Mae West. . . Mae West. . . Mae West. . . This site is all about the actress MAE WEST [1893-1980] - - and the ANNUAL MAE WEST GALA. More than just a movie star was MAE WEST. Come up and see her!
Catch MAE WEST in Oz land — — along with high-kicking chorus girls who remember her fondly. • • Here's what we know: "Hooray for Hollywood" will shine its spotlight on stars from the golden era of Hollywood such as Mae, the Marx Brothers, Marilyn Monroe, Shirley Temple, and Liberace. • • The Heidelberg Allstars, with an average age of 68, are an amateur group of song and dance performers with decades of stage experience. The ladies will perform on November 12, 13, and 14 at Banyule Theatre in Heidelberg, Australia. • • Mae West at the Majestic with Karl Hoblitzelle • • • • Hallowe'en is here, so a true ghost story is in order. • • Texas reporter Joy Tipping has had her own spooky encounters on Elm Street. • • Joy Tipping writes: The Majestic Theatre on Elm Street downtown began its life as a vaudeville theater and is the last remaining remnant of the city's once-thriving Theater Row. Entrepreneur Karl Hoblitzelle built the Renaissance Revival theater as the flagship of the Interstate Amusement Co., and it housed both performance and office space. • • All the big names of vaudeville played the Majestic — — Mae West , Bob Hope, even Houdini. Movies were added to the repertoire in 1922, and were shown until the theater closed in 1973 (the last film, appropriate considering the ghostly activity, was "Live and Let Die"). It also was used as a film location for Brian De Palma's film (yes, more spooky connections) "Phantom of the Paradise" [1974]. In 1977 the Majestic was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and it reopened in 1983 for performances of musicals, dramas, concerts, and comedy. • • Karl Hoblitzelle, some say, never left, although he died in 1967. I'd have to agree with them. When I was in my 20s, I worked at the Dallas Ballet, which had its offices on an upper floor of the building. There was a door in my office that led into the theater, and one of my duties was to make sure that door was closed and locked every night. Many mornings, I would come in and find it standing wide open, even though I was sure I'd locked it the night before. • • When I finally brought this up with my boss, he laughed. "Oh, that's Karl. This used to be his office, and he likes to use his personal door to go into the theater to check things out." I never could get that door to stay closed, and there was often an inexplicable chill in my office. . . . Many visitors and workers have reported similar experiences, in addition to backdrops moving around on their own, odd smells and the presence of a man in one of the balcony seats who vanishes when anyone goes to check on him. ... — — Excerpt: — — • • Article: "Haunted Dallas: Resident ghosts make their presence known" • • Written by: JOY TIPPING / The Dallas Morning News / jtipping@dallasnews.com • • Published on: Friday, 29 October 2010 • • Published by: The Dallas Morning News — — www.DallasNews.com/ • • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/ ________ Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml Mae West • • Photo: • • Mae West • • none • • • • Feed — —http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest NYC Mae West.
When The N.Y. Times Theatre Critic Ben Brantley wants wisdom, he turns to MAE WEST. • • Here's what Ben Brantley wrote: "But recently I have become increasingly and woefully aware of a number of plays that shouldn’t be on Broadway. By that, I don’t mean they’re not good enough. Goodness, as Mae West would say, has nothing to do with it. The issue at hand is size. The Broadway of the 21st century wants big: big stars, big sets, big musical numbers, all in the same show if possible. . ." . . . [In "Theater Talkback: Better Off Off Broadway?" on 28 October 2010; byline: Ben Brantley, N.Y. Times | ArtsBeat Blog] • • Hey, Ben! Come up sometime and see Mae! There's a neat play you might like called "COURTING MAE WEST" based on true events during the Prohibition Era. Watch a scene on YouTube, Ben — — no waitin'! • • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/ ________ Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml Mae West • • Photo: • • Mae West • • from "Courting Mae West" ACT I, Scene 2 • • • • Feed — —http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest NYC Mae West.
MAE WEST must surely be smiling about the new assemblage about to be released on Monday, 22 November 2010. RCA Records has chosen that date to debut "Burlesque" — — which is the soundtrack to the Sony Pictures motion picture "Burlesque," starring Christina Aguilera, Cher, and Julianne Hough. • • Instead of recalling that the Brooklyn bombshell slipped away from our embrace on 22 November 1980, this year uncorks old wine in new bottles. Aguilera does a remake of a Mae West classic "A Guy What Takes His time" as well as as Etta James's "Something's Got A Hold On Me" and "Tough Lover"; new recordings performed and co-written by Aguilera will be seamed into more familiar material. • • On 24 November 2010 the motion picture "Burlesque" will bump and grind through a robust premiere. • • Mae worked in burlesque, an entertainment form that's lately come back in style. • • Inspired by a real-life historical figure . . .• • • • The Victoria Times Colonist in Victoria, Canada reported that "The Cursed Cabaret of Kelowna Day Taylor," an audience participation stage show, continues through 31 October 2010. • • According to Times Colonist columnist Adrian Chamberlain: The musical is about a corporate fundraiser haunted by the ghost of a speakeasy queen, Kelowna Day Taylor. Playwright Karen Lee Pickett, who wrote the book and lyrics, says the character is inspired by a real-life historical figure: Texas Guinan. She was a silent film actress who famously ran a New York City nightclub during Prohibition. She died in Vancouver in 1933. The larger-than-life Guinan was portrayed in several movies, including "Splendor in the Grass" [1961] and the 1932 film "Night After Night," with Mae West playing a Guinan-like character. • • "Night After Night" premiered on 30 October 1932 and launched the cinema success of Mae West seventy-eight years ago. • • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/ ________ Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml Mae West • • Photo: • • Mae West • • none • • • • Feed — —http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest NYC Mae West.
For her cleverness alone, MAE WEST deserves to be number one, applauds Daily Venus Diva [or DVD] in an annotated feature "Movies Starring Plus Size Women" posted for their online readership on 29 October 2010. • • Discussing "She Done Him Wrong," DVD heartily appreciates the movie queen: "Mae West, the original zaftig superstar, stole the show in this early talkie that she adapted from a racy hit play she had written called Diamond Lil" — — and the editors also salute a number of generously upholstered screen stars. Read more at dailyvenusdiva.com about curvy cuties. • • Big Girls and a Big Boy• • • • It was during October 1924 that Mae West attached herself to the subversive song sheet for "Big Boy," a run-away hit by the lyricist Jack Yellen [1892 — 1991] and the composer Milton Ager who was born in October [6 October 1893], a few months after Mae. "Big Boy," with explicit lyrics about a darktown sheik who drives both pale and brown-skinned women wild in bed, was offered by Advanced Music Corp. on a song sheet disguised with artwork depicting a jaunty white male. • • When the Wolverines recorded "Big Boy" in October 1924, this number had already become hugely popular. • • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/ ________ Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml Mae West • • Photo: • • Mae West • • none • • • • Feed — —http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest NYC Mae West.
Born in the month of October, Edith Head is one of several costumers who whipped up wicked fashions for screen queen MAE WEST. • • Still traveling the theatre circuit is the one-woman show "A Conversation With Edith Head" written by and starring Susan Claassen, who received her inspiration from a TV bio-pic about Edith Head. • • The Oscar-winning designing woman Edith Head [28 October 1897 — 24 October 1981] once told an interviewer that "Mae West taught me everything I know about sex, clothes-wise." Claassen, as her alter-ego Head, dishes her dry-witted Hollywood dirt to the audience. The show has played in London's West End, at the Fringe Festival, and elsewhere. • • Certainly Edith Head would have a lot to talk about since she spent six decades in Tinseltown. Over 40 years were at Paramount Pictures, where Edith Head dressed Mae West, Clara Bow, Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn, Bette Davis, and others. • • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/ ________ Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml Mae West • • Photo: • • Mae West • • a costume design by Edith Head • • • • Feed — —http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest NYC Mae West.
Though MAE WEST, by choice, did not do much TV work, her fans really enjoyed her star turn on "Mr. Ed" — — broadcast on 22 March 1964. Recently, it was announced that the complete 4th season of the iconic program will be available soon, along with the Mae West episode. The actress would have gotten along very well with Mr. Ed, naturally, since she enjoyed visiting her father when he worked for horse owners as a bridle maker. During hard times, her unemployed father also worked as peddler relying on a rented horse and cart. Mae was dispatched all the way to a Coney Island stable to fetch a hired hack and horse, which she would ride home. • • Born in Indiana, Allan "Rocky" Lane [22 September 1909 — 27 October 1973] was a studio leading man and the star of many cowboy B-movies in the 1940s and 1950s. Lane appeared in more than 125 films and TV shows in a career lasting from 1929 to 1966. He also did the voice of the talking horse on the television series "Mr. Ed" from 1961 — 1966. • • After 1966, Lane retired. In 1973, he was residing in Woodland Hills, California at the time of his death due to cancer at age 64. • • Another gentleman linked to October 27th is the Rumba King, who appeared in two of Mae's 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/ ________ Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml Mae West • • Photo: • • Mae West • • none • • • • Feed — —http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest NYC Mae West.
MAE WEST slept in Phoenix, Arizona — — in a landmark where an unquiet soul seems to roam the corridors. • • Though the Hotel San Carlos has hosted many famous names including Mae West, Cary Grant, Marilyn Monroe, Humphrey Bogart, and Clark Gable, its most notorious guest is the one said to still be residing at the hotel — — though she died more than 80 years ago. Leone Jensen was an actress who leapt from the rooftop in 1928 and guests have reported a woman's shape floating through the hallway and up the stairs that lead to the roof. • • Built in 1928, it is a recognized Historic Hotel of America. Before the hotel was built, however, the land was the site of Phoenix's first elementary school, which might explain why guests report hearing children laughing and bouncing a ball in the basement. The hotel also receives complaints about kids making too much noise, even when no children are at the property. There have also been reports of sinks turning themselves on and off, doors opening or closing for no apparent reason, and furniture moving when nobody is inside of a room. • • During weekends in October, November, and December the hotel conducts ghost tours for hotel guests and non guests that gives special access to parts of the hotel that are typically closed to the public. • • Where: Hotel San Carlos, 202 North Central Avenue, Phoenix, AZ, 85004. • • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/ ________ Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml Mae West • • Photo: • • Mae West • • none • • • • Feed — —http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest NYC Mae West.
MAE WEST was cast as La Petite Daffy in the hit musical "A Winsome Widow" — — which was onstage from April — September of 1912 at the Moulin Rouge. One of her notorious cast mates now steps into the spotlight on her birthdate. • • A native of Budapest, Hungary, Yansci Deutsch [stage name Jennie Dolly] was a twin and half of "The Dolly Sisters" stage act. Born in the month of October — — on 25 October 1892 — — Jennie wound up in the same Broadway production as Mae. • • The private life of Rozsika Dolly and her twin turned out to be tabloid fodder. They shared lovers, won a fortune gambling, and bought extraordinary diamonds and pearl adornments, all of which made gawky headlines. • • This frisky lifestyle turned sad in 1933. Jennie was involved in a serious car crash near Bordeaux, France with her former lover Max Constant. It took six weeks and fifteen painful surgeries and the sale of most her jewelry to restore her to some semblance of her former beauty. Ultimately, she felt she was "a broken shell" even though she made her second trip to the altar with Bernard Vinissky (marriage in 1935; divorce in 1940). • • Lovely Jennie Dolly took her own life in June 1941. She committed suicide by hanging herself in the shower of her apartment in the Shelton Hotel in Hollywood, California. Yikes. • • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/ ________ Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml Mae West • • Photo: • • Mae West • • none • • • • Feed — —http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest NYC Mae West.
MAE WEST claimed to have introduced the shimmy in 1918 — — when she sang "Everybody Shimmies Now" — — and when she posed for the song sheet. Later she added the shimmy to her act in the Hammerstein production of "Sometime" in 1919. For all that hype, the most notable performer of the shimmy was Gilda Gay. Unfortunately, Gilda described it as "a native dance," giving Mae the chance to scoff to reporters, "Native to where? She's Polish!" • • Gilda Gray [24 October 1901 — 22 December 1959] was a Polish born American actress and dancer who became famous in the US for popularizing a dance called the "shimmy," which became fashionable in 1920s films and theater productions. • • Although Shim-Me-Sha-Wabble is widely considered the origin of the shimmy, legend has it that the shimmy was first performed to "The Saint Louis Blues" by W. C. Handy, and by Gilda Gray at the Winter Garden Theater in New York City. • • Not to be outdone, Mae included the shimmy in "Sex" and she also used the same music by W.C. Handy in this number. We are relishing these unsaintly memories on 24 October, Gilda's birthday. • • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/ ________ Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml Mae West • • Photo: • • Mae West • • none • • • • Feed — —http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest NYC Mae West.
MAE WEST worked with a versatile performer whose death in October caused The Gay White Way to go black as a final tribute. • • In 1911 both Mae West and Al Jolson accepted an offer to perform in the play "Vera Violetta." The show opened on 20 November 1911 and it was a phenomenal success. In this musical Jolson portrayed Claude, a blackface singer. He managed to become so popular that his usual weekly salary of $500 was increased to $750. Staged at the Winter Garden Theatre, the production finally closed on 24 February 1912. • • It was on 25 June 1926 that Mae West appeared with Al Jolson — — as well as Houdini and other entertainers (such as George M. Cohan, Fanny Brice, the Marx Brothers, Ann Pennington, Hazel Dawn, Eddie Foy, etc.) — — at the Polo Grounds on West 155th Street in Manhattan's Washington Heights area [zipcode 10032]. • • The fundraiser, organized for the benefit of the United Jewish Campaign, was staged by Mae's old dancing teacher Ned Wayburn. • • As most Mae-mavens know, Mae West rarely appeared on radio. When she did, the sole purpose was to promote one of her films. West had guest-starred on The Shell Chateau with Al Jolson in 1936. The Shell Chateau was a musical variety series that began on 29 June 1935, with Al Jolson serving as its host. Howeever, Jolson left this show permanently in April 1936 due to other commitments. • • Al Jolson died in the month of October — — on 23 October 1950 — — in San Francisco, California at the age of 64, evidently of a heart attack. The high-profile entertainer was interred in the Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery in Culver City, California. On the day he died, the bright lights of Broadway were turned off for 10 minutes in his honor. • • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/ ________ Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml Mae West • • Photo: • • Mae West • • none • • • • Feed — —http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest NYC Mae West.
It was on 21 October 1947 that MAE WEST first set foot in a playhouse in Manchester, England to present her Bowery melodrama "Diamond Lil" onstage. • • The plan was to route the production though Manchester, Blackpool, Birmingham and Glasgow before opening in London by January 1948. • • Playing very minor roles were twenty actresses and eighteen actors over six feet tall. Bruno Barnabe [1905 — 1998] was cast as Juarez, the Latin Lothario. The actor recalled getting the part after being asked by Mae West to clasp her breasts. He also emphasized that he drew 40 pounds a week whereas the leading lady was pulling in 2,000 pounds weekly. • • The UK run was produced by Val Parnell [1892 — 1972] and Tom Arnold — — very shrewd fellows. • • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/ ________ Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml Mae West • • Photo: • • Mae West • • none • • • • Feed — —http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest NYC Mae West.
MAE WEST, who once starred with Frank Wallace in a show "A Florida Enchantment," gave twenty children an enchanting art lesson in Florida yesterday. • • According to an article by Orlando-based journalist Amy Tobik: The fifth-grader enthusiastically leapt from her seat with a sudden revelation. • • "Her lips look like pillows," she said eagerly as she pointed at artist Salvador Dali's work, Face of Mae West Which May Be Used as an Apartment. • • "That's right, they do look like pillows," answered Ruth Wiedenmann as she continued to point out hidden pictures within the surrealistic work. • • "It's kind of like the seek-and-find picture books," Wiedenmann said as she continued to point out the clock disguised by a nose and a curtain rod cleverly holding up Mae West's hair like a theater curtain. • • A crowd of nearly 20 children sat at the edge of their seats staring at three works by Dali, anxious to grab their colored pencils and begin their weekly art project as part of the after-school program known as SOAR — — Safe Oasis At Redeemer. • • Their assignment during the Art Styles of the Masters session, held at Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in Sanford, was to draw their own surrealistic face filled with hidden objects. . . . — — Excerpt: — — • • Article: "Sanford church starts SOAR, both a camp for kids and a safe haven" • • Written by: Amy KD Tobik • • Published on: 20 October 2010 • • Published by: Seminole Chronicle — — www.seminolechronicle.com/ • • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/ ________ Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml Mae West • • Photo: • • Mae West • • none • • • • Feed — —http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest NYC Mae West.
It was on 20 October 1947 that MAE WEST was photographed at Euston Station en route to Manchester to present "Diamond Lil" onstage. Some of her elaborate stage gowns were trimmed with Battenberg lace. • • This week the spirit of the screen queen was sashaying her way through fashion week on the West Coast. • • Fashion designer Sue Wong opened Los Angeles Fashion week with the Pre-Code Hollywood-themed "Glamour Goddesses" party and fashion presentation at her historic Wilshire Center Atelier on Friday, 15 October 2010. • • Pre-Code Hollywood preceded the Hayes Code of censorship which was officially implemented in 1934, and was the free wheeling creative period at the dawn of the motion picture era, noted for its adventurous exploration of subject matters, including provocative takes on sexuality, challenges to authority, and a rejection of Victorian era traditions. "At a young age I became enamored of films such as Blonde Venus, The Tarnished Lady, and Dangerous Curves and the scandalous glamour goddesses of the Pre-Code silver screen, such as Mae West, Marlene Dietrich, Bette Davis, Barbara Stanwyck, and Tallulah Bankhead — — and their independent strength, their embrace of feminine sensuality and their sexually frank libertine spirit," said Sue Wong, who cites these iconic screen legends as the inspiration for her Spring 2011 Collection. • • The Sue Wong Spring 2011 Collection features dramatic gowns and flirtatious cocktail dresses with intricately wrought hand details such as beadwork, applique, and embroidery and novel trim including leaves fashioned from taffeta, skirts of ostrich featers — — and scalloped tiers of Battenberg lace. "I wanted to evoke the chic elegance and cool mystique of Greta Garbo, the irreverent and indomitable spirit of Mae West, and the seductive sensuality of Jean Harlow," said Sue Wong, whose designs are sold in fine boutiques and department stores such as Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdale's and Nordstrom and in more than 27 countries globally. • • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/ ________ Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml Mae West • • Photo: • • Mae West • • none • • • • Feed — —http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest NYC Mae West.
It was truly a WEST END date on the 25th day of January 1948 when MAE WEST opened the United Kingdom tour of "Diamond Lil" at the Prince of Wales Theatre in London town. The broad from Brooklyn had never been abroad before. • • "Who else can manage to 'shimmy' sitting down?" wrote one British drama critic in wonderment. • • The production was directed by William Mollison who died in the month of October — — on19 October 1955 — — in London England at the age of 61. • • In the London cast were Richard Bailey as Captain Cummings; David Davies as Gus Jordan; Hal Gould as Chick Clark; Noele Gordon as Rita; Bruno Barnabe as Juarez, etc. • • The Prince of Wales Theatre is a legitimate playhouse located at 31 Coventry St., London, England, W1D 6AS near Leicester Square in the City of Westminster. It was established in 1884 and rebuilt in 1937 — — and extensively refurbished in 2004 by Sir Cameron Mackintosh, its current owner. • • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/ ________ Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml Mae West • • Photo: • • Mae West • • none • • • • Feed — —http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest NYC Mae West.
MAE WEST was attracted to tall, dark, and handsome gents. Calvin Lockhart certainly fit this description. • • Born as Bert Cooper in Nassau in the month of October — — on 18 October 1934 — — he was raised in the Bahamas before relocating to The Big Apple with ambitions of becoming a civil engineer. He entered Cooper Union but dropped out to forge a performing arts career. The story goes that he was a cabdriver when he was discovered by playwright Ketti Frings, who was so impressed with his arrogance that she cast him in her play "The Cool World" [1960]. From there the six-foot-two hunk aroused controversy on Broadway when he played a black sailor in love with a white girl in the racially-themed "A Taste of Honey" starring Angela Lansbury. • • The year 1970 was a high-profile time for the actor. A strong, confident, smoothly handsome presence, Bahamian-born Calvin Lockhart first caught moviegoers' attention in the supercharged urban films "Cotton Comes to Harlem" (1970) and "Halls of Anger" (1970) before becoming a fairly steady fixture in the "blaxploitation" movies of the early-to-mid 1970s. • • In "Myra Breckinridge" [1970] Calvin Lockhart was cast as Irving Amadeus. • • Complications from a stroke brought about his demise. He died on 29 March 2007 in his homeland, Nassau, Bahamas. • • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/ ________ Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml Mae West • • Photo: • • Mae West • • none • • • • Feed — —http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest NYC Mae West.
Imagine how MAE WEST felt midway through a poorly received run. After all that effort, by mid-October the advance ticket sales were totally tepid. Weeks later, on 4 November 1931, the final curtain would come down at the Royale Theatre on "The Constant Sinner" starring and written by Mae West. • • Set in Harlem, the play opened on 14 September 1931 and ran for only 64 performances on Broadway. • • The Great Depression increased the number of jobless adults and, by 1931, the unemployment rate had reached nearly 16 percent. Obviously, the bleak economic downturn took a bite out of the box office, lowering everyone's prospects for profitability — — not only Mae West's productions. But the storyline of "The Constant Sinner" — — Babe Gordon's love for Money Johnson, a dark-skinned Harlem hoodlum with a bootlegging empire, kept many theatre-goers away. Miscegenation was a touchy subject in 1931, as Mae West knew. The Harlem Breakfast Club scenes also featured inter-racial couples. Racial attitudes being what they were during the 1930s, several critics who reviewed the play said that these scenes "turn the stomach." • • Mae West had a large pool of African-American talent to pick from. She cast fourteen black actors and actresses, many with serious stage credentials. However, Mae was not allowed to cast the dashing, debonair actor she really wanted — — LORENZO TUCKER, billed as "The Black Valentino" — — for the role of "Money Johnson." • • The Shuberts and Jim Timony refused to let Mae West cast a black man as her lover, afraid this would trigger police raids and worse. Forced to give in, Mae agreed to hire vaudevillian George Givot to play the Harlem hotshot during the play's Broadway run. George Givot [shown here in 1936] played the role in blackface. The Shuberts wrote it into his contract that, at the end of each performance, Givot would have to remove his wig to assure the audience that it was a Caucasian who was embracing the curvy blonde "Babe Gordon" [Mae West] onstage. • • When a detective warns Babe Gordon she is in a tight spot, she shoots back, "I can always handle tight spots." • • Another suggestive line was this one from Babe Gordon: "COME UP SOMETIME, BOYS," she purrs to a group of guys. "I'LL TELL YOUR FORTUNE." • • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/ ________ Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml Mae West • • Photo: • • Mae West • • 1931 • • • • Feed — —http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest NYC Mae West.
According to biographer Emily Wortis Leider: The Ginger Box served up wall-to-wall MAE WEST. In addition to featuring her as Circe, turning her lovers into swine, it presented Mae West as a Broadway vamp (played to Harry Richman's victim), Mae West singing "I Want a Cave Man," Mae West clowning to Tommy Gray's "I'm a Night School Teacher," and torching a song whose regretful tone she would later rule out: "Sorry I Made You Cry." • • The libretto credit went to Paul Dupont, and the music credit went to Arthur H. Gutman. Promotional material printed by Jerome H. Remick & Co. indicated the first number was to be Mae's introductory song "Come Over" followed by "Canoodle-Ooodle-Oo," then "Eugene O'Neill, You've Put a Curse on Broadway" — — also meant for Mae. • • Born during the month of October, Eugene O'Neill started his life in a Broadway (New York City) hotel room in Times Square. The site is now a Starbucks (1500 Broadway, Northeast corner of West 43rd & Broadway). A commemorative plaque is posted on the outside wall with the inscription: "Eugene O'Neill, October 16, 1888 — November 27, 1953 America's greatest playwright was born on this site then called Barrett Hotel, Presented by Circle in the Square." • • During the 1910s, Eugene O'Neill was a regular on the Greenwich Village literary scene, where he also befriended many radicals, most notably Communist Labor Party founder John Reed. • • "The Hairy Ape" is an expressionist play by Eugene O'Neill (1922), and this was the drama being mocked in Mae's song. "Lemme up! I'll show ya who's an ape!" Imagine it, if you will. • • O'Neill's involvement with the Provincetown Players began in mid-1916. Four years later, his first published play, "Beyond the Horizon," opened on Broadway in 1920 to great acclaim, and was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. O'Neill also received the 1922 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his writing. Then in 1936 he received the Nobel Prize for Literature. Despite this outstanding acclaim, however, his portraits invariably show the unsmiling author with the most miserable expression. • • Across the street from O'Neill's birthplace, Paramount Pictures established their iconic headquarters at 1501 Broadway and debuted many Mae West motion pictures in their street-level theatre during the 1930s. • • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/ ________ Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml Mae West • • Photo: • • Mae West • • Eugene O'Neill in 1931 • • • • Feed — —http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest NYC Mae West.
MAE WEST spoofed the snobbism of opera in her motion picture "Goin' to Town" [release date: 25 April 1935] — — costumed, hilariously, as the Biblical temptress Delilah. Portraying the star-crossed strongman Samson she serenades was none other than Mae's pesky in-law Vladimir Bykoff [billed as "the Tenor"]. Classical music buffs are either amused by Mae's spunkiness or astonished by an affornt to composer Camille Saint-Saens. • • But everybody wants to get into a Mae West mode nowadays, including The Met. • • Daily News Theatre Critic Joe Dziemanowicz just interviewed Jean Braham, a chorus member at the Metropolitan Opera in Manhattan. • • Joe Dziemanowicz writes: Jean Braham, a soprano who lives in Washington Heights, has sung fulltime in the chorus for 12 years. Like other sopranos, she double duties as a peasant and a rich lady in waiting. . . . And there's more to come. Upcoming roles for Braham include a working woman in "La Boheme," which starts on Saturday. In February she'll play a Chinese farmer in "Nixon in China." And in April she's Mae West in the Met's hallucinatory "Orfeo" — — one of her favorite parts, she says. Good-bye, bread and tears. Hello, come up and see me some time. • • We are grateful to Joe Dziemanowicz for this information. Mae West in the Met's hallucinatory "Orfeo" — — who knew? — — Excerpt: — — • • Article: "Metropolitan Opera's 'Boris Godunov,' by Mussorgsky, is a showcase for Rene Pape but also the chorus" • • By Joe Dziemanowicz | DAILY NEWS THEATRE CRITIC • • Published on: Thursday, 14 October 2010 • • Published on: http://www.nydailynews.com/ • • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/ ________ Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml Mae West • • Photo: • • Mae West • • none • • • • Feed — —http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest NYC Mae West.
MAE WEST was a big fan of The Clef Club. As rehearsals began in early July 1922 for "The Ginger Box Revue," the producer had booked this exciting group — — New York's premiere African-American musicians — — to play between the acts. This organization had been established by James Reese Europe and Henry Creamer, two gentlemen whose musicianship found a lifelong fan in Mae West. • • Born in Richmond, Virginia, Henry Creamer [21 June 1879 — 14 October 1930] was an American popular song lyricist. He co-wrote many popular songs in the years from 1900 —1929, often collaborating with Turner Layton, with whom he also appeared in vaudeville. • • In 1918, Henry Creamer wrote the words for the hit "After You've Gone" — — and every major artist has covered it. Here's a snippet from the chorus: • • • • After you've gone and left me crying • • • • After you've gone there's no denying • • • • You'll feel blue, you'll feel sad, • • • • You'll miss the bestest pal you've ever had . . . . • • Mae West performed "After You've Gone" in "Sextette" [1978], a song she fondly remembered from her New York years when she frequented the hottest night spots in Harlem. That she had schemed and planned to bring recognition to The Clef Club in her 1922 show (and others) is also significant. This was at a time when many Caucasian entertainers were still refusing to appear in a mixed-race revue. • • Though Henry Creamer died on October 14th, many singers are still applauding. How lovely to be remembered, after you've gone. • • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/ ________ Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml Mae West • • Photo: • • Mae West • • none • • • • Feed — —http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest NYC Mae West.
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 in "I'm No Angel" as Tira's maid 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/ ________ Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml Mae West • • Photo: • • Mae West • • none • • • • Feed — —http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest NYC Mae West.
MAE WEST cherished immutability. • • Charles Darwin may have challenged the fixity of species, however, Mae made up her mind that she would only play characters who were in their twenties — — women who were sexy, ambitious, sought after, in control, and decorated with diamonds. • • The autumn of 1964 brought Mae face to face with her fears: mortality and mutability. • • Though Mae had taken good care of her health, shortly after her 71st birthday she was hospitalized and her ailments were scrutinized. The diagnosis was diabetes. • • As Mae was quietly convalescing at home, with Paul Novak at her side, she received the worst news. Her beloved brother John Edwin West, 64, had a massive heart attack. • • As he matured, her kid brother's career had stalled. More than once, he had turned to his movie-queen sister for assistance. But Mae also remembered how much she had counted on John's unfailing loyalty during her court trials. In 1930, for instance, when the Pleasure Man court trial had bankrupted her, and she was too upset to seek work, John supported his two unemployed sisters and set up a nice household for the three of them in an apartment building on West 57th Street (across the street from Carnegie Hall). • • Born on 11 February 1900, John Edwin West died during October — — on 12 October 1964. Mae made arrangements for his body to be sent back to Brooklyn to the family crypt. • • Two weeks later, Mae — — who hated to think about death — — made a Will. • • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/ ________ Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml Mae West • • Photo: • • Mae West • • with her brother and sister during the 1930 trial • • • • Feed — —http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest NYC Mae West.
MAE WEST worked with many bit part players — — and the inglorious label "uncredited" often defined these two hard working gentlemen who plied their trade in Hollywood for decades. • • Born in Japan in the month of October — — on 11 October 1907 — — Rollin Moriyama was cast as the Japanese Delegate in "Sextette" [1978]. The Oriental character actor was seen in "Mash" as General Park and in many other productions. After decades of work before the camera, Moriyama died on Christmas Day 1992 in Santa Clara, California at the age of 85. • • London born in 1920, Richard Peel was cast as Christian, the Sussex Score Hotel chef in "Sextette" [1978]. Actively cast in numerous cinematic roles during the 1950 and 19060s, Richard Peel died in October — — on 11 October 1988 — — at the age of 68. • • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/ ________ Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml Mae West • • Photo: • • Mae West • • none • • • • Feed — —http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest NYC Mae West.
MAE WEST worked with energetic vaudevillian Eddie Cantor — — who left his fans during October. • • Born on the Lower East Side on 31 January 1892, Eddie Cantor was a native New Yorker who launched his career as an actor, a singer, a songwriter, and who became one of the most popular entertainers in the USA in the early and middle 20th century. He was known to Broadway, radio, and early TV audiences as "Banjo Eyes" and "the Apostle of Pep." Cantor was regarded by millions as "a member of the family" because of his intimate radio shows that involved anecdotes and antics about his wife Ida and their five daughters. • • Stages where Mae and Eddie Cantor both performed in New York City include the Paramount (the one in Manhattan as well as the Brooklyn venue), The Palace, Hammerstein's Victoria, and many places in Coney Island. • • On 20 January 1934, Eddie Cantor was the M.C. during a stage show at the Paramount Theatre (Broadway and West 43rd Street). In one number, he appeared in a Mae West costume. Yes, this actually happened onstage, so try to imagine it. • • On 22 January 1934, both Mae West and Eddie Cantor entertained at the New Amsterdam Theatre [214 West 42nd Street] — — at the 52nd annual benefit for the Actors' Fund. • • Eddie Cantor died at the age of 72 in the month of October — — on 10 October 1964. He is being remembered this month as a hard-working performer, a humanitarian, a native New Yorker, and an old trouper whose artistry Mae West enjoyed. • • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/ ________ Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml Mae West • • Photo: • • Mae West • • none • • • • Feed — —http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest NYC Mae West.
