Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Mae West: Charles Sullivan

In her role as Ruby Carter, the beauty queen of the night club and sporting world, MAE WEST had many admirers.  Actor Charles Sullivan portrayed a New Orleans audience admirer in "Belle of the Nineties" [1934].
• •  Born in Monroe, Louisiana in the month of April — — on 24 April 1899 — — Charles Sullivan made his cinema debut at age 26.  From 1925 — 1960, the durable bit parts player was seen in 495 roles, mostly for the silver screen as well as a handful of guest starring bits on TV. Prizefighter, champion, brawler, MP, shore patrolman, soldier, tough sailor, marine, tank crew, football player, trainer, miner, cab driver, chauffeur, policeman, bailiff, henchman, convict, bodyguard, hood, mug, truckdriver assassin, bartender, etc. were some of the minor characters he brought his liveliness to.  Casting agents patched Charles Sullivan into scenes that called for physical confidence and muscular authority.
• •  Charles Sullivan died in Los Angeles on 25 June 1972.  He was 73.
• •  Owney Madden  [18 December 1891 — 24 April 1965] • •
• • "So sweet and so vicious," was Mae's character rating for Owney "The Killer" Madden, who died during the month of April.
• • Born in England on 18 December 1891, Owen "Owney" Madden grew up in midtown Manhattan's gang-ridden westside. In the early 1900s, his family moved to Hell's Kitchen. Mary Madden and her three youngsters had moved in with her sister-in-law Elizabeth O'Neil; both widows were raising children while trying to support a husband-less household. Young Owney soon joined the Gopher Gang and became a one person crime wave.
• • During the Prohibition Era, Madden owned the popular Cotton Club in Harlem. When Francis Ford Coppola made "The Cotton Club," he chose Bob Hoskins to portray Madden.
• • Owney Madden died in Hot Springs, Arkansas in April — — on 24 April 1965.  He was 75.
• • Mae West by Willem de Kooning • •
• • Born on 24 April 1904, artist Willem de Kooning did a bizarre nude of Mae West in 1964 using oil and charcoal.  It's a blob-like pastiche in pastels that makes you wonder why the heck it is in the collection of the Hirshhorn Museum, Washington, DC. Sort of hilarious in its ugliness.  Maybe 60-year-old de Kooning was no longer capable of doing his best.
• • In Daily Mail Ideal Homes Olympia [March — April 1936] • •
• • This 288-page guide to the huge exhibition at the Olympia featured many looks at how celebrities lived. Visitors to the U.K. show could see Homes of the Film Stars (reproductions of rooms from the homes of famous personalities) such as Mae West's bedroom with its mirrored ceiling.
• • On 24 April 2008 • •
• • Goldmine Magazine featured Mae West on  24 April 2008.
• • Goldmine Magazine said: Mae West did it all, even 45s.  Mae West was sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll before there was sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll.  After Mae West, the rest of us just tried to keep up.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "I never get friendly with the men on the set. The worst woman in pictures has to be careful." 
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• •  An article about "Belle of the Nineties"  mentioned Mae West.
• • The Hollywood Reporter wrote:  Roger Pryor was borrowed from Universal by Paramount Saturday for the role in the Mae West picture, "It Ain't No Sin," which George Raft refused to play. The deal was set by the William Morris office and Miss West has consented to the substitution. The shooting schedule will be arranged by Director Leo McCarey so that the picture work will not interfere with Pryor's performances in "Men in White" at El Capitan Theatre. The change has also caused the substitution of Johnny Mack Brown for . . .
• • Source: Article: "Pryor Replaces George Raft with Mae West" written for The Hollywood Reporter; published during April 1934   
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started seven years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2280th 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 •  1934 • •
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