Mae West: Personality Is It

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 Q • •
• • Learn to let go of things • •
• • Mae West wrote:  Let go of the things that can't possibly matter to you, and you'll always have room for the better things that come along. I learned early that two and two are four, and five will get you ten if you know how to work it.
• • Mae West wrote:  Personality is the most important thing to an actress's success.
• • Mae West wrote:  You can sing like Flagstad or dance like Pavlova or act like Bernhardt, but if you haven't personality you will never be a real star. Personality is the glitter that sends your little gleam across the footlights and the orchestra pit into that big black space where the audience is.
• • Mae West wrote:  Personality is what you as an individual radiate. It's a combination of your thoughts and the way you express them.
• • Express your true feelings • •  . . .
• • To be continued on the next post.
• • Source: The Autobiography of Mae West [N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1959].
• • On Monday, 19 February 1940 • •

• • The cover of Life Magazine's issue dated for 19 February 1940 featured the King of Romania. Inside were two aristocrats of comedy: Mae West and W.C. Fields.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Take a trip back to the gay days before prohibition with Mae West. As the slightly manhandled heroine, she gives a fine piece of acting.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "I have just seen that RAF flyers have a life-saving jacket they call a "Mae West" because it bulges in all the "right places."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • A Philadelphia daily mentioned Mae West.
• • ‘Broads’ at 1812 Productions: Brassy, unapologetic cabaret of freethinking females • •
• • Hugh Hunter wrote: But mostly the trio celebrate grand and sassy women. Jess Conda masters Mae West’s suggestive innuendo and double entendre. “I used to be Snow White, but I drifted” is one of the few quips I can repeat (the Inquirer being a family paper). Mae West’s notoriety led to stardom in the 1930s, especially in the movies, for which she wrote her own dialogue.  …  
• • Source: Philadelphia Inquirer;  published on Friday, 15 February 2019

• • 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 4152nd 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 • • Life Magazine in 1940 • •
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