Mae West: August 16th Revisited

MAE WEST was born in the Bushwick area (Kings County) on Thursday, 17 August 1893. Men and women came from near and far to commemorate the Brooklyn bombshell in her hometown. The attendees who journeyed to the Italian American Museum (155 Mulberry Street) on Thursday, 16 August 2012, came from as near as Mott Street, Mulberry Street, and Spring Street and as far away as Milan, Italy.

• • The drawing card was a poster in the window that announced: "Meet Mae West's Secret Italian Husband," a multi-media presentation by LindaAnn Loschiavo.  Frank Busso, Board Member of the American Accordionists' Association, enchanted the audience by playing the music of Guido Deiro.  Many thanks to their amiable and beautiful president, Linda Reed, for coordinating the participation of Mr. Busso, who is a past president of AAA and now serves the organization as their treasurer.

• • Dr. Joseph Scelsa, founder and president of the Italian American Museum, was delighted with the turn-out, which set a new attendance record here.  "And do you know what an achievement this is for the month of August?" said Dr. Scelsa with immense appreciation.  "If this were September or October, we would have had to turn away dozens more."

• • As a few latecomers rushed to fill out their raffle tickets on August 16th, there was a short quiz on local Italian Americana.  Attendees had to answer questions like "What was this building before it became the Italian American Museum?" and "Which Italian hero has a statue in Washington Square Park?" and "Which NYC detective, slain by the Mafia in Sicily, has a park named for him?" The correct answers were awarded with a free copy of L'IDEA  Magazine, courtesy of Editorial Director Tiziano Dossena.

• • Raffle Winners on 16 August 2012 • •

• • Coincidentally, the four lucky raffle winners were all female. Phyllis Matera won a Mae West deck of cards; Greta Minsky got a hand-colored photo of Mae West taken in 1934; Carmela Busso was thrilled with her new book "The Films of Mae West" by Jon Tuska; and Elizabeth Inserra, who had to stand during the event, went home with a rare 1936 caricature of Mae West, professionally matted and ready for framing. 

• • The evening concluded with a Reception. Frank Busso entertained the assembly with his accordion and there was even some dancing. One attendee showed off her vintage snapshots of the late Pietro Deiro and his son. A few nice folks made suggestions about getting the play Courting Mae West produced. Many people lingered, conversing with new friends.
• • If you missed the fun on August 16th • •
• • This delightful presentation will be offered again in August 2013.  This grand occasion will celebrate the 75th anniversary of the American Accordionists' Association as well as the 100th year commemoration of Mae West meeting the irresistible Guido Deiro in August 1913. The 75th Anniversary Gala has been scheduled and will be held at The New Yorker Hotel on 34th Street.  Details to come.

• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started eight years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2427th 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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