Mae West: Getting Lucky

MAE WEST agreed to dine with the reporter and film critic Mal Vincent in 1969. He recently published an article about his evening with the movie queen at the Casa D'oro Restaurant on Santa Monica Boulevard in California. Though you did not see the screening (held in March), Mr. Vincent's comments were too good to miss. This installment is Part 2 of 3.
• • "Mae West screening stirs memory of getting lucky" • •
• • Mal Vincent explained:  Miss West had not made a movie in more than 25 years when I called 20th Century Fox and asked for an interview.
• • Mal Vincent recalled:  Miraculously, someone called back and said "Miss West will have dinner with you tomorrow night at the Casa D'oro Restaurant on Santa Monica Boulevard." This was followed by a crash course in Westian etiquette.   "If you'd like a cocktail, have it before she arrives. She doesn't like alcohol around. If she likes you, though, she may order a bottle of wine. She eats only health food, but you can order anything you like. Refer to her as 'Miss West' at all times. Never, ever, as 'Mae.' But you can ask any personal questions you want. The more personal the better."   Seldom had the ground rules for an interview been set so clearly.

• • Mal Vincent observed:   The restaurant was not a well-known place. It was small and so dark you could hardly find the tables. Miss West came in like a ghostly white creature out of the darkness.   Clad in a formal white evening gown with opera gloves and blond hair cascading over one shoulder, she stood in the door until she was sure that everyone had noticed her. She then moved slowly across the room with the grace of a cat on the prowl - sliding one foot behind the other. She wore high platform shoes. The famous hips swayed.  When she got to the table, she purred, "Don't get up. Save your energy. I guess you've got your pencil sharpened and are ready to go."   She extended a diamond-covered hand and braceleted wrist.
• • Mal Vincent remembered:  Miss West then explained why she had agreed to do the interview. "I like your style — — at least what I know of it. I remember your byline from a review you wrote of my album, 'Way Out West.'  . . .
• • To be concluded tomorrow, on Wednesday.
• • Mal Vincent has been a longtime culture writer for The Virginian-Pilot.
• • Source: Article written by © Mal Vincent, Virginian-Pilot correspondent for The Virginian-Pilot; published on Saturday, 14  March 2015.
• • On Wednesday, 7 April 1954 in Variety • •
• • The death of James Timony [on 5 April 1954] was announced in The L.A. Times on April 6th and in Variety on the 7th. Mae was prostrated by grief at the death of her long-term companion. She was unable to receive callers and dealt with his funeral arrangements. Timony's body was sent back to Brooklyn and buried in a family plot at Holy Cross cemetery.
• • On Thursday, 7 April 2005 • •
• • On Thursday, 7 April 2005, a news item appeared that a Bill Gates-owned company "Buys Dead Celebrity Firm." Film News reported that Corbis Corp., a company owned by Microsoft's Bill Gates, has bought the Roger Richman Agency, whose "clients" include such dead celebrities as Mae West, Steve McQueen, Elvis Presley, Betty Grable, the Marx Brothers, and others.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Men like Mae West the minute they meet her, but she never does a thing to attract their attention. Off the screen she dresses simply — usually in black. But men are attracted.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said:  "I don't give myself any credit for that. I'm just that way — so stubborn and difficult once I get an idea into my head."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • The Dorothy Manners column mentioned Mae West.
• • Mae West, in a white satin evening gown and a pompadour, stole the big scene at Doris and Jules Stein's huge dinner at Misty Mountain, their Beverly Hills place. There were many guests who were younger and more up to the minute, but it was still Mae all the way.  . . .
• • Source: Dorothy Manners' syndicated Hollywood column rpt in The Arizona Republic; published on Sunday, 7 April 1968   
• • 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 3151st 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 • • "Way Out West" • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest
NYC  Mae West