Before April ends, it's time to squeeze in Mae West's dear old friend Grace La Rue.
• • Born on 23 April 1880 in Kansas City, MO, Grace La Rue was a major musical comedy star during the first two decades of the 20th century. In "The Honeymoon Express" the winsome actress introduced the song "You Made Me Love You (I Didn't Want to Do It)" to an enraptured British audience at the London Palace on 4 August 1913.
• • During the Broadway run of that musical, however, cast member Al Jolson recorded that song for Columbia Records. During the number onstage one evening, Jolson went down on one knee and cried: “Gimme, gimme, what I cry for.” This created a sensation. When the audience wouldn’t let him sing anything else, he gave them one chorus after another — — even dismissing the cast altogether while Gaby Deslys was still on stage. The exasperated French diva quit the Winter Garden show, and Grace La Rue replaced her.
• • In 1919, Grace wed actor Hale Hamilton, and they toured together in vaudeviille.
• • Retired and residing in California, Grace LaRue — — age 48 — — made a brief appearance as Frances in She Done Him Wrong [1933] as a personal favor to Mae West.• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • 1933 ad • •NYC
Mae West.
On the birthday of Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington - - born 29 April 1899 in Washington, D.C. - - it's interesting to recall how hard MAE WEST had to fight with Paramount Pictures to get the musician into her film "Belle of the Nineties."
• • Always the champion of the African-American talents she met, Mae insisted that the studio hire him to play and also appear in the movie. The studio didn't want to hire Ellington, at first, because they said the famed Cotton Club headliner would be "too expensive." When Paramount finally gave in to Mae, they agreed to let Ellington and his orchestra play - - however, they insisting on having all white musicians on the set.
• • Mae West marched into the head office at Paramount and said, "White men can't play black music in my picture!" And it was done. Ellington and his band were used and shown onscreen, thanks to Mae (who refused to budge on this).
• • Hollywood's censors did have the final say, though; they refused to let Mae appear next to the musicians in the same scene.
• • "Belle of the Nineties" was in production from 19 March 1934 until June 1934.• • During the 1920s, Mae West met Duke Ellington at Owney Madden's speakeasy. An autographed photo of Mae given to the "Duke" was among his most cherished possessions.• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xmlMae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • none • •NYC
Mae West.
During the 1930s, MAE WEST and Shirley Temple were featured together in lavish spreads for Look Magazine and other publications. Occasionally, the curly-headed child star was photographed in an 1890s gown, hand on hip, deliberately imitating Mae's trademark gesture.
• • Shirley Jane Temple was born in Santa Monica, California during April - - 23 April 1928 - - and celebrated her 79th birthday this month.
• • In 1931, her parents propelled her into dance classes in Hollywood when the moppet was only three years old.
• • Extremely talented and enormously popular, Shirley Temple made about 40 films during the Depression, out-performing the box office offerings for many adult actors.
• • In 1967, British artist Jann Haworth put together this collage featuring Mae West, Shirley Temple, and W.C Fields. The "mixed media" piece [50 inches high and 31 inches wide] was created using fabric, wood, and plastic. An English gallery noted that it was available for sale. • • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xmlMae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West collage • • 1967 • •NYC
Mae West.
MAE WEST returns to the West Coast when the Aurora Theatre Company offers "Sex" as part of their new season. 
• • A world premiere along with two West Coast premieres highlight the typically ambitious five-play season announced today by Artistic Director Tom Ross.
• • Local actress Delia MacDougall (a Bay Area favorite) takes on the gutsy Margie LaMont role, which Mae West wrote for herself, in a revival of the 1926 comedy that landed its star in jail. Tom Ross himself will be directing "Sex," with music direction by Billy Philadelphia, in November 2007.
• • Aurora Theatre Company • 2081 Addison St. • Berkeley, CA 94704
• • Online: www.auroratheatre.org• • Tickets: 510-843-4822
• • Tell them the Mae West blog told you to come up and see Aurora!• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xmlMae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • Mae & the cast perform the Trinidad scene • • 1926 • •NYC
Mae West.
MAE WEST arrived and asked, "Who owns this dump?"
• • Alas, the building is dark and for sale but, oh, those glory days half-a-century ago. During the early 1950s, Rhode Island's Theatre-by-the-Sea was seeing stars for nearly a decade.
• • Run by two theatre-loving New York attorneys - - Harold Schiff and Donald Wolin - - these Santa-Claus-producers had bucks and their rustic playhouse in Matunuck was a hobby, which they indulged until 1957.
• • The summer of 1951, the first season for the NYC-based producers, the line-up included John Garfield, Rathbone, Constance Bennett, John Barrymore, Veronica Lake, and Eve Arden. Seating was increased from 300 to 500.
• • Shortly after, Mae West arrived in South County in three limos: one for her and two for her luggage. Mae West, reportedly, did such terrific business. Discovering that all her performances were sold out, she agreed to do two extra shows.
• • And also during the 1950s, when a young, but successful Marlon Brando appeared in Arms and the Man in 1953, he turned down the $5,000 a week that Tallulah Bankhead had been receiving and instead worked for the minimum union wage [then $65]. During that season, top ticket prices were about $3.50.
• • The 1950s at this Matunuck theater were the years of the Big Ones. The big names in their playbills included Judy Holliday, Groucho Marx, Basil Rathbone, Eva Gabor, Jayne Mansfield, Jackie Gleason, and others who performed on that stage as part of their straw-hat tours.
• • A former publicist said that many actors were miserable, surly, and demanded the star treatment. Mae West did not. He said she was "the nicest actress I ever met."
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xmlMae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • none • •NYC
Mae West.
In April 1928, MAE WEST was busy - - and not just onstage.
• • Gangster Owney Madden, not especially famous for his spiritual side, often found his way to West 45th Street during 1928 to communicate with the unquiet dead. Before performances of "Diamond Lil" at the Royale Theatre [242 West 45th], the actress Mae West was fond of holding séances in their smoking room to channel Rudolph "The Sheik" Valentino and tenor Enrico Caruso.
• • Participants included speakeasy owners Texas and Tommy Guinan.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xmlMae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • none • •NYC
Mae West.
Many have heard of MAE WEST - - but what the heck is a "Mae West Garden"?
• • From Caledon [Ontario] comes this announcement that there will be a May 3rd, 2007 meeting of the Bolton and District Horticultural Society at the Caledon Centre for Recreation & Wellness [in Bolton]. Topic: "Planting a Mae West Garden." Yes!
• • Canadians and others: contact: 905-857-1460. And then do let us know what it is.
• • Source: http://www.caledoncitizen.com/
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xmlMae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • none • •NYC
Mae West.
In a recent interview with TV's Biography Channel, Rex Reed admitted that MAE WEST was the only reason to watch the flop that he co-starred in: "Myra Breckinridge." Not considered one of Mae's best films, this step-child is often ranked as low (or lower) than "Sextette."
• • Ken Hughes, who was the director of "Sextette," based on Mae West's play ["Sextet"], died in April and is being remembered.
• • Kenneth Graham Hughes was born in Liverpool, England on 19 January 1922.
• • The Hollywood director developed Alzheimer's disease and died on 28 April 2001 in Los Angeles.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xmlMae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • none • •NYC
Mae West.
"Mae took herself very seriously!"
• • Journalist Rex Reed and other men who worked with MAE WEST offer insight into the Mae mystique in this video. It's online at The Biography Channel. See link [below].
• • http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biography_video_highlights/421/Mae_West.htm
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xmlMae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • none • •NYC
Mae West.
Edmund Lowe, who died on 21 April 1971, co-starred with MAE WEST in the film "Every Day's a Holiday."
• • The California native was born in San Jose [3 March 1890] and got into the entertainment industry early on. In their December 1919 issue, Motion Picture World did an article on the handsome six-footer: "New Leading Man for Norma Talmadge."
• • Fans might remember seeing him as the engineer in Mike Todd's "Around the World in Eighty Days" or in his final film "Heller in Pink Tights" [1960].• • In Hollywood, Edmund Lowe has a star on the Walk of Fame [for Motion Pictures] at 6363 Hollywood Boulevard and another star [for TV] nearby at 6601 Hollywood Boulevard.
• • At age 81, the actor died of a lung ailment in Woodland Hills, California.• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xmlMae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • 1938 • •NYC
Mae West.
Comedian George Carlin, sneaking up up his 70th birthday, is performing this weekend the Warner Theatre in Washington, DC. In an interview, the funnyman revealed that when he was 5 years old, his mother used to bring him to her marketing office to stand before the ladies at lunchtime and entertain them with his Mae West imitation.
• • Carlin told Washington Post Staff Writer Ellen McCarthy:
"I noticed two things. . . . I noticed that I got the attention of the adults and I got their approval for doing these things," he recalls. "It was just very attractive, in the literal sense of that word."• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xmlMae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • none • •NYC
Mae West.
MAE WEST was born in August but she associated herself with April's birthstone: the diamond. Her mother seems to have been fascinated by the same stone; Matilda West bought her daughter her first diamond. Of course, in her most successful stage play "Diamond Lil," the actress sparkled plenty.
• • Diamonds, a wonder of nature, have a sparkling fire that has held humans spell-bound for centuries, inspiring myths of romance, intrigue, power, greed, and magic.
• • Ancient Hindus, finding diamonds washed out of the ground after thunderstorms, believed the gems were created by bolts of lightning.
• • In America, the diamond is marketed as a symbol of enduring love. Typically, they appear on engagement rings.
• • There are many kinds of diamonds: transparent, translucent or opaque; ranging from colorless to sooty black, with many colors in between. For the most part transparent, diamonds [colorless or tinted] are used as jewelry. They are also used for industrial purposes.
• • The color of a diamond depends on the kind of impurities embedded inside it. Yellow diamonds, for example, betray minute quantities of nitrogen, while boron imparts a bluish hue.
• • Diamonds are the rich cousins of graphite; both are crystalline forms of pure carbon.• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xmlMae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • "Diamond Lil" • • 1928NYC
Mae West.
MAE WEST was fascinated by certain notables – – and the actress-loving gift dispenser Diamond Jim Brady was one of them.
• • James Buchanan Brady, also known as Diamond Jim Brady [12 August 1856 – 13 April 1917], was an American businessman, a financier, and a philanthropist.
• • Known for his penchant for jewels, especially diamonds, he collected precious gems and favored his idol Lillian Russell with doo-dads such as a bicycle encrusted with mother-of-pearl inlaid and other imaginative tributes.
• • For another actress, Diamond Jim commissioned a hand-carved gilded swan bed [shown here].
• • After Brady died on 13 April 1917, Mae West managed to buy the swan bed from his estate. It was used onstage as part of the bedroom suite of "Diamond Lil" and Mae also finessed the vintage prop into the filmed version "She Done Him Wrong" [1933].
• • Where lies the gilded swan bed today? Who knows?• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xmlMae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • 1933 • •NYC
Mae West.
It was early in April 1930 when the Los Angeles Evening Herald reported on the dispatches from Manhattan regarding MAE WEST.
• • DROPPING of CHARGES LOOMS as MAE WEST JURY SPLITS • •
• • New York, NY — — 4 April 1930
• • The indictment will probably be dismissed today against "Broadway" Mae West and 23 other defendants following the failure of a jury to agree on a verdict at the trial of the band of actors and actresses charged with giving an obscene play in Pleasure Man.
• • After 10 weary hours of deliberation, the jury reported it was impossible to reach an agreement. In dismissing the jury, Judge Amadeo Bertini commented upon the difficulties of moral regulation of the theater and suggested stage censorship.
• • "The difficulties of legal administration and oral regulation of the theater must be apparent," Judge Bertini told the jury. "The difficulty is inherent from the nature of the present system of presenting evidence. Words, gestures, and actions cannot be easily reproduced in court."
• • The 'hung' jury was reported to have stood divided: six for acquittal and six for conviction. It is expected that a promise will be requested from Miss West not to present the play again, and that the charges then will be quashed.
• • Best line from the "Pleasure Man" trial: "Not everyone on the NYC police force is a dancer."
• • Shortly after, Variety printed a headline: "Mae West Beats It!"• • Not all was rosy, however, when Mae West was told she was acquitted and would not be going to jail. The enormous legal fees and fines had bankrupted Mae.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xmlMae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • April 1930 • •NYC
Mae West.
The role of Captain Cummings — — in Mae West's play "Diamond Lil" — — required a handsome, charismatic man with stage training. For the Broadway role, Mae chose Curtis Cooksey, who was born 9 December 1891 in Indiana. 
• • "Diamond Lil" debuted at the Royale Theatre [242 West 45th Street, NYC] on 9 April 1928. It was a box office success as well as a favorite with drama critics.• • Since 1916, the 25-year-old actor began winning leading roles on The Great White Way. Curtis Cooksey had starred in over a dozen productions before stepping into his Salvation Army uniform to make an impact on a beautiful saloon singer, a vivacious blonde bombshell who told him, "Diamonds is my career."• • Since 1911, Curtis Cooksey had also been cast in silent films [debut: "Taming a Tyrant"] and he made a smooth transition into talkies.
• • In the film version of Mae's play, Cary Grant played Captain Cummings [a.k.a. "The Hawk"].• • After a long career in Tinseltown, Cooksey contracted cancer. He committed suicide in Hollywood on 19 April 1962.• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xmlMae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West's co-star Curtis Cooksey • • circa 1950s • •NYC
Mae West.
While you are busy finishing up your tax forms, think of what MAE WEST said: "When it comes to finances, remember that there are no withholding taxes on the wages of sin."• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xmlMae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • none • •NYC
Mae West.
During April 1930, when MAE WEST was enmeshed by the infamous "Pleasure Man" trial, she had no choice but to remain in Manhattan for the duration of these court proceedings. 
• • At the time, Mae was living with her brother and sister in furnished rooms on West 57th Street. The Depression had forced many people out of work. In April 1930, the census takers enumerated both Mae and Beverly as unemployed actresses. Their brother John West, a real estate broker at the time, was supporting the household. It was a sad time for all of them, following the death of their mother Matilda West. Mae profoundly mourned her closest ally.
• • One day Texas Guinan, who was covering the trial, invited Mae to perform at a fundraiser she was co-hosting at the Imperial Theatre [249 West 45th Street]. This playhouse had 1443 seats. Guinan had tapped entertainers such as Helen Morgan, Ruth Etting, Charles Butterworth, Lily Damita, De Wolf Hopper, Paul Ash, and Harry Richman.
• • Jobless herself, Mae agreed to sing a few numbers to raise money at the "Give a Job Benefit" taking place on 12 April 1930.
• • Rudy Vallee and his orchestra backed Mae as she sang "Frankie and Johnny" and a few other favorites on the wide proscenium stage of the Imperial. Other co-hosts were Walter Winchell, Mark Hellinger, Jack Donahue, and the event's organizer Heywood Broun.
• • By the end of the "Pleasure Man" trial, Mae West was bankrupt.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West venue • • circa 1924 • •
NYC
Mae West.
It's a good thing that MAE WEST is not around to breeze through a free New York newspaper called am-New York. The daily just printed a column "Eat Cheap" and — — if Teddy's Bar and Grill in Williamsburg needs to lure in customers with lies — — heaven help what's going on in the kitchen.
• • According to the fib-sters at Teddy's Bar & Grill, "Mae West was born upstairs. How much more authentic can you get?" [96 Berry Street, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY 11211; 718-384-9787].
• • TRUTH: Mae West never lived on Berry Street ever.
• • TRUTH: Mae West was born in Bushwick — — not Williamsburg.
• • TRUTH: Mae West's mother's maiden name was Dilker — — not Doelger. Was Mae even remotely related to the wealthy Peter Doelger clan of brewers? This is very doubtful. Matilda Dilker's father Jacob was a sugar and coffee broker — — not a brewer. The Dilkers were not wealthy. But it is possible that Mae West the vaudevillian liked to hint that her family had fancier connections. By the time the Brooklynite got to Hollywood, she was exaggerating her connections even further by telling the press her family had descended from Alfred the Great.
• • Authentic?• • Source:www.amny.com• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xmlMae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • none • •NYC
Mae West.
The news racks on 18 April 1969 held the new issue of Life Magazine with MAE WEST on the cover.
• • The intriguing composition revealed the 75-year-old actress in her mirrored bed, garbed in white satin, and - - in the foreground - - was the exotic black long-tailed Tricky, Mae's pet woolly monkey, who had joined her Hollywood household in Apartment 611 just two years before.
• • Mae was photographed for Life by the 63-year-old lensman Philippe Halsman, who was born in Latvia on 2 May 1906. Aided by his friend Albert Einstein, Halsman emigrated to the United States. A portrait he took of the scientist became a US postage stamp in 1966.
• • In 1942, Halsman began working with Life Magazine. His portrait of a model wearing a Lily Daché hat was his first of the many covers he would do for the prominent weekly.
• • On 25 June 1979, Halsman died in New York City.
• • It is unclear what became of the docile, very photogenic long-tailed Tricky.• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xmlMae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • 1969 • •NYC
Mae West.
When John Huston [1906-1987] watched MAE WEST in the 1928 stage production of "Diamond Lil," the 22-year-old son of actor Walter Huston could not stop thinking about it. John saved his copy of The New Yorker [5 May 1928] because he especially admired the illustration of a corseted, glittering, winsome Mae by the Mexican artist Miguel Covarrubias.
• • Huston, however, couldn't let go.
• • Inspired and infatuated, John Huston began researching the pedigree of "Frankie and Johnny," one of the songs that Mae West had performed in her play.
• • The result was John's first play - - "Frankie and Johnny" - - and the book was illustrated by Miguel Covarrubias. New York publishers Albert and Charles Boni enjoyed the way that Huston explored the old folksong's characters and added over a dozen regional versions of the narrative to the Appendix. Huston felt that the St. Louis version of "Frankie and Johnny" was the most authentic.
• • Boni published John Huston's book on 1 January 1930. Originally dark-skinned, Frankie and Johnny became Caucasian in the hands of Covarrubias. In fact, Frankie bears a strong resemblance to. . . Diamond Lil!
• • The eccentric Oscar-winning filmmaker fulfilled a lifelong dream, portraying the character Buck Loner, opposite the idol of his youth Mae West in the film "Myra Breckinridge" [1970].• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xmlMae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • John Huston • • 1970 • •NYC
Mae West.
Before April ends, it's time to squeeze in Mae West's dear old friend Grace La Rue.
