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In April 1938, the screen siren MAE WEST was not known for barnstorming — — the practice of touring the countryside giving lectures or presenting theatrical performances. Nor was she used to performing at a cut-rate. So perhaps Mae was sending a coded message to the Hollywood moguls when she gave this curious interview. What do you think of this peculiar news item about Mae agreeing to one-night stands at £1 per head?
• • "Mae West Free-Lancing" • •
• • Hollywood — April 28 — Mae West, who is free-lancing for the first time in her career, is planning a barnstorming tour of the United States. This includes one-night stands at £1 per head. Mae West is the only Hollywood star who has not changed her mode of living since coming here. She still lives in the same apartment, and has bought only one new car in five years.
• • Source: Advocate (Tasmania); published on Friday, 29 April 1938.
• • On Monday, 30 April 1956 in N.Y. World-Telegram Sun • •
• • It was on Monday, 30 April 1956 that Robert W. Dana's felicitous coverage of "The Mae West Revue" appeared.
• • Robert Dana's popular daily dish "Tips on Tables" was published in the now defunct New York World-Telegram and Sun.
• • His column "Mae West's Show Grows" [dated April 30th] indicated Dana had seen the hormone-fueled routine previously.
• • Robert W. Dana wrote: The old belief that everything should be bigger and better — — a thought most forcefully pronounced by Hollywood trailers — — can be applied with forthright honesty to Mae West, who has returned to the Latin Quarter [in New York City on West 48th Street], where she scored heavily in the fall [sic] of 1954. ...
• • On Wednesday, 30 April 1969 in Los Angeles • •
• • On Wednesday, 30 April 1969, on light blue note paper (engraved Miss Mae West at the top), the Hollywood icon took time out to send a warm letter to her cousin Tillie.
• • The Delker Family: Mae's mother Matilda (Delker) West had 5 siblings who emigrated from Germany to the USA together. By the time the family reached New York, they were Lutherans. Her brother Carl Delker married Miss Mathilde Misdorn on 26 May 1889. Notice the reference to Mae's "Aunt Tillie," her mother's sister-in-law. [Also note the absence of the surname "Doelger." On Mae's marriage license in April 1911, her mother's maiden name was given as Matilda Dilker, probably a clerical error.]
• • Mae West wrote: Dear Tillie: For a long time I have been wanting to write to you, and also send you these little gifts. Some years ago, I received them from Aunt Tillie Delker. I believe they belonged to her daughter, our Cousin Eleanor. I thought you might enjoy wearing them. They are a lovely necklace of garnets and a cameo pin. . . .
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "I think that the most brainless woman in the world can out-smart a man when she has to."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • A newspaper in Boston wrote about the huge fan base of Mae West.
• • "Clutching, Squealing Crowd Greets Mae West with Mob Scene Here" • •
• • Boston Herald wrote: Complete with the publicized curves and husky, slurring accents that have made her practically a symbol of what she is pleased to call "the sex personality," Mae West crashed into Boston yesterday morning through a clutching, squealing crowd of 3,000 eager admirers who turned the South station into a mob scene. ...
• • Source: Boston Herald; published on Friday, 29 April 1938
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started eight years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2638th 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 • • 1938 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest
NYC Mae West
When MAE WEST assembled her Chicago band, she hired at least one Caucasian. Jules Stein, the founder of MCA, fondly recalled playing in it. Roger Ebert wrote: Jules Stein said he played the violin for Miss West's stage act in Chicago when he was 18 and she was 26; that would have made her 92 years old (when she died). He asked her out and she turned him down, he recalled with a twinge of regret 66 years later.
• • Mae was born in 1893. Geeez, Jules, can't you telling when a lady is pulling your leg?
• • Jules Stein [26 April 1896 — 29 April 1981] • •
• • Born in South Bend, Indiana to Lithuanian Jewish immigrants, Jules Stein came into the world on Sunday, 26 April 1896. During his college years in Chicago, Stein earned a few bucks playing the violin and saxophone at weddings and bar mitzvahs.
• • In the book "The Last Mogul," Dennis McDougal wrote: Musically, the timing for his arrival in Chicago couldn't have been better. During World War I, Chicago became the capital of dance-hall ragtime. While still an undergraduate, Jules Stein organized dance bands to defray living costs. One of his earliest gigs was playing back-up fiddle to a busty young vaudevillian from Brooklyn named Mary Jane West. Stein remembered her, even in 1913, as "voluptuous." She was one of the first white performers he'd ever seen stand on stage and shimmy her ample bosom like a hot young soul singer. Mary Jane let Jules accompany her to the South Side black joints where she could study hootchy-kootchy technique up close, but she never dated her fiddle player. She was too old for him, she teased. For the next sixty years, long after she'd changed her name to Mae West, she reminded Jules Stein often about his missed chance. ...
• • In 1921, he earned his medical degree from Rush Medical College and then studied for one year in Europe. When he came back to The Windy City, he was appointed chief resident at Cook County Hospital. Stein continued to book bands on the side and eventually left his secure life as an opthamologist for the entertainment industry.
• • In 1924, Dr. Stein founded Music Corporation of America (MCA).
• • Jules Stein died in Los Angeles in the month of April — — on Wednesday, 29 April 1981. He was 85.
• • On Sunday, 29 April 1928 • •
• • Percy Hammond wrote an article about Mae West. The title was “The Rewards of Virtue” and it was published in the New York Tribune on Sunday, 29 April 1928.
• • Drama Magazine, April 1928 • •
• • Mae West's troubles with the stage censors and City Hall in 1927 were mentioned in Barrett H. Clark's article "The Padlock Law in New York" (page 200). His essay was printed in Drama Magazine's issue # 18, issue dated for April 1928.
• • On Friday, 29 April 1938 in Boston • •
• • Beantown readers were treated to this titillation on 29 April 1938, announced with a boldface headline: "Clutching, Squealing Crowd Greets Mae West with Mob Scene Here."
• • The Boston Herald reporter wrote: Complete with the publicized curves and husky, slurring accents that have made her practically a symbol of what she is pleased to call “the sex personality,” Mae West crashed into Boston yesterday morning through a clutching, squealing crowd of 3000 eager admirers who turned the South station into a mob scene.
• • The Boston Herald reporter noted: Cries of pain mingled with shouts of “There she is!” and “Give us a smile, Mae!” as the mob, in a surging onslaught, trampled on toes and barked shins to get closer to the object of it all. The plump blonde actress, in a trailing satin dress, with make-up thick on her features and a huge bunch of orchids clutched in a heavily jeweled hand, gave them the smile and was taken off to the Ritz-Carlton, where she is staying while appearing in person at the RKO Boston Theater this week.
• • On Saturday, 29 April 1950 in Pittsburgh • •
• • Pittsburgh's Mayor David Lawrence and Mae West shared the stage of the Nixon Theater on Saturday night, 29 April 1950, after the final performance of her play, "Diamond Lil." The 47-year-old playhouse was booked for bulldozing, making way for the new headquarters of the Aluminum Company of America. Tsk. But what do the citizens of Pittsburgh know about the magnificence of the theatre arts anyway?
• • On Sunday, 29 April 1984 • •
• • N.Y. Times reporter Francis X. Clines was reviewing Peter Conrad's book and gave his Sunday, 29 April 1984 column this spunky title: "Walt Whitman's and Mae West's New York."
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "Love can not live on insults, neither can it live on fur coats, but a fur coat helps."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • The Advertiser mentioned Mae West.
• • "Mae West Disappears — Star in Retreat" • •
• • From London, the snippy gossip columnist Greville Bain wrote: It cannot have escaped the notice of the film public that it is a long while since we had any news or even rumors of Mae West.
• • Greville Bain wrote: Not so long ago she was said to vie with Shirley Temple as the greatest film attraction in the United States. ...
• • Source: Article: "Mae West Disappears" by Greville Bain in The Advertiser (Adelaide); published on Saturday, 17 April 1937
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started eight years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2637th 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 • • 1950 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest
NYC Mae West
MAE WEST starred in "My Little Chickadee" [1940], a film released in the USA on 15 March 1940. An actor was seen briefly as a townsman.
• • Mark Anthony [? — 25 April 1944] • •
• • Mark Anthony had a brief career in Tinseltown. During 1940, he was cast in three motion pictures.
• • He portrayed an officer in "It's a Date" [1940]. He snagged a minor role in "Honeymoon Deferred" [1940]. The third time was the charm. Mark Anthony was tapped for a small part as a resident of Greasewood in a Western-themed comedy starring Mae West, namely, "My Little Chickadee" [1940].
• • Nothing more is known about this (presumably) young actor.
• • Mark Anthony died over Yuma, Arizona on Tuesday, 25 April 1944. His aircraft was shot down (i.e., a military plane crash). If you know how old he was or other details, chime in.
• • On Monday, 26 April 1926 on Broadway • •
• • Written by "Jane Mast" and starring Mae West as Margy LaMont, "Sex" opened in April — — on Monday, 26 April 1926. The Broadway debut occurred a few blocks north of Columbus Circle at Daly’s 63rd Street Theatre, the only playhouse available at the time. "Mae played a Canadian woman," noted Playbill, "with no time for those Mounties."
• • The N.Y. Daily News sent a reviewer who wrote: "Most of the 'Sex' appeal falls to the talents of Mae West, a vaudeville actress who somewhat resembles Texas Guinan."
• • On Friday, 26 April 1935 in the L.A. Examiner • •
• • This article appeared on Friday, 26 April 1935 in the Los Angeles Examiner: Louella O. Parsons wrote "Eva Tanguay Backs Mae in Dispute Over Husband." Notice the timing of Louella's supportive article and Mae's appearance on her radio program on April 26th. Hmmmm.
• • Hollywood Hotel on Friday, 26 April 1935 • •
• • The popular star of Paramount Pictures rarely appeared on radio. When she did, the sole purpose was to promote one of her motion pictures. Mae West had guest-starred on The Shell Chateau with Al Jolson in 1936 and also on Louella Parsons’ blackmailing program Hollywood Hotel on 26 April 1935, with featured guest Paul Cavanagh in an adaptation of her (then most current) screen gem: "Goin’ to Town."
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "Food, too, is one of my failings, but I can't cook, bake, wash dishes, sew, peel potatoes or onions."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • The Hollywood gossips mentioned Mae West might return to the stage.
• • "Mae West May Go Back to Broadway" • •
• • Mae West has written a new play, and it looks as if it will bring her Hollywood career to an end — — at least for the time being. Her film contracts in Hollywood terminate shortly, and she is thinking of appearing in her play on Broadway where she was a famous star in the 'Diamond Lil' days. Incidentally, that period included the famous prosecution for putting in an alleged indecent play. ...
• • Source: News Item: Mirror (Perth, Australia); published on Saturday, 22 February 1936
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started eight years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2636th 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 • • 1940 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest
NYC Mae West
