Mae West: Ringo Recalled

In 1967, 73-year-old MAE WEST told Helen Lawrenson (during an interview for Esquire) that “if you didn’t know how old I am, a person’d think I’m twenty-six.”  
• • Eleven years later, in 1978, Mae would play a coquettish bride in "Sextette." Was it a good film or a misfire? Journalist Steve Palace has his own perspective. This is Part 5 of 6 parts.
• • "Sextette" — Mae West’s Last Movie Saw Her Play the Vamp in Her 80s! • •
• • Mae West: Aching for the spotlight • •

• • Steve Palace wrote: Ringo Starr recalled an invitation to dinner during the making of "Sextette." He says: “Mae gets there an hour earlier than you to do the lights… we heard later she does that wherever she goes.” Even away from the camera she wanted to be the perfect movie star.
• • Charlotte Chandler interviewed West in 1979. “I ached for it, the spotlight,” the veteran revealed, “which was like the strongest man’s arms around me, like an ermine coat.”
• • "Sextette" was distributed independently from Hollywood studios by Crown International Pictures. In previous times West worked with Columbia, Paramount and Universal Pictures.
• • Her salacious antics practically wrote the book on media censorship. Now she was out on her own.
• • With a budget of up to $8 million, the film had a lot riding on it. It made a mere $50,000 at the box office.
• • Mae West: An embarrassing attempt at camp • • ...      
• • This feature will continue until the sixth segment.
• • Source: The Vintage News; published on Tuesday, 29 September 2020.
• • On Wednesday, 15 January 1936 • •
• • Mae West's ally Emanuel Cohen [1892 — 1977] had packed up his bags at Paramount, which started to feel as cozy and congenial as the North Pole under the new studio boss Ernst Lubitsch [1892 — 1947].
• • On Wednesday, 15 January 1936, Variety Magazine was reporting doom and gloom on Hollywood and Vine. According to Variety: Mae West had been warned that she must strictly follow orders and that Paramount's production chief would not tolerate any challenges or deviations. Several directors found letters to that effect in their mailboxes as well.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Mae West was more than just her measurements and her ferocious frankness. She was a keen marketer, creating projects for herself when none were available or even being offered. She took her talents to Broadway, to regional theater, she toured the country with her revue, and kept her soon to be celebrated vulgarity as a topic of publicity rag reality.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "Like men? Sure, I've known lots of them, but in later years I've never found one I liked well enough to marry."  
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article on “Sextette” discussed Mae West.
• • Mae West Made this "Insane" Film in her 80's • •
• • PBS wrote: The film "Sextette," which Mae West made when she was in her 80's, was actually a "radical power move," according to comedian Natasha Lyonne. It demonstrated West's supreme confidence as a woman trying to defy the taboo against sexual older women. At the same time, it showed that the persona Mae West created in the 30's was so original that it could endure into the 1970's and beyond.  ...
• • Source: PBS; posted on Tuesday, 16 June 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 4,600 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fifteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,649th 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 her last film in 1978 • •
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