Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Mae West: On Track

In her motion picture "Goin' to Town," Cleo Borden, played by MAE WEST, races her horse in Buenos Aires.
• • In the song "Easy Rider," Mae gets excited about a favorite jockey: "I'm going to put everything I own in pawn to bet on whatever horse he's on..."
• • In real life, the actress was often photographed at the track. And, yes, her father taught her to ride as a child. And following her onscreen successes at Paramount Pictures, Mae bought a California ranch and her own ponies.
• • Which racehorses did Mae have her eye on during the 1930s? Here's a snippet from an amusing interview with journalist Kirtley Baskette in 1935 that mentions two champion thoroughbreds: Nellie Flag and Omaha:
• • "The only thing I know about Milwaukee," said Mae, "is that they make beer there. It's pretty good beer — but it never was good enough to make me get married and  then forget about it."
• • "Then," I rallied, "Frank Wallace says you played Omaha."
• • "I picked Nellie Flag," said Mae. • •
• • "Wrong again," said Mae, "I picked Nellie Flag.  Us girls have got to stick together," she explained. "I wish I had played Omaha," she sighed wistfully, "on the nose."
• • "Pardon me," Kirtley Baskette said, "but I mean the town."
• • "Oh," said Mae, "I thought you meant the horse. Well, either way, it's a horse on me. I never played either one."  . . .
• • Source: Article written by Kirtley Baskette for Photoplay Magazine;  published in the issue dated for August 1935.   
• • Image: Mae West looking very confident on horseback in a scene from her motion picture comedy "Goin' to Town" [released in 1935].
• • On Monday, 22 July 1935 • •
• • "Belle of the Nineties"  — — Mae West at the Strand • •
• • The inimitable Mae West will be the starring figure in "Belle of the Nineties," to be shown at the Strand Theatre to-morrow and Wednesday nights.
• • Source:  Singleton Argus (NSW);  published on Monday, 22 July 1935.
• • On Wednesday, 22 July 1942 • •
• • The dateline was Los Angeles, the headline was "Come Up and Sue Me Sometime." This was a news item suitable for the lachrymose intolerant.
• • The Argus wrote: Mae West, the film star, has asked for a divorce from her one-time vaudeville partner, Frank Wallace, charging him with cruelty.
• • The Argus explained: Wallace, reversing the usual procedure, is requesting alimony at the rate of $1,000 a month on the grounds that he is destitute. He contends that Mae West has a fortune of more than $1,000,000.
• • The Argus closed with this sentence: Mae West declares that she separated from Wallace the month after they were married in 1911.
• • Source: Item on page 3 of The Argus (Melbourne, Australia); published on Wednesday, 22 July 1942.
• • Save the Dates: 3 Mondays in August 2015 • •
• • Onstage Outlaws — — Mae West and Texas Guinan during the Lawless Prohibition Era • •
• • 3 events commemorate the Brooklyn bombshell’s August birthday in the room where she faced a judge who sent her to jail • •
• • New York's Annual Mae West Tribute: to celebrate the birthday of Brooklyn bombshell Mae West, on August 3rd and on August 10th, her films will be shown at 6:00pm. The first one, "Sextette" [1978] will be screened on August 3rd. Then "Go West Young Man" [1936] will be screened on August 10th. The August 17th multi-media presentation will feature light refreshments (courtesy of East Village Cheese) and a raffle. You could win rare films starring Texas Guinan. Or maybe a rare reprint by The New Yorker’s caricaturist Alfred Freuh or by a famous N. Y. Times illustrator.
• • Refreshment sponsor: East Village Cheese

• • Details — — Mae West Tribute: Triple Treat in 2015 
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Sexual innuendo and double-entendres have been around forever — — in the 1930s and 1940s, you had Bob Hope leering after his female co-stars, Harpo Marx chasing maids around hotel rooms and Mae West offering up double-meaning witticisms.

• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said:  "If I ever do get married, nobody is going to have to dig around into a lot of records to find out. After a girl has put a lot of time and effort into getting her man, she's got a  right to brag about it. Believe me, I'll brag plenty."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • A British newspaper mentioned Mae West.
• • Who is your hero/ heroine from outside literature?
• • Arabella Weir replied:  Mae West, a very funny, raunchy, daring, intelligent performer way ahead of her time.  ...
• • Source: Item in The Independent;  published on Thursday, 16 July 2015 
• • The Mae West Blog celebrates its 11th anniversary • •    
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past eleven years. The other day we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 3,200 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • • 
• • The Mae West Blog was started ten years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 3228th 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 1935

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