Mae West: August 17th

MAE WEST [17 August 1893 – 22 November 1980] — — the only actress who wrote the plays that she starred in on Broadway and who penned the motion picture dialogue she performed on the silver screen — — was never nominated for a "best actress" theatre award nor an Oscar. Ironically, this may have helped to assure some of Mae West's 1930s [and pre-Code] films an enduring cachet.
• • Too complete a victory, after all, would have led to a loss of credibility. Hip is (by definition) an oppositional stance that the embrace of the establishment can only compromise.
• • Mae was hip. She was so cool-headed in her films: unflappable, in control, and one step ahead.
• • If Hollywood toasts Mae mainly for her celluloid side, then New Yorkers salute her also for the merriment the comedienne brought to the footlights — — along with the equal opportunity angling she tried to bring about for gays and blacks on the rialto.
• • A one-of-a-kind lady she was — — that industrial-strength Brooklyn accent and all.
• • Meet the "wild WEST" side of Mae West on Friday evening 17 August 2007, when a guided tour will explore Manhattan's MAE 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.
• • On August 17th the tour begins on Broadway and West 50th Street [NE corner] at 7:00 PM. As participants visit over a dozen WESTside locations significant to Mae West, they will enjoy rare antique photographs that show how each building looked when the actress rehearsed, performed, socialized, or got into mischief there. These startling vintage views also show how Mae looked when she was inside.
• • [See the Annual Mae West Gala posting below for the tour price and details.]
• • Today — — all day — — is Mae's birthday: August 17th!
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • 1928 • •
NYC
Mae West.