Mae West: I won't go!

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 ZZZ • •
• • Mae is turning up her nose • •
• • Mae West wrote:  My mother told him, "I'll speak to her."
• • "I won't go on the stage if I have to pick up the money!" • •
• • Mae West wrote:  I said to Papa, "I won't go on stage if I have to pick up the money!"
• • Mae West wrote:  "Now don't be rash, Mae. Of course, you'll go on with your stage work."
• • Mae West wrote:  So there was poor Papa who had tried to keep me off the stage begging me to please go on. "Even if my friends have to wear out their derbies to pick up the cash tossed at you."
• • Mae West wrote:  "I'll buy them new derbies," I said.
• • Chapter 2:  A World by the Tail • •
• • We hope you enjoyed this section from Chapter 1. Perhaps it has encouraged you to read more.
• • Source: The Autobiography of Mae West [N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1959].
• • On Thursday, 5 March 1936 • •
• • Associated Press broke the news first: MAE WEST QUITS STUDIO; She and Paramount Accuse Each Other of Breaking Contract.
• • Hollywood, Calif., March 5, 1936 (AP) — — Mae West and the Paramount studio jointly accused each other of voiding her movie contract today. Out of a welter of conflicting statements, only one fact seemed clear — — that she would make her next picture for another company.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •

• • Leo McCarey is searching for a Beef Trust chorus. Director wants a bulging line for the Mae West picture, "It Ain't No Sin."
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: “There’ll always be dames wanting diamonds.”
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • A pop culture site mentioned gender and Mae West.
• • Urban Legends: Is Jamie Lee Curtis a Hermaphrodite? • •
• • David Emery wrote:  Jamie Lee Curtis was neither the first nor will she be the last female celebrity to whom gender ambiguity has been attributed. Marlene Dietrich, Greta Garbo, and Mae West endured similar "whisper campaigns" during their respective heydays, according to Paul Young, author of "L.A. Exposed: Strange Myths and Curious Legends in the City of Angels." . . .
• • Source: ThoughtCo; published on Friday, 28 September 2018

• • 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 4162nd 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/
________
Source: https://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml   
Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • in 1934 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest
NYC  Mae West