Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Mae West: Queens Gazette ERRORS

MAE WEST was born on 17 August 1893 in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn, New York. She spent her childhood in this borough, where her parents helped launch her vaudeville career by entering the act "Baby May, Song and Dance" into many amateur competitions in Bushwick, Brownsville, Williamsburg, and Greenpoint.
• • By the time she moved to Woodhaven with her parents, her sister, and her brother, Mae was within kissing distance of her thirtieth birthday.
• • And by the time Mae West was registering the copyright on her manuscripts with the Library of Congress from the family's Woodhaven address, the seasoned entertainer had already been booked for eleven week-long engagements at Hammerstein's Victoria [1912 — 1913]; she had already starred at The Palace [1922] on The Gay White Way; she had already been cast in several Broadway musicals and revues; she had already toured in variety from coast to coast; and she had already married two husbands, Frank Wallace [1911] and Guido Deiro [1914]. She had also been a witness at her younger sister's wedding, which took place on 29 January 1917 in Brooklyn City Hall, not far from the West family's Brooklyn residence.
• • A proud Brooklynite, Mae West did not move to Queens until 20 years after her career was well in progress.
• • Furthermore, Mae West never set foot in Neir’s Tavern [87-48 78th Street, Woodhaven, NY] — —
an all-male bastion in those days though she often dined at The Triangle Inn, where German dishes were served, and other neighborhood restaurants.
• • You can learn a great deal about her life by doing your own primary research or by spending time with excellent Mae West biographies written by Jill Watts and Emily Wortis Leider.
• • No one at the Queens Gazette has read those two books, obviously, nor does this humble local news sheet employ a fact-checker. That's too bad — — but why should you have to suffer because a news outlet prints misinformation?
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• • • • Pesky Queens Gazette ERRORS • • • •
• • Recently, the Queens Gazette printed this bit of foolishness: As the 20th century progressed, local celebrities, including stars of the stage and screen, frequented [Neir's] tavern. It was in its rear ballroom that film legend Mae West, born only a few blocks from Neir’s, first performed. ...
• • It seems that the current bar owners will say anything to encourage patrons to drink at their unprepossessing corner saloon. If they are going to lie to lazy Queens-based reporters about Mae West, then are we to assume they will be truthful when the NYC Health Inspector drops in, checking on vermin or a persistent infestation? Hmmm. What's your guess?
— — Source for the QG ERRORS quoted above: — —
• • Article: "181-Year-Old Tavern Set To Re-Open: Neir’s Tavern, 87-48 78th St., Woodhaven, is among the chosen few that remain"
• • Written by: Jason D. Antos for the Queens Gazette
• • Published by: The Western Queens Gazette — — 42—16 34th Avenue, Astoria, NY 11101 — — T. (718) 361-6161
• • Queens Gazette Editor: Linda Wilson — — Email: QGazette@aol.com
• • Published on: 23 June 2010
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• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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