Wednesday, August 22, 2018

Mae West: Hollywood Lesbians

Jill Watts, biographer of MAE WEST, distinguished professor at CSUSM, and talented author of books on Father Divine [1879—1965] and Hattie McDaniel [1895—1952], which has inspired a bio-pic about the Oscar winner, has kindly consented to an exclusive interview with The Mae West Blog. This is Part 16.
• • Same Sex Attraction • •
• • JILL WATTS: Additionally, Mae subscribed to the psychological theory of “inversion” as an explanation of why individuals chose same sex relationships. 
• • JW:  I am speculating but I think that she might have been able to rationalize same sex attraction between men but, as a straight woman, she couldn’t accept it for women.  There have been rumors that she had relationships with women but I could never confirm it.  But I think this is the one area where she really was threatened.
• • lesbian women in Hollywood • •
• • JW:  But I wouldn’t attribute her behaviors disliking women.  It is certain that she knew and worked with a lot of lesbian women in Hollywood, although she never championed them in particular.  She did bond with women outside of Hollywood like Dolly Dempsey who was a school teacher in San Diego. 
• • supporting women who didn’t threaten her career • • . . .
• • This exciting interview with Prof. Jill Watts will be continued on the next post.
• • Recommended Reading: “Mae West: An Icon in Black and White” by Jill Watts [Oxford University Press; paperback edition, 2003]; 400 pages.
• • On Monday, 22 August 1932 • •
• • On this date production began for the motion picture "Night After Night," which offered Mae West her first chance to be in pictures.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Alexander Hall directed "Goin' to Town" [1935], starring Mae West and Bert Roach was seen as one of the cowboys.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "When I was making pictures, I couldn't even say a 'hell' or 'damn' on the screen. The church people watched me like a hawk. Where are the church people today? How can they allow such things as you see on the screen?"
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • Radio station KWTX mentioned Mae West.
• • On August 18, 1894 — 124 years ago today — Hollywood designer Travis Banton was born in Waco. His family moved to New York when he was just 2 and he later studied at both the Art Students League and the New York School of Fine and Applied Art before he started his career as a dress designer. He created costumes for actress Norma Talmadge and for the Ziegfeld Follies and other stage productions and went on to serve as Paramount’s chief designer from 1929 to 1938 before turning to freelance work. In all he dressed more than 160 films, helping create images for such stars as Marlene Dietrich, Carole Lombard, Claudette Colbert, and Mae West. Travis Banton died in 1958 in California.  . . .
• • Source: Item from KWTX;  published on Saturday, 18 August 2018
• • 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 14th anniversary • •  
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past fourteen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 4,000 blog posts. Wow!  
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fourteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4029th 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 1932

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