Mae West: R.I.P. Phil Moody

A versatile musician who worked with MAE WEST in Vegas during the 1950s has died, sad to say.
• • Recognize the name Phil Moody? The durable British-born pianist was Mae West's music director. In a recent interview, Phil Moody revealed this intriguing opinion — — that Mae West and Gene Austin were in love even when Austin was married to Moody's sister-in-law, Pony Sherrell. In fact, Gene Austin lived with his sister-in-law and brother-in-law Grace and Phil Moody in Palm Springs from 1971 until his death at Desert Regional Medical Center on 24 January 1972. He wrote his last song at their house.
• • Born in Southampton, England, Philip grew up in a musical world and is a graduate of the Royal Academy of Music. Prior to coming to America, Moody was involved with the British motion picture and television industries; additionally, he was commissioned to write, arrange, and conduct for many of England’s top entertainers.
• • In this country, Phil Moody enjoyed a fruitful career as a Hollywood composer and arranger as well as a music director in Las Vegas and the MGM Grand in Reno. In the 1960s and 1970s, he directed and co-wrote material for artists as diverse as Jimmy Durante, Betty Grable, opera diva Helen Traubel, and the extraordinary film legend Mae West — — who performed a “muscle man” act with special material co-written by Moody.
• • A longtime veteran of the night club music scene in Palm Springs, California, Phil Moody died at a local hospice on Monday, 22 August 2011. His age was given as 89. A graveside service for this musician is tentatively scheduled for Friday, 26 August 2011 at Desert Memorial Park in Cathedral City. Word is that a private celebration of his life will be held in autumn.
• • Phil Moody, you will be missed by all your fans.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West wrote this. "I'm a woman of very few words — — but lots of action."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • Here, in the third extract from her new book The World According to Joan, Joan Collins explains why age should never be a barrier to looking good and feeling great ...
• • Joan Collins wrote: Catherine the Great was reputed to have taken younger lovers to bed. Mae West, who lived to 90 [sic], had a live-in lover 45 years younger than she was. When asked how she kept herself looking so young, Mae replied: ‘I go to bed early, I meditate, I eat all the right foods, I don’t smoke or drink alcohol and I believe in myself with a passion. You can only beat nature when you show the bitch who’s boss!’ ...
• • Source: Article: "Botox? No, it's sex that'll keep you looking young, Joan Collins reveals" published in the Daily Mail (UK); posted on 23 August 2011
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started seven years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2032nd 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 • • c. 1953 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest
NYC
Mae West.