• • "There was such a Bowery bimbo," Variety pointed out in their show review on Wednesday, 11 April 1928, always eager to be at odds with the actress. "The original Lil came from Chicago, and became known through having a diamond set through one of her front teeth, among other things," added Variety. "Her sway was in the section known as Chatham Square, the first title of the Lil show."
• • The origins of Diamond Lil may have been in dispute but Mae West took the character to heart.
• • A flyer from the 1928 Broadway hit calls the play "A Stirring Drama of the Underworld."
• • On Tuesday, 11 April 1911 • •
• • "I've gotten a lot of bunnies on Easter," Mae West retorted in her throatiest, breast-heaving contralto, when confronted by a Time Magazine reporter, "but this is the first time I've ever received a husband." In 1937, Time had been making an issue of "Mr. Mae West" in an article discussing the actress's secret marriage in Milwaukee on Tuesday, 11 April 1911. The union began and ended in secrecy for decades, blazed through the headlines for two years, and was settled by a judge, eventually with no monetary compensation due to Frank Wallace or Mae West, his kiss-less bride.
• • On Thursday, 11 April 1912 • •
• • As a teenager, Mae West was cast in the Broadway musical "A Winsome Widow," which was onstage from 11 April 1912 — 7 September 1912. During the second act, one of her ensemble numbers was "Toodle-oodle-oodle on Your) Piccolo" — — billed as a performance by Willie Grow and Girls — — which gave one trade paper another chance to swat the jazzy brunette. Perhaps the critics ought to have slammed the composer Henry Irving Marshall [1883 — 1958] and the Dublin-born lyricist Stanley Murphy [1875 — 1919] for not doing their best, eh?
• • Despite the razzing she got for "Toodle-oodle . . .," Mae West's character La Petite Daffy won some acclaim for her display of vivacity and sauciness. "Mae West assaults the welkin vigorously," applauded the New York Dramatic Mirror from their tony offices on West 42nd Street right opposite the New York Public Library.
• • Acid threats on Wednesday, 11 April 1934 • •
• • There was indignation in the interviews she gave following the threats on April 11th about acid being thrown in her face. Mae told the news media: "It's time someone in Hollywood — — speaking very frankly — — showed what is known as intestinal fortitude. They threaten us in the picture colony under penalty of having acid thrown in our face. And they don't stop at acid threats either. They threaten to kill. It's time someone called their hand. And if it has to be me, I'll do it."
• • Mae soon announced that she was getting an armored limo to protect Jim Timony and herself.
• • Mae West on Friday night, 12 April 2013 • •
• • The Picture Show at Bay Street has its finale in April with weekends celebrating the works of actress Mae West, comedian W.C. Fields, and director Joseph Mankiewicz.
• • The final film of The Picture Show will be "My Little Chickadee" starring Mae West and W. C. Fields on Friday, 12 April 2013.
• • The showtime for "Chickadee" is at 8:00 pm at Bay Street Theatre (1 Bay Street in Sag Harbor, NY).
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "Diamond Lil is all mine. She’s I and, in my modest way, I consider her to be a classic. Like Hamlet, sort of, but funnier."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • The Herald Tribune mentioned Mae West.
• • The Herald Tribune wrote: NEW YORK: Prevented by law from bringing ''The Drag'' her play dealing with sex perversion into New York, Mae West took it home and rewrote it. This week, she brought the piece back, entitled ''The Pleasure Man.'' Critics almost unanimously condemned it. …
• • Source: "Mae West Stirs Trouble" in The Herald Tribune; published on Wednesday, 3 October 1928
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started eight years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2625th 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 • • 1928 • •
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