Mae West: Clinical Approaches

Though MAE WEST, by choice, decided not to do much TV work, her fans really enjoyed the chance to see her on "Mr. Ed" — — broadcast on Sunday, 22 March 1964. This interview appeared on Friday morning,  7 February 1964, and gave an advance buzz on the forthcoming episode, starring the screen siren with a most unusual "leading man" — — the popular talking horse.
• • "Mae West Makes a Bow to TV" • •

• • Hank Grant reported from Hollywood: "It was my first opportunity to take up Mae West on her famous invitation: "Come up and see me sometime."  Attired in a peach negligee with a delicately lacy beige bed-jacket over it, the Hollywood temptress had advice for me as well as others.
• • "When you can be calm about sex — — smile, and even laugh — — you're not obsessed with it. It's the obsessed people who cause grave trouble for themselves," according to Miss West.
• • Hank Grant explained: Mae had just completed her first TV role as a guest star in "Mister Ed" and it's been scheduled for an airing.  ...
• • According to Hank Grant, Mae had been talking to him about the selling of her Malibu property, what was called the beach home, overlooking the coast for some 20 years (that is, the broad Pacific Ocean). [Note: this section in the 1946 newspaper had faded out; more likely Mae was talking about her weekend mansion in Santa Monica.]  . . .
• • Hank Grant observed: She still has that dazzling look and even-toothed smile and the sloe-eyed look that causes male necks to turn wherever she goes. Even at close range, she looked every bit as young as she did in her last movie, and that was many years ago. Did her "Mister Ed" guesting indicate a desire on her part to come out of retirement and launch a TV career? Her answer was even more pointed.
• • Hank Grant went on: "You might say Mae West is ready for television," she drawled, "but is television ready for Mae West? Frankly, I don't like the unhealthy turn television has taken. All because of a hue and cry about excessive violence and sex on TV, producers have eliminated healthy sex and substituted clinical approaches to sex that are morbid and depressing, some are even frighteningly unromantic." . . .
• • [Ed: Mae had more to say about TV and perhaps this will continue in a future post.]
• • Source: Article: "Mae West Makes a Bow to TV" written by Hank Grant, Hollywood columnist, for The Troy Record (Troy, NY); published on Friday, 7 February 1964
• • On Tuesday, 7 February 1933 • •
• • It was on Tuesday, 7 February 1933, that Mae recorded "A Guy What Takes His Time" (one of her saucy hits from "She Done Him Wrong") for Brunswick Records.
• • On Thursday, 7 February 1935 • •
• • Between 1935 — 1936 uncut movie star paper doll sets were featured once a week in the Dallas Journal newspaper. Approximately three dozen Hollywood notables appeared with an array of glamorous outfits. The paper doll published on Thursday, 7 February 1935 was Mae West. Other favorites included Ginger Rogers, Dolores del Rio, Baby Jane, Anna Sten, Phyllis Brooks, Carole Lombard, Ann Harding, Helen Vinson, Gertrude Michael, etc. On 28 March 1935 George Raft was showcased.
• • On Wednesday, 7 February 1940 • •
• • Despite the robust ticket sales for "My Little Chickadee," and the advance word that predicted a sure-fire box office hit, the Hollywood Reporter held to their narrow opinion that "the story doesn't amount to much" and printed their churlish coverage (from the sidelines) on 7 February 1940.
• • "The gags are rather slim," felt the news man from Variety, whose opinions were printed on 7 February 1940. All the same, Variety did emphasize that the considerable loyalty of Mae's followers and W.C. Fields' fan base would create a demand at the movie houses.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • "Peering into the Past" • •
• • "The House of Rothschild" collected the most green at the box office in 1934.
• • Mae West was the champ lettuce picker.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "Everyone wants to be Mae West, why shouldn't I?"
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • The New Movie Magazine mentioned Mae West.
• • Herb Howe wrote: Warners haven't done right by our Joan Blondell. She could rate with Mae West and Jean Harlow as one of the three star comediennes. I foresee the boys doing better by Joan Blondell the coming year.  ...
• • Source: The New Movie Magazine; issue dated for January 1935 
• • By the Numbers • • 
• • The Mae West Blog was started nine years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2849th 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 • • 1964 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest
NYC  Mae West