Mae West: Tabloid Celebrity

In case you missed a fascinating review of a book analyzing MAE WEST, here it is. This is Part 3 of 6 parts.
• • “Mae West, Diamond in the Rough” • •
• • “Sex” was short on art and long on comically lurid brothel scenes • •
• • Gerald Weales wrote: After years of minimal success in vaudeville, in tacky road companies, in burlesque (although she always claimed she never played burlesque), Mae West retreated — — or advanced — — to the last refuge of the open mind and the open kimono: Broadway.
• • Gerald Weales wrote: In 1926, on the assumption that what the legit needed was a taste of life in the raw, she wrote and starred in "Sex," a comedy melodrama about a Montreal prostitute that was short on art and long on comically lurid brothel scenes. Dismissed by the critics but helped by the publicity of a police raid, "Sex" became a success and Mae West a tabloid celebrity.
• • “The Drag” showed the seamier side of NYC’s gay subculture • • . . . 
• • This book review by Gerald Weales will be continued on the next post.
• • Source: The Washington Post; published on Thursday, 11 January 1996.
• • On Monday, 31 January 1927 in Bridgeport • •

• • Despite the public's curiosity about the controversial vaudevillian Mae West, and her latest play "The Drag," Jim Timony could only manage to secure half a week at Poli's Park, which was then in use as a burlesque house in Bridgeport.
• • It was a dreary and wintery Monday on 31 January 1927 when the Morals Production Company hoisted a banner over the trolley cars criss-crossing Main Street. Pedestrians were intrigued by this saucy announcement: "'The Drag' by the author of SEX — — more sensational than Rain or The Captive!" It was Mae West’s intention to give gay characters a voice and a spotlight. The police were lying in wait for her.
• • These true events are dramatized in Act I, Scene 2 of the stage play "Courting Mae West" by LindaAnn LoSchiavo. Why not bring this astonishing 95-page play to your theatre?
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Renaming of Mae West's "It Ain't No Sin" as "The Belle of New Orleans" drew protests today from civic and political bodies here.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "The curve is the loveliest distance between two points."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • The Motion Picture Daily mentioned Mae West.
• • Hunt Still On • •
• • Hollywood, July 12. — Paramount is still facing the title bugaboo on the Mae West film, having been unable to clear "Belle of New Orleans," which happens to have been tacked on to a play of a decade ago.  . . .
• • Source: Motion Picture Daily; published on Friday, 13 July 1934
• • 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 15th anniversary • • 
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past fifteen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 4,400 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fifteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,400th 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  
• • Be sure to bookmark or follow The Mae West Blog
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • "The Drag" is raided and makes headlines in 1927 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: Ribald Wisecracks

In case you missed a fascinating review of a book analyzing MAE WEST, here it is. This is Part 2 of 6 parts.
• • “Mae West, Diamond in the Rough” • •
• • toughness and the self-assurance that precluded victimization formed the stage character that Mae West carried from the cheap theaters • •
• • Gerald Weales wrote: "Tough girls were wild and made no secret of it," Hamilton says of the young women who alarmed social workers early in the century and who "simply did not see themselves as victims."

• • Gerald Weales wrote: The toughness and the self-assurance that precluded victimization were to form the stage character that, however bowdlerized it became in later years, West carried from the cheap theaters where she began her career to Broadway and Hollywood. Her dances (the "muscle dance," the "cootch," the shimmy, borrowed from a black Chicago club), her suggestive songs, her ribald wisecracks were too blatant for the refined wing of vaudeville, although she did briefly temper her vulgarity enough to get onto the stage of the Palace, New York's premier vaudeville showplace.
• • “Sex” was short on art, long on lurid brothel scenes • • ...  
• • This book review by Gerald Weales will be continued on the next post.
• • Source: The Washington Post; published on Thursday, 11 January 1996.
• • On Monday, 30 January 2012 • •
• • "Mae West and famous faces take up temporary residence at gallery" • •
• • Images depicting the sex appeal of Mae West and Sophia Loren, comedic wit of Jack Lemmon, and the NYC neuroticism of Woody Allen have taken up space at Maitland Regional Art Gallery in Australia.
• • Emma Swain writes: Donated by new gallery patron Pat Corrigan, the exhibition features a collection of signed photographs of Hollywood stars including Mae West, Lauren Bacall, and Mickey Rooney. “This exhibition is a real 'who’s who' of old movie stars, but it’s also very interesting,” the gallery’s deputy director Kim Blunt said.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • "In the Salt Lake City territory," Mayer goes on, "the only way exhibitors can be compelled to play 'Alice in Wonderland' is by refusing to give them Mae West pictures until they do!” declares Arthur L. Mayer in the current issue of Liberty.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "My sister's husband is the kind of guy whose accent has an accent."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • The Motion Picture Daily mentioned Mae West.
• • Breen O.K.'s Mae West Film • •
• • Hollywood, Aug. 8. — Joseph I. Breen has given the new Mae West film, "Belle of the Nineties," a seal of purity after several weeks of remaking. ...
• • Source: The Motion Picture Daily; published on Thursday, 9 August 1934
• • 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 15th anniversary • • 
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past fifteen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 4,300 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fifteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,399th 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  
• • Be sure to bookmark or follow The Mae West Blog
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • "Sometime" in 1911 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: Rough Diamond

In case you missed a fascinating review of a book analyzing MAE WEST, here it is. This is Part 1 of 6 parts.
• • “Mae West, Diamond in the Rough” • •
• • Under review was a [then] new release: "When I'm Bad, I'm Better: Mae West, Sex, and American Entertainment" — — a book written by Marybeth Hamilton [NY: HarperCollins. 307 pp].
• • Reviewing this book, Gerald Weales wrote: Marybeth Hamilton's "When I'm Bad, I'm Better" promises "to unmask Mae West by tracing the history of her public persona" through changing attitudes toward sex and class. That may be one of the few ways of doing a Mae West book these days.
• • Mae West’s private life is obscured intentionally • •

• • Gerald Weales wrote: The actress's private life is so obscured by a fog of her own making that a celebrity scandal biography, except as a congeries of rumor and invention, is out of the question, and even an admirer of her performance in "She Done Him Wrong" is unlikely to feel the need for an in-depth study of the West oeuvre.
• • Gerald Weales wrote: As Hamilton sees it, West and her aesthetic were formed by the working-class Brooklyn neighborhood in which she grew up — — if so elegant a word as aesthetic can stand in for West's conviction that she always knew what her audiences wanted, and her frequently voiced intention of giving it to them.
• • toughness and the self-assurance that precluded victimization formed the stage character that Mae West carried from the cheap theaters • • . . . 
• • This book review by Gerald Weales will be continued on the next post.
• • Source: The Washington Post; published on Thursday, 11 January 1996.
• • On Sunday, 29 January 1978 in Sunday Express • •
• • Since "Sextette" had a British director, articles discussing what happened on the set in Hollywood popped up in the British tabloids. An article discussing a scene filmed in a mock elevator appeared in Sunday Express on 29 January 1978.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Management of the RKO Palace is being commended on its frankness in advertising.
• • In a large display frame announcing coming attractions, with a permanent line at the bottom, this appears: Mae West in "Belle of the Nineties." Carefully Cooled. 
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: “I became convinced that the public was ready to view sex frankly." 
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • The Motion Picture Daily mentioned Mae West.
• • Finish Mae West Film • •
• • Hollywood, Aug. 1. — Paramount has completed remaking of the Mae West film and it will be released Aug. 31 as "Belle of the Nineties."  . . .
• • Source: The Motion Picture Daily; published on Thursday, 2 August 1934
• • 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 15th anniversary • • 
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past fifteen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 4,300 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fifteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,398th 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  
• • Be sure to bookmark or follow The Mae West Blog
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • ad in 1933 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: Scripps-Howard

“Newspapers have sunk pretty low when we reach the point that, to get circulation, we are willing to glorify a tart like MAE WEST!”
• • You are invited to read the shocking contents of a private [unpublished] letter written in 1933 when “I’m No Angel” was breaking box office records and one of the largest newspaper chains in American had to decide if Mae was worthy of the ink — — or if she was a strumpet who set a bad example. 
• • “Selling Mae West is bad for Scripps-Howard” • •
• • On Wednesday, 18 October 1933, Frederic S. Ferguson wrote this personal letter to Roy W. Howard [New York Central Building, 230 Park Avenue, NYC]:
• • — — and this is not because I am getting old.

• • I think that we as newspaper have sunk pretty low when we reach the point that, to get circulation, we are willing to glorify a tart like Mae West to the extent of selling this message to young girls — — I presume we still have some among our readers — — that it's the smart thing to be tartish, and that female virtue is no longer anything more than a target for jest.
• • I quote from your first page of promotion on Mae West's "Cleverest and snappiest lines of the year” — — "When girls are good, they're very, very good — — but when they're bad, they're better."
• • — — “The girl I play in 'I'm No Angel' is the kind who is intimate only with her friends but she hasn't an enemy in the world."
• • — — "There are girls who have climbed the ladder of success wrong by wrong."
• • — — "I've heard of many a girl who could lose her reputation and never miss it.”
• • Fine for The New Yorker — — which no one buys with the idea that it is a "home paper" even in sophisticated New York.  I think it is pretty lousy stuff for papers of our sort — — with a circulation largely out where the United States are located.
• • Faithfully yours, F. S. Ferguson, Esq., NEA Service, Inc.
• • Source: “Selling Mae West is bad for Scripps-Howard” — — from Frederic S. Ferguson’s letter to Roy W. Howard.
• • Note: Roy W. Howard (1883—1964) was an American newspaperman with a long association with E. W. Scripps Company. He was president of E. W. Scripps Company and the United Press, and chairman of Scripps Howard Newspapers.
• • On Friday, 28 January 1938 • •
• • "Radio Officials, 'No Gentlemen,' Let Her Down, Says Mae West" was a page 3 article in The Washington Post. It was published on Friday, 28 January 1938.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • With shock-proof punches but with haymakers nevertheless, Mae West uncorks a flashy, melodramatic entertainment of the 1890s in "Belle of the Nineties," trippingly gay and gaudy for the most part but lingering in spots.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: “Jail life is not so bad after all. It may be the making of me." 
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • The Motion Picture Daily mentioned Mae West.
• • New Orleans Stays Calm • •
• • New Orleans, July 31 — Mae West's latest, "The Gay Nineties," has been booked into the Saenger for Aug. 3, and the city is quite calm about it.
• • About three weeks ago, when it was proposed to call the feature "Belle of New Orleans," all the women's clubs and other civic groups got all "het up," claiming aspersions were being cast on the city. …
• • Source: The Motion Picture Daily; published on Wednesday, 1 August 1934
• • 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 15th anniversary • • 
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past fifteen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 4,300 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fifteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,397th 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  
• • Be sure to bookmark or follow The Mae West Blog
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • portion of a letter from 1933 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: Perth Post

In January 1938, the NBC ban of the name of MAE WEST was making worldwide headlines.
• • “Mae West Is Banned Over Radio” • •
• • ("The Sunday Times" Special Message.)
• • New York, Saturday, 29 January — — The National Broadcasting Company from its headquarters here has issued definite instructions that the name of Mae West must not be mentioned over any station in the network which it controls.
• • It is believed that this is the result of violent objection that followed Miss West's recent appearance, after a four-year absence from the air, in a sketch entitled "Adam and Eve."
• • Source: Sunday Times (Perth, Australia); published on Sunday, 30 January 1938.
• • On Friday, 27 January 1933 in the USA • •

• • The red carpet premiere of "She Done Him Wrong" took place in Hollywood on Friday, 27 January 1933. What a great day for Mae West.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Directly under a striking color portrait of Mae West on the cover of the January 1934 issue of Screenland, the Smart Screen Magazine, the editors promised that you would find "Mae West's Personal Message to You!" on page 24.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: “The time to worry is when they stop talking about you."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • A British Columbia daily paper mentioned Mae West.
• • “An Open Letter to Mae West” • •

• • The celebrated Hollywood movie star writes to Zita Lomas, The Sun's graphologist, who bares Mae West's good and bad point (ignoring the "curves") in the tabloid magazine section of this week's Sunday Sun . . .
• • Note: Our fascinating handwriting analysis series begins on The Mae West Blog on Monday, 10 February 2020. What does Zita Lomas discover in Mae's penmanship style?
• • Source: The Vancouver Sun (Canada); published on Friday, 29 December 1933
• • 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 15th anniversary • • 
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past fifteen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 4,300 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fifteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,396th 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  
• • Be sure to bookmark or follow The Mae West Blog
• • Photo: • • Mae West • •  in 1933 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: Formidable Attitude

“In real life, I’m very boring, so I made up the walk and the talk,” said MAE WEST.
• • British freelancer Dr. Sabina Stent, whose area of study included “Women artists, Surrealism, and unconventional females,” penned a fascinating essay on Mae’s customized double-decker footwear. This is Part 27 of 27 parts, the grand finale.
• • “Get the Idea, Boys? Mae West’s Shoes” • •
• • Mae West could inject attitude into any sentence • •
• • Sabina Stent wrote: Later in I’m No Angel, West walks across the room, from one door of her bedroom to just off-camera. It is the purest six seconds of West you are likely to see, hugely memorable when we think of her persona. With one hand on the hip of her fitted black gown, she sashays across the stage and says the five immortal words, “Bellulah, peel me a grape.”

• • Sabina Stent wrote:  Mae West could inject attitude into any sentence, and this is a magnificent example of her potency. Combined with her flawless stage exit, we have the ideal encapsulation of Mae West and one of the most strident examples of her walk. It is impossible not to be won over by this formidable powerhouse of attitude — even if we never see the 9-inch Pepine heels.
• • This long essay by Sabina Stent has now been concluded with this excerpt, part 27.
• • Source: Majuscule, Issue 2; posted in December 2019.
• • On Monday, 24 January 1938 • •
• • According to Time, Mae West's cinema earnings in 1936 were $323,000, about as much salary as Bethlehem Steel's president, Eugene G. Grace, and the chairman of its board, Charles M. Schwab.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • A "letter to the editor" in The Los Angeles Times argued over a published article in their Sunday paper on 24 January 1993: “MAE and MADONNA: Come Up and See a Real Star Sometime.”
• • Your article comparing Mae West and Madonna was bizarre. Writer Carl Anthony must be a Madonna groupie to elevate her to the status of Mae West, who was a real star.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "It is better to be looked over than overlooked."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article on a boxer mentioned Mae West.
• • ESPN wrote: Born on 31 March 1878, John Arthur Johnson transformed himself from the docks of Galveston, Texas, to early 20th-century glitterati. He had his own jazz band, owned a Chicago nightclub, acted on stage, drove flashy yellow sports cars, reputedly walked his pet leopard while sipping champagne, flaunted gold teeth that went with his gold-handled walking stick and boasted of his conquests of whites — — both in and out of the ring.
• • ESPN wrote: Jack Johnson kept the company of some of his era's most desired women, most of them white. Moulin Rouge star Mistinguette. German spy Mata Hari. Sex symbols Lupe Velez and Mae West. Johnson was romantically linked to all. ...
• • Source: ESPN.com; posted on: Wednesday, 24 January 2001  
• • 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 15th anniversary • • 
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past fifteen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 4,300 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fifteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,395th 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  
• • Be sure to bookmark or follow The Mae West Blog
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • Mae West's platform sandals from the 1970s • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: Purred Suggestively

“In real life, I’m very boring, so I made up the walk and the talk,” said MAE WEST.
• • British freelancer Dr. Sabina Stent, whose area of study included “Women artists, Surrealism, and unconventional females,” penned a fascinating essay on Mae’s customized double-decker footwear. This is Part 26 of 27 parts.
• • “Get the Idea, Boys? Mae West’s Shoes” • •
• • Mae West was a persona of contradictions • •
• • Sabina Stent wrote: Mae West was a persona of contradiction, often described as bawdy, camp, brash, and other such dynamic adjectives. Always “on” and maintaining her on-screen persona, she is best remembered as the Hollywood star who purred suggestively at Cary Grant in “She Done Him Wrong” (1933). However, West lived a life of non-excess, dominated by dedication to her craft and devoid of stimulants. She was an illusionist of artifice.

• • Sabina Stent wrote: I stood in the Hollywood Museum, thinking about how her shoes served as the opposite of Schiaparelli’s Shoe Hat, an unusual piece of headwear and, basically, an upside-down high-heeled shoe. Made in both black and her trademark shocking pink, Schiaparelli intended the item to proudly display on the body in an unconventional and contrary way; a contrast to the secrecy of what would become a static part of West’s everyday costume.
• • Mae West could inject attitude into any sentence • • … 
• • This long essay by Sabina Stent will be concluded on the next post, part 27.
• • Source: Majuscule, Issue 2; posted in December 2019.
• • On Sunday, 23 January 1927 in the New York Herald Tribune • •
• • The New York Herald Tribune sent a journalist to cover "Sex" and this newspaper printed perhaps the longest diatribe against Mae West's play in their weekend edition on Sunday, 23 January 1927.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Thieves have beset Mae West and she has gone about escorted by grim and burly bodyguards who looked as if they were hand-picked by the casting department for the part.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "I freely chose the kind of life I led because I was convinced that a woman has as much right as a man to live the way she does if she does no actual harm to society."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • A PBS announcement mentioned Mae West.
• • PBS highlighting women with a summer of programming. Gloria Steinem, ex-Texas Gov. Ann Richards, Toni Morrison, and Mae West are among women featured in specials. …
• • Source: KCRG; published on Friday, 10 January 2020
• • 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 15th anniversary • • 
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past fifteen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 4,300 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fifteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,394th 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  
• • Be sure to bookmark or follow The Mae West Blog
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • Mae West's platform shoes • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: Courtship Strut

“In real life, I’m very boring, so I made up the walk and the talk,” said MAE WEST.
• • British freelancer Dr. Sabina Stent, whose area of study included “Women artists, Surrealism, and unconventional females,” penned a fascinating essay on Mae’s customized double-decker footwear. This is Part 25 of 27 parts.
• • “Get the Idea, Boys? Mae West’s Shoes” • •
• • an extended leg is the biological sign of sexual availability • •
• • Sabina Stent wrote: The various reasons for the appeal vary, but is at least “partly because they [high heels] make the legs look longer,” while “an extended leg is the biological sign of sexual availability in several animal species.” The result is what anthropologists call the “courtship strut.” We see this strut, explicitly, with Mae West. Footwear will influence how a person walks, and heels are notorious for slowing the pace. As Lurie provocatively suggests, wearing heels arouses desire “perhaps because it guarantees that no woman wearing them can outrun a man who is chasing her.”

• • Sabina Stent wrote: We might say Mae West initiated the chase, but even in heels, you would have a hard time catching her.
• • Mae West was a persona of contradictions • • . . . 
• • This long essay by Sabina Stent will be continued on the next post.
• • Source: Majuscule, Issue 2; posted in December 2019.
• • On Monday, 22 January 1934 in Times Square • •
• • There was a festive feeling in the air Monday evening, on 22 January 1934, when Mae West and Eddie Cantor and many other stars entertained at the New Amsterdam Theatre — — at the 52nd annual benefit for the Actors' Fund.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Ben Southwell directed the episode "Living Famously — Mae West," which was part of a TV series originally broadcast in Great Britain.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "I'm too busy to fall in love."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • Playbill mentioned Mae West and her gay play.
• • Provincetown Theater, under the leadership of Artistic Director David Drake, will launch its 2020 season in Provincetown, Massachusetts, May 14 with Mae West’s The Drag.
• • "The Drag," written under West's pseudonym Jane Mast, tells the tale of a closeted Park Avenue newlywed and his secret double-life with a pack of Greenwich Village drag queens and was shut down in 1927 for “corrupting the morals of youths.” …
• • Performances will continue in Provincetown through Sunday, 7 June 2020.
• • Source: Playbill; published on Tuesday, 7 January 2020
• • 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 15th anniversary • • 
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past fifteen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 4,300 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fifteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,393rd 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  
• • Be sure to bookmark or follow The Mae West Blog
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • a showcase of Mae West's shoes (auction) • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: Path to Genitals

“In real life, I’m very boring, so I made up the walk and the talk,” said MAE WEST.
• • British freelancer Dr. Sabina Stent, whose area of study included “Women artists, Surrealism, and unconventional females,” penned a fascinating essay on Mae’s customized double-decker footwear. This is Part 24 of 27 parts.
• • “Get the Idea, Boys? Mae West’s Shoes” • •
• • long legs as “the pathway to the genitals” • •
• • Sabina Stent wrote: “Even before she moves, a woman in high heels has transformed her body,” noted the fashion historian Valerie Steele. “She looks taller and thinner. Her secondary sexual characteristics are flagrantly emphasized, while her legs—the pathway to the genitals—are as long as Bambi’s. As the leg muscles tighten, the calves appear shapelier. And because they are at an angle, her feet look smaller and more pointed.” Mae West’s legs were always covered, and even on the rare occasion when she is wearing “ordinary” heels, she is sitting. Did we ever see her walk in a regular shoe?

• • Sabina Stent wrote: Alison Lurie has noted how high-heeled footwear provides multiple sexual signifiers for many people.
• • an extended leg is the biological sign of sexual availability • • … 
• • This long essay by Sabina Stent will be continued on the next post.
• • Source: Majuscule, Issue 2; posted in December 2019.
• • On Saturday, 21 January 1950 • •
• • When the revival of "Diamond Lil" left the Plymouth Theatre on Saturday night, 21 January 1950, Mae West immediately took the show on the road. The hard-working performer has never let an understudy substitute for her onstage. How many actresses can say that?
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Mae West is Hollywood's Jekyll-Hyde. She revels in her two identities. On a picture she gave me she wrote, "A bad woman with a good heart." I'll bank on the good and applaud the bad.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • To J. Eugene Chrisman, who wrote a Screen Play profile [Nov. 1932] on her, Mae West said: "Yes sir, you did write my first fan magazine story, after I arrived like a stepchild in Hollywood. You called it 'Dynamite Lady,' which would be some hefty picture title for me, if Metro hadn't used it in a sub-title."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An Illinois public library mentioned Mae West.
• • “The Real Mae West” on 23 January 2020 • •
• • Get a glimpse into the life of Mae West on Thursday, 23 January 2020 from 11 to 12 a.m. at the Plainfield Public Library, located at 15025 S. Illinois St. in downtown Plainfield.
• • Mae West shattered box office records and public sensibilities. She rocketed from Broadway to become the highest-paid actress in Hollywood. Her one-liners scandalized the censors yet made her an icon. In this historical portrayal, actress Martina Mathisen impersonates the woman behind the wit.   ...
• • Source: Plainfield Public Library; published on Tuesday, 21 January 2020
• • 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 15th anniversary • • 
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past fifteen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 4,300 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fifteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,392nd 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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• • Be sure to bookmark or follow The Mae West Blog
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • wearing normal heels on the set, when Julie Andrews visited • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: Subtle Masochism

“In real life, I’m very boring, so I made up the walk and the talk,” said MAE WEST.
• • British freelancer Dr. Sabina Stent, whose area of study included “Women artists, Surrealism, and unconventional females,” penned a fascinating essay on Mae’s customized double-decker footwear. This is Part 23 of 27 parts.
• • “Get the Idea, Boys? Mae West’s Shoes” • •
• • excruciating heels would telegraph a woman’s masochism • •
• • Sabina Stent wrote: Mary Karr writes: For I was a slave to the desire that rules our libidinal culture. And an elongated foot and leg just announces, Hey, y’all, there’s pussy at the other end of this. Yet every pair of excruciating heels also telegraphs a subtle masochism: i.e., I am a woman who can not only take an ass-whipping; to draw your gaze, I’ll inflict one on myself.

Mae West's stage shoes during her 1950s night club act

• • Sabina Stent wrote: Mary Karr’s description is a perfect summation of heels association with sex, and the conflict between pleasure and pain. The surrealists were fascinated by hands for a similar reason: they have the potential to produce both pleasure and pain in intense forms.
• • Sabina Stent wrote: Mae West was undoubtedly capable of issuing an ass-whipping, but it’s doubtful she ever admitted it was to herself.
• • long legs as “the pathway to the genitals” • • . . .  
• • This long essay by Sabina Stent will be continued on the next post.
• • Source: Majuscule, Issue 2; posted in December 2019.
• • On Sunday, 20 January 1929 • •
• • On Sunday, 20 January 1929 Mae brought "Diamond Lil" to Chicago, where it made its Midwest debut to a packed house. For most of the 16-week engagement, the play attracted a large audience in the Windy City.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Mae West, the very popular star of Paramount Pictures, rarely appeared on radio. When she did, the sole purpose was to promote one of her films.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "Personality is the most important thing to an actress's success — — the glitter that sends your little gleam across the footlights . . . into that big black space where the audience is."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • A North Carolina columnist mentioned Mae West.
• • Francis C. Thompson wrote: If you’ll pardon me:  The ladies will readily admit a genuine dislike for Mae West, who incidentally, is holding her own with the public. But here it is –
• • Francis C. Thompson wrote: I learn authoritatively that ladies’ shops are increasing their sales on items that might be termed, “builder-uppers.” …
• • Source: The Daily Courier, thanks to Cliffside Historical Society, N.C.; published on Thursday, 9 May 1935
• • 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 15th anniversary • • 
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past fifteen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 4,300 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fifteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,391st 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  
• • Be sure to bookmark or follow The Mae West Blog
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • black double-decker heels worn by Mae West • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: Footwear Fatigue

“In real life, I’m very boring, so I made up the walk and the talk,” said MAE WEST.
• • British freelancer Dr. Sabina Stent, whose area of study included “Women artists, Surrealism, and unconventional females,” penned a fascinating essay on Mae’s customized double-decker footwear. This is Part 22 of 27 parts.
• • “Get the Idea, Boys? Mae West’s Shoes” • •
• • Did Mae West’s feet ever hurt? • •
• • Sabina Stent wrote: We refer to Mae West as a hunting cat, but rarely a sex kitten or even feline, as we would a more gamine beauty. Feline is a word we attribute to Lauren Bacall: cat-like, slinking, and shimmying her way into our and Bogey’s hearts in To Have and Have Not. Mae West shimmies with every inch of her vaudeville attitude, because a stage actor must use every tool at their disposal, including their bodies.

Mae West's black platform heels

• • Sabina Stent wrote: I have often wondered if the shoes ever hurt West’s feet.
• • Sabina Stent wrote: In “Undone: High Maintenance,” Mary Karr’s offers a scathing down with heels! rally cry, confronting the historical stigma of heels wielding power, fantasy, and fetish.
• • excruciating heels would telegraph a woman’s masochism • • … 
• • This long essay by Sabina Stent will be continued on the next post.
• • Source: Majuscule, Issue 2; posted in December 2019.
• • On Monday, 17 January 1944 • •
• • An article about the motion picture "The Heat's On" starring Mae West was published in Hollywood Citizen-News in Monday's issue on 17 January 1944.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Much of this money is spent to maintain a reputation. Stars feel that a "rep" for some particular idiosyncrasy is an asset in hand. Mae West's diamonds are part of her publicity campaign.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: “I have always — — as the baseball diamond-saying goes — — two strikes on me. Because of the records set by my pictures, I have to top each one.” 
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • A North Carolina columnist mentioned Mae West.
• • Francis C. Thompson wrote: Mae West comes back with her “Going to Town” picture.
• • Francis C. Thompson wrote: And everyone you know will say:  I am not sure I’ll see that picture. All of them will be there. . . .
• • Source: The Daily Courier, thanks to Cliffside Historical Society, N.C.; published on Thursday, 23 May 1935
• • 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 15th anniversary • • 
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past fifteen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 4,300 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fifteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,390th 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  
• • Be sure to bookmark or follow The Mae West Blog
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • black platform heels worn by Mae West • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: Empowering Heels

“In real life, I’m very boring, so I made up the walk and the talk,” said MAE WEST.
• • British freelancer Dr. Sabina Stent, whose area of study included “Women artists, Surrealism, and unconventional females,” penned a fascinating essay on Mae’s customized double-decker footwear. This is Part 21 of 27 parts.
• • “Get the Idea, Boys? Mae West’s Shoes” • •
• • How Mae West became a work of art • •
• • Sabina Stent wrote: The following year Edward James, the British Surrealist patron, commissioned the sofa to be designed as a piece of furniture, immortalizing West even further. Lips as art, shoes as sculpture: the architecture of an icon from head to toe.
• • Sabina Stent wrote: Shoes determine how a wearer moves, how she carries herself, her attitude, and even how she is perceived. There is an argument both for them as empowering, and against them as inhibiting. Shoes will restrict the wearer if too high, or if the heel is stiletto thin.

• • Sabina Stent wrote: More of a platform, Mae West’s Pepine heels feed into the characters she plays, which are all, virtually, iterations of West.
• • Did Mae West’s feet ever hurt? • • . . .  
• • This long essay by Sabina Stent will be continued on the next post.
• • Source: Majuscule, Issue 2; posted in December 2019.
• • On Monday, 16 January 1950 • •
• • Newsweek readers who opened their issue dated 16 January 1950 [Vol. XXXV, No. 3] saw this article on page 46: "The Return of Mae West."
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Mae West — the femme fatale of the Bowery, bowling her leading men over one by one with her classical interpretation of a story-book strumpet.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West was asked: "What do you require of a leading man?"
• • Mae West said: "Experience. Then I try to make them fall for me. It usually improves their acting."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • A British film historian mentioned Mae West.
• • "Films that make you feel good" • •
• • Geoffrey Macnab writes: Historically, the best feel-good movies have often been made at the darkest times. The early 1930s in Hollywood, the height of the Depression, were known as a "golden age of turbulence." It was in this period that the brashest Mae West comedies, the liveliest musicals and the most explosive gangster movies were made. ...
• • Source: The London Independent [UK]; posted on Friday, 16 January 2009
• • 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 15th anniversary • • 
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past fifteen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 4,300 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fifteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,389th 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  
• • Be sure to bookmark or follow The Mae West Blog
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • platform heels worn by Mae West • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest