Mae West: Mirror, Mirror

When Helen Lawrenson came up to see MAE WEST, Esquire's first female journalist was closing in on her sixtieth birthday and the Brooklyn bombshell was 73. A color photo by Diane Arbus flashed across the double-page-spread, hunched under half the title as if warding off a punch in the nose.
• • In honor of  Helen Lawrenson's October birthday, enjoy her seldom seen interview. This is Part 1 of 46 parts.
• • Helen Lawrenson [1 October 1907 — 5 April 1982] • •
• • "Mirror, Mirror, on the Ceiling: How'm I Doin’?" • • 
• • Not bad, Mae, for a woman of seventy-three • •

• • Helen Lawrenson wrote: “Mae West?” said the taxi driver, “I thought she was dead.”
• • Helen Lawrenson wrote:  Well, she isn’t. If she could have heard him, she’d have cut clean to his heart with one look like a laser beam.
• • Helen Lawrenson wrote: Now in her mid-seventies, she’s a lot more bumptious and flossy than anyone would expect, still full of the old gung-ho. While grandchildren of her former fans are watching revivals of her films in art houses, she has embarked on a new career as a rock-and-roll singer with four LP albums under her belt and a growing international fan club of teen-age boys who write her bubbling love letters.
• • It wasn’t easy to get to see Mae West in 1967 • • . . .
• • Helen Lawrenson's interview will be continued on the next post.
• • Source: Esquire; published on Saturday, 1 July 1967.
• • On Thursday, 12 October 1933 • •
• • The premiere of "I'm No Angel," starring Mae West was held on Thursday, 12 October 1933 in Hollywood.  A triumphant date in Hollywood for the Brooklyn bombshell.
• • John West [11 February 1900 — 12 October 1964] • •
• • Though Mae had taken good care of her health, shortly after her 71st birthday she was hospitalized and her ailments were scrutinized. The diagnosis was diabetes.
• • As Mae was quietly convalescing at home, with Paul Novak at her side, she received the worst news. Her beloved brother John Edwin West, 64, had suffered a massive heart attack.
• • Born on 11 February 1900, John Edwin West died during October — — on Monday, 12 October 1964. Gone suddenly at age 64.  Mae made arrangements for her beloved brother's body to be sent back to Brooklyn to the family crypt.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Mae West is irresistible, as she sits at the counter, totally distracting the soda jerk in the animated feature "Soda Squirt" released in the USA on 12 October 1933.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said:  "I know what I want.  I have to. That's the only way to build a career."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article on an author mentioned Mae West.
• • Leslie Doolittle wrote: You probably know that William Diehl is a successful suspense author, known for such best-selling novels as Primal Fear. But did you know he saw the Hindenburg explode, had Mae West for his baby sitter, served as Martin Luther King's personal photographer ...
• • Source: Article: "Author Uncovers The Real Diehl" written by Leslie Doolittle for the Orlando Sentinel; published on Sunday, 12 October 1997
• • 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 4,580th blog post. Unlike many blogs, which draw upon reprinted content from a newspaper or a magazine and/ or summaries, links, or photos, the mainstay of this blog is its fresh material focused on the life and career of Mae West, herself an American original.

• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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• • Photo: • • Mae West • • in Esquire in 1967 • •
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