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MAE WEST's pal Texas Guinan got on the wrong side of Arthur Flegenheimer, better known as "Dutch Schultz" [6 August 1902 — 24 October 1935], the NYC-born mobster slaughtered at age 33 by a rival's gunmen in Newark, New Jersey. Briefly, during the 1920s, all three were regularly in the same premises on West 54th.
• • Indeed some New Yorkers still recall meeting Dutch Schultz. Nevertheless, if they were to read a script about the gangster, it might be startling how little it resembles memory. But, after all, fiction and plays are concerned with other things — — such as conflict, tension, balance, and how most women must wobble and wiggle to live, wearing youth and beauty as a suit of armor for close fighting.
• • Born during the month of August, Dutch Schultz pops up in a well-financed play set during the lawless decade. His enemy Texas Guinan is not in it. However, actress Jennifer Swiderski portrays Mae West in the critically razzed "Scandalous People: A Sizzling Jazzical," a musical that got on the wrong side of a number of New York reviewers, who lodged complaints about being forced to sit through a lavishly produced but poorly written two hour mess at this year's Fringe Fest. [Heck, no wonder so many call this annual noise-making "The Cringe."]
• • Created for a cast of 21 actors/ dancers, and set in an era juicy with mayhem and dramatic potential, this show found enough Benjamins to float on. Reviewer Matthew Murray offered this detailed autopsy of the slaughter he witnessed onstage in Minetta Lane that left ticket-bearers with post-dramatic stress disorder.
• • "Low-impact theatre of the most disappointing kind" • •
• • Lamenting the misfired sparkplugs in this limousine of a spectacle, Matthew Murray writes: When a musical has everything going for it except spark, you may find yourself wishing it were instead a colossal flop — — that way, you could at least delight in its destiny of nowhere. Unfortunately, no such reassurance is possible with Scandalous People: A Sizzling Jazzical. This show at the Minetta Lane Theatre, by Benny Russell (music) and Myla Churchill (libretto), must be one of the most professional, elaborately realized, and luxuriously appointed musicals ever seen at the New York International Fringe Festival. But its terrific cast and exquisite trappings cannot disguise the fact that it is low-impact theatre of the most disappointing kind.
• • According to Matthew Murray: Churchill's story follows the progression of Prohibition-era Harlem performing artists to legit stages in the run up to the Great Depression. Dewey Demarkov (Eugene Fleming) is the Ziegfeld-lite impresario behind the Do Drop Inn, an uptown speakeasy whose floor acts are filled with attractive chorus girls (that Dewey has personally, uh, hand-picked); two sisters, Desiree (Nicole Hill) and Cindy (Nirine S. Brown), the former a smoky vocalist and Dewey's wife, the latter a lithe and gifted hoofer who has long loved Dewey from afar; and enough talent and variety to attract the come-hither regular Mae West (Jennifer Swiderski). So popular is the club that it's also attracted the notice of a Bronx gangster, Dutch (Ryan Clardy), who wants to move the whole show to Broadway — — with, of course, a few small changes.
• • Matthew Murray observes: This is a premise rife with possibilities, and Russell and Churchill bypass none. Scandal, adultery, and depression play key roles in the characters' lives. The harsh realities of show business, both devastating and elevating, with individualism and working together both of paramount importance, receive their just due. The ensemble women are appropriately eye-popping, all frantic legs and perpetual shimmy as they pound through Obediah Wright's remarkable choreography, which cannily demonstrates the fusion of black (tap) and white (ballet) styles that was soon to revolutionize mainstream American musical theatre.
• • Topping the 21-person cast is a roaring nine-piece band. . . .
• • "A desperate, educational feel that prevents any part of it from catching fire" • •
• • Matthew Murray concludes: But despite everyone's best efforts, the show is plagued by a desperate, educational feel that prevents any part of it from catching fire for more than 10 consecutive seconds. It seems that Russell and Churchill were more interested in capturing the look, the sound, and the politics of the era than they were in bringing it to life theatrically. The inclusion of so many identifying features of 1929, from a Jolson-style blackface specialty to police raids for not just alcohol but also mixed-race dancing onstage to even Mae West's presence, does not so much immerse you in the time as ham-handedly point at it. That the songs — — sometimes torchy, sometimes steamy, sometimes vaudevillian, but always evanescently pleasant — — recall a raft of period styles without providing much originality of their own, also does not help.
• • If Russell and Churchill are looking for a model, they could examine Michael John LaChiusa's version of "The Wild Party," which is set around the same time and treats roughly the same subject, if from a very different perspective. In that show, LaChiusa melded the sounds of the late 1920s with his own distinct musical aesthetic, creating a score that sounded as fresh as it did familiar. When Russell and Churchill similarly learn that way they bring to their examination of pre-Depression black entertainment is every bit as important as what it did for America, chances are they'll find a way to grant "Scandalous People" the scorch its subtitle promises.
• • Right now, however, it is too chilly to cause anyone but the hard-working dancers to even break a sweat.
• • Scandalous People — — part of The New York International Fringe Festival (FringeNYC)
— — Source: — —
• • Review: "Scandalous People"
• • BY: Matthew Murray | Theatre Critic
• • Published in: Talking Broadway.com — — http://www.talkinbroadway.com
• • Published in: August 2009
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
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Mae West.
Recently, MAE WEST was quoted in The Times of India, Washington Post, Forbes, and so on.
• • None of these mentions was even one-hundreth as intriguing as the Brooklyn blonde herself. However, a Forbes columnist disclosed that, when Prof. Geoffrey Nunberg gave a numbing lecture on Google's book search service, it seems the Berkeley-based bookworm spiced up his comments with the surprising nugget that — — are you sitting? — — one biography of Mae West is part of "Religion."
• • Okay, go back to sleep.• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
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Mae West.
Marion Davies’s neighbors included MAE WEST, Louis B. Mayer, Samuel Goldwyn, Cary Grant, and J. Paul Getty — — some of whom would walk over for dinner or enjoy a midday swim at her splashy seaside hideaway. A well-paid Paramount Pictures star, Mae had purchased a 22-room beach house in the same enclave, though she was not known for sun-bathing.
• • Actress Marion Davies • •
• • Born (like Mae) in Brooklyn, NY, Marion Davies [3 January 1897 — 22 September 1961] was a motion picture actress who had a long relationship with William Randolph Hearst [1863 — 1951] — — a married newspaper tycoon who tried to destroy Mae's career. Despite his pique over the comedienne's morality, Hearst dallied long in the forbidden zone, unable to curb the longing Mistress Marion aroused.
• • Interestingly, while the Empress of Sex worked hard for everything she acquired and paid her own bills in Hollywood, Marion's sinful 34 years older sugar daddy set her up in jaw-dropping splendor in Southern California.
• • Santa Monica was a celebrity magnet long before Malibu became one, according to an article in The New York Times. Laura M. Holson emphasizes the grandeur Hearst's dewy plaything enjoyed: And Ms. Davies’s mansion was by far the grandest on the beach. In the 1920s, the Santa Monica Land and Water Company sold 30-foot beachfront parcels near the Santa Monica Pier that were acquired mostly by Hollywood’s power brokers as homes and vacation retreats, according to a research study commissioned by the City of Santa Monica.
• • Laura M. Holson adds: Ms. Davies, a talented actress who was ferried by car from Santa Monica to MGM and Warner Brothers, where she worked, never wed the much older Mr. Hearst. He remained married to Millicent Willson Hearst, although his love affair with Ms. Davies lasted three decades. He acquired several adjoining lots for her and consulted Julia Morgan on the project, the architect with whom he collaborated on Hearst Castle.
• • Once completed, the estate was dubbed the Versailles of Hollywood. The pool was 110 -feet long. There were 37 fireplaces and 55 bathrooms. Ms. Davies lived there until 1942 .... — — and you are hereby invited to consult the published piece or imagine this well-feathered lovenest on your own.
— — Excerpt: — —
• • Article: "A Dip Into Hollywood"
• • BY: LAURA M. HOLSON | Santa Monica based journalist
• • Published in: The New York Times — — www.nytimes.com
• • Published on: 28 August 2009
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
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Mae West.
It's been years since MAE WEST toured the midwest so happy Hoosiers are hand-clapping about her revisiting next month.
• • The upcoming season of the Lawrence County Concert Association revolves around the theme "Stars of the Silver Screen," with "appearances" by Mae West, Ginger Rogers, Fred Astaire, Judy Garland, John Wayne, Charlie Chaplin, and possibly Marilyn Monroe or Frank Sinatra.
• • On Saturday, 26 September 2009, ticket-holders will enjoy a performance of "Red Hot Hollywood" with actress Maggie Timan slinking into the spotlight as the Empress of Sex.
• • Just announced is this event — — From the silver screen to the stage, Matt Davenport Productions, Inc. presents a thrilling "red carpet" review of Hollywood's greatest music memories. A versatile cast of eleven sing, dance, and recreate magical movie memories.
• • Get details from the Lawrence County Concert Association of Bedford, Indiana by phoning 812-279-6542. Tell them the Mae West Blog pointed you in their direction.• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
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Mae West.
Since MAE WEST enjoyed a long association working for the Shubert brothers, it would be remiss not to give Sam his due on this date.
• • Born in Neustadt, Poland during the month of August — — on 27 August 1878 — — Samuel S. Shubert emigrated to America with his parents and siblings and was raised in Syracuse, New York.
• • Due to his father's alcoholism, which kept the family in precarious circumstances, young Sammy began shining shoes and, eventually, snagged better wages indoors at the Grand Opera House, where he sold souvenir programs and helmed the box office. Despite his lack of formal education, Sam Shubert was a math whiz and soon got a promotion to the position of assistant treasurer at the Wieting Theatre, the pride of Syracuse. Thinking big, Sam Shubert decided to focus on producing stage plays. With borrowed financing, he set out with his two brothers to operate playhouses in upstate New York, and then expand into midtown Manhattan.
• • During May 1905, as Sam Shubert was traveling to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on business, the passenger train he was on had a serious collision. Severely injured in the train wreck, 26-year-old Sam Shubert succumbed to his injuries two days later on 13 May 1905. His body was brought back to Manhattan for prepared for burial in the Salem Fields Cemetery in Brooklyn.
• • In 1913, Sam Shubert's brothers opened a prestigious new venue at 225 West 44th Street, in the heart of the bustling Broadway theatre district, which was named in his honor. Mae West enjoyed many bookings there starting with "Sometime."
• • The Sam S. Shubert Theatre, which remains in operation today as one of the great landmarks of The Gay White Way, was the starting point for the Mae West walking tour (which took place on 16 August 2009). To see this flagship building, have a look at the tour photos. • • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
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Mae West.
There was sufficient enthusiasm over a new musical featuring MAE WEST and Duke Ellington to lure trendy Harlemites haloed by extravagant hats down to Greenwich Village a few night ago, where they galivanted past the stage door entrance, gad-zooking red nails and filtered smokes aloft, austerity pinched away and outweighed by the demands of glamour. We approve of adults who not only attend the theatre but also take pains with their evening attire. A swelling crowd of supporters, impressive bling, bejeweled cigarette lighters — — along with eye-catching garments onstage and in the audience — — alas, do not a stage hit make.
• • Here's one assessment by Talking Broadway's drama critic Matthew Murray:
— — http://maewest.blogspot.com/2009/08/mae-west-dutch-ducked.html — —• • Though Mae West has a pivotal role in "Scandalous People," which is part of the NY Fringe, the reviewer from Backstage left holding his nose.
• • Utter Ineptitude Quoth the Critic • •
• • Sparing no sparks when it comes to flaming outlandish folly, critic Erik Haagensen wrote this: The only thing scandalous about the musical "Scandalous People" is that the utter ineptitude of its writing didn't prevent someone from wildly overproducing it in the Fringe Festival.
• • Erik Haagensen elaborated: Myra Churchill's book attempts to tell the story of Dewey, proprietor, and star of Harlem's Do Drop Inn nightclub in the 1920s, who longs to present an interracial musical revue at a time when racial mixing on nightclub stages was forbidden by law. Mae West, Duke Ellington, and the gangster Dutch Schultz all figure into it, but the plotting is ludicrously obvious, the characterizations one-dimensional, the scene construction ragged, and the dialogue trite, particularly when lapsing into rhymed couplets for no discernible reason. Churchill's lyrics are even worse, so badly misaccented and rhymed that at times they sound like gibberish. Composer Benny Russell is clearly acquainted with the sounds of the period, but he has no sense of how to structure a song nor much of a gift for melody.
• • Erik Haagensen added: The talented cast includes Eugene Fleming as Dewey, but only Nicole Hill as his wife and star manages to rise above the authors' incompetence, which ultimately trivializes the important issues they raise.
• • Between August 19th — 29th, this musical will be offered by MyChurch Productions as part of the New York International Fringe Festival at the Minetta Lane Theatre, 18 Minetta Lane, NYC 10011. Dress to impress. You might, at least, meet an attractive ticket-holder posing by the bar.
— — Source: — —
• • Review: "Scandalous People"
• • BY: Erik Haagensen | Theatre Critic
• • Published in: Backstage — — www.backstage.com
• • Published on: Monday, 24 August 2009
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
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Mae West.
Not known for high culture, MAE WEST deliberately decided to throw her audience more than a few curves when she performed a shortened version of Delilah's aria to Samson in her motion picture "Goin' to Town" (released in the USA on 25 April 1935). French composer Camille Saint-Saëns [1835 — 1921] wrote this popular work, which had its debut in 1877.
• • During last year's Mae West walking tour — — "Mae West's Walk on the Wild Side" [Sunday, 17 August 2008] — — attendees had the enormous privilege of hearing Met soprano Marlena de la Mora perform this aria live. Another great delight was when Madame de la Mora launched into "Mon cœur s'ouvre à ta voix" in English, singing, "My heart opens itself to your voice..." — — a poignant rendering that was followed by heaps and heaps of applause and mass adoration. This stirring aria was sung when the group had assembled on Village Green, in front of the former Jefferson Market Court where Mae had faced the purity police in a grueling obscenity trial during 1927.
• • Music columnist Tim Smith reminisced about Mae's sultry potrayal of the Hebrew temptress. Tim Smith writes: Since it's Monday, when everyone could use a little lift, I can't resist offering this reminder of Mae's distinctive musical talent, singing, of all things, the great duet from ... Saint-Saens' "Samson et Dalila" in the film "Goin' to Town." I just love the way she says, "Come here, Sammy," before launching into the abbreviated "Mon coeur s'ouvre a ta voix." It's a performance, needless to say, like no other.
— — Source: — —
• • Article: Monday morning lift: Mae West sings Saint-Saens
• • BY: Tim Smith | Classical Music Critic
• • Published in: The Baltimore Sun — — http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/
• • Published on: Monday, 24 August 2009
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • 1935 • •
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Mae West.
Right after MAE WEST stole the show — — with her sassy cameo in "Night After Night" — — the reviews came in, banging the drum loudly from coast to coast for the Brooklyn blonde. This motion picture comes to mind because production kicked off in Hollywood during August 1932 [specifically on August 22nd] and was in progress through September. • • Featuring Mae West and Wynne Gibson and starring George Raft, the film would be released on 31 October 1932 at the Paramount Theatre. "Bige" attended a screening for critics, perhaps right inside 1501 Broadway, Paramount's new building in Times Square. Here is what Variety had to say in their generously glazed assessment, printed on 1 November 1932.
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Story was adapted from Louis Bromfield's "Single Night," but the dialog that was added by Mae West made the story and the picture.
• • Judicious casting, pacing that inspires excitement and dialog that sparkles are three forms of flattery for this cut-and-dry scenario. The cast is interesting, the pace commands attention, and the dialog is exceptionally entertaining, so here is one instance where a story's shortcomings can be overlooked. The points in its favor make "Night After Night" an entertaining — — and probably profitable — — talker.
• • Further than that, it's another advancement for George Raft and an auspicious start for Mae West in her first talker.
• • Raft as a mugg proprietor of a class speakeasy with a Park Avenue yen is the central figure from start to finish, but it's the quartet of varied femininity surrounding him that gives the picture its real character nourishment.
• • Miss West is last but not least of the femme foursome which includes Constance Cummings, Wynne Gibson, and Alison Skipworth. That each fits perfectly in her role, in appearance and performance, and that each is a distinct type without a conflict attests to an expert casting job. Bootlegger stuff and some gangster atmosphere climaxed by and off screen shooting finish are played down to run secondary to the feminine interest. Raft is mixed up in both.
• • The women are: a past flame (West), recently discarded sweetheart (Gibson), present head woman and "nice" girl (Cummings), and a middle-aged school teacher employed to give the mugg English lessons. When the Misses Skipworth and West are on view, together or separately, the laughs come often, and in the brief period assigned them as a team the comedy pace is even speedier. They do a virtual cross-fire two-act when doubling.
• • Miss West's dialog is always unmistakably her own. It is doubtful if anyone else could write it just that way. The way the West — Skipworth moments stand out suggests the picture could have stood more of them, but the obvious intent is to nurse Miss West along. She's tossed into this one rather abruptly and without bearing on the plot, much in the manner that Jimmy Durante has been handled by Metro. That's okay if they don't do it too often. As long as this film proves the former legit name has something for pictures, it wouldn't be taking a chance to shoot the works on her from now on.
• • Miss Skipworth's intelligent painting of a cultured lady having her first taste of hootch is a gem.
• • Misses Cummings and Gibson are more restricted than their elders, holding down ingenue-like roles that call for looks mostly. But they deliver in every way. No leading man has been more ably supported.
• • Story is merely that of a mugg who yearns to toss off the mugg staff after falling in love at a distance with a Lady. That he winds up with his goal attained doesn't matter much, although the happy ending changes the tone that runs through the story up to then. He's told midway by one of the girls he is more likable when he's himself.
• • Roscoe Karns is the only other male player of story importance, being active in most of Raft's scenes as the speakeasy owner's combination pal and handy man. He grabs laughs, too.
• • Louis Calhern is in for one scene. Except for minor footage in the Park Avenue lady's apartment, the action doesn't leave the speakeasy.
• • The place is one of those brownstones in the 50's and the twist is that, before becoming a ginmill, it was the "nice" girl's birthplace and home.
• • Story was adapted from Louis Bromfield's "Single Night," but the dialog that was added by Mae West made the story and the picture.
• • By: Bige — — Variety
• • Originally published: 1 November 1932
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • Paramount production and release.
• • Directed by Archie Mayo.
• • Adapted by Vincent Lawrence from Louis Bromfield's "Single Night."
• • Continuity by Kathryn Scola.
• • Ernest Haller, photog.
• • At the Paramount, New York, week of October 28.
• • Running time, 76 minutes.
• • Joe Anton . . . . . George Raft
• • Jerry Healy . . . . . Constance Cummings
• • Iris Dawn . . . . . Wynne Gibson
• • Maudie Triplett . . . . . Mae West
• • Mrs. Mabel Jellyman . . . . . Alison Skipworth
• • Leo . . . . . Roscoe Karns
• • Blainey . . . . . Al Hill
• • Dick Bolton . . . . . Louis Calhern
• • Jerky . . . . . Harry Wallace
• • Patsy . . . . . Dink Templeton
• • Frankie Guard . . . . . Bradley Page
• • Malloy . . . . . Marty Martyn
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
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Mae West.
Born under the sign of Leo the lion, MAE WEST (birthdate: 17 August 1893) felt empowered by her untamed, untranslatable, creative roar — — a leonine desire for stardom, pageantry, and razzing authority. 
• • It seems that the Sun is most radiant when it resides in Leo, an astrological cycle that begins on July 23rd and ends on August 22nd.
• • During the month of August, when the vivacious vaudevillian was even more energized, several motion pictures were in progress.
• • In Hollywood, "Night After Night" began production on 22 August 1932. Mae had been offered a modest and colorless role as an ex-girlfriend of George Raft's character, the upwardly mobile thug and speakeasy owner Joe Anton.
• • The "Maudie Triplett" look was dreamt up by Paramount's costume designer Travis Banton, who was born in August — — on 18 August 1894 — — another Leo with a jones for show stopping.
• • Four summers later, in August 1936, production was in full force for "Go West, Young Man," this time keeping its star centered in the script. The "Mavis Arden" wardrobe was put together by Costume Designer Irene Jones.
• • Shot mostly on a closed set, the cinematographer Karl Struss mediating the chiaroscuro between moon and sun, each 1936 frame was robbed of its Technicolor potential. In reality, however, dazzled electricity eagerly fingered Mae West's colorful attire, fanning circles over detailed Tinseltown gilding, as if to undress the orphaned black-white dark.• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • 1936 • •
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Mae West.
In the summer of 1919 MAE WEST was on Broadway performing in "Sometime" — — ninety years ago — — when she was 26 and more used to appearing in vaudeville than the legit. The "musical comedy of commerce," designed to showcase the talents of laughmeister Ed Wynn, had opened at the Shubert Theatre on Saturday 4 October 1918 (and went on to enjoy a nice healthy run until June 1919 on West 44th Street). 
• • It was Mae's character Mayme Dean who appeared onstage first. But the play's heroine, the actress who got to sing the titled tune "Sometime," was 20-year-old Francine Larrimore, who was born in the month of August — — on 22 August 1898. The New York Times drama critic enjoyed her rendition, adding that her theatrical presentation had "a touch of distinction."
• • Born in France into one of the great acting families of the Yiddish Theater, the Adlers, Francine Larrimore emigrated to America in 1905.
• • By 1910, this beauty made her debut in "Where There’s a Will" at Webber’s Theater in New York. Frequently cast in temperamental "pouty girl" roles, Francine Larrimore worked quite regularly on the Great White Way in a number of musicals and farces. She had training and could put across a song as well as act, dance, and flounce around with elan.
• • A Haunting, Vanishing Sob • • • • Here's how The New York Times reviewer described her voice: "She has, in fact, a wistful, childlike quality, and a haunting vanishing sob in her voice that go straight to one's sympathies. It is she [who was cast in the role of Enid Vaughn] who sings the theme song 'Sometime,' and she is almost equally appealing in the second act with 'Baby Doll'."
• • Her Broadway fame lasted from 1917 — 1929, though she was seen onstage in a great many plays for almost 25 years. In 1926, when "Roxie Hart" bowed at the Music Box Theatre in New York City, Francine Larrimore originated the title role of the Cook County murderess who hires lawyer Billy Flynn.
• • After a handful of silent films and much acclaim in mainstage productions, Miss Larrimore was cast in the none too successful motion picture "John Meade’s Woman" [1937]. The actress left her fans bereft when she passed away on 7 March 1975 with (or without) a haunting, vanishing sob.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West's co-star • • Francine Larrimore • •
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Mae West.
Had she lived, MAE WEST (born in 1893) would have been enjoying her 116th birthday on 17 August 2009. 
• • Happily, bi-coastal celebrations of her life and legacy have not stopped for the Mae-mavens among us.
• • Perhaps the Empress of Sex, who resided in a modest two-bedroom unit in the Ravenswood from 1932 — 1980 (where the blinds were always drawn), loved best her confined and old-fashioned white-and-gold living quarters, which made her feel safe. Similarly, some devotees have decorated their abodes in a retro style that must be labeled "Way Out West." Ramfis Diaz, a lifelong collector and MAE-niac, is in this number, enjoying his unique wall-to-wall Mae-Westian in a Los Angeles location so secret that anyone who attempts to enter is immediately pre-screened for waspish Jayne Mansfield tendencies. Or so we hear. 
• • This Mae-flavored Mecca was the scene of a festive annual gathering just days ago when the screen queen's faithful congregated on Ramfis's roof under a balloon-studded birthday sign. [See photos.]
• • "It was the best party we ever had!" proclaimed Damon Devine, a handsome Hollywood heart throb. "All the essentials were present: catered Chinese cuisine, a full bar, a sumptuous cake, and a very nice crowd. Mae West photos were everywhere along with big number 8s. Party-goers grooved to the sounds of cool late 1950s, early 1960s lounge music — — and, of course, lots of Mae West covers. The guest list was notable for its diversity in age and race. 
Once again, the red-headed nudist was there! He has become a fixture now! Chris Basinger (a friend of Mae West's and Ravenswood front desk clerk in the early 1970s) made it this year, as well as Kevin Thomas of the L.A. Times. In our midst was also a Mae West impersonator. I hope next year can match this!"
• •
Damon Devine added: "During our celebration, several Angelenos were logging on to your Mae West Blog via their i-Phones and PDAs. They love this site."
• • On to the buffet. Help yourself to a slice of eye-candy — — photographs sent courtesy of the devastatingly delightful Damon Devine, who crafted the beautiful Mae West doll in the center of the last photo.
• • Pictures are the property of Damon Devine and were used with permission. So show some respect or else you'll have to answer to Owney Madden, chump.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West's L.A. party 2009 • • courtesy of Damon Devine • •
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Mae West.
It was August 1944 and MAE WEST was back on Broadway at the Shubert Theatre wearing furs, jewelry, a tiara, and a rather chilly and serious expression.
• • Czarina Catherine, who was born on 2 May 1729 and died on 17 November 1796, reigned as Empress of Russia for 34 years, from 28 June 1762 until her death — — which was not caused by post-dramatic stress disorder.
• • Though the play was neither hilarious nor a big box-office draw, it did eke out 191 performances.
• • Time Magazine's drama critic made this assessment.
• • "Catherine Was Great" (by Mae West; produced by Michael Todd) is an opulent and incredible fancy-undress affair in which the queen of all the sirens essays the Empress of All the Russias. "Catherine," said Mae West in a first-night curtain speech, "had 300 lovers. I did the best I could in two hours." For a while her best was reasonably good: she seemed to make Lords of the Bedchamber of the whole Russian court and boud-warriors of half the Russian army. As she followed her hips about the stage in a solemn slink, as she languidly drew shameless innuendos from her husky throat, Actress West caught some of the aplomb, humor and matchless vulgarity of her "Come up and see me some time." But pretty soon her unvaried role began to pull and so, soon after, did her unvarying way of playing it.
• • Worse yet, the man-eater in Catherine was not enough for Actress West; she insisted on encompassing the Empress as well, and far from spoofing the imperial manner, tried to outdo it. When a courtier reminded her that "They also serve who only stand and wait," she replied "Quoting Milton's 'prome,' I presume!" She had sponged up enough history to soak her play with wars, uprisings and palace intrigues. But the excitement was conveyed in dialogue that had the specific gravity of lead, and the results, when not merely sedative, were often crushing.
— — Source: — —
• • "The Theatre" Column: "Catherine Was Great"
• • Published in: Time Magazine — — printed edition
• • Published on: Monday, 14 August 1944
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • none • •
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Mae West.
A 91-year-old usherette still remembers the time she seated ticket-holders for a live performance by MAE WEST on the West Coast.
• • Born during 1917 in San Francisco, Agnes Chan offered this recollection to a San Francisco Gate reporter: I started ushering when I was a student at San Francisco State. One of the courses had as a requirement that we do volunteer work at the Geary Theater. So I went and ushered for Mae West — — she was doing her one-woman show. I took a fellow to his seat and he tipped me a dollar. I thought, "Wow, that's great." ...
• • Constructed in 1909, and opened to the public on 10 January 1910, the 1,024-seat Beaux Arts auditorium has been a venue for performers of the likes of Mae West, Sarah Bernhardt, Helen Hayes, Isadora Duncan, Clark Gable, Laurence Olivier, Boris Karloff, and others.
• • The building is located here: 415 Geary Street [at Mason Street], San Francisco, CA 94108.
• • And speaking of live entertainment and tiered seating, on Thursday evening, 20 August 2009, you can enjoy a FREE showing of "She Done Him Wrong" [1933], a motion picture classic starring Mae West and Cary Grant.
• • WHERE: Minneapolis Institute of Arts — — Pillsbury Auditorium [2400 3rd Avenue S, Minneapolis, MN; T. 612-870-3131].• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • none • •
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Mae West.
Many publications saluted the August 17th birthday of MAE WEST. 
• • Playbill, marking "this date in theatre history," has managed to get her birth year wrong and also tripped up on the stage plays in which she appeared. No, Mr. Playbill, Mae West wrote The Drag but did not star in this 1927 production since she was still appearing in her play Sex at the time.
• • Other news outlets recognized the writer and comedienne as "an actress from the 1930s," erasing her long career in vaudeville and on Broadway, which preceded her 1932 Paramount debut when Mae was an "overnight sensation" at 39 years old.
• • A more faithful close-up was offered on Sunday in the Brooklyn blonde's hometown when a group of Mae-mavens gathered along Shubert Alley to learn how she forged her dreams of deliverance in Times Square along with her diamond-draped colleague Texas Guinan. 
• • Attendees posed for pictures in the same spot where the graceful, well-groomed Bucephala, Texas Guinan's horse, was mounted 82 years ago — — that magnificent creature who carried the queen of the night scene up the center aisle of the Shubert Theatre and deposited her onstage as the red velvet curtain was raised for Padlocks of 1927.
• • Ah, Longacre Square, the legitimate theatres, those expensive playhouses built to look like a palazzo, a Tuscan hillside hideaway, a marble mansion, a Venetian villa, a Georgian fantasy — — where little Mae held her mother's hand as they waited for an usher to seat them, lavishly spending each moment of a matinee, drinking in the illusion of the drama in which the mountain of self might have no top, and each encounter might be a reckoning with fleet-footed fate.
• • On Sunday August 16th, the patient assemblage viewed vintage news clippings that decorated the disappointments of another century — — front page humiliations, the raids, the padlocks, the prison sentences, and the losses of a $200,000 advance for Pleasure Man after the purity police shuttered the show on 1 October 1928. They genuflected and strolled down the aisle of St. Malachy's, the church where Texas Guinan and Mae West examined the coffin of Rudolph Valentino [6 May 1895 — 23 August 1926] in August 1926 and mutually agreed the hardy 31-year-old must have been poisoned.
• • On West 54th Street, thanks to a gracious doorman, the tour takers paused in the same vestibule where Mae West entered and exited in 1927 as she was writing Diamond Lil and getting better acquainted with Owney Madden and others who bulleted the headlines.
• • Perhaps West 54th recalls the roll calls of absent names, first kisses, the confetti victory parades in an era when Mae West's latest show was billed as "hotter than the Armistice."
• • • • Prizes • • • •
• • And the group has something else to remember as well — — a handful of raffle prizes. A number of individuals each won a colorful Mae West magnet, a few screened with film posters, stage plays, or her one-liners. Two lovely ladies — — Denise from Manhattan and Karen from Pittsburgh — — each won a "Gaudy Girls" CD, courtesy of Maggie Worsdale and Anne Marie Finnie, who perform live as Sophie Tucker and Mae West. Everyone received a "Gaudy Girls" flyer announcing their next racy performance at Monticello Raceway and Casino on 21 October 2009. And two lucky lasses won a treasured set of Texas Guinan's silent films — — fashion model Gwen Bucci from Manhattan and art curator Frédérique Joseph-Lowery from Fairlawn, New Jersey — — courtesy of an avid Texas Guinan archivist.
• • Exciting news is on the horizon. More anon.• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West mavens • • 16 August 2009 walking tour • •
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Mae West.
MAE WEST's birthday (17 August 1893) presented a reason to assemble in the theatre district and return to the scene of her prime. The famous speakeasy hostess Texas Guinan had entertained Mae, Owney Madden, and others at Club Abbey [203 — 205 West 54th], the 300 Club and Argonaut [151 West 54th], along with other night spots the group visited on August 16th. 
• • Share in the excitement by reading a delectable portion of "A Night with the Padlock Queen" from Allen Churchill's book.
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •• • Until La Guinan arrives, the Three Hundred Club remains sedate and dignified. Four guitarists stroll from table to table plucking out melodies on request. Their specialty is the recently successful "Valencia," but they are equally adept at such dissimilar numbers as "Sleepy Time Gal" and "Yes, Sir, That's My Baby." Also on hand is Ethel the cute cigarette girl.
• • Club Abbey • •
• • In the early months of 1927 Ethel's beauty has taken on a particular radiance. Up to now her rival for the title of Most Beautiful Cigarette Girl on Broadway has been Mavis of the Club Abbey [205 West 54th Street]. A spectacular finale to this rivalry came when the Club Abbey was shot up by gangster patrons. Mavis assisted one of the bleeding gangsters to Polyclinic Hospital, and in the peculiar code of Broadway lost caste by this good Samaritan deed. Ethel is now securely entrenched as the Most Beautiful Cigarette Girl on the Main Stem.
• • Three Hundred Club • •
• • Midnight comes and goes, and a sense of expectancy fills the Three Hundred Club [151 West 54th]. Eyes dart to the entrance door. Those in the know confide importantly that Tex must be stopping at her brother Tommy's Club Plantation or at this point in history was it Texas Tommy's?
• • At Tommy Guinan's, four musicians named Jimmy Dorsey, Tommy Dorsey, Joe Venuti, and Jack Teagarden labor nightly in the orchestra. At the Three Hundred Club an orchestra barren of potential jazz greats takes over from the four guitarists and a few couples slip to the tiny floor to dance. By twelve-thirty the fifty tables are full. Lady Diana Manners, William Beebe, Ann Pennington (the Scandals star with the dimpled knees) and millionaire escort, Bill Fallon (the great mouthpiece), Mae West, Frank Tinney and Imogene Wilson, the latter the most beautiful of all Follies girls, Aimee Semple McPherson, the visiting evangelist these could be the celebrities present tonight. Mayor Walker may appear during the evening, on his arm a cute, dark-haired flapper named Betty Compton, whom he spotted dancing in Oh, Kay! and straightway made his steady companion. The underworld is represented by Owney Madden and Big Bill Dwyer, Prohibition overlords and backers of night clubs. Lesser underworld figures are present with jazz babies from Broadway shows. There are sugar daddies and gold-diggers of the variety immortalized in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes — — and a sprinkling of older women in the company of young men. One such, called the Dancing Grandmother, is an almost nightly patron at the Three Hundred Club.
• • At a quarter to one comes a stir at the entrance door and the feeling that a supercharged personality is there. An excited whisper runs through the room, Texas, Texas! Everything stops as Tex greets friends at the door and tosses a brisk word of greeting to the hatcheck girl and maitre'd. Here is royalty entering its domain.
• • One who witnesses her splendid entrance is Stephen Graham: "There she is like a queen, like the sun, like a big firework, like a gorgeous tamer who has just let herself into a large cage of pet tigers. A kiss here, a stroke of the hand there, an uttered Darling! there, she goes from table to table closing the company into a unit around her personality."
• • The fun begins as soon as Tex arrives. She makes her way to the dance floor, which with her appearance becomes the stage. Taking a fragile chair, she perches atop it a highly difficult position for one of her girth but a feat she manages admirably every night. A waiter appears at her side with a box full of kleeter-klappers: a small piece of wood with two wooden balls attached which, when shaken, produces a hideous din. Tex raises one above her head, shakes it furiously. Next she dips into the box for others and begins tossing them to friends around the room. "Here, Tex, here," grown men beseech, eager to be singled out by her famous attention. ...
— — Excerpt: — —
• • Chapter: "A Night with the Padlock Queen"
• • The Year the World Went Mad [Thomas Y. Crowell, I960]
• • BY: Allen Churchill
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West's friend Texas Guinan • • 1928 • •
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Mae West.
On the birthday of MAE WEST, born in Brooklyn, NY on 17 August 1893, there are events planned on both the West Coast and the East Cost.
• • Walking Tour: "Gaudy Girls on The Gay White Way: Mae West & Texas Guinan in the Theatre District"
• • When: 4:00 PM on Sunday — — 16 August 2008 — — rain or shine
• • Meet: Shubert Alley, 44th Street, West of Broadway, New York, NY 10036
• • Price: $10 [this walking tour lasts about 90 minutes]
• • Subway: N or R [BMT] train to West 42nd Street; 1 [IRT] train to Times Square
• • Attire: why not wear a Mae West-inspired hat?
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • 1933 • •
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Mae West.
The famous speakeasy hostess Texas Guinan backed Broadway shows including "Diamond Lil" starring MAE WEST. As New Yorkers prepare for the "Gaudy Girls on The Great White Way" walking tour on August 16th, here's a small section from the opening of ACT II of "Courting Mae West," a play based on true events during the Prohibition Era. 
• • Mae West's gay play "Pleasure Man" had a $200,000 box office advance when it premiered at the Biltmore on 1 October 1928. The police raided the show, however, and shut it down the same night. Perhaps this was an easy target, since the Biltmore Theatre was on the same block as the precinct: 47th Street, west of Broadway.
• • The infamous raid at the Biltmore on 1 October 1928 is dramatized via a backstage visit to Mae's dressing room at the Royale Theatre, as the actress prepares to go onstage as the diamond-draped Bowery queen and consort of mobster Gus Jordan.
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •• • "Courting Mae West" — — excerpt from ACT II, Scene 1 • •
• • • MAE WEST
That you, Jim?
• • • TEXAS GUINAN (TEXAS, age 44, enters MAE’s room clad in furs and diamonds)
The “butter and egg man” sent me, angel-pie.
• • • MAE WEST
The speakeasy hostess film-star herself! Still shooting in Flatbush? How’s it rolling, Texas?
• • • TEXAS GUINAN
It’s top-hat heavy. There’s a comical danse macabre with a District Attorney and a Judge.
• • • MAE WEST
Legal beagles! Don’t spoil my mood. Backers shouldn’t come backstage. It’s unlucky.
• • • TEXAS GUINAN
Pat from Variety visited the set of Queen of the Night Clubs. I steered her to your show tonight.
• • • MAE WEST
Oy! Variety’s always given me a black eye in print. They get my knickers in a knot.
• • • TEXAS GUINAN
This chick is a FAN. Pat admires the up-from-nothing Fellatio Alger characters in your plays.
• • • MAE WEST
My stomach’s full of “opening night” butterflies. Got enough congrats to wallpaper with.
(MAE shows TEXAS telegrams that arrived via Western Union)
• • • TEXAS GUINAN (TEXAS examines the telegrams) • • • MAE WEST (MAE puts on stage jewelry for her role as the star of Diamond Lil)
Bet it warms Pat’s heart — to sit with you, basking in the glow of your investment-grade jewelry.
• • • TEXAS GUINAN
We would’ve had yuks. (pause) But you’ll be busy tonight — a little grape told me as it whined.
• • • MAE WEST
The Bowery Queen here is about to go on! Diamonds is my career…. NIX the BAD NEWS!
• • • TEXAS GUINAN
You need to know! Before he left for D.C., our Mayor gave his okay for a raid — at the Biltmore.
• • • MAE WEST (MAE is outraged and jumps out of her seat)
WHAT! It’s our opening night at the Biltmore! Tex, who told you there’ll be a raid tonight?
• • • TEXAS GUINAN
Walter Winchell doesn’t call me the gatekeeper of gossip for nothing.
• • • MAE WEST
Pleasure Man has a $200,000 advance. Who wants to sink my ship on its maiden voyage?
• • • TEXAS GUINAN
It’s pressure from the Prevention of Vice cranks. They’d convict the 12 apostles, if they could.
• • • MAE WEST
Convict! Stop with the unlucky words. My mother suffered when they jailed me last year.
• • • TEXAS GUINAN
I’ve learned to see the sunny side. Prison is one place where my diamonds seem safe.
• • • MAE WEST
Sunny! My trial ate my bankbook. I wanted to buy my parents a house. Now another raid!
• • • TEXAS GUINAN
Scandal is a career move. This time play the damsel in distress on the witness stand.
• • • MAE WEST
Mae West doesn’t do PATHETIC. (pause) Tex, what can be done to trouble-shoot this?
• • • TEXAS GUINAN
Honey-child, the problem with trouble-shooting is that, invariably, trouble shoots back.
• • • MAE WEST
Aww! My butterflies just went into battle formation. Diamond Lil goes on in thirty minutes.
• • • TEXAS GUINAN
Relax. You’ll get fried on the front page and it’ll boost your box office higher than a zeppelin.
• • • MAE WEST
Our Biltmore premier was sold out. An injunction can keep the show on — maybe. (MAE exits, bad posture revealing her agony from stomach cramps)
• • • TEXAS GUINAN
Never met a chick who was hurt by a headline. Give the little girl a nice big (pause) handcuff. (TEXAS exits with great style)
• • • • • • [LIGHTS: dim lights in MAE’s dressing room, Royale Theatre]
— — Excerpt: — —
• • • © "Courting Mae West: Sex, Censorship, and Secrets" by LindaAnn Loschiavo
• • • This play is protected under U.S. copyright law.
• • • NO permission is being given to duplicate this text anywhere else. Thank you.
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • Walking Tour: "Gaudy Girls on The Gay White Way: Mae West & Texas Guinan in the Theatre District"
• • When: 4:00 PM on Sunday — — 16 August 2008 — — rain or shine
• • Meet: Shubert Alley, 44th Street, West of Broadway, New York, NY 10036
• • Price: $10 [this walking tour lasts about 90 minutes]
• • Previous walking tour photos can be seen on the Mae West Blog — — MaeWest.blogspot.com.
• • For more details, do read previous posts on this blog.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West [centerstage] portrayed by Yvonne Sayers, Texas Guinan [in white hat] played by Eileen Glenn • • 1927 trial scene in Courting Mae West • •
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Mae West.
