Ryan's fake orgasm in When Harry Met Sally.
• "May the force be with you." - Harrison Ford in the original Star Wars.
• "Houston, we have a problem." - Tom Hanks in Apollo 13.
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You'll probably find your favorite movie quotes, with some coming from TV Westerns, beyond such intense dialogue as "Yup" (Gary Cooper) and "Saddle up!" (John Wayne).
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Hosted by Pierce Brosnan, the program follows the format of the seven previous summer specials. A bevy of stars, writers and directors - including Billy Crystal, Nora Ephron, William Goldman, Roy Scheider, Buck Henry, George Lucas, Joe Montegna, Burt Reynolds and Ray Romano - will offer commentary as famous scenes are shown during a countdown.
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AFI (the American Film Institute) distributed a ballot with the names of 400 nominated movie quotes to a jury of 1,500 leaders in the creative community. The list was then trimmed to 100.
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Jurors based their votes on cultural impact and legacy. . . .
- - an excerpt from an article printed in The Rocky Mountain News - -
Dusty Saunders: Film quotes we can't forget
Dusty Saunders is the broadcasting critic of Rocky Mt News [303-892-5137]
June 20, 2005
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Sunday, June 19, 2005

Marty Markowitz + Mae West: Brooklynites


Is There a Marty Markowitz in The House?

Mae West Birthday Team Calls on the Borough President for Lessons on "How to Talk Brooklyn"
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New York, NY: Movie Queen MAE WEST made the Brooklyn accent trendy. Due to the influx of immigrants to this borough, however, the local accent is an endangered hallmark, according to broadcast legend JOE FRANKLIN, who claims he hears the native New York speech pattern far less frequently. "It is imperiled," adds FRANKLIN, with a nostalgic glance. "It's disappearing like all the other great things that New York was once known for -- like vaudeville and home delivery of seltzer."
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Organizers of a birthday party for MAE WEST, a fundraiser taking place on Wednesday evening August 17, 2005 in midtown Manhattan, are pleading with the borough president MARTY MARKOWITZ to send an ambassador to the event to give a lesson in "how to talk Brooklyn" to the attendees.
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Actress LOUISE LASSER, born and bred in The Big Apple, admits that The Actors Studio bleached the local accent out of her vocalizations. On August 17th, LASSER [who once starred in the cult TV hit "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman"] looks forward to a refresher course in how to say "tigah" instead of "tiger" and "thurd" instead of "third." LASSER also misses seltzer trucks, outdoor peddlers on Bleecker Street, and [most importantly] the Third Avenue El.
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Car 54 and Marty Markowitz: where are you?
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PHOTO OPPORTUNITIES: Joe Franklin, Mae West, actress Louise Lasser, and others.
Editorial coverage is invited.
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- - Who, What, Where, When - -
An Exciting Nightlife Event to Celebrate the Birthday of Mae West
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What: Birthday Party & Seance for Mae West: Fundraiser for "Courting Mae West"
What's Special: A&E is filming this evening as part of a reality TV Program
When: evening of August 17th, 2005 - Mae's birthday
Where: Bill's Gay 90s on East 54th Street, NYC
Who: Dr. Lauren, medium & psychic, along with celebrity guests
EXTRA: JOE FRANKLIN discusses his friend MAE WEST
How Many: 200 - 285 adults expected
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Fiscal Sponsorship: The Field, a 501 (c)(3), a non-profit serving the performing arts community
Credit Card Payments: buy tickets online at www.PayPal.com
E: ComeUpSeeMae@aol.com

- - Info Online: - -
The Field is a not-for-profit, tax exempt, 501(c)(3) organization serving the New York City performing arts community. Contributions made to The Field and earmarked for COURTING MAE WEST are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. A copy of The Field’s latest annual report may be obtained, upon request, from The Field or from the Office of the Attorney General, Charities Bureau, 120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271. Tel.: 212-614-9683.
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Broadcast Legend Joe Franklin Salutes Mae West

-- Former TV Host Exposes the "Real" Mae at a Birthday Party for the Movie Queen --
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On Wednesday evening August 17, 2005, broadcast legend JOE FRANKLIN will speak about his television and radio interviews as well as his intimate conversations with the actress MAE WEST during her rousing birthday party in midtown Manhattan.
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FRANKLIN will also discuss his enthusiasm for the play "Courting Mae West," which is based on true events during the 1920s when the buxom blonde was arrested and jailed for trying to stage two different plays on Broadway about homosexuals and drag queens. Attendees will be treated to a variety of entertainment including a mini-performance of "Courting Mae West," written by dramatist LindaAnn Loschiavo.
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PHOTO OPPORTUNITIES: Joe Franklin, Mae West, actress Louise Lasser, and others.
Editorial coverage is invited.
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- - - Who, What, Where, When - - -
An Exciting Nightlife Event to Celebrate the Birthday of Mae West

What: Birthday Party & Seance for Mae West: Fundraiser for "Courting Mae West"
What's Special: A&E is filming this evening as part of a reality TV Program
When: evening of August 17th, 2005 - Mae's birthday
Where: Bill's Gay 90s on East 54th Street [near Madison Avenue], NYC
Who: psychic and medium Dr. Lauren, and also celebrity guests
EXTRA: Joe Franklin speaks about Mae West
How Many: 200 - 285 adults expected
Fiscal Sponsorship: The Field, a 501 (c)(3), a non-profit serving the performing arts community
Credit Card Payments: buy tickets online at www.PayPal.com
E: ComeUpSeeMae@aol.com
- - Info Online: - -
The Field is a not-for-profit, tax exempt, 501(c)(3) organization serving the New York City performing arts community. Contributions made to The Field and earmarked for COURTING MAE WEST are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. A copy of The Field’s latest annual report may be obtained, upon request, from The Field or from the Office of the Attorney General, Charities Bureau, 120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271. Tel.: 212-614-9683.
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The Mayor who Quotes Mae West

Rotarians root for Beverly O'Neill, Who Quotes Mae West:
Long Beach's Mayor talks about her new role to group's members.

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LONG BEACH — She's "the best damned mayor in the whole country," or at least that's what Long Beach Rotarians think of Beverly O'Neill, who spoke to the group aboard the Queen Mary on Wednesday about her new role as head of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. The Long Beach mayor was installed at a national meeting in Chicago on Tuesday, placing her in charge of a powerful lobbying organization representing more than 1,000 U.S. cities.
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O'Neill will serve for the next year in a post that has been held by New York Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia and both Richard Dalys, Chicago's father and son mayoral dynasty.
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O'Neill became one of Long Beach Rotary's first female members in 1988, soon after the organization began allowing women members.
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She was introduced at the Rotary's weekly luncheon aboard the Queen Mary by Long Beach Rotary Board Vice President Terry Geiling, who called her "the best damned mayor in the whole country."
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O'Neill talked about her prestigious appointment as president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
"It's probably the most important organization, other than Rotary, that I've been part of," O'Neill said. "Now I have a new audience for my Mae West jokes."
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O'Neill, who is known for peppering her speeches with quotes from the Hollywood bombshell, offered another famous West one-liner at the packed Rotary meeting, at which she received a standing ovation.
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"I used to be Snow White … but I drifted," O'Neill said, adding, "I was mayor of Long Beach but I have really drifted now."
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O'Neill's appointment has generated a buzz in the community because of the weight the position carries, and many believe it will help to get . . . .
- - excerpt from an article in the Long Beach Press-Telegram - -
By Don Jergler
Staff writer
Article Published: Wednesday, June 15, 2005
Long Beach Press-Telegram
604 Pine Ave.
Long Beach, CA 90844
Los Angeles Newspaper Group
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Thursday, June 16, 2005

Mae West: Run-Away Bride

On the morning of April 11, 1911, actress Mae West [1893-1980] married her 21-year-old co-star Frank Wallace [birthname: Frank Szatkus] in Milwaukee. He and Mae had been playing at the Big Gaiety Theatre there, part of the Columbia Amusement Company, an Eastern burlesque wheel run by Henry Jacobs and John Jermon.
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Mae, who was still 17 when they eloped, had met the entertainer the previous year. Matchmaker Matilda West had gone backstage to tell this soft-shoe artist that she had a youngster who was a “comer” – a good partner to pair up with.
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A dark-haired, wiry acrobatic dancer, Frank was determined not to follow the example of his more sedentary father, a Lithuanian tailor from Queens, New York. Threading his way through the vaudeville and burlesque circuit, he shared the bill with Mae West and Willie Hogan at Canarsie’s Waldo Casino in Brooklyn. In those days, they often rehearsed in the basement of the Bushwick Avenue house that belonged to Mae’s parents. Following rehearsal, Matilda would serve a Bavarian supper of pig’s knuckles and sauerkraut.
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When singing ragtime favorites – like “Ragtime Rosie Ragged the Rosary” and “Everybody’s Doin’ It” – West and Wallace consciously imitated black performers, sliding, shuffling, and stepping in a sultry, passionate, smooth style that brought them bookings in Brooklyn, New Jersey, and Philadelphia.
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According to Frank Wallace, after a few weeks of rehearsal, “we went on the Fox circuit. Later we signed with Jacobs and Jermon, the burlesque producers.”
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Mae claimed she only wanted to sleep with Frank, not marry him. However, Etta Woods, an older singer on the bill with them, persuaded Mae that it was better to be married in case she got pregnant accidentally. After they said their vows, Mae insisted that the marriage be kept a secret from her family and their booking agents.
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The length of their tour in “A Florida Enchantment” lasted a few months, after which Mae returned to her parents in Brooklyn and encouraged Wallace to join a different road company, which he did.
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West and Wallace never lived together as man and wife. Their secret elopement only came to light when Mae became a Hollywood headliner in the 1930s and Frank sued his well-paid wife in order to get money.
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- - http://MaeWest.blogspot.com - -

Mae West: Intimate Info

Mae West: Did You Know. . .?

* George Jean Nathan called her “the Statue of Libido”

* John Mason Brown wrote: “Sex is for her a cartoon which she delights in animating”

* Richard Watts, theatre critic, said: “Mae West is one of the legends of our time”

* Truman Capote said: “Mae West is the Big Ben of the hourglass figures”

* In order to honor her prominence and monumental status, Princeton University's scientists designed a magnet in the shape of her torso

* A twin diesel engine was named for her on the Super Chief

* Dakota Indians made her a tribe member as Princess She-Who-Mountains-in-the-Front

* Walt Disney used her image as the source for the character Jenny Wren in his classic “Silly Symphony” [1935] and later as the goldfish Cleo in “Pinocchio”

* Salvador Dali designed a sofa in red silk based on her lips

* During World War II, Royal Air Force fliers called a pneumatic life-jacket “a Mae West”

* On Thursday June 16th, there are only 62 more shopping days until Mae West's birthday on August 17th. You ARE planning to attend her birthday party in midtown Manhattan, aren't you?
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Tuesday, June 14, 2005

The "Mae West" Factor in Michael Jackson

— Both born in August, two famous "M" entertainers weigh in on the diva scale. —
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Mae West — Date of Birth: 17 August 1893 in Brooklyn, New York.
Mary Jane West was the second of four children born to John and Matilda West.
Michael Jackson — Date of Birth: 29 August 1958 in Gary, Indiana. He was seventh of nine brothers and sisters born to Joseph and Katherine Jackson.
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Zodiac sign:
Mae West: Leo
Michael Jackson: Virgo
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Issues about aging:
Mae West: often lied about the year she was born; dated younger men
Michael Jackson: still refusing to grow up; has dated MUCH younger males
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Skincare:
Mae West: avoided sun to keep her complexion pale, unwrinkled; no facial surgery
Michael Jackson: avoids reality by keeping his complexion "pale"; plastic surgery poster child; cut off his nose to spite his race
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Wig Stock:
Mae West: after age 50, wore a long wig to disguise her dowager's hump
Michael Jackson: after age 32, wore a long wig to disguise his gender
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Dance history:
Mae West: introduced a white audience to "The Shimmy"
Michael Jackson: introduced a white audience to "The Moonwalk"
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Legal Woes:
Mae West: convicted felon; jailed twice for obscenity; sued several times for plagiarism
Michael Jackson: arrested for pedophile tendencies; escaped a prison term; sued several times for molestation of a minor
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Image Enhancement:
Mae West: many biographies lit Mae's eternal flame; still quotable after all these years
Michael Jackson: bio-pics doused his fame; still song-worthy after all these years
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Credit: LindaAnn Loschiavo, "Courting Mae West"
Text appeared on the playwright’s blog first: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com

The "Real" Mae West Vest

Overblown claim:
Famed inventor got too much credit for "Mae West" life vest
By Ron Harris Associated Press
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SAN FRANCISCO -- Inventor Andrew Toti was praised by no less than former President Bush for inventing the "Mae West" inflatable life vest that saved his life when he was shot down over the Pacific during World War II. When Toti died in March at 89, he was credited in obituaries across the nation with the invention -- so-named because when inflated, it reminded servicemen of the buxom actress.
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As it turns out, government records show that another inventor, Peter Markus, patented such a vest in 1928 and was working with the military to improve it years before Toti began tinkering with life jackets. Peter Markus died in 1973.
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His son, Alvin Markus of Los Angeles, provided The Associated Press with documents showing that Markus was granted U.S. Patent No. 1,694,714, for an "inflatable life preserver," on Dec. 11, 1928, when Toti would have been about 11 years old.
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By 1930, the Navy was beginning to make Markus-designed vests, according to military records in the National Archives that were tracked down at the request of The Associated Press.
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Toti, who said he sold his vest design to the War Department for $1,500 when he was just a teenager, "never claimed to be the inventor. He always claimed to be the co-inventor," Russell "Buck" Hinkley, the executor of Toti's estate, told the AP.
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"Though Toti played a part in it, Peter Markus is the inventor of the vest," said Hinkley, a machinist who worked for decades with Toti.
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Toti had hundreds of patents for inventions that included an automatic chicken plucker and a breathing tube used during surgery. Over the years, Toti apparently did not object when others gave him credit for the Mae West. . . .
- - excerpt from an article written by Ron Harris, Associated Press - -
Published in The L.A. Daily News: Saturday, June 11, 2005

Tuesday, June 07, 2005

Mae West Cured by Deva Ram Sukul

During the 1920s, Mae West, in great turmoil over the lawsuits that dogged her, was getting stomach aches that interfered with her parformances in "Diamond Lil." To remedy the sharp pains in her side, Mae's attorney-manager James A. Timony introduced a Yogi healer to her: Sri Deva Ram Sukul, President + Director of the Yoga Institute of America. Mae West credits "my Yogi friend Sri Deva Sukul" with helping her guide the course of her life in the book Mae West on Sex, Health, and ESP.
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According to an account written by Jill Watts [Mae West: An Icon in Black and White, page 115] as well as other authors, Timony introduced Deva Ram Sukul to Mae while the show was on tour in Chicago.
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During the late 1920s, while she was in Chicago, Mae's pain grew worse and more frequent, occasionally forcing showtime delays or longer intermissions. Another physical and some X-rays showed nothing unusual. However, the attacks grew so miserable and frequent that exploratory surgery was looming.
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Hoping to keep Mae working, Timony arranged for treatments from Sri Deva Ram Sukul, a healer and president of the Yoga Institute for America. The Sri arrived at Mae's hotel room and, after questioning her, held her hands and prayed in Hindi. He then had her stand up and pressed his hands against her stomach for several minutes. He declared her cured and departed. From that moment on, Mae insisted, the pains disappeared.
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By the late 1940's, Sri Deva Ram Sukul, president and director of the Yoga Institute of America came into the lives of others due to several books he had written and published, which had helped to make him a major influence. He lectured to students on his special topic: the Raja Yoga System of Self Culture. According to a former student, the mantra that people were given by him was the "Gayatri." This is the very sacred Vedic Mantra which is full of the secrets of yoga.
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Sri Deva Ram Sukul [she recalled] taught that the highest goal of life is spiritual realization and conscious communion with the forces and powers that are Divine. According to this woman who studied with him, "This conscious communion and awareness of Divinity is what yoga is all about. In his teaching he used color meditation on the chakras, and shabda or sound principles. . . ."
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- - books written and published by Deva Ram Sukul - -
Yoga and self-culture: Higher laws of spiritual dynamics including outline of philosophy of the Vedas, Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, and the six systems of Hindu philosophy / by Deva Ram Sukul
Publisher: Yoga Institute of America (1947); 206 pages
ASIN: B0007I93W6
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India and Tibet: Pilgrimage lessons
by Deva Ram Sukul
Publisher: Yoga Institute of America (1941)
ASIN: B0007FAI2S
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Yoga navajivan: (path to new life and divine realization) : introduction to raja yoga system of self-culture /cas taught by Deva Ram Sukul
by Deva Ram Sukul
Publisher: Yoga Institute of America; 6th rev. ed edition (1947); 42 pages
ASIN: B0007I0460
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Monday, June 06, 2005

"A Mae West Experience" - in Cleveland

"A Mae West Experience" - a painting [2002] by artist Michael Borremans

We're all trained from childhood to read pictures like stories. But the pictures of Belgian artist Michael Borremans don't work that way. Full as they are with seemingly narrative elements, they're deliberately befuddling. That's part of what makes them so mesmerizing. Borremans' exhibition, "Hallucination and Reality," on view at the Cleveland Museum of Art through Sunday, Sept. 4, is a magnificent example of how an artist can take historical conventions and use them to make works that feel entirely new.
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Drawing upon influences ranging from Renaissance drawing to Surrealism, Borremans creates hauntingly beautiful drawings and paintings that lure viewers like glass-encased gemstones.
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Rather than creating stories, he combines disparate images so that they read like dreams or nightmares.
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A painting from 2002 titled "A Mae West Experience," for instance, shows a bust of the famous screen siren as if it were a public monument. Comparatively tiny figures appear to walk around the statue, though many are depicted as figurines, each mounted to a round base and therefore immobile. Though the implied space in the painting is wide open, the frame of a doorway appears on the periphery, as if leading viewers from one realm into another.
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The show is Michael Borremans' first solo museum exhibition in the United States, and the Cleveland museum is its only American venue. It opened last fall in Switzerland and traveled to Belgium before opening in Cleveland on May 22. Co-curated by Jeffrey Grove, who left his post as . . . .
- excerpt from Michael Borremans: 'Hallucination and Reality' delightfully puzzling -
ART
Monday, June 06, 2005
Dan Tranberg
Special to The Plain Dealer
- excerpt from Michael Borremans: 'Hallucination & Reality' delightfully puzzling -
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Sunday, June 05, 2005

Marissa Jaret Winokur: Mae West Fan

Louise Lasser Foresees “Hairspray” Honey Cast as Mae West
- - - Marissa Jaret Winokur Deserves a Solid-Gold Starring Role - - -

i-Newswire, 2005-05-27 - New York, NY: Louise Lasser, best known for the title role in television’s cult hit “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman,” wonders what Mae West would make of today’s TV. Instead of guarding her waistline, Mae West guided her IMAGE, says Lasser, adding that the buxom blonde courageously refused to play the victim or be the punch line.
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What a difference between Mae in midlife and ex-“Cheers” leader Kirstie Alley, who has stooped to cherish the short straw. Literally making herself the butt of the joke, the star of “Fat Actress” positions herself for unflattering footage, her massive thighs jiggling as she squats to do gardening.
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And what about Tony Award winner Marissa Jaret Winokur? After a whirlwind run as "Tracy Turnblad," a plus-sized honey who stole the hero’s heart from a queen bee in the hit Broadway musical "Hairspray," 32-year-old Marissa is now a hapless counter clerk on the boring sitcom “Stacked.” Worse: Winokur’s real job is to make silicone-slave Pamela Anderson look more luscious. Tsk! Even in her dotage, Mae West never took a backseat on camera or onstage. Mae West fans admire an actress who would never stoop to conquer.
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Since Marissa Jaret Winokur [the niece of S.J. Perelman and Nathanael West] has a trifecta of theatre awards on her mantle, shouldn’t she be seeking “role-model” roles? La Lasser views it this way: Too often sitcoms are a woman’s personal misfortune teller, a reflecting pool that lets a lady see how each extra pound will slide her one inch closer to working-class anonymity. In this way, TV acts as an eternal hall monitor, making sure females WANT to watch their waistlines and buy beauty aids.
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But there’s a sunbeam on the horizon. Louise Lasser spotted it when Winokur told Newsweek Magazine that Mae West is her idol. Lasser hopes that Winokur will audition for “Courting Mae West,” a well-received play by downtown dramatist LindaAnn Loschiavo, a comedy which is at the center of a star-studded fundraiser that Lasser (and many other celebrities) will attend on Wednesday August 17, 2005 in midtown Manhattan.
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Not only do they share a monogram – M.J.W. – but also Mary Jane West and Marissa Jaret Winokur share a rare quality: the ability to turn people into ticket-buyers.

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Courting Mae West Productions
David Copeland, Director
212-614-9683
- - from http://i-newswire.com/pr22534.html - -
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Saturday, June 04, 2005

A Mae West Chest

The Star says: "Hooray for Mae West"

What started out as an undergarment worn for hygiene purposes has evolved over the past 100 years. From simply loose clothing, to corsets, and finally to garments that enhance a woman’s body, lingerie has come a long way.
It not only reflects the fashion of the times, but also says a lot about how women have come to accept their bodies and their sexuality.
In the 16th to 18th centuries, the corset was all that women knew. A corset kept their waists small and pushed up the breasts. The smaller the waist, the more beautiful the women were considered.
It was a time when the images of a man unlacing a woman’s corset was taken as a metaphor for “deflowering”.
It was only in 1904 that French corset-maker Charles de Bevoise invented a lightweight undergarment in silk and lace called the “brassiere”.
In the Roaring 20s, it was no longer fashionable to show off your curves. It was a time of straight cut dresses, bobbed hair and the Charleston. What did women wear then? Slips, camisoles, suspenders and bras that flattened the breasts!
Ten years later, the breasts were liberated . . . thanks to buxom moviestars who wore dresses and sweaters that clearly accentuated their bodies. Hooray for Mae West and Lana Turner.
In the following 40s and 50s, women were still influenced by what they saw onscreen – and these included voluptuous beauties like Rita Hayworth, Ava Gardner and Betty Grable. And then there was Jane Russell in The Outlaw. She wore a half-cup bra which looked like she was bra-less. Armed withthis feat of engineering, she tantalised and teased viewers.
Despite the protests and the bra burners of the 1960s, women never did stop wearing bras altogether . . . .
- - excerpt from an article in The Star - -
Acceptance is liberating
By L. JADE
www.TheStar.com.my/
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Wednesday, June 01, 2005

Mae West Takes a Bow in a New Book

Actress MAE WEST and the Biltmore Theatre are featured in a new book:
The Shuberts Present 100 Years of American Theater.
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Entrepreneurs and impresarios, the Shubert Brothers (Sam, Lee, and J.J.) produced some 600 plays, revues, and musicals and also championed stars Sarah Bernhardt, Ethel Barrymore, Al Jolson, Mae West, and many more. But their greatest legacy was the theaters that they owned.
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Focusing on the 17 Broadway houses owned by The Shubert Organization, this new elegant book presents a unique pageant of the past 100 years on the American stage. Irresistible to any theater lover, this beautiful edition features 430 illustrations, including 200 in full color.
- - http://MaeWest.blogspot.com - -
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