skip to main |
skip to sidebar
After MAE WEST teamed up with Jimmy Hussey [1891 — 1930] in December 1920, their steamy romance and creative collaborations continued for about eighteen exciting months — — until the Irish-American comedian was ignominiously fired from the show he created for his darling Mae in the summer of 1922, "The Ginger Box Revue."
• • Not long after their first encounter, Hussey wrote the book and the lyrics for the revue "Whirl of the Town." Later that year, it was renamed "The Mimic World 1921." Well aware of Mae's abilities, Hussey custom-tailored skits for her. She starred in prominent sketches in this production — — including a bridal number, "The Trial of Shimmy Mae," and in another routine as the con artist "Shifty Liz." ["The Mimic World 1921" opened on Wednesday, 17 August 1921, Mae's 28th birthday.]
• • A few months earlier, however, Mae West and Jimmy Hussey were touring in his show "The Whirl of the Town." By the end of March 1921, they had been booked in Washington, D.C.
• • Poli's "Whirl of the Town" — — Opening at 8:20 o'clock • •
• • Poll's Theater this week beginning tonight, will present the Century Promenade's new musical revue, "Whirl of the Town," in two acts and twenty-five scenes. The cast is headed by Mlle. Anna Codee of the Folies Bergere, Paris, and includes Jim Hussey, Georgie Price, Clare Nordstrom, Mae West, Marguerite Farrell, Beth Stanley, and many others with one hundred Century beauties.
• • Jimmy Hussey has been a headliner in vaudeville and lately presented a revue of his own. "Tattle Tales," and is an entertainer of varied talent. Georgie Price, who achieved success at the Winter Garden some months ago, has been a headliner in vaudeville and also successful in musical comedy.
• • Mae West will be recalled from Arthur Hammerstein's "Some Time" and Marguerite Farrell came into prominence by singing the song "If You Knock the L out of Kelly."
• • The book and lyrics are by Harold Atteridge, the music by Jean Schwartz. Al Bryan and Lew Pollack also contributed lyrics and music. The entire production was staged under the supervision of J. J. Schubert.
• • Source: Article in The Evening Star (Washington, D.C.); published on Sunday, 6 March 1921.
• • On Sunday, 31 March 1912 • •
• • The end of March signaled the beginning of excitement down at "The Corner" [Seventh Avenue and 42nd Street]. The New York Times announced on 31 March 1912 that "Mae West and Her Boys" would take the stage at Hammerstein's Victoria.
• • On Thursday, 31 March 1927 • •
• • On Thursday, 31 March 1927 it was reported in The New York Times that Sergeant Patrick Keneally of the Midtown Vice Squad, whose testimony was heavily flavored with a thick Irish brogue, quoted long passages from Mae's play "Sex" from memory. Moreover, "frequently, under the instructions of the Prosecutor," explained The Times, "assuming poses to demonstrate the manner in which members of the cast delivered their lines," Sgt Keneally gave the jury box quite a show.
• • On Monday, 31 March 1930 in The N.Y. Times • •
• • The N.Y. Times ran this headline to keep readers up to date on the "Pleasure Man" trial at the end of March 1930: CLASH MARKS MOVE TO FREE MAE WEST; Nathan Burkan Demands Details in Play Indictment — — Wallace Calls Motion Ridiculous. TWELFTH JUROR CHOSEN Then Panel Is Excused as Counsel Argue Over Terming Actress "Star of Case." Sales Manager Picked as Juror. Wants All Indecency Specified.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • The indestructible Mae has lived for 26 years now in the same six-room apartment on the sixth floor of a fashionable apartment house not far from Hollywood and Vine.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "A man has one hundred dollars and you leave him with two dollars. That's subtraction."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • A British newspaper mentioned Mae West.
• • The 'American Cool' exhibit is currently on show at the National Portrait Gallery, in Washington. Just under a quarter of the 100 are women — — including Mae West, Madonna, and Bonnie Raitt. There were four defining factors of cool — — people chosen had to fit at least three categories to qualify . . .
• • Source: Item in The Daily Mail [U.K.]; published on Monday, 31 March 2014
• • The Mae West Blog celebrates its 10th anniversary • •
• • Thank
you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during this
past decade. The other day we entertained 1,430 visitors. We reached a
milestone recently when we completed 3,100 blog posts. Wow!
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started ten years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 3146th 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 1921 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest
NYC Mae West
MAE WEST gave an interview to the Evening Star on Sunday, 6 March 1921. This extensive feature was printed on the theatre page and reveals that Mae had distinct views about succeeding in show business when she was 27 years old.
• • "Mae West and Advice" • •
• • Mae West says she never would have amounted to anything on the stage if she had ever taken any kind friend's advice. This comedienne is a firm believer in doing things in "your own way." She justifies her position with illustrious examples.
• • "Suppose George M. Cohan had accepted all the suggestions made to him in the old days by stage directors and friends," she says. "Would he have been so successful?"
• • "Mr. Cohan is a genius," it was suggested.
• • "He surely is!" assented Miss West. But she added that if Mr. Cohan had followed the advice of every stage director when he was a young man, he would not have developed that marvelous personality and talent of his as he has, or be what he is today.
• • "Merely to do things in the same way that they have been done before," she continued, "bow, smile, wave the hand, and speak with studied intonation just as thousands of other people do have done on the stage for years is not going to get you anywhere in specialty work, musical comedy, or vaudeville."
• • "Of course, when people come to you with suggestions that you modify your acting or certain things in it so as to conform more strictly to stage conventions and ethics, they may mean kindly. In fact, they are probably prompted to come to you with this advice because they have the kindest feelings towards you. But in reality they are your deadly enemies and are likely to be destroyers of your chances of success."
• • "I think that little eccentricities of walk or speech or facial expression or gesture and manner — — even such a little thing as a Cohanesque shoulder stoop or a drawing down of the corners of the mouth, if original and natural — — all ought to be treasured as most precious possessions if the comedian wants to make a hit in eccentric characterization."
• • Miss West said a lot more wonderful things, but life is short and art is long.
• • Source: Article in The Evening Star (Washington, D.C.); published on Sunday, 6 March 1921.
• • On Wednesday, 30 March 1927 • •
• • By Wednesday, 30 March 1927, twelve male jurors had been selected for Mae West's "Sex" trial set for Jefferson Market Court on Sixth Avenue in Greenwich Village. Mae hired four attorneys to represent her. Her defense team was headed by Harold Spielberg, Herman "Beansie" Rosenthal's former associate. Trial coverage appeared in the N.Y. Herald Tribune, The N.Y. Times, Variety, and elsewhere.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Mae West was voted by the Seaman's Institute as their favorite actress.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "She who laughs lasts."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • The London Review of Books mentioned Mae West.
• • "Nobody’s perfect" • •
• • London resident Vanessa Coode wrote: While I was an undergraduate, the University Film Society showed a series of Mae West films. I think I went to all of them and in the process noticed that, while the women in the audience got all the jokes (as far as I could tell), the men got about half — — that is, they did not get the ones about men. . . .
• • Source: Item in The London Review of Books; posted on Thursday, 30 March 2000
• • The Mae West Blog celebrates its 10th anniversary • •
• • Thank
you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during this
past decade. The other day we entertained 1,430 visitors. We reached a
milestone recently when we completed 3,100 blog posts. Wow!
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started ten years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 3145th 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 vaudeville in 1921 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest
NYC Mae West
MAE WEST was onscreen on March 27th in Eagle Rock, an area in Northeast Los Angeles, California.
• • "She Done Him Wrong" starring Mae West — admission 15c • •
• • On Monday, 27 March 1933, the Eagle Rock Advertiser printed this announcement on page 3 with Mae's photo: Vox Theaters, Inc. — — Eagle Rock Theater at Eagle Rock and Colorado Blvds; ALbany 1517 — — admission 15c — — 300 Good Seats — — 5 Days Starting Tuesday, March 28th — — Mae West, “Darling of Broadway,” in “She Done Him Wrong”
• • Source: Eagle Rock Advertiser (California); published on Monday, 27 March 1933.
• • On Monday, 27 March 1989 • •
• • Published on Monday, 27 March 1989 was Carol Ward's fascinating book "Mae West: A Bio-bibliography" [Greenwood Press, 241 pages]. Ward's chapters include a biography, an examination of the art of Mae West, and a bibliographical checklist of key Mae West sources. One of her helpful sections summarizes and partially reprints several early interviews, spanning many years and quoting liberally — — including the full texts of interviews by Ruth Biery and George Christy.
• • Carol Ward's "Bibliographical Essay" evaluates and surveys works by and about Mae West, including Fergus Cashin's snarky, highly suspect "Mae West" (1981), with his dopey insinuations about "indeterminate sex" and female impersonation, and also George Eells and Stanley Musgrove's readable "Mae West" (1982), a biography that debunks certain myths and appreciates the subject but lacks cited sources. Carol Ward's bibliography explores Mae West's talents as an author, summarizing the plays and books she wrote and investigating the validity of those claims. A wonderful book for every Mae maven.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Of his "Myra Breckinridge" co-stars, Rex Reed joked, “Mae West spoke to no one but God, Raquel [Welch] spoke only to the head of the studio, the head of the studio spoke only to God, who then related the message back to Mae West.”
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "Keep a diary and one day it will keep you."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article on film actresses and vamps mentioned Mae West.
• • Times Union staff writes: NOT EVIL: Mae West in "She Done Him Wrong" (1933). Only in a period of mental health with regard to sex could a character like Mae West arrive — — a vision of female strength and good humor, who, in her films, bragged of having many lovers. In 1915, she would have been presented as an evil vamp — — in 1933, she was a comic heroine. ...
• • Source: Pictorial: "The Evil Beauties of Cinema" written by The Times Union staff for Albany Times Union; posted on Wednesday, 21 March 2012
• • The Mae West Blog celebrates its 10th anniversary • •
• • Thank
you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during this
past decade. The other day we entertained 1,430 visitors. We reached a
milestone recently when we completed 3,100 blog posts. Wow!
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started ten years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 3144th 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 • • on Hollywood Studio Magazine • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest
NYC Mae West
