Mae West: Less Miserable

Was the heavily air-brushed memoir that MAE WEST published in 1959 “scandalous”? Vanity Fair seems to think so. See if you agree. This is Part 6 of 14 segments.
• • “When I’m Bad, I’m Better” — — Mae West’s Sensational Life in Her Own Words • •
• • PBS’s Mae West: Dirty Blonde delves into the life of a savvy sexpot—but even it is not half as scandalous as West’s 1959 autobiography.
• • Mae West: I could make them less miserable maybe • •
• • Hadley Hall Meares wrote: The star-struck [sic] warden concurred. Now comfortable, West settled in, and was convinced by the besotted [sic] warden to greet her adoring fellow inmates. “When I went into a large dormitory, all the women began applauding. ‘Glad to see you!’ ‘Hello, Mae!’ I didn’t care for the use of my first name, but I figured if I could make them a less miserable mob, I was doing some good.”
• • Diamond Lil Comes to Town • •
• • Hadley Hall Meares wrote: Already a scandalous superstar [sic] in New York, cash-strapped Paramount Studios convinced West to finally make her first foray into motion pictures in 1932.
• • [Editor: the grammar error known as "a misplaced modifier" (sigh) is courtesy of Hadley Hall Meares.]
• • Mae West: I met the sodden gilded people • •  ...
• • This 14-part article will be continued tomorrow.
• • Source: Vanity Fair; published on Tuesday, 16 June 2020.  
• • On Wednesday, 31 August 1938 • •

• • An article complimenting Mae West and applauding her newest motion picture "Every Day's a Holiday" was published in The Queenslander (Brisbane, Australia) on Wednesday, 31 August 1938.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Our special investigators have just brought to light the fact that Mae West's screen kisses are the shortest on record. Seems Mae's motto is "Leave something to the imagination."
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "Good sex is like good bridge. If you don't have a good partner, you'd better have a good hand."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • "Mae West-ian'' Styles • •
• • In the age of the Gibson girl, veils were worn for two reasons.  
• • Mae West says she thinks the women felt that "veiled" beauty was more enchanting than the frank, open allure of to-day and that, although the Gibson girl knew she could protect her complexion by an enveloping shroud of veiling, she was a born coquette and the veil was "part of the act." ...
• • Source: The Sunday Times (Perth); published on Sunday, 26 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 16th 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 4,500 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fifteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,551st 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 • • lobby card from 1937 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: Obscenity, Infamy

Was the heavily air-brushed memoir that MAE WEST published in 1959 “scandalous”? Vanity Fair seems to think so. See if you agree. This is Part 5 of 14 segments.
• • “When I’m Bad, I’m Better” — — Mae West’s Sensational Life in Her Own Words • •
• • PBS’s Mae West: Dirty Blonde delves into the life of a savvy sexpot—but even it is not half as scandalous as West’s 1959 autobiography.
• • Mae West: I became a writer by accident • •
• • Hadley Hall Meares wrote: Mae West said: “I became a writer by the accident of needing material and having no place to get it,” West writes in her autobiography. As playwright and star of the titillating piece of theater, she rocketed to fame — and infamy. On April 19, 1927, she was sentenced to 10 days in prison for obscenity and “corrupting the morals of youth.”
• • Hadley Hall Meares wrote: Off to jail on Roosevelt Island she went, game except for her rough, prison-issued lady’s undergarments. “I want to wear my silk underwear,” West demanded.
• • Mae West: I could make them less miserable maybe • •  ...  
• • This 14-part article will be continued tomorrow.
• • Source: Vanity Fair; published on Tuesday, 16 June 2020.  
• • On Monday, 28 August 1939 • •
• • Life Magazine's issue (dated 28 August 1939) included a half-page photo of Mae West.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •

• • Modern Screen wrote: The biggest battle of the season was the battle of the false eyelashes, staged by Mae West and Alice Brady in 1936 during the making of “Go West Young Man."
• • Modern Screen wrote: When Mae appeared with long eye adornment. Alice showed up with longer ones. It went on days, but Miss W. won out by the simple procedure of cutting Miss Brady's part here and there.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: “The best way to hold a man is in your arms.”
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • A museum mentioned Mae West.
• • Mae West’s 1959 Olympia SF (on loan from Steve Soboroff) on display in Chicago • •
• • Mae West's typewriter is now on display in the Tools of the Trade exhibit [which opened June 22, 2019] at the American Writers Museum in Chicago.
• • Learn more: American Writers Museum, 180 N. Michigan Avenue, 2nd Floor, Chicago, IL 60601.
• • Source: American Writers Museum; posted on Tuesday, 13 August 2019
• • 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 16th 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 4,500 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fifteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,550th 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 • • with Jack LaRue in "Go West Young Man" in 1936 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: Forever Hooked

Was the heavily air-brushed memoir that MAE WEST published in 1959 “scandalous”? Vanity Fair seems to think so. See if you agree. This is Part 4 of 14 segments.
• • “When I’m Bad, I’m Better” — — Mae West’s Sensational Life in Her Own Words • •
• • PBS’s Mae West: Dirty Blonde delves into the life of a savvy sexpot—but even it is not half as scandalous as West’s 1959 autobiography.
• • Mae West: I demanded my light • •
• • Hadley Hall Meares wrote: Baby Mae West said: “‘Where is my spotlight!’ I stamped it again and the spotlight moved across stage onto me and caught me in the act of demanding my light. The audience saw me and laughed and applauded.”
• • Hadley Hall Meares wrote: “Baby Mae” was a hit, and the child was forever hooked on showbiz. “The rest of America could ask for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” she writes. “I’d take the spotlight.”
• • Mae West: "Sex" • •

• • Hadley Hall Meares wrote:  After years on the vaudeville circuit, West became the toast of Broadway with her original play Sex in 1926.
• • Mae West: I became a writer by accident • •  ..
• • This 14-part article will be continued tomorrow.
• • Source: Vanity Fair; published on Tuesday, 16 June 2020.  
• • On Friday, 27 August 1976 • •
• • The Times Sunday Review interviewed people who knew Mae West. The actress had attended the theatre with friends and after the show they asked what she thought of it. And Mae had replied: "I kept concentrating on making my mind wander. It [the play] made me realize there's less to life than sex."
• • Source: The Times Sunday Review [U.K.]; published  on Friday, 27 August 1976.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • "I always have somebody with me during interviews," Mae West explained to Mike Connolly, "ever since that Mickey Hargitay mess. He and that Jayne Mansfield were getting all the good publicity.  I was getting roughed up. No more of that for Mae West."
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: “I had to stay in command of my career.”
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • "Mae West Plays Santa Claus'' • •
• • Film Daily wrote: About $15,000 in presents was passed around by Mae West to those who helped in the retakes of her new Paramount picture, "Belle of the Nineties." ...
• • Source: Film Daily; published on Monday, 27 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 16th 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 4,500 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fifteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,549th 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 • • "Sex" poster in 1926 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: My Spotlight

Was the heavily air-brushed memoir that MAE WEST published in 1959 “scandalous”? Vanity Fair seems to think so. See if you agree. This is Part 3 of 14 segments.
• • “When I’m Bad, I’m Better” — — Mae West’s Sensational Life in Her Own Words • •
• • PBS’s Mae West: Dirty Blonde delves into the life of a savvy sexpot—but even it is not half as scandalous as West’s 1959 autobiography.
• • Mae West: The Spotlight • •
• • Hadley Hall Meares wrote: A precociously fearless performer, West demanded her due from the time she was a curly-headed child vaudevillian. Scheduled for her first big show at the Royal Theater in Brooklyn, the seven year old’s mother dressed her in a pink and green satin dress with a white lace picture hat. Before she went on to sing “Movin’ Day,” West insisted to the stage manager that she have a spotlight. He said she would—but once on stage, there was none to be found.
• • Hadley Hall Meares wrote: “I stepped out on the stage, looked up angrily at the spotlight man in the balcony, stamping my foot,” she writes in her autobiography.
• • Mae West: I demanded my light • •  ..  
• • This 14-part article will be continued tomorrow.
• • Source: Vanity Fair; published on Tuesday, 16 June 2020.  
• • On Friday, 26 August 1921 • •

• • "The Mimic World 1921" opened on 17 August 1921 and Jimmy Hussey's close friend, Jack Dempsey (another Irish-American) attended the premiere, and visited Mae West backstage after the show.
• • Clearly with Mae's approval and cooperation, Hussey penned the skit "The Trial of Shimmy Mae." Hussey himself played the judge as Mae demonstrated the shimmy in his topsy-turvy courtroom.
• • Variety tartly commented on 26 August 1921: "In a tent it would have been a riot."
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • After the Hollywood newcomer's death, Mark Hellinger noted: “I found Dorothy Dell pretty, very pert and had a sweet smile. Everything Dorothy said and did was offered in a Mae West sort of way — — a very young Mae West-ish sort of way.  And Mae didn’t reach the screen until long after that Follies had closed.”
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: “A man in the house is worth 2 in the street.”
• • Mae West said: "A girl in the convertible is worth 5 in the phonebook."  
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • A newspaper in Perth, Australia mentioned Mae West.
• • "Mae West-ian'' Styles • •
• • Mae will wear the famous "dust ruffles" of that period • •
• • The famous "dust ruffles" of that period have been used in many of Travis Banton's designs.  In that age, when the sight of a feminine ankle caused a terrific uproar, women coquettishly managed to have several layers of lacey ruffles supporting the hems of their dresses, and were always careful to lift these just a little bit higher than was necessary to keep them from dragging in the dust.
• • In this coming summer's fashions, such a revival is bound to be accepted enthusiastically, Banton predicts. Women have already shown a willingness to admit the petticoat, and modern girls will be delighted with a set of these ruffles as a "petticoat camouflage" — — just like Mae West’s character Ruby Carter in the film.  …
• • Source: The Sunday Times (Perth); published on Sunday, 26 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 16th 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 4,500 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fifteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,548th 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 • • showing her bare hips in 1921 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: Dirty Sex

Was the heavily air-brushed memoir that MAE WEST published in 1959 “scandalous”? Vanity Fair seems to think so. See if you agree. This is Part 2 of 14 segments.
• • “When I’m Bad, I’m Better” — — Mae West’s Sensational Life in Her Own Words • •
• • PBS’s Mae West: Dirty Blonde delves into the life of a savvy sexpot—but even it is not half as scandalous as West’s 1959 autobiography.
• • Underneath the diamonds, Mae West had a message • •
• • Hadley Hall Meares wrote: “Underneath the blonde wigs and the diamonds and the wisecracks, she had a message and an agenda,” Dirty Blonde co-director Sally Rosenthal said in a statement to Vanity Fair. “She wanted to offer an alternative version of womanhood, in which overt sexual desire wasn’t shameful or dirty but an expression of independence.”

• • Hadley Hall Meares wrote: Behind this unwavering independence was a rock-solid belief in herself that would carry West through many a professional and personal rock and roll. “The letter ‘I’ appears very often on these pages,” she writes in Goodness Had Nothing to Do With It. “That is because I have been given the liberty, or have taken it, of telling my own story in my own way — and I like a story that takes its time.”  
• • Mae West: The Spotlight • • .. .
• • This 14-part article will be continued tomorrow.
• • Source: Vanity Fair; published on Tuesday, 16 June 2020.  
• • On Saturday, 25 August 1934 • •
• • On Saturday, 25 August 1934, syndicated gossip columnist Louella Parsons wrote:  Snapshots of Hollywood collected at random: . . . Mae West, dripping with orchids, in a ringside seat with her boy friend [sic] Jim Timony; Raoul Walsh, Adolph Zukor and dozens of other film celebrities, watching these bouts  ...
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Larry Sloan moved to Los Angeles from New York after serving in World War II, and made a name for himself through the gossipy, table-hopping column he wrote for the Hollywood Citizen News.
• • As a publicist, Larry Sloan represented a roster of Hollywood stars that included Mae West and Elizabeth Taylor.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "If you can't go straight, you've got to go around."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • The Mail Online mentioned Mae West.
• • “How to have it all: Life lessons from the original goal-getters” • •
• • Elizabeth Foley and Beth Coates wrote: If you’re feeling down with your dumpiness, remember the wise words attributed to Hollywood legend Mae West: “Curve: the loveliest distance between two points.” ...
• • Source: The Mail Online; published on Saturday, 25 August 2018
• • 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 16th 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 4,500 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fifteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,547th 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 • • at home in 1959 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: Thrill of Sin

Was the heavily air-brushed memoir that MAE WEST published in 1959 “scandalous”? Vanity Fair seems to think so. See if you agree. This is Part 1 of 14 segments.
• • “When I’m Bad, I’m Better” — — Mae West’s Sensational Life, in Her Own Words • •
• • PBS’s Mae West: Dirty Blonde delves into the life of a savvy sexpot—but even it is not half as scandalous as West’s 1959 autobiography.
• • Hadley Hall Meares wrote: Born in Brooklyn in 1893, Mae West always knew she was destined for more than life as a staid Victorian housewife. “I was a child of the new century just around the corner,” she writes in her 1959 autobiography, Goodness Had Nothing to Do With It, “and I ran towards it boldly.”
• • Hadley Hall Meares wrote: For the entirety of her long life, West would take a sledgehammer to outdated views about what it meant to be a woman. In her plays, movies, and stage shows, she celebrated female sexuality, the male body, and the thrill of “sin” with doses of campy humor and exaggerated glamour. In her autobiography and the new Bette Midler-produced documentary Mae West: Dirty Blonde (premiering on Tuesday, June 16 on PBS), West is revealed as an important cultural agitator—an unashamed “sexual gangster,” in the words of burlesque superstar Dita Von Teese.
• • Underneath the diamonds, Mae West had a message • •  ...   
• • This 14-part article will be continued tomorrow.
• • Source: Vanity Fair; published on Tuesday, 16 June 2020.
• • On Wednesday, 24 August 1921 • •

• • With "The Mimic World of 1921," the Shuberts had hoped for a big hit and especially since this revue was inaugurating the family's new roof theatre that featured a restaurant and a promenade overlooking Central Park.
• • Mae West wore a daring black velvet dress onstage, "cut at either side to display her bare hips," wrote Women's Wear [Wednesday, 24 August 1921], quaking under such a sartorial shock. Jack Dempsey must have liked what he saw because he went to Mae's dressing room on opening night — — and the two hit it off big-time.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Mae West carnival statues are becoming more popular. Occasionally, these are available at a local sale.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "Woman is capable of more trickery than man ever dreamed of. I am not defending the tricky woman, but if she is forced to battle for the place due to her, she cannot be condemned for using any ruse she can."   
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An Australian paper mentioned Mae West.
• • "Mae West Becomes a Convert!" • •
• • Mae West is all for moral rearmament and is ready to join the Oxford Group. It would be a good thing for W. C. Fields, she told Dr. Frank Buchman, leader of the Moral Rearmament Movement, today.
• • Miss West and Dr. Buchman had quite a tete-a-tete in her apartment. "It's a wonderful work," she said of the movement.  ...
• • Source: The Mail (Adelaide); published on Saturday, 19 August 1939
• • 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 16th 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 4,500 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fifteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,546th 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 1921 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: Often Asked

Despite all you think you know about MAE WEST, there’s always something new. Did you know that Mae West was most often asked questions about her bedroom mirrors, for instance?  
• • This intimate interview with Mae West was first seen in 2009. This is Part 29 of 29 parts, the finale.
• • From the Archive: A Candid (and Entertaining) Interview with Mae West • •
• • Mae West said: “Do you know what question I’m asked the most?” • •  
• • Charlotte Chandler wrote:  Mae West said:  “It isn’t what I do, but how I do it. It isn’t what I say, but how I say it. And how I look when I do it and say it. Individuality is everything. Individuality, and enthusiasm, too.”
• • Mae West said: “Do you know what question I’m asked the most? About the mirrors on my bedroom ceiling. I say, ‘I like to see how I’m doin’. It’s the truth. It’s very exciting. You should try it.”
• • Mae West said: “The question I’m next most often asked is, am I always the Mae West everybody knows, or am I different when I’m alone? The answer is, when I’m alone, I’m the same Mae West. But you’ll have to take my word for it, cause when I’m alone, there isn’t anyone else here.”
• • Charlotte Chandler wrote: After my meetings with Mae, I was asked, “Did Mae West understand about protecting her myth, or did she believe it?”  The answer to both questions is yes.
• • © 2009 Charlotte Chandler. “She Always Knew How: Mae West, a Personal Biography” was published by Pocket Books on October 1, 2009.   
• • This long and fascinating interview has now been concluded with Part 29.
• • Source: AnOther Magazine; published  Autumn—Winter 2009 issue; rpt on Wednesday, 27 May 2020.    
• • On Monday, 21 August 1944 • •

• • An article "'Catherine Was Great' but Mae West Makes Her Dull" was printed along with photos in Life Magazine (pages 71— 72) in the issue dated for Monday, 21 August 1944.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Mae West is a little undecided about doing "I'm No Angel." Aw, go ahead, Mae! All God's chillun got wings.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "My life hasn't been any bed of roses. I never felt anything like secure until just recently. I've never felt free to get married."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • UPI mentioned Mae West.
• • A thought for the day: In the movie "Klondike Annie," Mae West said, "Between two evils, I always pick the one I never tried before." . . .
• • Source: The Almanac from UPI; published on Tuesday, 20 August 2013
• • 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 16th 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 4,500 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fifteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,545th 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 • • costumed as the Russian empress in 1944  • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: No Piercings

Despite all you think you know about MAE WEST, there’s always something new. Did you know that Mae West refused to have her ears pierced, for instance?  
• • This intimate interview with Mae West was first seen in 2009. This is Part 28 of 29 parts.
• • From the Archive: A Candid (and Entertaining) Interview with Mae West • •
• • Mae West said:  “They said I had a double thyroid.”  • •   
• • Charlotte Chandler wrote:  Mae West added this: “When they told me I had a double thyroid, they wanted to take one away, but I wasn’t doing that. I don’t believe in tampering with what’s going right.”  
• • Mae West said: “I wasn’t having anyone make a hole in my ear.” • •
• • Charlotte Chandler wrote:  Mae West said:  “I would never, ever have my ears pierced. I took a chance of losing a favourite diamond earring, which I never did. But I wasn’t having anyone make a hole in my ear.”
• • Charlotte Chandler wrote: I suggested that what the world considers odd or eccentric might actually be a person’s good fortune, but there would always be those who valued conformity over individuality.
• • Mae West said:  “Know what question I’m asked the most?” • • ... 
• • This long and fascinating interview will be concluded tomorrow with Part 29.
• • Source: AnOther Magazine; published Autumn—Winter 2009 issue; rpt on Wednesday, 27 May 2020. 
• • On Thursday, 20 August 1970 • •
• • Hollywood types received an invitation to "Sights and Sounds of Mae West" and the event was scheduled for Thursday, 20 August 1970.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • "Mae West Type of Posture Is Hit by Doctor" was a health how-to, informing readers that Mae's posture and the "society slouch" for women, and the military carriage for men, were condemned as menaces to health by Dr. Olive B. Williams of Worcester, Mass.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said (to director Henry Hathaway): "Nobody gets laughs in my pictures but me, see?"  
• • Quote, Unquote • •

• • An article Mae West was asked to write appeared in 1927.  
• • "How I Was Jailed for Sex" • •
• • Mae West continued: "They were most courteous; they didn't want anything to happen to me before I got to Welfare Island, I guess. I was ushered into a waiting-room. Then I saw there was a colored woman, with a gold badge, who was in charge."  . . .
• • The trial is dramatized in the full-length stage play "Courting Mae West," based on true events in Mae West's controversial life, 1926 — 1932.
• • Source: written by Mae West for Liberty Magazine; published on Saturday, 20 August 1927
• • 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 16th 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 4,500 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fifteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,544th 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 • • on trial in March 1927  • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: Wrinkle Cure

Despite all you think you know about MAE WEST, there’s always something new. Did you know that Mae West refused to sit down while filming a scene because it would wrinkle her dress, for instance?  
• • This intimate interview with Mae West was first seen in 2009. This is Part 27 of 29 parts.
• • From the Archive: A Candid (and Entertaining) Interview with Mae West • •
• • Mae West said:  “I'd rather stand than wrinkle my dress on a set.”  • •  
• • Charlotte Chandler wrote:   Mae West said this about fashion: “When I was making a film, I would stand during the whole shooting, seven hours a day, so I wouldn’t wrinkle my dress. They’d say to me, ‘Mae, aren’t you tired?’ But I didn’t let myself get tired.”
• • Charlotte Chandler wrote: Mae West said: “I’d say to myself, do I want to look my best for my public that expects it of me? Or would I rather sit down? That wasn’t any choice.”
• • Charlotte Chandler wrote:  “I was always indefatigable. I never knew exactly why. I always had this extraordinary energy that I had to do something with. They only just found out that I had a double thyroid. Always had it, but I didn’t know it. Maybe that’s been the source of my energy, especially my sex energy.“
• • Mae West said: “They said I had a double thyroid.” • • ...
• • This long and fascinating interview will be continued tomorrow.
• • Source: AnOther Magazine; published  Autumn—Winter 2009 issue; rpt on Wednesday, 27 May 2020.    
• • On Saturday, 19 August 1939 • •

• • It is rather difficult to see what Mae West or her advisers could detect in the famous Russian Empress which made her suitable for a Western impersonation. It is true that she was no angel and had a habit of inviting her male favorite for the time being "to come up and see her sometime." Anyhow, whatever the attraction or illusion may have been, Miss West seems to have abandoned the project.  ...
• • Source:  Article: "News of Mae West" rpt in The Advertiser (Adelaide); published on Saturday, 19 August 1939.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Exploited smartly, "Belle of the Nineties" should do Golden Mae West business even though repeat bookings may or may not be so abundant.  
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: “The curve is mightier than the sword.”
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • Playbill mentioned Mae West.
• • “Badass: Sex, Music, and Making Mae West” • •
• • Emily Skinner will offer songs that Mae performed in her 75-year career and will detail why Mae West serves as the perfect guide to everything you’d ever need to know about life. …
• • Source: Playbill; published on Monday, 19 August 2019
• • 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 16th 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 4,500 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fifteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,543rd 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 • • onstage in 1943  • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: No Pills

Despite all you think you know about MAE WEST, there’s always something new. Did you know that Mae West refused to take pills, for instance?  
• • This intimate interview with Mae West was first seen in 2009. This is Part 26 of 29 parts.
• • From the Archive: A Candid (and Entertaining) Interview with Mae West • •  
• • “Pills? I never take them,” said Mae West. • •   
• • Charlotte Chandler wrote:  Then Mae West said:  “The next time you come, I’m gonna give you some chocolate. Have you ever eaten Ragtime chocolate? Hardly anyone does any more. I know the last place in America that still makes it, and it’s not far from here.”
• • Charlotte Chandler wrote:  Mae West indulged in one more and was reaching for a fourth when Paul firmly took the box away from her. She looked petulant, but not displeased. Clearly, she was accustomed to, and enjoyed, having him watch over her. “I like my men to be men,” she said after Paul had left the room.

• • Charlotte Chandler wrote: “Pills, I never take them,” said Mae West. “I don’t even take vitamin pills because who knows what’s in them?”
• • Mae West said:  “I'd rather stand than wrinkle my dress on a set.”  • •  . . .  
• • This long and fascinating interview will be continued tomorrow.
• • Source: AnOther Magazine; published  Autumn—Winter 2009 issue; rpt on Wednesday, 27 May 2020.  
• • On Sunday, 18 August 1935 • •
• • The Gleaner carried a story on Sunday, 18 August 1935 saying that Frank Wallace and Trixie LeMae were visiting her mother, Lena Carey.
• • "Yesterday, incidentally, was Miss West's birthday," revealed her former husband Frank Wallace to the news media, "and — — she was 42."
• • "The nerve of a brass monkey," was Mae West's response. 
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Alexander Hall directed "Goin' to Town" [1935], starring Mae West and Bert Roach was seen as one of the cowboys.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: “Money is a great love potion for an affair.“ 
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • A Queens news site mentioned Mae West.  
• • Look back at Woodhaven’s beginnings on its 185th birthday: Our Neighborhood, The Way it Was • •
• • Woodhaven Cultural and Historical Society wrote: Woodhaven celebrated its centennial in 1935, capped off with a giant parade down Jamaica Avenue with residents carrying a monstrously sized cake. Almost 5,000 residents and honored guests gathered in and around the Willard Theater to celebrate Woodhaven’s 100th birthday.
• • The celebration was capped off by a reading of a telegram from Mae West, who owned a house nearby on 88th Street, congratulating Woodhaven on its milestone.
• • With 15 years to go, residents of Woodhaven (and Ozone Park) have some time to plan for a 200th birthday party, but it will be hard to top Mae West for a celebrity endorsement. ...
• • Source: Queens (dot)com ;  published on Saturday, 1 August 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 16th 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 4,500 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fifteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,542nd 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 • • 1934 drawing of Mae West as Ruby Carter • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: 127th Birthday Babe

Happy Birthday to MAE WEST, Brooklyn Bombshell, Empress of Sex, Queen of Comedy, a notable quotable comedienne who maintained a long career on stage and on screen and also sizzled on the nightclub circuit.
• • Delivered by a local mid-wife, this feisty newborn drew her first lusty breaths in Bushwick on Thursday, 17 August 1893 (under the proud leonine sign of Leo) in her parents' bedroom. Little Mary Jane West always said: "I was born on a cool night in a hot month so I knew I could expect anything."

• • She trumped the income of every film actress of her generation because Mae was paid as a screenwriter as well as a box office draw.
• • Each day at least one publication in the world mentions her name. [We can verify our claim, too, because we've tracked this a-Mae-zing trend daily for the past 16 years now!]
• • Often imitated but never duplicated, the one and only Mae West endures in our hearts and memories.
• • Darling Mae, to your loyal followers, you don't look a day over twenty-sex!
• • Image: The artist Forest Mills colorized this Mae West photo. In this scene, her character Tira sat by a crystal ball gazing into her future in “I'm No Angel.” This colorized image is being shown on Mae's birthday, thanks to the courtesy of  Forest Mills. Used with permission. Be courteous and do not steal  this picture. Thank you.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Even at the fourscore mark, she remains a remarkable figure of a woman. The well-padded frame, which inspired the Mae West life jacket in World War II, seems little changed.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Mae West  had been 40 when she made the first of 12 films and was an important influence on the early career of Cary Grant, teaching him much about the craft of comedy in the course of appearing with him in “She Done Him Wrong” and “I'm No Angel.”
• • The death of this sex goddess from Hollywood's Golden Age was front-page news in November 1980 when she was 87.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "Come up sometime and see me. I'm home every evening."
• • Mae West said: "I give 'em what they want to see."
• • Mae West said: "You have to outfight everyone else to succeed."
• • Mae West said: "I'll never believe the worst about anyone without complete proof."
• • Mae West said: "I've always liked athletes because they don't smoke, don't drink, and understand the importance of keeping their bodies in top working order — — and a hard man is good to find."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • "Mae West Turns Sixty" • •
• • The Horsham Times wrote: Mae West turned 60 recently. To reporters who went along to wish her many happy returns, Miss West made it plain that birthdays are one thing a lady just doesn't discuss.
• • Fluttering her inch-long eyelashes demurely, she said: "You can see for yourself, a girl's just as old as she feels."
• • Source: The Horsham Times;  published on Friday, 12 September 1952
• • 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 16th 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 4,500 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fifteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,541st 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 • • by artist Forest Mill [used with permission] • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: Loved Pleasure

Despite all you think you know about MAE WEST, there’s always something new. Did you know how voraciously Mae West would attack a gift of chocolate truffles, despite being a diabetic, for instance?  
• • This intimate interview with Mae West was first seen in 2009. This is Part 25 of 29 parts.
• • From the Archive: A Candid (and Entertaining) Interview with Mae West • •  
• • Mae West voraciously attacked the second candy box • •   
• • Charlotte Chandler wrote: Opening the first box, Mae almost destroyed the contents in her haste to get inside. Then she voraciously attacked the second box, nearly mashing a few creams. It was only after she had both boxes open that she made her choice. As if fearing someone might take the box away from her, she snatched two chocolate truffles.
• • Charlotte Chandler wrote: “I like my pleasure,” she said, composing herself and holding out the box to me. “You can have one too, honey.”
• • Charlotte Chandler wrote: Mae West never let go of the box. Not wishing to deprive her, I selected one chocolate-covered apricot and began to eat it.
• • “Pills? I never take them,” said Mae West. • •  . . .  
• • This long and fascinating interview will be continued on the next post.
• • Source: AnOther Magazine; published  Autumn—Winter 2009 issue; rpt on Wednesday, 27 May 2020.    
• • On Wednesday, 14 August 1935 • •
• • "Banned in Australia — — Miss Mae West's Novel" • •

• • Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday — A novel written by Miss Mae West, the film star, has been banned by the Customs Department, because it is said to contain indecent and obscene passages. The novel, "She Done Him Wrong," is the story of a woman of the underworld, and becomes associated with gangsters in New York.  
• • Another of Miss West's novels, "The Constant Sinner," has not been banned in Australia.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Only a few of the newer vaudeville performers such as Mae West and Will Rogers have approached celebrity status in Hollywood.  
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "I became a star in the third person, even to myself. It didn't frighten me. I got fun out of being a legend and an institution."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • The Daily Illini mentioned Mae West.  
• • "Mae West's Armor" • •
• • Political columnist Drew Pearson wrote:  A surprise disclosure in a report just issued by the LaFollette civil liberties committee is the fact that Mae West was, at one time, considering buying an armored car.
• • Drew Pearson continued:  The information is contained in a letter written by Donald J. Wright, a salesman for Federal Laboratories, Inc., which sold hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of tear gas and sickening gas to city officials and anti-union employers to be used against strikers. Donald Wright was very coy in his comments regarding the famed movie star.
• • According to Drew Pearson, Donald J. Wright had noted: I am still working on this job but the chances of an order seem to be slipping. ... I haven't given up hope yet. Maybe if Mae West decides not to have the car protected, she will order a bullet-proof West and have herself armored.  It wouldn't be any fun, anyway, taking the measurements of an automobile.  ..
• • Source: syndicated column "The Daily Washington Merry-Go-Round" rpt in Daily Illini; published on Friday, 12 August 1938
• • 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 16th 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 4,500 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fifteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,540th 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 • • cartoon by Nerman • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: Chocolate Candy

Despite all you think you know about MAE WEST, there’s always something new. Did you know that Mae West was wild about chocolates, even though she was a diabetic, for instance?  
• • This intimate interview with Mae West was first seen in 2009. This is Part 24 of 29 parts.
• • From the Archive: A Candid (and Entertaining) Interview with Mae West • •  
• • George Cukor said Mae West had a passion for chocolates • •  
• • Mae West said: “Now a lot of people believe the way [my mother] did, and they aren’t called odd. Lots of fruit, vegetables, not many sweets, you know.”
• • Charlotte Chandler wrote: Mae kept looking at the gift-wrapped box I had set down on the table. “What’s that?” she asked with childlike enthusiasm.

• • Charlotte Chandler wrote: “George told me you have a passion for chocolates,” I explained.
• • Charlotte Chandler wrote:  “I do have a passion,” Mae said. “What kind of chocolates are they?”
• • Charlotte Chandler wrote:  “One is very healthy, with hardly any sugar. It has prunes and dried apricots inside. The other is a cream truffle.”
• • Mae West attacked a 2nd candy box • • ...     
• • This long and fascinating interview will be continued tomorrow.
• • Source: AnOther Magazine; published  Autumn—Winter 2009 issue; rpt on Wednesday, 27 May 2020.    
• • On Sunday, 13 August 1961 in Miami • •
• • "Mae West Oomph Creates New Interest in Theatre" • •
• • Miami Beach Sun wrote: After touring the Midwest, "Come On Up" was staged in August in Miami's Cocoanut Grove Playhouse (air-conditioned, we hope).  
• • "When the final curtain rang down, not a single customer made a rush to the exit. Everybody sat glued to his seat and Mae West took repeated curtain calls, from about the most enthusiastic audience I have ever seen in this theatre," gushed a critic for the Miami Beach Sun.
• • Ticket-holders commented on "the fabulous appearance of Mae West," who was putting her energy into "Come On Up" when she was 68 years old and in full command of the crowd.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • In “South Sea Sinner” actress Shelley Winters plays a Mae West character that the police are always deporting till she’s down to her last island.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said:  "I have been too busy for love — —but I love all men.”
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An art magazine mentioned Mae West.  
• • Michaël Borremans explores the potent significance of painting and drawing with grim humour and surreal clarity • •
• • In this sense the artist divulges a great sense of play; in "A Mae West Experience" (2002), for example, a giant model of Mae West overwhelms a tiny crowd deafened by the loudspeakers embedded in her body; in  . . .
• • Source: Frieze, Issue # 89; published on Tuesday, 1 March 2005 
• • 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 16th 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 4,500 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fifteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,539th 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 • • cartoon Mae West • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest