Martin Itjen traveled to Hollywood to kiss the hand of MAE WEST and pose for pictures with the screen queen.
• • Martin Itjen [24 January 1870 — 3 December 1942] • •
• • Born on Monday 24 January 1870 in Dorum, Germany, Martin Itjen emigrated and became a Klondike stampeder in 1898 when he was 28 years old.
• • Full of ideas, Martin Itjen made a decision to purchase Jeff Smith's Parlor. He went about the renovations with great deliberation, restoring the frontage and interior to recreate the original saloon, which he operated as a Soapy Smith museum. "It's a tourist hotel attraction devised by a sourdough who boasts he once kissed Mae West's hand," wrote one reporter.
• • Hoping to drum up innovative publicity for his enterprise, in the mid-1930s Martin Itgen took his street-car to Tinseltown to sing the praises of Skagway, Alaska's tourism potential.
• • In Hollywood, he paid homage to Mae West, who cordially posed with him. Thanks to Mae, Martin was able to attract other movie stars to take pictures with him.
• • Reading Times wrote this: The sourdough, Martin Itjen, has set up his hotel on the site of the late Soapy 's saloon. Inside are models of the outlaw and his gang, wired to buttons and switches. Itjen presses a button. Soapy fires a pistol twice and two other dummy figures fall over. Martin Itjen made a trip south two summers ago "just to see Mae West." ...
• • Source: The Reading Times (Reading, PA); published on Friday, 31 January 1936.
• • Martin Itjen died in Skagway, Alaska on 3 December 1942. He was 72.
• • On Monday, 31 January 1927 in Bridgeport • •
• • Despite the public's curiosity about the controversial vaudevillian Mae West, and her latest play "The Drag," Jim Timony could only manage to secure half a week at Poli's Park, which was then in use as a burlesque house in Bridgeport.
• • It was a dreary and wintery Monday on 31 January 1927 when the Morals Production Company hoisted a banner over the trolley cars criss-crossing Main Street. Pedestrians were intrigued by this saucy announcement: "'The Drag' by the author of "Sex" — — more sensational than Rain or The Captive!" It was Mae West’s intention to give gay characters a voice and a spotlight. The police were lying in wait for her.
• • These true events are dramatized in Act I, Scene 2 of the stage play "Courting Mae West" by LindaAnn Loschiavo. Why not bring this astonishing 95-page play to your theatre?
• • On Tuesday, 31 January 1933 • •
• • Vaudeville star Elsie Janis dated her synopsis for a "Mae West Talking Picture" for Tuesday, 31 January 1933 — — but the project was deemed unsuitable for Mae.
• • On Tuesday, 31 January 1933 • •
• • Variety ran this article "No Good Women in History, Mae West Says, During Hot Sex Selling Talk." It was published on Tuesday, 31 January 1933.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • "Sin and Sunday" • •
• • Someone asked the famous shouting evangelist, Billy Sunday [19 November 1862 — 6 November 1935], who had just visited Mae West on the Paramount lot and had his picture taken with her, what he thought of the curvacious Mae.
• • "She convinces me that sin isn't as unattractive as I thought it was," Mr. Sunday smiled, "that is, not her kind of sin."
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "Maybe I ought to turn on a little more inspiration?"
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • "Old West-em Custom" • •
• • Mae West in "Goin' to Town" starts a third week at the New York Paramount tomorrow. This marks the fourth time a Mae West film has played three or more weeks at the Paramount. "She Done Him Wrong," Miss West's first starring picture, played three weeks. "I'm No Angel" played four weeks and "Belle of the 90's" three weeks.
• • Source: The Film Daily; published on Thursday, 23 May 1935
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started nine years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2844th 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 • • in 1936 with a Soapy figure and Martin Itjen • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest
NYC Mae West
In the opinion of MAE WEST, the radio people let her down.
• • A Hollywood reporter with United Press interviewed her. It's a long article, so we'll give you just a small taste this time.
• • "Radio People Let Her Down" • •
• • "Maybe the College Boys Should Have Gone to Vespers, Miss West Says" • •
• • Frederick C. Otkman wrote: Mae West shrugged a svelte hip in disdain for the National Broadcasting Company and accused its executives of impolite, disrespectful, ungentlemanly and ungracious conduct for leaving a lady in the lurch.
• • Frederick C. Otkman continued: This same indictment went also for the heads of a coffee advertising company. It hired her last month to broadcast an "Adam and Eve" skit, of which there were complaints that echoed all the way to the Federal Communications Commission.
• • "They were no gentlemen," she said. "They let a lady down " Fact was, Miss West continued, there was nothing wrong with the broadcast. Nobody would have complained about her conversation with the snake in the Garden of Eden, she said, had not most of the student body of "a certain Midwest boys' college" stayed home to listen to her, rather than attend vespers. ...
• • Source: syndicated column rpt in The Times (Hammond, Indiana); published on Sunday, 30 January 1938.
• • On Sunday, 30 January 1938 • •
• • Mae West Is Banned Over Radio • •
• • ("The Sunday Times" Special Message.) • •
• • NEW YORK, Saturday — — The National Broadcasting Company from its headquarters here has issued definite instructions that the name of Mae West must not be mentioned over any station in the network which it controls.
• • It is believed that this is the result of violent objection that followed Miss West's recent appearance, after a four-year absence from the air, in a sketch entitled "Adam and Eve."
• • Source: Sunday Times (Perth); published on Sunday, 30 January 1938.
• • On Wednesday, 30 January 1935 in Singapore • •
• • "Lord Byng at a Mae West Tea-Party — Star Will Be In London For Jubilee Celebration."
• • Lord Byng and Lady Byng joined Mae West for tea and tried to butter her up with some friendly persuasion. The Straits Times in Singapore ran an article with all the particulars on page 6 on Wednesday, 30 January 1935.
• • The NYC newsman wrote: "Miss West entertained Lord and Lady Byng at tea in her dressing room at Paramount Pictures. She soon put her guests at their ease with a few simple Westisms." ...
• • Before he left, Lord Byng suggested that she should come to London. "Sure," said Miss West. "It would fascinate me." ...
• • "Tea began formally but Miss West soon broke the ice," the journalist noted.
• • Source: Article: "Lord Byng at a Mae West Tea-Party — Star Will Be in London for Jubilee Celebration" printed in The Straits Times; published on Wednesday, 30 January 1935.
• • On Sunday, 30 January 2011 in Florida • •
• • Words of Mae West come to life in “The Drag” • •
• • Orlando-based columnist Dawnn Behrens wrote this for Examiner.com: Originally written in 1926, the words of Mae West come to life in “The Drag” tonight [on January 30th] at the Lowndes Shakespeare Center (Studio B). Directors Michael Wanzie, John DiDonna and their group received permission from the estate of the late Mae West to present the show. It will be present tonight as the last night of an exclusive 2 night performance as part of their “Dangerous Plays Series — Giving breath to dissenting voices” series. . . .
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • According to the Mayors of some seaport cities now in convention in New York, Mae West is TOPS! Asked by Paul Moss, Commissioner of Licenses, who their favorite screen star was, they unanimously selected Mae so Boris Morros, in appreciation, is having the Mayors as guests of the N. Y. Paramount today Miss West is now in her fifth week at this house with her pix, "Goin' to Town".
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "My pictures don't shock me, but I have been genuinely shocked by stories and some scenes I have seen in pictures."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • The Bunyip mentioned Mae West.
• • "Mae West's Business Approach" • •
• • 'You know, the unfunniest people to interview are comedians — they take themselves so seriously! But I remember asking Mae West the secret of making sex a success without being offensive. And she said, 'Well, I'm not really a hotsy-totsy dame — I'm a serious business woman. A lot of women make dough by exposing their torso. But I make more by doing nothing of the sort. I just keep 'em guessing.''
• • From Denis Duperly, a film correspondent on 'The Gleaner,' speaking in a BBC programme . . .
• • Source: The Bunyip; published on Friday, 11 May 1951
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started nine years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2843rd 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
MAE WEST, gamely lifting weights in her bedroom, wearing a bathing suit, and showing off her petite figure — — recently New York Magazine reprinted a dozen pictures of women keeping their shape in days gone by.
• • Sally Holmes wrote: For an extra boost of inspiration, we put together a slideshow of vintage ladies doing their version of exercising. From Marilyn Monroe raising a baton (or, according to the photo caption, "Walking is the only exercise Marilyn takes to keep her figure at its present proportions, perfect enough to win her the title 'Miss Cheesecake'") to Mae West lifting weights, see the best images of women working out. ...
• • Source: Photo feature: "40 Vintage Ladies in Ye Olde Workout Gear" written by Sally Holmes for New York Magazine; issue dated for Thursday, 2 January 2014.
• • Happy Birthday on the 29th of January • •
• • Happy Birthday to actress Ann Jillian (born on Sunday, 29 January 1950), who portrayed Mae West in the 1982 TV bio-pic of the same name. Jillian was 32 when she starred in "Mae West" on the small screen.
• • Happy Birthday to actor Tom Selleck (born on Monday, 29 January 1945). It's been said by a few people that Mae West first noticed Tom Selleck in a Pepsi commercial. She was responsible for getting Selleck cast as The Stud in "Myra Breckenridge" [1970] when he was 25 years old.
• • On Monday, 29 January 1917 in Brooklyn • •
• • Mae West was a witness at her younger sister's wedding, which took place on a weekday, Monday, 29 January 1917 in Brooklyn City Hall, not far from the West family's Brooklyn residence.
• • On Sunday, 29 January 1978 in Sunday Express • •
• • Since "Sextette" had a British director, articles discussing what happened on the set in Hollywood popped up in the British tabloids. An article discussing a scene filmed in a mock elevator appeared in Sunday Express on 29 January 1978.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Abe Meyer of Meyer Synchronizing Service has signed a contract with Paramount to furnish the music rights on "Samson and Delilah" for the new Mae West picture. Meyer is also doing the musical backgrounds for the Edward Small production, "Let 'Em Have It," and for Monogram's "Honeymoon Limited," "The Healer," and "The Keeper of the Bees."
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "I didn't have to learn about 'bad' women as every woman knows how 'bad' a woman could be if she makes up her mind to it."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • The Mirror mentioned Mae West.
• • "Mae West Should Eat Salads, Says Diet Specialist" • •
• • The Mirror wrote: Herr Benjamin P. Hauser, a Vienna diet specialist, has arrived in New York from Europe with some bold warnings and piquant prescriptions for some of the world's leading film stars. ...
• • Mae West, Hauser declared, is the typical 'vital woman' but ''she must guard against becoming overweight. She should go in strongly for salads and fruit juices.' Miss Katharine Hepburn, under-nourished, needs building up," added Herr Hauser. ...
• • Source: Mirror (Perth, Australia); published on Saturday, 18 April 1936
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started nine years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2842nd 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 • • exercising in her bedroom • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest
NYC Mae West
