On 17 August 1893 MAE WEST was born in her parents' bedroom — — in Brooklyn. There have been so many biographies written about her that it is unsettling when a respected source manages to get it all wrong.
• • For example, how many mistakes can Playbill.com make in one short bio-note? Let's count 'em.
• • Playbill.com's bylined columnists Ernio Hernandez and Robert Viagas offered this information to their readership in their long-running section, "Today in Theatre History: AUGUST 17" — —
• • Playbill.com states: 1892 Mae West is born.
• • • • We say: No, it was 1893.
• • Playbill.com states: While best remembered as a film actress from the 1930s, West started out as a Broadway stage actress.
• • • • We say: No, Mae West launched her career in vaudeville.
• • Playbill.com states: On stage West appeared in many plays she also wrote. Among these were Sex (1926), Diamond Lil, and The Drag, which was actually banned from New York because it was judged too risque.
• • • • We say: No, Mae West never appeared in "The Drag" [1927].
• • Playbill.com states: At the curtain speech of her 1944 play "Catherine the Great" West explained that "Catherine had 300 lovers. I did the best I could in a couple of hours."
• • • • We say: True. Moreover, "Catherine Was Great" was on Broadway from 2 August 1944 — 13 January 1945.
• • [Source for these errors is Playbill.com, Today in Theatre History: AUGUST 17, 17 Aug 2010.]
• • Mae West Double Feature on 17 August 2010 • •
• • To commemorate the birthday of Mae West, the Asheville Film Society will screen "Night After Night" [1932] and "She Done Him Wrong" [1933] on Tuesday 17 August 2010 at 8:00 p.m. in the Cinema Lounge of the Carolina Asheville and the evening will be hosted by Xpress movie critics Ken Hanke and Justin Souther.
• • Tell them you heard about it on the MAE WEST BLOG.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • by Ron Coddington • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest
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Mae West.
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