Tuesday, October 01, 2013

Mae West: Celluloid Noose

Eddie Ray claims to have been directly involved in the successful career of the recording artist MAE WEST.
• • Hailing from Franklin, North Carolina, Eddie Ray will be at Kannapolis Branch Library on Thursday, 3 October 2013 at 6:00 pm hoping to interest people in his new book “Against All Odds: The Incredible Life Story of Eddie Ray.”
• • Currently, Eddie Ray is the director of the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame in downtown Kannapolis.  He will regale the audience with anecdotes about his journey from a stock boy to a vice president of Capitol/Tower Records in Hollywood.
• • During his career, Ray has been directly involved in the successful careers of recording artists, songwriters and producers such as Mae West, Fats Domino, Rick Nelson, Dave Bartholomew, Slim Whitman, The Osmonds, Allen Toussaint, Lou Rawls, Hank Williams Jr., Ernie Freeman, Mike Curb, Irma Thomas, Sammy Davis Jr., Ian Whitcomb, Al Green, Pink Floyd, and many others.
• • Where: Kannapolis Library, 850 Mountain St, Kannapolis, NC; T. (704) 920-1180.                       
• • On Wednesday, 1 October 1913 • •
• • The New York Morning Telegraph sent reviewers to cover the show at Proctor's Fifth Avenue when Mae West had one of the top spots. "She is not volcanic in style and manifests no inclination to whoop it up," remarked a critic in the N.Y. Morning Telegraph on Wednesday, 1 October 1913.
• • In an edition a few days later, The New York Clipper called her "one of the most vivacious soubrettes that has graced the vaudeville stage in many moons."  No doubt Mae had changed her act because she was now touring with headliner Guido Deiro.
At Jefferson Market Library Nov. 23rd
• • On Monday, 1 October 1928 • •
• • Mae West's gay play "Pleasure Man" had a $200,000 box office advance when it premiered at the Biltmore on Monday, 1 October 1928. The police raided the show, however, and shut it down the same night.
• • At Jefferson Market Library in NYC next month • • 
• • Mae West's legal woes inspired the stage play "Courting Mae West." See it on 23 November 2013 in the very same room where Mae faced off with Judge George Donnellan and 12 jurors.
• • On Tuesday, 1 October 1935 • •
• • In 1935, Paramount tried to re-release Mae West's two Pre-Code hits from 1933, "She Done Him Wrong" and "I'm No Angel." But Joe Breen had tightened the celluloid noose explaining, in a letter dated Tuesday, 1 October 1935, that these were "so completely in violation of the Code that it is utterly impossible for us to issue a certificate of approval."
• • On Friday, 1 October 1937 • •
• • On Friday, 1 October 1937, Paramount Pictures announced that the venerable restaurant and hotel owner George Rector [1878 — 1947] would be co-starring with Mae West in her latest motion picture "Every Day's a Holiday."
PHOTO: Wayne Takenaka
• • See "Diamond Lil" This Autumn! • • 
"Darlene Violette channels Mae West to perfection!" — Stu Hamstra
• • By popular demand, actress Darlene Violette — — and the wonderful cast who brought the Bowery denizens and Suicide Hall’s ne’er-do-wells to life — — will return in “Diamond Lil” for several evening performances at Don’t Tell Mama [343 W. 46th Street] on these dates in 2013:
• • 7:30pm on Sunday October 27th — Hallowe'en Party — come in 1890s costume!
• • 7:00pm on Sunday November 3rd — vote for Gus Jordan for Sheriff Night.
• • 8:30pm on Sunday November 10th
• • 7:00pm on Sunday November 17th
• • 7:00pm on Sunday November 24th
• • Phone after 4pm to reserve a seat: 212-757-0788; RSVP online: www.donttellmamanyc.com
• • Closest MTA subway stations: 42nd St./ Times Sq. via A, C, E, 1, 2, 3 
• • The public is invited (suitable for age 18 and over). Join us as we turn the iconic NYC nightspot Don't Tell Mama into Gus Jordan's "Suicide Hall"! 
• • The Cast: Starring Darlene Violette as Diamond Lil, Queen of the Bowery and also featuring Sidney Myer, Anthony DiCarlo, Joanna Bonaro, Gary Napoli, Juan Sebastian Cortes, Kimmy Foskett, Jim Gallagher and live music by Brian McInnis
• • Director: Co-directed by Dena Tyler, The Actors Studio, and Darlene Violette.
• • Come up and see for yourself. You might even win a swell Raffle Prize.
• • Watch a short clip: Diamond Lil meets Pablo, a gigolo
• • Read a Review of "Diamond Lil" • •
• • L'Idea Magazine's editors attended four times and had a lot to say. Here's the link: http://www.lideamagazine.com/usa-still-entertaining-mae-wests-diamond-lil-makes-new-fans-in-new-york-city/
• • Staying faithful to the gritty themes in the novel, LindaAnn Loschiavo trimmed the work to 85 minutes for a cast of eight.
• • Audience Comments about "Diamond Lil" • •
• • Gigi Garcone said:  Just saw "Diamond Lil" — — a very entertaining production! This tribute to the sultry, irresistible diva Mae West is a must see! All the actors are very talented and you can see they put their hearts into their roles. I especially liked Darlene Violette as Mae West and Joanna Bonaro as Rita, a madam from Rio. Darlene encompassed the whole persona of Mae and Joanna was sublime as the madam — — she really has such a presence on stage. Very enjoyable performance and it's worth the trip!
• • Rick Baynes of Baltimore said: I second Gigi's comments. "Diamond Lil" brings the fabulous Mae West back to life. The wonderful Darlene Violette is spot-on in her portrayal of the lusty, bawdy Mae. Do yourself a favor and go see this lovely production.

• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "When women go wrong, men go right after them."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • The Chicago Tribune wrote about Mae West.
• • Glen Elsasser wrote: Mae West died at age 87 in 1980, after a career unique in the annals of show business. But her surreal charm as queen of the double entendre endures. Time has been kind and spun her life story and oeuvre into an icon — — the subject of a non-stop flow of books, articles, scholarly studies and mentions in journals of popular culture.
• • Glen Elsasser wrote: "Part of her appeal is she's funny," said Emily Wortis Leider, her latest biographer. Leider's new book, "Becoming Mae West" (Farrar Straus Giroux), chronicles the formative and little-known years of the actress' early life.
• • Glen Elsasser wrote: "I think she appeals to feminists, although I don't think she was a feminist by any standard and didn't like other women," she added. "She's so powerful on the screen, always the focal point and always bigger than anyone else." ...
• • Source: Article: "Mae West's Powerful Image Lives On" by Glen Elsasser for Chicago Tribune; published on 21 November 1997
• • By the Numbers • • 
• • The Mae West Blog was started nine years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2753rd 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 Diamond Lil returned for Mae's birthday

• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest
  Mae West

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