Mae West: Hot, Panting

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 J • •
• • "No dog, no picture." • • 
• • Mae West wrote:  My uncle went out again on a frantic search. It got to be early afternoon, but I absolutely refused to go to the photographer without the dog. "No dog, no picture," I said.
• • Mae West wrote:  "Here comes Uncle now," said Mama.
• • Mae West wrote:  He had the right canine. I was delighted. We drove to the photographer's in our carriage. The dog barked, jumped out and ran away. My uncle chased after him, shouting.
• • Mae West wrote:  After some delay, during which Mother and I waited and the photographer grew restless, my uncle came in with the dog. Both were hot and panting, and my uncle's trousers were torn. The picture was taken.
• • Batterman's department store on Broadway • •  . . .
• • To be continued on the next post.
• • Source: The Autobiography of Mae West [N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1959].
• • On Monday, 8 February 1960 in Hollywood • •

• • Mae West got her star on the "Walk of Fame" at 1560 Vine Street on Monday, 8 February 1960.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • A check dated for Friday, 8 February 1935 was the $3,500 allowance to James Timony — — his 10% commission on Mae's script for "Now I'm a Lady," sold to Paramount Pictures for $35,000. This was quite a sum in 1935 when most of the country was in the grip of the Great Depression and there were bread lines and widespread joblessness.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "I won't drink Los Angeles water — — it's terrible.  I only drink bottled water." 
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • Motion Picture Daily mentioned Mae West.
• • “Iowan Gets Nervous” • • 
• • Des Moines, Nov. 1 — Iowa has sent a nervous man out to be Mae West's guest for eight days. He is LeRoy Kling, 28, manager of a seed and coal firm.
• • Twenty thousand letters received by the Des Moines Sunday Register in a contest to pick the state's most eligible bachelor and three unmarried women judges selected him. …
• • Source: Motion Picture Daily; published on Monday, 2 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 4145th 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 • • every inch a star in 1960 • •
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