Wednesday, October 21, 2020

Mae West: Revealing a Lot

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 8 of 46 parts.
• • "Mirror, Mirror, on the Ceiling: How'm I Doin’?" • •
• • Not bad, Mae, for a woman of seventy-three • •
• • Mae West: Revealing a lot of skin under beige lace • •
• • Helen Lawrenson wrote: She was dressed in a floor-length off-white satin skirt, with a ruffle at the bottom, and a low-necked beige lace over-blouse through which was clearly visible a lot of Mae, bare from the waistline up, with the exception of her bra.

• • Helen Lawrenson wrote: Her lemon-yellow hair was piled high in front, in an early Betty Grable pompadour, with the addition of long straight bangs. The rest of it flowed over her shoulders. She was vividly made-up, with bright red lipstick to match her fingernails, and long, thick, false eyelashes. (“Your eyes are blue, aren’t they?” “They’re turquoise, dear.”)
• • Helen Lawrenson wrote: Mae West looked as if she should be lolling on a satin chaise longue, eating chocolate bonbons from a heart-shaped red-satin gift box and listening to a Victrola playing “On Moonlight Bay.“
• • Mae West: Born in 1892 or 1893? • • . . .
• • Helen Lawrenson's interview will be continued on the next post.
• • Source: Esquire; published on Saturday, 1 July 1967.
• • On Tuesday, 21 October 1947 • •
• • It was on Tuesday, 21 October 1947 that Mae West first set foot in a playhouse in Manchester, England to present her Bowery melodrama "Diamond Lil."
• • On Thursday, 21 October 1993 • •
• • John Cohen's article on Mae West, "And West Is West," appeared in The New York Sun on Thursday, 21 October 1993.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Mae West talks the best sex-appeal you've ever heard. The world — — that is, the most important city, Hollywood — — is completely sold on the idea that Mae slays 'em. The result is the pleasant tinkle of silver running through the box-office.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said:  "I've been so absorbed in myself since I've been a child. I've never been interested in anybody but myself. Just me, me. What other woman in the world has done what I've done?"
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article discussed censorship and mentioned Mae West.
• • Miss Cellania wrote: But as someone who had spent her entire life testing boundaries, she wasn't about to stop because her studio wanted to dump her.  Mae West went on to make a few more movies for other studios, most notably My Little Chickadee with W.C. Fields in 1940. She returned to the Broadway stage, and in the 1950s, she took her innuendo-laden act to Las Vegas.  ...
• • Source: Mental Floss;  published on Wednesday, 2 March 2016

• • 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 4,586th 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 • • playing the guitar  in 1970
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