Mae West: Deep Loving

MAE WEST dictated a fanciful retelling of her life to her secretary Larry Lee. The material was reshaped by ghostwriter Stephen Longstreet and published as "Goodness Had Nothing to Do With It" in 1959. For Mae mavens interested in a factual, insightful account, The Mae West Blog recommends the riveting biographies written by Jill Watts and Emily Wortis Leider. Meanwhile, enjoy these (uncorrected) excerpts below from the pen of Mae West.
• • "Goodness Had Nothing to Do With It" by Mae West • •
• • Chapter 1: Take the Spotlight — — Part N • •
• • Mother was wise — — letting me have my way • •
• • Mae West wrote: Now I believe that my Mother was wise in going along with my determined wishes. Probably she realized that opposing me would get her nowhere and would merely exhaust both of us emotionally.
• • Mae West wrote: At any rate, I was completely devoted to my mother. She tried in every way to understand me, and she succeeded. It was this deep, loving understanding as long as she lived that more than anything else helped and sustained me on my way to success.
• • Mae West wrote: Matilda Delker Doelger West was a beautiful, charming and refined woman with a figure so perfect that before her marriage she had been a corset and fashion model. This experience had given her great poise and grace. In addition, she was soft-spoken, and had a manner that was formal but never stiff.
• • Mother dressed me in dainty light clothes • •  . . .
• • To be continued on the next post.
• • Source: The Autobiography of Mae West [N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1959].
• • On Tuesday, 14 February 1933 • •
• • Variety's reporter "Bige" wrote an article on "She Done Him Wrong." The magazine ran it on pages 12 and 21 in their issue dated 14 February 1933.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •

• • After facing down the man who robbed her in Hollywood on 18 September 1932 in a courtroom, Mae was shocked and horrified to learn that stick-up-artist Harry Voiler [1891 — 1974] was released on bail in Miami during February 1934
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "A curve is the loveliest distance between two points."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • The Motion Picture Daily mentioned Mae West.
• • “Paramount Theatre Starts Its 10th Anniversary Week” • •
• • Bill Ornstein wrote: The Paramount theatre today will celebrate its 10th anniversary with a combination show consisting of "Go West Young Man," with Mae West on the screen, and Al Donahue and his band, Paul Draper, Jack Powell and Louise Massey and her westerners on the stage.
• • Bill Ornstein wrote: During the past decade the average gross for the theatre has been $50,000 a week, it was estimated yesterday.
• • Bill Ornstein wrote: Some of the big films which tallied better than $60,000 a week included "Lives of a Bengal Lancer," the Mae West pictures, . . .
• • Source: Motion Picture Daily; published on Wednesday, 18 November 1936

• • 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 4,100 blog posts. Wow!  

• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fourteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4149th 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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