Mae West: Double Thyroid

“I first went to interview MAE WEST after the collapse of ‘Myra Breckinridge’ [1970]. Like almost everyone else, I was in awe of the woman,” wrote Jacoba Atlas. Let’s read her fascinating first-hand account from 1974. This is Part 15 of 19 segments.
• • Image from a Cracked Mirror • •
• • Mae West is made up • •
• • Jacoba Atlas wrote: She is made up to look like a distorted mirror image of her former self, and yet she says, "Marilyn Monroe was synthetic, a copy of me. But I O.K.’d her for my life story. (Note: It was never filmed.) Marilyn was pretty and I liked her, but she was manufactured.”
• • Jacoba Atlas wrote: Despite the American Medical Association’s claim that double thyroids are impossible and totally undocumented, West states emphatically, “I have all this energy because I have a double thyroid. There are only 12 people in the world with this, and it gives me twice the energy other people have.”
• • Jacoba Atlas wrote: Harmless enough certainly, but it keeps a facade impenetrable in an age when the truth about this remarkable woman might be far more fascinating.
• • Mae West has issued more “bon mots" than any wit • • …
• • This long profile by Jacoba Atlas will be continued on the next post.  
• • Source: Los Angeles Free Press, Volume 11, issue 517; published on Friday, 14 June 1974.
• • On Wednesday, 12 May 1971 • •

• • On Wednesday, 12 May 1971 Mae West, UCLA’s Woman of the Century, spoke to students after a screening of her 1933 classic movie “I’m No Angel.”
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Albert “Chalky” Wright became the chauffeur and bodyguard for the famous actress Mae West. He helped her deal with a series of extortion threats while in her employ. As a boxing fan herself, and using the wealth from her Hollywood career, she backed Wright’s career in the ring.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: “I always use baby oil. But the secret is it has to be warm, and you have to have a man put it on you — — all over."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • A former visitor described meeting Mae West.
• • Afternoon Tea With Mae West • •
• • Eric Lindsay wrote: Slowly a little blonde lady appeared from behind the door, no more than 5 foot, including her 6 inch wedges.
• • Eric Lindsay wrote: My God! It was MAE WEST!
• • Eric Lindsay wrote: She was dressed in a floor–length bluey–pinky negligee and over that she had a peignoir with a fresh egg stain on the front which I just couldn’t take my eyes off. I thought of that line of hers, “Say what you like about long dresses, but they cover up a multitude of shins.” Her hair was hanging down at the sides with her usual swirl on top. The hairdresser had definitely not called that day! . . .
• • Source: Eric Lindsay’s wordpress site; published online [undated]
• • 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 4,472nd 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 • • accepting her award in 1971 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest