Mae West: Ida M. Adams

In 1912, MAE WEST had the role of Le Petite Daffy in "A Winsome Widow" and pretty Ida Adams was seen as Tony.
• • Ida M. Adams [c. 1888 — 4 November 1960] • •

• • Born in the USA circa 1888, Ida Adams became a musical comedy actress.  Her New York stage career began in 1909 when she appeared as Miss Glick in "The Candy Shop." In 1911 the 22-year-old was a success as Desiree in the crowd-pleasing musical comedy "The Pink Lady"; she toured with the show as well.   Then came the box ofice blockbuster "A Winsome Widow," and her cast mates included Mae West, Harry Connor, Emmy Wehlen, Leon Errol, Elizabeth Brice, Charles King, Frank Tinney, and the Dolly Sisters.  Then she was part of "The Ziegfeld Follies of 1912" with Bert Williams, etc.
• • Ida Adams worked the West End, staying in London 1915 — 1918.
• • From 1916 — 1920, Ida M. Adams received screen credit (as Ida M. Evans) as the writer of five silent movies, for instance, "Limousine Life" [1918] starring Olive Thomas [1894 — 1920].
• • Screenplays brought in a nice income.  The New York Commercial Register for 1919 — 1920 listed her as "Adams Ida M. (Miss), 140 W. 55th. Actress."  But soon she was using her screenwriter's stash to secure real estate in Manhattan. In 1919, she commissioned the architects Warren and Clark to remove the original brownstone facing at 130 East 38th Street and refurbish the frontage with tinted stucco and impressive leaded glass windows. She was living there, according to the 1920 census, with her cook.
• • Who knows what she did for the next forty years?  Ida M. Adams died on Friday, 4 November 1960.  She was 72. 
• • Lester Lee [7 November 1904 — 19 June 1956] • •
• • A native New Yorker (like Mae), Lester Lee was born in The Big Apple on Monday, 7 November 1904. An accomplished author and composer, he joined ASCAP in 1942. Working with his chief musical collaborators, Ned Washington, Allan Roberts, Zeke Manners, and Bob Russell, Lester Lee turned out numerous pop songs. A versatile hit-factory in his prime, with numerous chart-toppers to his credit, Lester Lee wrote many musical-production tunes. In 1943, he signed a contract with a Hollywood film studio. From 1945 on, he was creating special material for radio.
• • In June 1954, when Mae West debuted her new muscleman act at the Sahara Hotel in Las Vegas, one of her hot numbers was “Take It Easy, Boys,” which the prolific Lester Lee had written.
• • Lester Lee died from a heart attack in Los Angeles on 19 June 1956. He was 51 years old.
• • On Wednesday, 7 November 1934 • •
• • On Wednesday, 7 November 1934 Vassar's "Polite Questionnaire" asked coeds on campus this question: "Who (sic) did your father dote on in 1932?  Mae West, Aimee Semple McPherson, or Margaret Sanger?"
• • Source: Vassar Miscellany News, Volume XIX, Number 11, on 7 November 1934.
• • On Friday, 7 November 2003 in Los Angeles • •
• •  Mae's apartment house The Ravenswood was designated a landmark in the month of November — — on Friday, 7 November 2003.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "I hear Marilyn and Jane are tryin' to build themselves up with their sex appeal. Well, they haven*t got what it takes. They're artificial. They haven't arrived yet."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article published in November 1954 interviewed Mae West.
• • The NY correspondent wrote: The buxom platinum blonde with free-swinging hips and sultry come hither voice has returned to New York after a smash-hit run in the vastly opulent nightclubs and cabarets of Las Vegas and Reno.  Her current show in a New York theatre is not making as much money as she earned 20 years ago, when she was the highest paid woman in America and probably the world, but it is doing pretty well all  the same. ...
• • Source: Article: "At 62, Mae West Now Brings Women Flocking To Learn From The Girl With IT" for The Sun-Herald (Sydney, NSW); published on Sunday, 7 November 1954 

• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started eight years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2477th 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 • • 1912 cast mate • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest
NYC  Mae West.