Mae West: In the Rear

It was a hot summer attraction — — on Monday, 4 August 1913 — — and the crowds may (or may not) have recalled that in 1912 and 1913 Hammerstein had booked the vivacious teenager MAE WEST for eleven week-long engagements at his vaudeville playhouse situated in Longacre [later Times] Square. The location was popularly known by New Yorkers as "the corner."

• • On 4 August 1913, however, Mae West was there to open for a world-famous star: Evelyn Nesbit [1884 — 1967], who was supposed to be giving ballroom dance lessons. Hammerstein thought this gimmick would arouse mega-watt attention and he was right. 
• • Unfortunately, despite a lovely low-cut gown and provocative songs, Mae failed to fire up the audience of Nesbit fans.
• • The critic from The New York Tribune [whose coverage ran on Tuesday, 5 August 1913] commented that even Mae's sultry low neckline and raunchy bumps and grinds were not enough to sway the hoi polloi.
• • "Mae West sang loud enough to be distinctly heard in the rear" • •
• • Though most of the reporters ignored the 19-year-old's attempts to woo the crowd and did not even mention her name in their reviews, at least Variety's columnist Joshua Lowe [whose critique was published on 8 August 1913] noticed how hard she was working. "Mae West sang loud enough to be distinctly heard in the rear," wrote Lowe. Oh, my goodness!
• • On Wednesday, 4 August 1954 • •
• • "The Mae West Revue," which opened in Las Vegas, was a song-and-dance show that lasted only thirty-nine minutes. Variety printed their coverage on Wednesday, 4 August 1954.
• • Save the Date: Wednesday, August 13th • •
• • Wednesday, 13 August 2014 will be the next Mae West Tribute in Manhattan and the event will start at 6:30 pm at 425 Sixth Avenue. The theme will be: "Mae West in Bohemia — — Gin, Sin, Censorship, and Eugene O'Neill."   
• • Details:  August 13th event
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • History got pushed around a bit but Broadway welcomed back Mae West who was doing the pushing. Miss West made her return to Broadway, after ten years, in her own play, "Catherine Was Great."
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "Muscles, big or small men — — men, men, I love them all." 
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article in a  newspaper mentioned Mae West.
• • Answering a reader's question, Dick Kleiner wrote: Strange how questions about Mae West keep cropping up. I guess it's that way with legends. I don't think she looks so young — — I've seen her close up — — but that's neither hither nor yon. She's 80. And, in a recent issue of a magazine called "Feminine Fitness," she told her stay-young secrets. She walks, she exercises, she eats sensibly, she never drank or smoked. If you want to be 80 and look like Mae West, that's your program. Enjoy.
• • Source: Article in the Indiana Gazette (Indiana, Pennsylvania); published on Saturday, 4 August 1973
• • The Mae West Blog celebrates its 10th anniversary • •    
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during this past decade. 
• • By the Numbers • • 
• • The Mae West Blog was started ten years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2971st 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 • • in 1913 • •
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