Saturday, October 31, 2009

Mae West: 31 October 1932

The New York Times had an interesting take on the first motion picture that brought MAE WEST to Tinseltown.
• • Released on 30 October 1932, "Night After Night" was meant to be a vehicle for George Raft, who plays the gangster Joe Anton who aspires to gentleman status.
• • Instead the plot of "Night" would put anyone to sleep — — except for the white hot scenes featuring Mae as Maudie.
• • Here's one memorable exchange:
• • Mrs. Jellyman: Chemistry's a wonderful thing.
• • Maudie: I'll say it is, but I know a couple of druggists that never made a dime 'til Prohibition. — — Mae West, "Night After Night"
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • Mordaunt Hall's assessment appeared in The Times on 31 October 1932. Notice the title of his column does not even mention Mae.
• • Movie Review: Night After Night (1932)
• • George Raft and Constance Cummings in a Pictorial Version of a Story by Louis Bromfield.
• • After making allowances for the wildly improbable incidents in "Night After Night," the Paramount's screen offering which owes its origin to Louis Bromfield's story, "Single Night," one is apt to admit that it does succeed in being virile and interesting. Nevertheless, the pivotal idea is one that would have benefited by a measure of restraint, and so far as one character is concerned, a truer conception of psychology.
• • Here there is a gangster or speakeasy proprietor who becomes enamored of a Park Avenue girl. While the picture is concerned with the man of many guns and monogrammed silk shirts the tale is quite plausible. But when the blue-blooded beauty finds that she reciprocates the gangster's admiration, it is unreal and forced, as though the producers did not dare to have the cultured young woman make her exit from the film without "the pirate" of the West Fifties.
• • George Raft, who appears as Joe Anton, the gangster who has his wines and whiskies in the open, but locks up his machine guns and pistols, gives a believable portrayal. Joe has so much money that he longs to improve his manners and speech. He takes lessons from a Mrs. Jellyman in how to behave and how to curb slang. She tells her pupil that he must not say "a smart guy," but "an intelligent gentleman." His is a pretty hopeless case, but he tries, even going so far as to essay a few words about the Lausanne conference. Some idea of his perseverance can be gained from the fact that he is furious because his shirt maker has not made the monogram on the garments smaller.
• • This well-tailored speakeasy proprietor chances to observe in his place Miss Jerry Healy. He enthuses over her beauty to his hard-boiled servitor, Leo, who does not hesitate to let his master know that a gangster in love is laughable. It eventually turns out that Miss Healy comes to this speakeasy night after night because the house was once her home, the place where she was born. Although she dwells in Park Avenue, her bank account is slender, and it seems as though she would have to become the wife of a polo player, Dick Bolton.
• • When Joe becomes excited he forgets virtually everything he has learned. He observes an intoxicated man accosting Miss Healy, and only her intervention saves the staggering individual from being hurled out into the street.
• • The narrative takes up two old flames of Joe's—Iris Dawn, who is vengeful when she realizes that Joe has centered his attention on Miss Healy, and Maudie Triplett, impersonated by Mae West, who cares not whether the moon is out or the sun is shining or Joe has a new interest in life, so long as she is not short of alcoholic beverages. Maudie gives a lesson on drinking to Mrs. Jellyman, who, it might be noted at this point, is impersonated by Alison Skipworth.
• • There is the usual penultimate misunderstanding between the romantic parties, but in the end Miss Healy is quite satisfied to throw the polo player overboard to spend the rest of her life as Mrs. Joe Anton.
• • Constance Cummings, who gave a capital performance in "Washington Merry-Go-Round," acts the rĂ´le of Miss Healy. She looks the part, but, as one might imagine, scarcely a girl who would become sentimental about a gangster. She is not only charming, but she speaks her lines very pleasingly. On the other side of Fifth Avenue there are, besides the fearless Joe Anton, Maudie Triplett, which character is made quite amusing by Miss West. Wynne Gibson appears as Iris Dawn, whose hair is gold and whose temper is crimson. Miss Skipworth gives a clever portrayal of Mrs. Jellyman.
• • Mr. Raft's eyes and sleek hair cause him to remind one of the late Rudolph Valentino. Roscoe Karns, as Leo, does so well that one is inclined to feel just as interested in his characterization as in Mr. Raft's.
• • Ethel Waters, Adelaide Hall, the Mills Brothers and a number of other dusky entertainers are to be seen in the stage production, "Dixie to Broadway."
• • NIGHT AFTER NIGHT, adapted from Louis Bromfield's story, "Single Night"; directed by Archie Mayo; produced by Paramount-Publix. At the Times Square Paramount and the Brooklyn Paramount.
• • 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
— — Source: — —
• • Movie Review: Night After Night (1932)
• • BY: MORDAUNT HALL.
• • Published by: The New York Times
• • Published on: 31 October 1932

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Friday, October 30, 2009

Mae West: John Kenley

The showman who asked MAE WEST to come up and see him in The Buckeye State has died.
• • According to Associated Press, John Kenley began acting in New York City in the 1920s — — and once served as an aide to famed producer Lee Shubert. He became a summer theater producer in 1940 in Deer Lake, Pennsylvania, and worked in other eastern cities, including Washington D.C. Kenley produced hundreds of plays and musicals. His Kenley Players, a summer stock circuit that began in Dayton, Ohio, in 1957, featured such stars as Mae West, Arthur Godfrey, Ethel Merman, Burt Reynolds, Billy Crystal, Gypsy Rose Lee, Tommy Tune, William Shatner, and Robert Goulet.
• • According to The New York Times, Mr. Kenley was born John Kremchek in Denver on 20 February 1906. His parents were saloon keepers who later moved the family to Cleveland. In the 1920s he made his way to New York, hoping to break into show business. He performed with Martha Graham as a dancer-acrobat in John Murray Anderson’s Greenwich Village Follies. It was Mr. Anderson who suggested he change his name to Kenley.
• • The New York Times obituary offered this background detail: In 1928 Mr. Kenley began reading plays for the Shuberts. In 1930 he became assistant to one of the Shubert brothers, Levi, who was known as Lee — “Mr. Shubert’s left-hand man,” as Mr. Kenley put it in an interview with Martha Schmoyer LoMonaco for her history “Summer Stock! An American Theatrical Phenomenon” (Palgrave Macmillan, 2004). ...
• • John Kenley opened Ohio-based theaters in Warren, Columbus and Akron before moving into the Playhouse Square Center in downtown Cleveland in 1984.
• • The vibrant Midwestern impresario was celebrated for his producing clout, casting coups, and a passion for live entertainment that brought pleasure and glamor to hundreds of thousands of hard-working coal miners and Ohio residents.
• • On 23 October 2009 John Kenley died at the Cleveland Clinic from complications of pneumonia. He was 103.

• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Thursday, October 29, 2009

Mae West: Sex Comes to Chicago

On 29 October 2009 you can enjoy "Sex" with MAE WEST in the Windy City. And the group did one swell poster for the show, too.
• • According to Chicago Broadway World's news desk: Prologue Theatre presents "Sex" by Mae West. The original cast of the 1926 show was arrested for "corrupting the morals of youth," and Mae West herself was sentenced to ten days in jail.
• • Progressive staging in a historical Edgewater mansion allows the audience to follow Margy Lamont, a sassy prostitute, from a night in Montreal's red light district through her escape to Trinidad to her bid for a straight life in a Westchester manor.
• • Margy is one of the most in-demand ladies on the block, and makes plenty of jack to keep herself in furs and gin. However, when her pimp Rocky tries to work over a visiting society dame, Margy's left in a tough spot with the police. She flees Montreal to follow the British fleet with her long-time customer Lieutenant Gregg. In a Trinidad nightclub (complete with rip-roaring live music), Margy meets the kind of man she never expected to love: one who doesn't know about her past. She must decide if she can give up her wild ways for the straight life with a boy who loves her, or if she'll always be just what she is.
• • "Sex" by Mae West runs from October 29th — November 21st, 2009 on a Thursday — Saturday schedule at 8:00 pm at the North Lakeside Cultural Center.
• • WHERE: The North Lakeside Cultural Center is located at 6219 N. Sheridan Road, Chicago, Illinois.
— — Source: — —
• • Published by: Chicago Broadway World — — http://chicago.broadwayworld.com

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Mae West: Alice Brady

A daughter of an eminent Broadway producer, who waged a battle against censorship, was featured in one motion picture with MAE WEST.
• • Born just nine months before Mae, Alice Brady's life was cut short and she died during the month of October — — on 28 October 1939 — — at 46 years old.
• • Like the Brooklyn bombshell, Alice Brady was also a native New Yorker. Her father's theatre career drew William A. Brady's daughter to the stage early on. And her appearances in the legit attracted the attention of motion picture moguls. Her first movie was in 1914 when she was 22.
• • Kept busy in Hollywood dramas and comedies, in 1936 she was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Carole Lombard's upper-crust mother in "My Man Godfrey" [released on 17 September 1936].
• • "Go West, Young Man" — — released 18 November 1936
• • Directly after this success for Universal Pictures, Alice Brady was off to Paramount Pictures for a minor role in Mae West's latest project.
• • In "Go West, Young Man" Alice Brady played the role of Mrs. Struthers.
• • Though a year later, she would be winning her first Oscar, unfortunately, she never got to enjoy its powerful impact on her career. Cancer [the ultimate red-hued carpet] claimed her a few days before her 47th birthday.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/

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Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Mae West: Xavier Cugat

MAE WEST had a thing for swing, a groove for the blues, and a passion for Latin. No wonder the Rumba King appeared in two of her motion pictures (albeit briefly).
• • Talented and versatile, Xavier Cugat died in Barcelona during the month of October — — on 27 October 1990 — — after 90 years of hard work, many successes, and five marriages.
• • Born in Spain in 1900 and raised in Cuba, the musically gifted hispanic relocated to Los Angeles, where he toiled as a cartoonist for The Los Angeles Times by day while he struggled to put together a band after hours. After paying his dues with gigs at smaller clubs, in 1928 he got a big break with a booking at the high-flying Coconut Grove nightspot. Even more fortunately, his style of music found fans and propelled him forward. The composer and bandleader appeared in several notable MGM musicals during the 1940s.
• • In "Go West Young Man" [1936] Cugat played the role of the Orchestra Leader in 'Drifting Lady' — — how many remembered that?
• • In "The Heat's On" [1943] he once again portrayed himself, that is, an Orchestra Leader.
• • Like Mae West, Xavier Cugat has a presence on the Walk of Fame. He was awarded one star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Television at 1500 Vine Street, and another star for Recording at 1601 Vine Street in Hollywood, California.
• • Heart failure ended a long career filled with acclaim, wedding anniversaries, and the satisfaction of knowing he was instrumental in bringing Latin music to the attention of the US public.

• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Monday, October 26, 2009

Mae West: Clem Lines

The Greenwich Village restaurant-cabaret that inspired MAE WEST's play "The Drag" has closed. During 2006, there was a glorious exhibition here: "Onstage Outlaws: Mae West and Texas Guinan in a Lawless Decade." The attendees included Jessica Lange and Sam Shepard, who were thoroughly fascinated by this history-based exhibit.
• • Mae West worked on this gay drama-comedy during the latter part of 1926. This is the first time the line "Come up and see me sometime" was used in one of Mae's plays. That line was given to a drag queen.
• • Here is a tiny excerpt from "The Drag" — — by MAE WEST
• • • • Taxi-Driver: Do you boys want me to wait?
• • • • Clem: You better wait, you great, big, beautiful baby.
• • • • Taxi-Driver: I don't get you guys.
• • • • Clem: If you don't, you're the first taxi-driver that didn't.
• • • • Taxi-Driver: What do you want me to do?
• • • • Clem: Ride me around a while, dearie, and then come back for her, if you're so inclined.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Sunday, October 25, 2009

Mae West: Way Too Much

Well-known one-liners made famous by MAE WEST, sometimes requoted in odd contexts, can result in unintentional giggles.
• • • • Too much of a good thing is wonderful — — Mae West • • • •
• • When Mae West said “too much of a good thing can be wonderful,” she may as well have been referring to Boston Ballet’s “World Passions,” a startling amalgam of four ballets that opened Thursday at the Opera House. ... [Source: "Boston Ballet’s ‘Passions’ right on pointe" By Keith Powers / Dance Review | Saturday, 24 October 2009 | The Edge/ Boston Herald, One Herald Square, Boston, MA 02118]
• • When Mae West said, “Too much of a good thing can be wonderful,” I’m pretty sure she wasn’t talking about making kakimochi in the basement of the Buddhist Temple. ... [Source: "Confessions of a Foodie: Too much kakimochi" BY Tami A. Hart | Saturday, 17 October 2009 | Argus Observer, 1160 SW 4th Street, Ontario, OR 97914]
• • A weaker dollar is beneficial, so long it does not fall too far, too fast. Mae West said “Too much of a good thing is wonderful.” She was not an economist. Economic shocks result from not just the size of a change, but also the speed with which it occurs. . . . [Source: "The Falling US Dollar – Bane or Boon?" BY Fabius Maximus | 14 October 2009 | RGE Monitor, 131 Varick Street, Suite 1005, New York, New York 10013]
• • Then there's the pop-culture-junkie whose inaccurate reference to Mae will leave you speechless: A strapless saloon girl costume. Remember Mae West from Gunsmoke? ... [Source: "Halloween costumes don’t always have to be sexy/ slutty" BY Kimberly Lawson | 21 October 2009 | Creative Loafing Charlotte, 1000 Seaboard Street, Suite C-2, Charlotte, NC 28206; 704-522-8334] Hmmmm. Seems the Loafing staff could use a fact-checker over there in North Carolina.

• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Saturday, October 24, 2009

Mae West: Hypersexualized

The best of MAE WEST's motion pictures were released during the dark days of an economic downturn and yet her screenplays show that her art declined to submit to the world. Instead she demanded that the world submit to her own mimetics — — with its rainbow of racial tolerance, its tenderness towards society's outcasts, its belief that women could sin and win, fool and rule.
• • NPR mentioned Mae West in their commemoration of the 80th anniversary of "Black Tuesday," 29 October 1929 — — which is considered the climax of the stock market crash that preceded the Depression, and a day that changed America's economic history.
• • Sam Sanders writes: It's impossible to think about our current "Great Recession" without flashing back to America's Great Depression of the 1930s. We might only remember images of people waiting in bread lines and being served in soup kitchens. But some folks — — and businesses — — managed to find themselves "On The Sunny Side Of The Street" during the Depression. He adds: "Actress Mae West was highly paid during the Depression."
• • • • How To Earn, Eat and Dance During A Depression • • • •
• • 'Winners' Of The Great Depression • •
• • Hollywood — Throughout the Great Depression, as many as 80 million Americans went to the movies once a week or more. The introduction of films with spoken words added to the industry's popularity, and movies were a way for Americans to escape their gloomy economic realities.
• • Filmmakers and theaters slashed prices and introduced special promotions to keep viewers in seats. Although that high attendance rate fell in 1933 by about 40 percent, it was a sector that outperformed countless others during some of the hardest times for industry.
• • Mae West — Hollywood's vixen of the Great Depression, her starring roles in multiple films helped keep Paramount Pictures afloat.
• • Mae West made $5,000 a week as a film actress and by the mid-1930s was paid $300,000 per acting performance and $100,000 per screenplay. Her hypersexualized roles were tamped down by censorship prompted by the 1930s Hays Code Of Decency, which was adopted by the Motion Pictures Producers and Distributors Association. ...
— — Excerpt: — —
• • Article: "Remembering The Great Depression's Sunny Side"
• • BY: Sam Sanders
• • Published by: NPR — — www.npr.org
• • Published on: 23 October 2009
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Friday, October 23, 2009

Mae West: Talent in 2010

A theatre in the Pacific Northwest region has announced that next year's line-up will include "Spotlight on MAE WEST" as part of their 2010 season.
• • Four musical spotlights — — focused on king-size personalities of the past — — will delight ticket-holders who adore the Brooklyn bombshell, Harold Arlen, The Mills Brothers, and "British Invasion" songbirds Dusty Springfield and Petula Clark.
• • Currently, all that is known is that "Spotlight on Mae West," starring Gwen Overland, will run from September 16 — 26, 2009 and tickets will be under $20.
• • WHERE: Camelot Theatre Company, 101 Talent Avenue, Talent, OR 97540. To request a season brochure, call the box office at 541-535-5250, ext. 1, and tell them the Mae West Blog sent you.

• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Thursday, October 22, 2009

Mae West: Designing Favorite

Dali contemplated the mouth of MAE WEST and saw a sweet seat. Luscious pink lips were now molded and poised aloft, billowing and buoyant, nothing underneath them but stillness and the clean bottom of a floor.
• • The Mae West Lips Sofa was voted one of the all-time favorites of designer furniture — — according to the findings of a survey recently conducted by INDEX, the leading trade interior design show in the Middle East, which is due to take place at the Dubai World Trade Centre from 14-17 November 2009. Also in the running was a popular lounge chair by Le Corbusier and a marshmallow couch by George Nelson.

• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Mae West: Slow Sex, No Texting

A quote from MAE WEST often turns up in a newspaper column — — tempting the eye towards content that may be humorous (or not).
• • In the service of resurrecting his four-year-old nonfiction book "In Praise of Slowness: Challenging the Cult of Speed" [a HarperOne release way back in September 2005], Canadian journalist Carl Honore reminded Huff-Post readers that the Empress of Sex once said: "Anything worth doing is worth doing slowly."
• • Then swerving carefully away from sounding too sultry, this former speedaholic adds: All of this is part of a broader Slow revolution. Everywhere, people are discovering that doing things more slowly often means doing them better and enjoying them more. It means living life instead of rushing through it. You can apply this to everything from food to parenting to work. But sex is a nice place to start. Even when we stop watching and start doing, we struggle to give sex our full attention. Surveys suggest that a fifth of us now interrupt lovemaking to read an email, take a call or fire off a tweet. Even Paris Hilton, that great cultural icon du jour, reached for the cell in her notorious sex video. ...
• • Like a vampire locked in a confessional, this Catholic paterfamilias feels the twitch of ambivalence, wishing to make it seem he's the type of red-blooded adventurer with enough hot bedroom boosting pointers in his book that would seduce you to buy it — — when, in fact, his chapters have more in common with Thoreau than Masters & Johnson. Nothing wrong with dapple-dawn-drawn prose but it ain't like picking up Lolita, is it?
• • Hey, nice try, Honore.
• • Since the Huff-Post does not pay writers, this blog does not knowingly furnish links to reading material organized by Internet cheapskates or other slave drivers.

• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Mae West: Diamonds on View

When the "Nature of Diamonds" opens at the Field Museum, gem-mavens can enjoy seeing some of the sparklers owned by MAE WEST. Let's just say that admirers didn't call her "Diamond Lil" for nothing.
• • Also on view will be 800 or so glittering eyefuls — — for instance, the 128.54-carat gem donned by Audrey Hepburn in the movie "Breakfast at Tiffany's"; jewelry owned by Mae West, Catherine the Great of Russia, Joan Crawford, and Elton John; as well as a superb borrowed tiara worn by actress Selma Hayek for a red carpet affair.
• • An intriguing tourist spot in the Windy City, The Field Museum is an educational institution concerned with the diversity and relationships in nature and among cultures. This exhibit will enlighten visitors about the who, what, where, and WOW! of diamonds, that fascinating stone Marilyn Monroe saluted in the song "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend."
• • WHEN: 23 October 2009 through 28 March 2010.
• • WHERE: The Field Museum 1400 S. Lake Shore Dr., Chicago, IL, 60605; T. 312-922-9410.

• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Monday, October 19, 2009

Mae West: October 19th

A new musical features sexy, risque, steaming hot blues numbers made famous by MAE WEST and others.
• • On 19 October 2009 there will be a one-night-only performance that aims to raise funds for Cherry Lane Theatre's programs for playwriting.
• • Word comes that "Low Down Dirty Blues," penned by Randal Myler and Dan Wheetman, was built around songs — — rife with innuendo, if not blatantly sexual — — made famous or infamous by such inimitable entertainers as Mae West, Muddy Waters, Ma Rainey, Sophie Tucker, Howlin' Wolf, Pearl Bailey, and many others.
• • "St. Louis Blues," performed by Mae West in one of her Broadway shows, got the purity patrol running right over, so who knows what could happen on October 19th!
• • These antics will be fogging up the windows at The Cherry Lane Theatre — — 38 Commerce Street in Greenwich Village — — for this evening only.

• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Sunday, October 18, 2009

Mae West: The Star Museum

An intriguing museum not far from The White House and the Lincoln Memorial — — housing autographs and other curiosities linked to MAE WEST — — offers an exhibition this month with a vaguely Hallowe'enish theme: “Hell’s Belles!”
• • Owned and operated by Robert Weisfeld, The Star Museum features a galaxy of memorabilia tied to Tinseltown and the nascent film industry, especially silent screen luminaries.
• • Rarities preserved and displayed by Robert Weisfeld include unusual apparel and accessories such as Clara Bow's hat, Joan Crawford's elaborate black opera coat, Valentino's blue monogrammed handkerchief, and the bonnet Lillian Gish wore in D.W. Griffith’s "Birth of a Nation."
• • The current exhibit “Hell’s Belles,” which opened on 9 October 2009, runs until 30 October 2009. If you pass their picture windows this month, you will notice items related to New England's infamous axe assassin Lizzie Borden and murdered actress Sharon Tate, who was eight months pregnant when Manson family lunatic Susan Atkins killed her.
• • If you especially dote on silent screen stars, there is an eyeful here.
• • Where: The Star Museum [170 E. Main Street, Abingdon, Virginia] presenting “Hell’s Belles!” through October 30th; info: (276) 608-7452.
• • Featured: Mae West, Lizzie Borden, Jayne Mansfield, Sharon Tate, Janis Joplin, Marilyn Monroe, Vivien Leigh, etc.

• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Saturday, October 17, 2009

Mae West: CBS-TV Censorship

Exactly fifty years ago MAE WEST was once again front page news on 16 October 1959.
• • On 6 October 1959, newscaster Charles Collingwood had taped an interview in the screen queen's apartment. Questioned about the title of her new memoir Goodness Had Nothing to Do with It, Mae West replied, "It's about my private transgressions — — that's a long word for sin." The suits viewed the footage and were afraid to air it.
• • Refusing to side with the purity police at CBS-TV, The Los Angeles Times viewed the situation with an open mind. Cecil Smith, Times Entertainment Editor, put it in context for Californians: "Television's censoring scissors neatly snipped Mae West out of the first segment of the new Person to Person series scheduled to be shown on TV tonight" [16 October 1959].
• • Belittling TV's top dogs' fear that Mae's witty comebacks would outrage the audience and launch a Niagara of complaint mail, Cecil Smith offered a few playful examples from the "offending tape" and "found little in it that might offend anyone — — even a confirmed bluenose."
• • Those who are easily shocked should be shocked more often — — Mae West
• • According to East Coast reportage over this tut-tut-tut censorship: CBS-TV brass sat down and privately took in a video-taped Person to Person interview with the aging Sex Goddess Mae West — — and promptly canceled the earthy program because parts of it "might be misconstrued." Had Author West (Goodness Had Nothing to Do with It) said or done anything naughty before the cameras? "Certain minds always misconstrue everything," said the past mistress of double-meaning ribaldry. "I have a very big public that understands what I say." Exactly what happened when CBS Interviewer Charles Collingwood came up and saw Mae in her Hollywood apartment?
• • One of the droller exchanges came when the newsman commented on all the mirrors in Mae's plushy bedroom. "They're for personal observation," said Mae, deadpan. "I always like to know how I'm doing."
• • Sensing that the going was getting a bit hot, Collingwood suggested that they switch the subject to foreign affairs. Said Mae: "I've always had a weakness for foreign affairs."
• • Born in Michigan, Charles Collingwood [4 June 1917 — 3 October 1985] was a pioneering CBS television newscaster. Collingwood was a protege of Edward R. Murrow during the Second World War and became known as an eloquent on-air journalist. He was part of a group of distinguished early television journalists that included Walter Cronkite, Eric Sevareid, and Murrow himself.
• • Despite a constant battle with the bottle and a feverish addiction to gambling, Collingwood went on to become chief correspondent of CBS and host of its "Eyewitness to History" series. He led in CBS's expansion to include international coverage. He reported from the Normandy invasion (at Omaha Beach), Vietnam, the White House, and other sites known for causing death and destruction.
• • Collingwood retired in 1982. The chronic alcoholic died on 3 October 1985 at age 68.

• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Friday, October 16, 2009

Mae West: Sign Language

At the beginning of "She Done Him Wrong," MAE WEST tells a passerby that Lady Lou is the finest woman to walk the streets.
• • Pedestrians in Canada got an eyeful of entertainment last week when they espied a sign attributed to the Queen of the Bowery.
• • According to our intrepid Mae-maven in British Columbia, Mark Desjardins reports: Last week while I was walking on Granville Street — — which was ripped up for two years in preparation for the underground transit system to the airport in anticipation for the 2010 Winter Games to be held here — — I spotted this sign. The Templeton Cafe [in Vancouver] is one of those retro diners with a 1950s vibe and every day they change the sign outside the restaurant. Imagine my surprise when I read their thought for the day, by none other than our favorite Blonde Bombshell!
• • Mr. Desjardins kindly submitted this photo to the MAE WEST BLOG, giving no permission to anyone else to reprint it, so mind yer manners.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Thursday, October 15, 2009

Mae West: Vamping in Vancouver

British Columbians will be entertained this month by a versatile impressionist who brings MAE WEST to life — — along with 13 other celebrities.
• • Styling herself as the "mistress of 1,000 divas," Bonnie Kilroe promises to be "a farce to be reckoned with."
• • In her one-woman revue, "Vegas Meets Vaudeville," she sings, glams up, and sautees a fresh dish in the guise of the red-blooded Brooklyn bombshell, zany redhead Lucille Ball, sultry Marilyn Monroe, songbird Streisand, drug-addled Amy Winehouse, and others.
• • "At last," one admirer noted, "a female impersonator who is actually female!"
• • Bonnie Kilroe (along with her Mae West boa and strut) will commandeer the spotlight on Sunday afternoon 25 October 2009, entertaining Canada's Cloverdale Legion [17567 57th Avenue] in B.C. Vancouver's vamp has also been seen at the Vancouver Comedy Festival and other venues.
• • Each time you sigh at yet another product being outsourced, give a thought to clever North American comediennes who continue to create a domestically produced product that does some good. Laughter is still the best medicine.

• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Mae West: Tea and Thee

It was 14 October 1937 — — and some Californians held an engraved invitation to take tea with MAE WEST.
• • The opportunity to enjoy afternoon tea prepared by George Rector — — who was being featured in Mae's latest motion picture for Paramount — — was quite the sought after invitation.
• • The event was staged at Major Studios — — 1040 North Las Palmas. Don't you wish you were there?
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Mae West: Beulah Thorndyke

Before she was famous, MAE WEST was often cast in stage productions as an Irish maid. Starring in a Hollywood movie in 1933, the Brooklyn bombshell added a goodly number of black actresses to the cast, seasoned performers who would play Tira's maids.
• • One of these charmers was Gertrude Howard, who was born in Hot Springs, Arkansas in the month of October — — on 13 October 1892.
• • In her role as Beulah Thorndyke, Gertrude Howard would be forever linked to the line: "Beulah, peel me a grape!"
• • The five-foot-four character actress began working in the motion picture industry in 1925. Two years later, the 35-year-old would be featured as Uncle Tom's wife Chloe in the screen version of "Uncle Tom's Cabin" [1927].
• • Mae was quite saddened by Gertrude Howard's untimely death in Los Angeles on 30 September 1934
— — and she was actively involved in making preparations for this Hollywood funeral.
• • • • Cast for "I'm No Angel" • • • •
• • Tira . . . Mae West
• • Jack Clayton . . . Cary Grant
• • Bill Barton . . . Edward Arnold
• • Slick . . . Ralf Harolde
• • Barker . . . Russel Hopton
• • Alicia Hatton . . . Gertrude Michael
• • Kirk . . . Kent Taylor
• • Thelma . . . Dorothy Peterson
• • Benny Pinkowitz . . . Gregory Ratoff
• • Beulah Thorndyke . . . Gertrude Howard
• • The Chump . . . William B. Davidson
• • Bob, the Attorney . . . Irving Pichel

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Monday, October 12, 2009

Mae West: Lil's Texas Lilt

MAE WEST, a lover of all things theatrical, enjoyed putting on the jewelry, boa, and 1890s gowns that transformed her into her favorite character: Diamond Lil.
• • Diamond Lil, her imitation of a proper hussy — — the finest woman to ever walk the streets — — fit her well, becoming an alter-ego she could slip on like a necklace from Tiffany's, and sashay into the spotlight of Gus Jordan's Bowery saloon like a giant governance.
• • Word comes from Costume World that their fifth location will open soon in Austin, Texas.
• • The Costume World Broadway Collection and Museum in Fort Lauderdale, Florida displays many historic pieces belonging to such luminaries as Mae West in "Diamond Lil," Warren Beatty in "Dick Tracy," Madonna as Eva Peron in "Evita," Kevin Costner in "Wyatt Earp," Sarah Jessica Parker in "Once Upon a Mattress," Nathan Lane in "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum," and costumes made especially for Judy Garland. The Broadway Collection is constantly rotating its exhibits through the Costume World stores, so you can always expect to find a treasure on display at the Burnet Road, Austin location, indicates CEO and Founder Marilynn Wick. "Austinites are sure to appreciate our incredible inventory and will fully comprehend the artistry involved in producing each piece." Good luck to the costume cherubs who carefully tend to these historic vintage creations.

• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Sunday, October 11, 2009

Mae West: Bloomers

Playing to the balcony and the barbell crowd till the very end, MAE WEST was starring in a Hollywood movie well into her seventh decade.
• • Feeling glum on his birthday, a West Coast columnist pulled this fact out of his favorite reference work: "Tolstoy's Bicycle" by Jeremy Baker.
• • According to John Bogert, who's been thumbing the pages since 1982, "The book is nothing more, and nothing less, than a collection of birthday facts telling us what the famous and infamous were doing on certain birthdays. . . . The book's premise feeds into the natural human desire to measure ourselves against others, especially the rich and famous or talented and famous or just famous and famous."
• • While Mae-mavens often know what the busy performer would have been involved in during mid-August, it may come as a surprise to see what other notable names were up to on their birthdays. John Bogert reminds his readers that at age 17 Henry VIII ascended the throne and Jack London became a sailor; at 18 Humphrey Bogart was expelled from school, Cary Grant was a Coney Island stilt-walker at 18, and Chubby Checker recorded "The Twist" at 18.
• • Bogert also marvels at mature achievement, for instance, that, at 69, Ronald Reagan became president and John McCain is still rolling at 73. At 70, Simon Wiesenthal was still hunting Nazis.
• • John Bogert adds: When she was 77, Mae West made her last film, while Amos Alonzo Stagg was named college coach of the year. At 81, George Burns made "Oh, God." At 88, Michelangelo died. So did Hearst, while Leopold Stokowski signed a six-year recording contract at 94. ...
• • No late bloomer Mae.
— — Excerpt: — —
• • Article: "Is there still time to be a late bloomer?"
• • BY: John Bogert, Staff Columnist | The Daily Breeze
• • Published in: The Daily Breeze [Torrance, CA 90503] — — www.dailybreeze.com
• • Published on: 8 October 2009

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Saturday, October 10, 2009

Mae West: Crestfallen in Creston

A MAE WEST mannequin, Hollywood costumes and props, and a long-standing dream are becalmed in California. A once jubilant vision is in ruins amid the chromatical consonant clatter of bankruptcy court procedures, suing, and counter-suing.
• • Two worried faces are hovering over the fragments, the remnants, the splintered bits of romantic yearning. Actress Debbie Reynolds and her son Todd Fisher own this wealth of Tinseltown memorabilia — — such as costumes worn by Mae West, ruby slippers crafted for “The Wizard of Oz” star Judy Garland, a white halter-top dress wind-blown around the legs of Marilyn Monroe in “The Seven Year Itch,” and assorted pop culture valuables — — are all part of The Hollywood Motion Picture and Television Museum, a nonprofit corporation formed by Fisher and his mom.
• • Unfortunately, these carefully stored treasures are also part of a lawsuit due to mounting debts owed to lenders.
• • During her tenure in the movie business, Debbie Reynolds had the chance to purchase costumes, props, and other signifiers she had planned to display in a museum so they could be preserved and enjoyed by movie buffs amid the lullaby of placid vowels sounds: ahhhh and oooohh. In the meantime, some of these artifacts are in a vault and others have been stored on Todd Fisher’s farm in Creston, California as the mother and son worked with developers to find a supportive site for this enterprise. Since things have gone awry, this permanent exhibition might have to be sold off, piece by piece, to pay back some investors, Todd Fisher told reporters. Sad. Very sad situation for all involved.

• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Friday, October 09, 2009

Mae West: Hermiston Hoedown

This weekend, part of the fun at an Oregon fundraiser will be MAE WEST.
• • According to informed sources, the Greater Hermiston Chamber of Commerce is celebrating its 30th annual wine and cheese shindig with a "My Little Chickadee" sort of Wild West vibe this coming Saturday, 10 October 2009. Through those naughty saloon doors will swing Jackie Dunlap as Mae West along with sharp-shooter Annie Oakley, portrayed by Jordawn Wambeke, chairwoman of the event.
• • Creative costumes, vittles, and cowboy-themed gifts (like decorated boots) will color the atmosphere. A mechanical bull will get the adrenaline pumping as well as Wild Bill's debt-defying casino for all the card sharks and gamblin' men out there.
• • The event will benefit Hermiston Funfest, the Hermiston Distinguished Service Awards, and other good causes. Right now, the organizers are redecorating the inside of the conference center to resemble a lawless old Western town suitable for the likes of Flower Belle Lee, Cuthbert J. Twillie, and other unregenerate rascals.
• • WHERE: Chamber of Commerce [415 S Highway 395, Hermiston, OR 97838-2435] — — T. 541-567-6151

• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Thursday, October 08, 2009

Mae West: Brunswick

MAE WEST kicks off the motion picture series in Middletown on Friday afternoon — — 9 October 2009 — — keeping her comedy classic "I'm No Angel" light-hearted and fluid with delicious quips, memorable one-liners, and enormous eye-appeal. Animal magnetism led her muse to this screenplay, inspired by her fascination with Coney Island and Bostock's lions, enjoyed so much during her Brooklyn childhood when she dreamt of entering the big cage and taming a jungle cat. Mae did her own lion-hearted stunts in the film, too.
• • Directed by Wesley Ruggles, this Paramount Pictures favorite was originally released with great fanfare on 6 October 1933 — — 76 years ago.
• • And it was on 7 October 1933 when Mae recorded "They Call Me Sister Honky Tonk" for the Brunswick label.
• • Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, composer Harvey Brooks [1899 — 1986] wrote all the numbers that Mae fans associate with this box office blockbuster, which also featured handsome Cary Grant.
• • Harvey Brooks's sassy song compositions included "I'm No Angel," "They Call Me Sister Honky Tonk," "[No One Loves Me Like] That Dallas Man," "I Found a New Way to Go to Town," and other numbers.
• • Brooks collaborated on these tunes with two lyricists: Gladys DuBois and Ben Ellison.
• • Ben Ellison [1902 — 1984] hailed from Pennsylvania as well. Unfortunately, there is scanty info on female ASCAP member Gladys DuBois.
• • Lion-lady Tira in New Jersey • •
• • On Friday, October 9th, "I'm No Angel" will be shown on a big screen at Middletown Library in The Garden State.
• • THE SKINNY: Middletown Township Public Library [55 New Monmouth Road, Middletown, NJ 07748]. The Main Branch is located just east of Route 35.
• • Take your questions directly to the library: 732-671-3700, ext. 333.

• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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