Friday, October 12, 2012

Mae West: Soda Seductress

A new title by MAE WEST was offered as an inducement to join a book club. 
• • Enticing ad copy was printed in Brisbane's paper The Courier-Mail on page 2 on Friday, 12 October 1934.  The display advertisement promised "Mae West's Latest Novel — 'The Constant Sinner' — will be included, together with the following titles, in George Dickson's Library To-Day.  Join now for a lifetime subscription. 3d. per book."
• • Additional titles a new subscriber would get: "A Handful of Dust" by Evelyn Waugh; "Why Didn't They Ask Evans?" by Agatha Christie; "For Adults Only" by Beverley Nichols.  Sounds like Mae was in fine company.
• • John West [11 February 1900 — 12 October 1964] • •
• • 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 suffered 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 Monday, 12 October 1964. He was 64.  Mae made arrangements for her beloved brother's body to be sent back to Brooklyn to the family crypt.
• • On Thursday, 12 October 1933 • •
• • The premiere of "I'm No Angel," starring Mae West was held on Thursday, 12 October 1933 in Hollywood.  A triumphant date in Hollywood for the Brooklyn bombshell.
• • On Thursday, 12 October 1933 • •
• • Mae West is irresistible, as she sits at the counter, totally distracting the soda jerk in the animated feature "Soda Squirt" released in the USA on 12 October 1933.
• • This delightful cartoon features a brief parade of major Hollywood stars. Most are shown emerging from a limo.  Mae West is a mainstay here, shown in several scenes.
• • "Soda Squirt" was directed by Ub Iwerks [birthname Ubbe Ert Iwwerks].  Born in Kansas City, Missouri on 24 March 1901, Ub Iwerks was a personal friend of Walt Disney.  When Disney decided to form an animation company, Ub Iwerks was the first employee, not only because of their friendship but because of his impressive drawing skills.  Ub Iwerks died in Burbank of a heart attack on 7 July 1971.
• • On Saturday, 12 October 1935 • •
• • The iconic Raffles Hotel presented the entertainers Lorrison and Cody on Saturday night, 12 October 1935.  This would be the farewell performance of the popular and versatile comedy pair, Lorrison and Cody, offering "Singing and Dancing and Mae West Parodies" onstage at Raffles Hotel in Singapore.
• • Source: The Straits Times (page 9) on Saturday, 12 October 1935.
• • On 12 October 2012 in Florida • •
• • Vocalist Mia Matthews sings Mae West's songs during her cabaret show.  "Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend" will be onstage live on October 12 and 13.  The singer assembled her frisky musical selections to pay tribute to the sultry and comical songs sung on film by some of the greatest bombshells of Hollywood — — including Mae West, Marilyn Monroe, Rita Hayworth, Carmen Miranda, Betty Hutton, Madonna, etc.
• • The Plaza Theatre is here: 262 S. Ocean Blvd, Manalapan, Florida. Phone them for details and the time slots.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "I know what I want.  I have to. That's the only way to build a career."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article on an author mentioned Mae West.
• • Leslie Doolittle wrote: You probably know that William Diehl is a successful suspense author, known for such best-selling novels as Primal Fear. But did you know he saw the Hindenburg explode, had Mae West for a baby sitter, served as Martin Luther King's personal photographer ...
• • Source: Article: "Author Uncovers The Real Diehl" written by Leslie Doolittle for the Orlando Sentinel; published on Sunday, 12 October 1997
By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started eight years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2455th 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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• • Photo:
• • Mae West • "Soda Squirt" [1933]
• •
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