Tuesday, May 01, 2018

Mae West: Social Intimacy

On Tuesday, 26 April 2016, a long fascinating article appeared about MAE WEST.
• • “Mae West:  A Visionary in Satin and Lace” was written by movie buff Linda Sandahl. In case you missed this delightful analysis, it will be excerpted here.  This is Part 6.
• • Mae West — — maverick • •
• • Linda Sandahl wrote:  It’s amazing to realize this now, but Mae West’s numbers with the Duke Ellington band are the first time a white person performed with black musicians on screen. And they did so with an implied background of social intimacy. Besides accompanying her onstage, they are ready after hours to back her in numbers they have obviously all enjoyed doing together before.
• • Linda Sandahl wrote:  The world has changed so much that it is difficult to grasp what a challenge to the accepted social order these things were. But they were. A hero is a role model. And the statement being made was that an irresistibly attractive, witty, accomplished hero like Mae felt that it was right to treat everyone equally, without regard to labels.
• • Linda Sandahl wrote:  So in her own way, Brooklyn’s bombshell Mae West pulled some bricks out of the wall.  
• • This was Part 6 of a longer piece — — and the finale. We hope you enjoyed it.
• • Check out Linda Sandahl’s site for her engaging analysis of other screen stars from The Golden Age.
• • Source: http://www.lindajsandahl.net; posted on Tuesday, 26 April 2016.
• • On Tuesday, 1 May 1956 • •
• • "Mae West Says Every Man Has Sex Appeal," trumpeted the headlines around the country in Tuesday newspapers on 1 May 1956.
• • At the time, the Brooklyn bombshell was making the rounds on New York City's night club circuit and hitting other venues with her muscleman act. And the press obliged by pumping out interviews.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Complete with the publicized curves and husky, slurring accents that have made her practically a symbol of what she is pleased to call "the sex personality," Mae West crashed into Boston yesterday morning through a clutching, squealing crowd of 3,000 eager admirers who turned the South station into a mob scene.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "In the motion picture ‘Myra Breckinridge’ I meet a passionate young student who, in Gore Vidal's book, puts me in the hospital. But in the version I have written, I put him in the hospital!”
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • The Daily Variety mentioned Mae West becoming a producer.
• • “Mae West's Own Play on Coffee and Cakers” • •
• • Mae West is, again, invading the producing ranks on her own as a side-line to her current tie-up as author—star of "Diamond Lil" at the Royale Theatre in New York.
• • In the new exploit, Miss Mae West will register in dual capacity of author-producer of "Five-A-Day," saga of the coffee and cake circuit masquerading as valid theatres.
• • The show goes into rehearsal next week but without a theatrical home until after passing the scrutiny of the play jury.  . . .
• • Source: Article in Variety (NY); published on Wednesday, 8 August 1928 
• • The evolution of 2 Mae West plays that keep her memory alive • • 
• • A discussion with Mae West playwright LindaAnn LoSchiavo — — 
• • http://lideamagazine.com/renaissance-woman-new-york-city-interview-lindaann-loschiavo/
• • The Mae West Blog celebrates its 13th anniversary • •  
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past thirteen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 3,800 blog posts. Wow!  
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started thirteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 3949th 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 Chicago in 1955

• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest
  Mae West

1 comment:

  1. Yes, in Gore Vidal's book, Myra Breckinridge, the character of Letitia gets pushed down a staircase. The scene that was filmed in a hospital was cut out. So many changes were made to Vidal's original story line, that he disassociated himself from the film. He claims that after the film was released, sales of his book stopped overnight.

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