Mae West: Mayme Dean

Cast in the successful Broadway hit "Sometime" [October 1918 — June 1919] as Mayme Dean, a vamp whose suitors always seem to decamp, Mae West was in the unusual position of putting across a few comically wistful laments. Since the musical was written during the war years, when red-blooded men were scarce in New York City, presumably the duly deprived females in the audience could relate to Mayme Dean's howl of frustration.
• • If it's hard to imagine 25-year-old Mae performing songs that include "Any Kind of Man" [by Rudolf Friml and Rida Johnson Young], there is a tantalizing snippet of the instrumental version online, recorded in 1919 by Joseph C. Smith's orchestra, that you can listen to: http://www.redhotjazz.com/Songs/jcsmith/Sometime.ram.
• • Pleading for the attentions of "Any Kind of Man," Mae West sings these lyrics:
I was born a scamp
Meant to be a vamp
If I'd had the chance I could have did
Theda Bara tricks,
Paralyzed the hicks
Nothing could have stopped me but the lid
But somehow my style has got a cramp
Can't find a single soul to vamp
All I want is just a little loving
Just a little spooning and a squeeze . . .
If the boob can walk, he don't have to talk!
Send me any kind of man!
• • Sitting in the Shubert Theatre on opening night were all the top drama critics. "Sometime," one announced, "is as catchy as the grip!"
• • Ramp up your Mae West memories on Friday evening 17 August 2007, when a guided tour will explore Manhattan's WEST-side during the "Mae West Side Story" walking tour. The event — — open to the public — — is timed to salute Brooklyn's own sexpot on her birthdate. [See the Annual Mae West Gala posting below.]
• • Only 22 more days until Mae's birthday!
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West, vamping for the N.Y. Dramatic Mirror • • 1919 • •
NYC
Mae West.