"Sex is good for you," says MAE WEST. And an interview published in The Australian Women's Weekly went with that provocative opening when they printed a profile of the controversial star. "I've never had anything to worry about," Mae assured the Aussie reporter. "It's always been success, success, success." This feature appeared on page 29 in the issue dated Wednesday, 31 July 1974.
• • In July 1997 • •
• • "Three Plays by Mae West: Sex, The Drag, The Pleasure Man" was published on 24 July 1997. It is a very interesting book assembled and edited by Lillian Schlissel, who also includes material from the original trial transcripts. Every Mae maven should get a copy.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "There are no good girls gone wrong — — just bad girls found out."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • On 1 July 1934, the censorship rule book (outlined in the Production Code) began to be seriously and meticulously put into effect. One person especially focused on was the comedienne Mae West.
• • Dear Mr Cohen, We have received the yellow script, dated July 29, 1937 ... for your production titled Mae West Musical, and I regret to be compelled to advise you that, in its present form, the material is not acceptable under the provisions of the Production Code. It is likewise enormously dangerous from the standpoint of political censorship . . . .
• • Source: Excerpt from a longer letter sent to Emanuel Cohen by Joseph Breen, who wrote to Paramount's studio head on 6 August 1937
• • 17 July 2004 — 17 July 2011 • •
• • In mid-July the Mae West Blog celebrates its seventh anniversary. Thank you to all those Mae-mavens who come up and see Mae every day.
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started seven years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2008th blog post. Unlike many blogs, which draw upon reprinted content from a newspaper or a magazine and/ or summaries, links, or photos, the mainstay of this blog is its fresh material focused on the life and career of Mae West, herself an American original.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • 1937 • •
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Mae West.
Cast in the successful Broadway hit "Sometime" [October 1918 — June 1919] as Mayme Dean, a vamp whose suitors always seem to decamp, MAE WEST was in the unusual position of putting across a few comically wistful laments. Since the musical was written during the war years, when red-blooded men were scarce in New York City, presumably the duly deprived females in the audience could relate to Mayme Dean's howl of frustration. 
• • Pleading for the attentions of "Any Kind of Man," Mae West sang these lyrics:
• • • I was born a scamp
• • • Meant to be a vamp
• • • If I'd had the chance I could have did
• • • Theda Bara tricks,
• • • Paralyzed the hicks
• • • Nothing could have stopped me but the lid
• • • But somehow my style has got a cramp
• • • Can't find a single soul to vamp
• • • All I want is just a little loving
• • • Just a little spooning and a squeeze . . .
• • • If the boob can walk, he don't have to talk!
• • • Send me any kind of man! ...
• • And here is the 26-year-old performer made up as a vamp, a la Theda Bara, after her appearance in Ned Wayburn's "Demitasse Revue" — — on the cover of a prestigious magazine, New York's Dramatic Mirror, 25 December 1919. Quite a front page.
• • Harrison Grey Fiske, born July 30th • •
• • Born in Westchester County (Harrison, New York) and educated at New York University, Harrison Grey Fiske [30 July 1861 — 2 September 1942] was an American theatrical manager and reporter. Fiske served as an editorial writer and dramatic critic for a number of publications such as the Jersey City-based Argus and The New York Star. In 1879 he became a contributor to the New York Dramatic Mirror, and by 1883 the proprietor.
• • The influence the Dramatic Mirror wielded was not inconsiderable. They praised Mae's performance as part of the Broadway line-up they reviewed — — and her vamp portrait even made the front cover on 25 December 1919, yes, thanks to some pressure exerted by Ned Wayburn who featured the 26-year-old brunette in his "Demitasse Revue" at the Capitol Theatre in New York City.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "Goodness had nothing to do with it."
• • Quote, Unquote • •• • • • To Ms Mae West on Her 85th • • • •
• • • • What right have you?
• • • • Did you pat your platinum alps
• • • • When across the electric wire
• • • • The thrilling message came
• • • • That the pelvic muscles were tranquillized
• • • • The gluteal shivers forever fridged
• • • • That in fact (O lamentable extinction!)
• • • • Elvis had gone pop. ...
• • Source: Excerpt from a long birthday poem written to Mae West by John Jordan on 17 August 1977
• • 17 July 2004 — 17 July 2011 • •
• • In mid-July the Mae West Blog celebrates its seventh anniversary. Thank you to all those Mae-mavens who come up and see Mae every day.
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started seven years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2007th blog post. Unlike many blogs, which draw upon reprinted content from a newspaper or a magazine and/ or summaries, links, or photos, the mainstay of this blog is its fresh material focused on the life and career of Mae West, herself an American original.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
________
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Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • 1919 • •
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Mae West.
"The electric sign for the Ginger Box Revue, starring MAE WEST, is still up on the facade of the Greenwich Village Theatre, but current will never light it," tsk-tsked The New York Daily News in August 1922. But during July the firefly of Broadway did not know this musical would end on a sour note. And on 29 July 1922, as she busied herself in that Connecticut dressing room, listening to the Clef Club play the introduction to her opening number "Come On Over," each beat of the drums thrilled with possibilities.
• • Mae West on the Newsstand • •
• • The August 1974 issue of Jet Magazine printed two readers' letters that commented on the profile Jet had run on Mae West in their issue dated 25 July 1974.
• • "I had no idea that [Mae West] broke so many barriers, putting her career in jeopardy for the sake of Blacks," remarked Evelyn Boddie of Brooklyn, NY [excerpt from "Readers Rap," Jet, 8 August 1974].
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • Annual Mae West Tribute 2011 • • 
• • "Mae West in Bohemia — — Gin, Sin, Censorship, and Eugene O'Neill"
• • Mae West's birthday is August 17th. An upcoming Mae West event that is open to the public will be held on Sunday afternoon, 14 August 2011. The title of this illustrated historical theme walk is "Mae West in Bohemia — — Gin, Sin, Censorship, and Eugene O'Neill." Rare vintage illustrations will show you how the buildings and blocks looked as these two theatre people saw them.
• • Sites will include the Village speakeasies where Eugene drank himself into oblivion and met the characters he would put in his plays, and where Mae socialized and bent elbows with Texas Guinan, Walter Winchell, Jack Dempsey, and Barney Gallant; significant theatres; the court where Eugene and Mae battled against censorship; and off-beat addresses that made an impact. Get ready to walk on the wild side. 
• • Raffle prizes! Each Mae West walking tour ends with a raffle of Mae-themed prizes. Here is a detail from one of the O'Neill-themed goodies; the original was created in 1928.
• • When: Sunday, 14 August 2011 — — rain or shine
• • Where: Illustrated Walking Tour begins at 3:00 PM at 62 West Ninth Street, where a gay cabaret once stood that inspired Mae West to write "The Drag" (and to hire their drag queens for the cast). This tour focuses on 18 sites around Washington Square and ends at the Eugene O'Neill and Al Hirschfeld exhibition on West Third. Time: 90 — 120 minutes.
• • Cost: $10 per person
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "Between two evils, I always pick the one I never tried before."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • With all the information about Mae West available online, it's astonishing that some news people do not proofread nor bother to fact check. For instance, one Midwest journalist located squarely in the heartland remarks that Mae made her Hollywood screen debut in 1893. [For the record, Mae was born on 17 August 1893 and made her cinema debut in 1932.]
• • Hutchinson, Kansas-based columnist Sheila Lisman writes: Celebrating someone's birthday can take your mind off the heat for a time. How about remembering Mae West on her birthday August 17? She made her Hollywood debut in 1893 and acted in vaudeville before she was in movies. She was quite a lusty old gal. As she once said, "When I am good, I am very, very good, but when I bad, I am better." ...
• • Source: Column "Some hot dates" written by Sheila Lisman, Community columnist for Hutch News; posted on 27 July 2011
• • 17 July 2004 — 17 July 2011 • •
• • In mid-July the Mae West Blog celebrates its seventh anniversary. Thank you to all those Mae-mavens who come up and see Mae every day.
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started seven years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2006th blog post. Unlike many blogs, which draw upon reprinted content from a newspaper or a magazine and/ or summaries, links, or photos, the mainstay of this blog is its fresh material focused on the life and career of Mae West, herself an American original.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • 1928 • •
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Mae West.
MAE WEST starred in "She Done Him Wrong," and Robert Homans was seen as Doheney. 
• • Born on 8 November 1877 in Malden, Massachusetts, Robert Edward Homans was raised by down-to-earth native New Englanders but somehow the crazy acting bug bit. He and his wife and young daughter spent time in New York City before heading out West. Cast in a silent film in 1917, the five-foot-eleven performer decided to pursue a screen career. Between 1923 — 1946 he racked up 385 featured appearances. His height and very serious look made him a natural for bit parts of uniformed men such as a fire chief, doormen, sailors, policemen, detectives, and assorted judges and lawmen. A useful skill was his ability to affect an Irish brogue and he was busy working on one picture or another until he was 69 years old.
• • Robert Edward Homans died of a heart attack in the month of July — — on 28 July 1947 — — at the Motion Picture Country House in Los Angeles where he had been residing. He is buried next to his beloved wife in Forest Lawn Cemetery in Los Angeles, California.
• • Mae West Flotation Device • •
• • In the month of July 1927, Peter Markus, an inventor, applied for a patent for an inflatable life vest, which in press accounts was also called the "Mae West Vest" [back on 15 July 1927], and Markus was granted a patent by the U.S. Patent Office on 11 December 1928.
• • Mae West on the Newsstand • •
• • The July 1956 issue of Lowdown Magazine printed this cover line: "How the Vice Squad Jailed Mae West." Pretty racy for the Eisenhower Era.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: “When women go wrong, men go right after them.”
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • Mae West, who often went to the theatre, was well aware of the theatrical achievements of her contemporary Eugene O'Neill.
• • Author Yvonne Shafer fills in the background for her readers: Kenneth Macgowan wrote that “the theatrical success of The Hairy Ape is considerably strengthened by the illusion of brute force created by Louis Wolheim under the excellent direction of Eugene O’Neill himself.” Not only the critics and audiences were awed by Wolheim’s brute force. Mary Blair played the society girl who comes upon the stoker and faints from fear. She told an unidentified interviewer after Wolheim’s death that “I was always a bit alarmed that he would let me have the shovel full in the face. I stood only about two feet from him in the boiler room. He seemed fierce, as if he were expressing a vast social resentment.”
• • Yvonne Shafer adds: So popular and well known was the play that satires were written on it, including one performed by, of all people, Mae West. According to her biographer, she burlesqued the character, noting that “Yank was the very sort of brutish caveman type Mae West favored as a foil to play against, onstage and off: in O’Neill’s hands a somber and powerful archetype, and in hers a comic cartoon rendered with broad strokes.” Backed by a chorus line and a black orchestra, she sang, “Eugene O’Neill, You’ve Put a Curse on Broadway” and bellowed “Yank-style”lines including, “She don me doit! Lemme up! I’ll show her who’s an ape.” Some combination: Mae West, Louis Wolheim, and Eugene O’Neill. ...
• • Source: Book excerpt: "Performing O'Neill: Conversations with Actors and Directors" written by Yvonne Shafer for New York: St. Martin's Press, 2000; reprinted by the Eugene O'Neill Review and posted c. 2003
• • 17 July 2004 — 17 July 2011 • •
• • In mid-July the Mae West Blog celebrates its seventh anniversary. Thank you to all those Mae-mavens who come up and see Mae every day.
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started seven years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2005th blog post. Unlike many blogs, which draw upon reprinted content from a newspaper or a magazine and/ or summaries, links, or photos, the mainstay of this blog is its fresh material focused on the life and career of Mae West, herself an American original.
• • 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.
Bob Hope appeared with MAE WEST on TV on 4 May 1959 and, occasionally, their careers intersected. For instance, in March 1958 they were both in Hollywood rehearsing for the same Academy Awards presentation. Hope performed with dancer-actress Shirley MacLaine and Mae West sang with Rock Hudson. Life Magazine ran this candid photo. 
• • The ski-slope-nosed comedian was born as Leslie Townes Hope in London, England on 29 May 1903. Both stars, of course, had toured in vaudeville, were heard on radio, starred on Broadway, and also worked at Paramount Pictures (though not on the same motion pictures). Paramount excelled in comedy — — having Mae West, W.C. Fields, the Marx Brothers, Bob Hope, and Bing Crosby all under contract.
• • The versatile British-born American comedian and actor was also noted for his work with the US Armed Forces and his numerous USO shows entertaining American military personnel.
• • Bob Hope was 100 years old when he died at his home in Toluca Lake, California of pneumonia in the month of July — — at 9:28 pm on 27 July 2003. He was interred in the Bob Hope Memorial Garden at San Fernando Mission Cemetery in Los Angeles, where his mother is also buried.
• • Photo Credit: Leonard McCombe/Time & Life Pictures/ Getty Images 01 March 1958
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "A dame that knows the ropes isn't likely to get tied up."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • Lori Bryant Woolridge, Sensuality Coach, defends "scandalous" women such as Mae West. She writes: When I think about the famous women, like Jennifer Lopez, who many of us look up to as sensual and sexual icons, most are considered scandalous in some form or fashion. Think about it: Cleopatra, Mae West, Coco Chanel, Josephine Baker, Elizabeth Taylor, Diana Ross, Cher, Madonna, Angelina Jolie. All are women who by living and loving (and dressing) on their own terms, often created controversy and concern among the keepers of society's moral compass. But they weren't afraid of being judged. They were afraid of not living fully expressed. A healthy fear, I think.
• • These women lived by their own values and rules, and while some choices led them down rather destructive paths, others led to great success and happiness, and both paths led them towards an authentic life... one that for good or bad, right or wrong, was dictated by their own sense of individual truth. The more I think about it, the more I become a quiet advocate for delightfully scandalous living. Scandalous women are sexy. ...
• • Source: Article: "Living Delightfully Scandalous" written by Lori Bryant Woolridge for HuffPost Women; posted on 26 July 2011
• • 17 July 2004 — 17 July 2011 • •
• • In mid-July the Mae West Blog celebrates its seventh anniversary. Thank you to all those Mae-mavens who come up and see Mae every day.
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started seven years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2004th blog post. Unlike many blogs, which draw upon reprinted content from a newspaper or a magazine and/ or summaries, links, or photos, the mainstay of this blog is its fresh material focused on the life and career of Mae West, herself an American original.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • March 1958 • •
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Mae West.
MAE WEST had tried to sue Show Magazine over this portrait taken in her boudoir. Show published it anyway [January 1965 issue].
• • ''Mae West hated the pictures,'' Allan Arbus recalled about the shoot done by his late wife, who committed suicide in the month of July [on July 26th]. ''Because they were truthful.'' No, Allan, no. Mae did not appreciate being tricked by wily little Diane, that's the reason.
• • The image might come up another time — — since there are numerous prints of this limited edition of Mae West at Home, Santa Monica, California, 1965.
• • In 1964, Diane Arbus [14 March 1923 — 26 July 1971] flew to Los Angeles. Her buddy Robert Brown chauffeured her to Mae West's beach house on two successive days. By the 1960s, the New York City photo-journalist had adopted the Rolleiflex medium format twin-lens reflex. This format provided a square aspect ratio, higher image resolution, and a waist-level viewfinder that allowed Arbus to connect with her subjects in ways that a standard eye-level viewfinder did not. She was also experimenting with the use of flashes in daylight, allowing her to highlight and separate her subjects from the background.
• • For all of her technical savvy, Diane Arbus had enough smarts to know when to keep the camera bag out of sight. So it unfolded that, when Robert Brown came to drive his friend home on that first evening, she admitted she had not shot one frame yet. Instead she and the Brooklyn bombshell spent the time chatting.
• • Penis Pals • •
• • ''Do you know what we did most of the time?'' Diane enthusiastically told Robert. ''She's got a locked room with models in plaster of all the men she's had sex with — — of their erections.''
• • Regaling the East Coast guest with tales about her former lovers, Mae West had said: ''Each one is different: the way they sigh, the way they moan, the way they move; even the feel of them, their flesh is just a little different. . . . There's a man for every mood.''
• • Naturally, Diane Arbus wrote all of this down for the cover story she would write for Show's publisher Huntington Hartford. Then the next day, when her subject was relaxed and at ease, Diane shot several rolls. She was satisfied that she had done a good job capturing the septuagenarian sexpot — — in a negligee, backlighted by the merciless Southern California sun.
• • In her article, the 41-year-old phtographer would describe the 71-year-old screen legend as "imperious, adorable, magnanimous, genteel and girlish, almost simultaneously." She added, "There is even, forgive me, a kind of innocence about her."
• • After the session, Mae handed Diane a C-note, saying, "Thanks, honey." This was a habit dating back to the 1930s when the Paramount Pictures star would tip still photographers who snapped her on the set. [Diane returned the $100 with a gracious note.]
• • When the sharply focused black and white portraits appeared in print, however, Mae found them harsh, ugly, pitiless and directed her attorneys to sue the publisher. Her lawyers fired off a letter, calling the Mae layout "unflattering, cruel, and not at all glamourous."
• • Diane Arbus admitted there was a certain manipulativeness felt by those who click a shutter. A camera gave her access and power — — but what Diane trainer herself to notice especially was "the flaw."
• • Flaws did not interest Mae West. Not unlike Blanche DuBois, she did not want realism. She preferred magic, Hollywood's favorite home-grown product.
• • Mae West, Russeks, and Diane Arbus • •
• • Brooklyn’s Fulton Street used to offer an exhaltation of department stores; prestigious retailers lined up along the stretch once included Martin's, Abraham & Strauss, Loeser’s, and Russeks. Founded as a specialty house for furs, eventually, the Brooklyn outlet and its Manhattan counterpart on Fifth Avenue featured an upscale ladies line.
• • Founded in the early 1900s, the store's original owners were the grandparents of photographer Diane Arbus and her brother, poet Howard Nemerov. Their parents were David and Gertrude (Russek) Nemerov.
• • Russeks also supplied clothing and furs for some of Mae's Broadway shows. To thank them and give them publicity, Mae printed glossy postcards touting Russeks and distributed these in the theatre.
• • Diane Arbus: Mae West at Home, Santa Monica, California, 1965 [Gelatin Silver Print, 20 inches X 16 inches, signed by Arbus].
• • Quote, Unquote • •• • And speaking of a woman's untimely death . . . . Though Mae West was not as well known in Italy as she was in England, the ill-fated Wilma Montesi [3 February 1932 — 9 April 1953] was a huge fan.
• • Book critic Ian Thomson writes: Wilma Montesi, a plump and pretty carpenter's daughter, wanted only to be like Marina Berti and the Tinseltown starlets who visited from Hollywood. Like the young Fellini himself, in fact, she adored Mae West and the "impossible whiteness" of Jean Harlow's skin. Soon she was out of her depth in a demi-monde of narcotics, hoodlum financiers and sugar-daddy politicians. As a saga of ill-gotten money and mink, the Montesi affair foreshadows the "bunga bunga" parties of the Italian prime minister today. As well as being a thriller, Death and the Dolce Vita provides an excellent account of the virtues and misdeeds of Europe's most foxy political class. ...
• • Source: Book Review: "Death and the Dolce Vita by Stephen Gundle — — A fascinating book reveals the real-life scandal that lay behind Federico Fellini's La Dolca Vita" written by Ian Thomson for The Guardian [London]; posted on Friday 22 July 2011• • 17 July 2004 — 17 July 2011 • •
• • In mid-July the Mae West Blog celebrates its seventh anniversary. Thank you to all those Mae-mavens who come up and see Mae every day.
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started seven years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2003rd blog post. Unlike many blogs, which draw upon reprinted content from a newspaper or a magazine and/ or summaries, links, or photos, the mainstay of this blog is its fresh material focused on the life and career of Mae West, herself an American original.• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West• • Photo: • • Mae West • • 1965 • •• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest
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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. 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.
• • Arthur Lubin seemed to get along well with animals, too. Arthur Lubin, a closeted gay gentleman who was a friend of Mae West, scored a coup by persuading the screen icon to guest star in one episode of "Mister Ed." Born Arthur William Lubovsky in Los Angeles, California in the month of July — — on 25 July 1898 — — he was educated on the West Coast. When the first world war interrupted his studies, he served in the Navy and then returned to college and graduated. Since the world of cinema showed enormous potential, Lubin created his own film and music studio, Lubin Studios, during the 1920s and he began to act in silent films for five years.
• • Lubin met Mae West in Hollywood in 1932 when he was hired as a production assistant for "She Done Him Wrong," a big hit for Paramount Pictures. His directing debut quickly followed with "A Successful Failure" [1934]. Comedy was his metier and he found his footing quickly by helming a series of screen gems starring the vaudevillian team Abbott and Costello during the 1940s. Shortly after, Lubin directed the best of the Francis series of talking-mule farces for the big screen. Once he knew his way around the barn, it was an easy leap to the TV series centered on a talking horse, another family friendly animal theme.
• • Lubin's career ended in the late 1970s, and he retired to a quiet life shared with his male life partner. He died in Glendale, California at age 96 on 12 May 1995.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mr. Ed's Carol Post: Won't you sit down?
• • Mae West: Honey, you don't dare sit down in this gown — — it's standing room, only.
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • Rochester, NY columnist Pam Sherman writes: Congratulations on your weddings. I can't help but finish this "toast" with a quote from the great Mae West: "Marriage is a great institution. No family should be without it." ...
• • Source: Article: "Suburban Outlaw: A toast to marriage's meaning" written by Pam Sherman for The Democrat and Chronicle; posted on Friday 22 July 2011
• • 17 July 2004 — 17 July 2011 • •
• • In mid-July the Mae West Blog celebrates its seventh anniversary. Thank you to all those Mae-mavens who come up and see Mae every day.
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started seven years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2002nd blog post. Unlike many blogs, which draw upon reprinted content from a newspaper or a magazine and/ or summaries, links, or photos, the mainstay of this blog is its fresh material focused on the life and career of Mae West, herself an American original.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • 1964 • •
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Mae West.
Two of MAE WEST's motion pictures featured contributions by the musician Leo Shuken.
• • Born in California on 8 December 1906, Leo Shuken began his Hollywood sojourn in 1936. His second assignment was composing original title music for "Go West Young Man," released that year. He also arranged the music for "Every Day's a Holiday" [1937]. Two years later, he would win an Oscar for "Stagecoach." His busy career offered him many chances to apply his versatility to light musicals, intense dramas, adventure tales, and Western fare. He lasted nearly four decades in the industry and he was involved in over 400 titles by the time he retired in 1974.
• • Leo Shuken died in Los Angeles in the month of July — — on 24 July 1976. He was age 69.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West wrote this line for her character Lady Lou: "The finest woman that ever walked the streets."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • World class bodybuilder Arthur Peacock remembered it this way: Joe (Sydney) Gold was born March 10, 1922, in Boyle Heights, in Los Angeles, and he lived until July 2004. Joe Gold served in the United States Merchant Marines during both World War II and the Korean Conflict, and later auditioned for Mae West and toured in her revue [during the 1950s]. The first Gold’s Gym opened in 1965 . . . .
• • Source: Article: "The history of Gold’s Gym, as told by Arthur Peacock" written by Jerry Budrick for The Amador Ledger Dispatch; posted on 22 July 2011
• • 17 July 2004 — 17 July 2011 • •
• • In mid-July the Mae West Blog celebrates its seventh anniversary. Thank you to all those Mae-mavens who come up and see Mae every day.
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started seven years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2001st blog post. Unlike many blogs, which draw upon reprinted content from a newspaper or a magazine and/ or summaries, links, or photos, the mainstay of this blog is its fresh material focused on the life and career of Mae West, herself an American original.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
________
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Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • 1937 • •
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Mae West.
James Donlan appeared in one cinema classic with MAE WEST. 
• • Born in San Francisco in the month of July — — on 23 July 1888 — — James Donlan got caught up in the motion picture whirl during 1929 when he was already 41 years old.
• • Though he sang in two motion pictures, his forte was his versatility as a character actor.
• • Between 1929 — 1938, he appeared in more than 100 movies including "Belle of the Nineties" [1934], portraying Kirby, manager of the boxer Tiger Kid. He also was cast in a few comedies with the Three Stooges. The film's original title "It Ain't No Sin," was banned by the censors.
• • He is the father of actress Yolande Donlan, who published her autobiography, "Shake the Stars Down" [1976], a memoir that explores her childhood, her father's hectic schedule doing bit parts in a dozen pictures a year for nine years, and growing up in Tinseltown during the 1930s.
• • James Donlan died in Hollywood of a heart attack on 7 June 1938 — — a month shy of his 50th birthday.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West scripted this exchange for her film "Belle of the Nineties" [1934]:
• • Ace Lamont: You're the kind of woman I dreamed about... always desired. I'm wild about you.
• • Ruby Carter: Some of the wildest men make the best pets.
• • Ace Lamont: Ruby, I must have you... your golden hair, your fascinating eyes, your alluring smile, and lovely arms...
• • Ruby Carter: Wait a minute. Is this a proposal, or are yuh takin' inventory?
• • Quote, Unquote • • 
• • Mae West's message lives on in the halls of higher learning. As you may recall, Mae said, "You only live once but, if you do it right, once is enough!" — — among other things.• • From The Windy City, reporter Joseph Ruzich writes: School board members in West Chicago turned to an unlikely source — — the late sex symbol Mae West — — to provide them with some encouragement Tuesday night. A line from West, a flirtatious and curvaceous actress and entertainer from a showbiz era long ago, was read as the "encouraging word quotation" at the District 94 board meeting.
• • The wisdom of sex symbol Mae West distilled Tuesday night by District 94 school board members: “You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.”
• • Quotes, typically inspirational thoughts from notable people, are a regular part of District 94 board meetings.
• • The board, which oversees Community High School in West Chicago, has been reciting encouraging quotes for several years, officials said. The quote is read by a different board member at each meeting.
• • Superintendent Lalo Ponce, who searches the Internet for a saying before each meeting, said each quote "reflects important things about life" and must promote the district's mission of learning, leadership and living.
• • "I think it puts everyone in the right frame of mind of doing good work for the students," he said.
• • Lalo Ponce said the quote from West that the district selected is about "the words, not the individual who said them." But during her legendary career, which included a number of Depression-era films such as "I'm No Angel," West naughtily delivered other lines that likely won't turn up as encouraging quotes at school board meetings. A sampling: "I used to be Snow White, but I drifted," and "When caught between two evils, I generally pick the one I've never tried before."
• • School Board President Katherine Doremus said the encouraging words have been so inspiring that she is considering having a quote read every morning over the loudspeaker at the high school. ...
• • Source: Article: "School board summons wisdom of Mae West — — District 94 officials read quote from saucy 20th century bombshell at meeting" written by Joseph Ruzich, Special to the Tribune for The Chicago Tribune; posted on 21 July 2011
• • 17 July 2004 — 17 July 2011 • •
• • In mid-July the Mae West Blog celebrates its seventh anniversary. Thank you to all those Mae-mavens who come up and see Mae every day.
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started seven years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2000th blog post. Unlike many blogs, which draw upon reprinted content from a newspaper or a magazine and/ or summaries, links, or photos, the mainstay of this blog is its fresh material focused on the life and career of Mae West, herself an American original.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • 1934 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest
NYC
Mae West.
As a child, MAE WEST heard fascinating recollections about New York City's Chinatown and the Bowery. Aware of the attractiveness of these lively locales, authors found creative ways to situate their narratives in these neighborhoods.
• • Charles H. Hoyt, for instance, wrote the immensely popular musical comedy "A Trip to Chinatown." The story focuses on a widow who connives and contrives to bring romance to several couples and herself in a big city restaurant [think of "Hello, Dolly!"]. 
• • Still capitalizing on the "Trip to Chinatown" craze, clever showmen reworked the play again and presented it under a new title: "A Winsome Widow."
• • Nineteen-year-old brunette Mae West was featured in the show "A Winsome Widow" as La Petite Daffy in 1912.
• • The musical was presented at the Moulin Rouge, then located at 1514-16 Broadway [West 44th Street], New York, NY. This showplace was demolished in 1935.
• • This extravaganza was produced by Flo Ziegfeld, and during its latest revision the Eastside musical was relocated to the West Coast — — to San Francisco's Chinatown.
• • As La Petite Daffy, Mae West won acclaim for her vivacity and sauciness. "Mae West assaults the welkin vigorously," applauded the New York Dramatic Mirror from their tony perch on West 42nd Street right opposite the New York Public Library.
• • Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr. • • • • Born in Chicago, Illinois, Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr. [1867 — 1932] was a Broadway impresario. He is best known for his series of theatrical revues, the Ziegfeld Follies [1907 — 1931], inspired by the Folies Bergères of Paris. Ziegfeld, who also built his own theatre on The Great White Way, earned a reputation as the "glorifier of the American girl."
• • At 65 years old, Flo Ziegfeld died in Hollywood, California during the month of July — — on 22 July 1932 — — from pleurisy related to a former lung infection.
• • Quote, Unquote • • • • Mae West, an expert on pillowtalk, became the first paragraph for an article on home decorating with pillows.
• • Vegas-based Domestic Diva Carolyn Muse Grant writes: "Too much of a good thing can be wonderful!" — — Mae West (1893 — 1980) American actress, playwright, screenwriter and sex symbol. I have to agree with Ms. West — — relative to home decorating, that is. And the two good things that can be wonderful, in my opinion, are pillows and books. ...
• • Source: Article: " Books, pillows enliven most spaces" written by Carolyn Muse Grant for Las Vegas Review-Journal; posted on 21 July 2011
• • 17 July 2004 — 17 July 2011 • •
• • In mid-July the Mae West Blog celebrates its seventh anniversary. Thank you to all those Mae-mavens who come up and see Mae every day.
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started seven years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 1999th blog post. Unlike many blogs, which draw upon reprinted content from a newspaper or a magazine and/ or summaries, links, or photos, the mainstay of this blog is its fresh material focused on the life and career of Mae West, herself an American original.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • winsome in 1912 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest
NYC
Mae West.
The summer air was feverish with a hot surge of adoration and applause during July 1928 when MAE WEST was riding a big box office wave at the Royale Theatre. 
• • Though this Broadway showplace [located at 242 West 45th Street] had first hung out its shingle during January 1927, and has become known for long-running musicals, a non-musical was the theatre's first box office bonanza: Mae West’s "Diamond Lil," which wriggled five costume changes into the star's dressing room on 9 April 1928 and maintained its sunny side up for over 170 performances.
• • Time Magazine took its temperature [issue dated Monday, 23 April 1928].
• • Time's theatre critic, sparing no flair, admitted Lil had his heart at hello: "Diamond Lil" — — Propped up under the armpits by a dress that might have been designed by the stage carpenter, Mae West played the role that she had written about a bygone queen of Manhattan's underworld. Diamond Lil was a harlot whose heart was as big and golden as the enormous swan shaped bed that stood in her elaborate cubicle above Gus Jordan's saloon and brothel. None the less, she was hardboiled; when a Salvation Army captain came to save her soul, she planned to seduce him and when a lady threatened a double cross, Diamond Lil stabbed her in the tenderloin district. Despite her efforts, Gus Jordan, the Bowery boss, is caught eventually, for white slave trafficking. The Salvation Army captain, really a member of the police force, is his captor; Diamond Lil cuddles into his arms at the end saying, "Boy, I knew you could be had.''
• • Actress West plays her heroine with an eloquent and minatory calm, which contrasts well with the chryselephantine magnificence of her appearance. There are old-time tough songs, outmoded slang words ("moll," "dick," "corset"), and singing waiters, one of whom yodels, in the musty barroom, the same song with which he recently amused Manhattan cabaret patrons. "Diamond Lil" is an entertaining melodrama, concluded Time's man on the aisle.
• • You just don't hear critics uttering "minatory" these days, do you? Minatory — — means of a menacing or threatening nature.
• • And how about that $25 phrase "the chryselephantine magnificence"? Chryselephantine — — (adjective) means made of, or overlaid with, gold and ivory, as certain objects made in ancient Greece. In 1928, those drama critics knew how to show off a good vocabulary when the mood hit.
• • Mae West on the Newsstand Now • •
• • Films of the Golden Age Magazine, issue for Summer 2011. The big cover story is focused on the life and career of Steve ["Hercules"] Reeves, whose muscular physique was seen in ‘Sword and Sand’ flicks. Readers will enjoy a very nice profile of Mae West. There is a feature on one of Mae's costars Louis Calhern, too, as well as on director William Castle. Special section on the wonderful movie year of 1941.
• • Mae West in Verse • •
• • Edward Field's poem “Mae West” was published in The New Yorker, issue for 15 July 1974.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "Save a boyfriend for a rainy day — — and another, in case it doesn't rain."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • Speaking about education needs, George Bush quoted both Mae West and Gandhi.
• • James Gerstenzang writes: President George Bush told an education forum in a blue-collar north New Jersey suburb Thursday that — — in facing its education needs — — the United States must "rely less on the collective wallet, and more on our collective will." Quoting Mohandas K. Gandhi and Mae West and stopping his motorcade by arrangement to greet a sixth-grade, learning-disabled student who had written to him, Bush sought support for his newly unveiled education program in a community that has achieved a 1% school drop-out rate. ..."
• • Source: Article: "Bush Cites Gandhi, Mae West in Education Talk" written by James Gerstenzang, Staff Writer for The L.A. Times; published on 14 April 1989
• • 17 July 2004 — 17 July 2011 • •
• • In mid-July the Mae West Blog celebrates its seventh anniversary. Thank you to all those Mae-mavens who come up and see Mae every day.
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started seven years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 1998th blog post. Unlike many blogs, which draw upon reprinted content from a newspaper or a magazine and/ or summaries, links, or photos, the mainstay of this blog is its fresh material focused on the life and career of Mae West, herself an American original.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
________
Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml
Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • 1928 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest
NYC
Mae West.
"Sex is good for you," says MAE WEST. And an interview published in The Australian Women's Weekly went with that provocative opening when they printed a profile of the controversial star. "I've never had anything to worry about," Mae assured the Aussie reporter. "It's always been success, success, success." This feature appeared on page 29 in the issue dated Wednesday, 31 July 1974.
