Mae West: Twist and Bert

MAE WEST covered the rock and roll dance hit "Twist and Shout" on her album "Way Out West" [1966].   
• • Philip "Phil" Medley was an American songwriter notable for his composition "Twist and Shout," which he wrote along with Bert Russell. The song was made famous by both The Isley Brothers and The Beatles.
• • Bert Russell [8 November 1929 — 30 December 1967] • •

• • Born in Bronx, NY in November — — on Friday, 8 November 1929 — — Bert Russell (Bertrand Russell Berns) contracted rheumatic fever as a child, a condition that affected his entire life. During the 1960s, Berns was a songwriter and record producer. Blazing a trail through the music scene for the best loved soul sounds and rock and roll, Berns made his mark on popular music. His well-recognized hits included "Twist and Shout," "Here Comes the Night," "Piece of My Heart," "Hang on Sloopy," and many others. 
• • Plagued by a history of cardiac trouble, the hard-working musician had a heart attack. He died on 30 December 1967. He was 38.
• • Vincent Sardi, Sr. [23 December 1885 — 19 November 1969] • •
• • Vincent Sardi, Sr. opened his first Times Square eatery with his wife Eugenia ("Jenny") at 146 West 44th Street in 1921. Five years later, when that building was slated for demolition, Mr. and Mrs. Sardi accepted an offer from theater moguls, the Shubert brothers, to relocate to a new building the brothers were erecting.
• • When business slowed after the move, Vincent Sardi searched for a gimmick to attract customers and attention. Recalling the movie-star caricatures that decorated the walls of Joe Zelli’s, a Parisian restaurant and jazz club, Sardi decided to recreate that effect in his establishment. He hired a Russian refugee named Alex Gard [1900 — 1948] to do drawings of Broadway box-office sensations. Alex Gard did a caricature of Mae West in her "Diamond Lil" costume in 1928.
• • Still located in New York City's theater district at 234 West 44th Street (west of Broadway), Sardi's is famous for its "Wall of Fame" — — numerous wall-mounted, often distorted and unflattering caricatures of show-business celebrities.
• • On Saturday, 19 November 1927 • •
• • When Mae's play "The Wicked Age" opened, The New York Times reacted with alarm: "The whole was in the best Mae West school of playwriting . . . ." Yes, you're right; this was never meant to be a compliment.
• • The curtain clanged down on "The Wicked Age" on Saturday, 19 November 1927.

• • On Thursday, 19 November 1936 in The N.Y. Times • •
• • During the 1930s, publications were still spelling the star's first name as either "May" or "Mae," sometimes using both spellings in the same article. 
• • J.T.M. penned the movie review of "Go West Young Man," which was printed in the Times on Thursday, 19 November 1936. His title read "May West at the Paramount in Go West, Young Man" [sic].
• • J.T.M. wrote: "The suasively undulating Mae West (sic) is back on the Paramount screen with a new and engagingly robustious . . . ." Robustious, yes. Exactly.
• • On Tuesday, 19 November 1996 • •
• • A CD by Mae West "I'm No Angel" was released on the British label Jasmine on Tuesday, 19 November 1996.
• • On Saturday, 19 November 2011 • •
• • On Saturday, 19 November 2011 Wayne, a diligent deejay for Radio New Zealand, played "My Daddy Rocks Me (With One Steady Roll)" and then he said, "The patron saint of the blonde bombshells, Mae West was 61 when she recorded this celebratory song." Neat.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "I put some flag waving into my act to match the torso waving."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • A speech given about safety mentioned Mae West.
• • Mr. Wedgwood Benn said: The next and far more serious thing is that the children under five years of age — of whom there were five in the aircraft — were supposed to be provided for by a large dinghy. It is obvious that the ordinary form of what we call the "Mae West" is quite unsuitable for young children. ...
• • Source: Aircraft Crash, Sicily (Report), HC Deb; on Thursday, 19 November 1953 

• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started eight years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2490th 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 • • 1966 • •
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