Mae West: Henry Aaron Hollzer

Before you could say "applesauce," Judge Harry Aaron Hollzer ruled in favor of MAE WEST.  As if the screen queen did not have enough grief over Arch Obler's Adam and Eve skit, which she performed on "The Chase and Sanborn Hour" in December 1937, she was pushed into the path of an angry Storm.
• • Judge Hollzer's Memo of Conclusions in Storm v. Mae West • •
• • Writer Joan Storm smelt the coffee — — and decided here were grounds for a court case. Fortunately, Judge Hollzer ruled that "the character of Eve is central" to the skit (not the applesauce), thus Mae did not have to get steamed up over the loss of a cool mill.
• • "Mae West Wins Over Writer in Suit" • •
• • LOS ANGELES, March 18 — (AP) — Mae West won't have to pay Joan Storm $1,000,000 for material she used in her "Adam and Eve" radio broadcast, Federal Judge Harry Hollzer ruled today.
• • The writer claimed part of her script, "Love and Applesauce," had been used by Miss West In the radio skit. The actress and the National Broadcasting company, co-defendants, claimed she stayed up all night rewriting the script in an emergency.
• • Judge Hollzer read both scripts and said there was not enough similarity to constitute infringement.
• • Source: "The News in Brief: Mae Won't Have to Pay," Poughkeepsie Eagle-News (page 1); published on Tuesday, 19 March 1940. Other dailies syndicated this AP coverage.
• • Harry Aaron Hollzer [4 November 1880 — — 14 January 1946] • •
• • Born in New York City on 4 November 1880, Harry Aaron Hollzer became a lawyer.  In 1924, when he was 44 years old, he was appointed to a Superior Court judgeship by Governor Richardson. In 1931, Judge Hollzer was appointed to United States District Court for the Southern District of California by President Herbert Hoover.
• • As a Los Angeles-based Federal judge, Hollzer was on the bench for a goodly amount of mayhem from high-profile Hollywoodites. Holzer ajudicated court cases involving Mae West as well as Clara Bow and Hedy Lamarr. He also swore in German-born actress Marlene Dietrich as a citizen of the United States in 1939.
• • He attended a dinner party on 3 January 1946 given by a rabbi friend. Unfortunately, Judge Hollzer suffered a heart attack and was hospitalized. In his weakened condition, he caught the flu and died at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital in Los Angeles in January — — on Monday, 14 January 1946.  He was 65.
• • On Sunday, 25 January 1948 • •
• • On Sunday, 25 January 1948, The New York Times's London correspondent had seen "Diamond Lil." He noted: "The audience displayed little interest in the comedy melodrama of the nineties but it warmed to Miss West. ..."
• • On Tuesday, 25 January 2011 in The Orlando Sentinel • •
• • The paper announced on Tuesday, 25 January 2011 that the controversial Mae West play "The Drag" will get a reading in Florida: John DiDonna's Empty Spaces Theatre Co. will present a staged reason of Mae West's gay-themed "The Drag" twice this weekend as part of its Dangerous Plays Series.
• • Mae West, Eve, and Applesauce • •
• • Here's a section of the controversial Adam and Eve sketch. Mae West played Eve — — and used the word applesauce.
• • Snake: Wait a minute. It won't work. Adam'll never eat that forbidden apple.
• • Eve: Oh, yes, he will — — when I'm through with it.
• • Snake: Nonsense. He won't.
• • Eve: He will if I feed it to him like women are gonna feed men for the rest of time.
• • Snake: What's that?
• • Eve: Applesauce!
• • The Adam and Eve skit was written by Arch Obler and reinvigorated by Mae West on Sunday, 12 December 1937.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West was asked: "Will you continue to play sexy roles?"
• • Mae West said: "I'll continue playing good bad ladies until the public wants something else.  Thus far they seem satisfied."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • The International Herald Tribune mentioned N.B.C. and Mae West in January 1938.
• • "N.B.C. Rebuked for Skit" • •
• • WASHINGTON, DC — A sharp reprimand to the National Broadcasting Company for presenting a skit called “Adam and Eve,” in which Mae West played the part of Eve, was delivered today [January 15] in a letter from Frank R. McNinch, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. The program provoked widespread criticism from listeners when it was given on December 12, 1937. Mr. McNinch said the commission had received letters criticizing the program as “profane,” “obscene,” “indecent,” “vulgar,” “filthy,” “sexy,” and “insulting to the American public.” ...
• • Source: The International Herald Tribune; published on Saturday, 15 January 1938 
• • By the Numbers • • 
• • The Mae West Blog was started eight years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2557th 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.

 

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