Mae West: Pinch an Inch

An amusing site Film School Rejects discusses the movie industry — — and a recent column noted the height of MAE WEST and others. Here is an excerpt from "The Height of Celebrity" by columnist Maggie Van Ostrand.
• • Van Ostrand writes: When we say we want the truth about celebrities, we don’t mean it. We don’t care if their breasts are natural or silicone, we want ‘em big. We don’t care if fashion magazines air-brush the models’ bodies or not, we want ‘em skinny. And we don’t care if our favorite stars wear lifts or not, we want ‘em tall.
• • When we watch television, we’re smart enough to know the actors are not as small as they appear. Who could possibly be only an inch tall? Nevertheless, some celebrities are pretty little. . . . Like the former-planet Pluto, some stars need to be downsized. Here is help from the Height Detective.
• • When casting films and TV shows, casting directors must consider two important characteristics: voice and height. You’ll never hear actors in the same scene with similar-sounding voices, nor will you often see a short actor paired with a love interest who’s considerably taller.
• • Back in the 1940s, the public wanted to see five-foot-six Alan Ladd, their favorite film noir actor (”This Gun For Hire,” “The Glass Key”) star opposite Veronica Lake, who was four-foot-eleven. When shooting love scenes with taller actresses, males were filmed from the waist up to conceal the ditch the actress was standing in, an illusion that made Alan Ladd appear taller. Imagine how deep that ditch would have to be today, were Ladd to star opposite Nicole Kidman (who is almost six-foot)? . . .
• • • • Petite: Queen Victoria, Dolly Parton, and Mae West have something in common: they’re each just five feet tall. Two of them could manage that same number lying down. ...
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • to come • •
NYC
Mae West.