Mae West: He Begged Her

MAE WEST gave various accounts about the inspiration for Diamond Lil and other particulars when she was still a Hollywood newcomer. Caroline Somers Hoyt interviewed Mae in January 1933. Her piece was published in the May issue, available to subscribers at the end of April. It is Part 6 of 13.
• • Bad, Bad Woman: Meet Mae West, a truly remarkable woman • •
• • Caroline Somers Hoyt spoke to Mae for Modern Screen • •
• • Mae West: Wanted the doll on the top shelf • •
• • Hoyt wrote: Mae West pointed upwards. "I want that one," she said.    
• • Hoyt wrote: The salesman smiled and began to look for a doll like it on one of the lower shelves, but found none. He begged her to chose another, pointing out the merits of the more easily reached ones.
• • Hoyt wrote: Instead Mae stood there, pointing. "No. I want that one."

• • Hoyt wrote: The store clerk explained how inaccessible was the toy. They offered her bigger dolls, more easily reached. They even pointed to much prettier dolls.
• • Hoyt wrote: But Mae shook her head. Clearly, Mae was not interested. "I want that one."
• • Mae West: She wants what she wants • • ...
• • Caroline Somers Hoyt's 1933 interview will continue on our next post.
• • Source: Modern Screen; issue dated for May 1933.
• • On Wednesday, 26 February 1936 • •
• • Hollywood Citizen News ran this article on Wednesday, 26 February 1936: "Mae West Mum in Lubitsch, Timony Debate."
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • The beret Influence is most marked in many of the new millinery models, while others are Tyrolean in their inspiration, and a third type, the new Mae West hats, are wide of brim and are made of velvet swathed with silver or golden cords.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "The guy's trying to cash in again! I got a new picture out and he's pulling the same stunt he pulled the last time one was released." [Mae's comments were in reference to Frank Wallace's bid for alimony and half of her assets on Friday, 28 February 1936.]
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article on shame, disgrace, and TV mentioned Mae West.
• • British journalist Marina Hyde wrote: The idea of disgrace being a career opportunity is not especially new. "I expect it will be the making of me," Mae West purred in 1927 of her arrest on vice charges relating to her play Sex, and indeed it was. But it has never been easier to bounce back, and TV is the primary redemptive force. ...
• • Source: The Guardian [UK]; posted on Friday, 16 February 2007
• • 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 4,679th 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 • • in 1933 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: Was Insulted

MAE WEST gave various accounts about the inspiration for Diamond Lil and other particulars when she was a Hollywood newcomer. Caroline Somers Hoyt interviewed Mae in January 1933. Her piece was published in the May issue, available to subscribers at the end of April. This is Part 5 of 13.
• • Bad, Bad Woman: Meet Mae West, a truly remarkable woman • •
• • Caroline Somers Hoyt spoke to Mae for Modern Screen • •
• • Mae West: Was promised a doll • •
• • Hoyt wrote: But all this cajolery was no use. Mae had been insulted. Mae was going home. And because her mother adored the child and was later to sit in a theatre watching that same daughter play in "Sex," "Diamond Lil," etc., and see nothing bad about the plays, she put on her hat and coat and went home with the little girl.

• • Hoyt wrote: Some months later the mother promised Mae a doll. She could have any one she chose and together mother and daughter journeyed to the store. There were hundreds of dolls in great piles. All of them were lovely but right at the very top was a doll dressed in a lavender frock. This doll was perched precariously at the top of the pile — almost touching the ceiling.
• • Mae West: Wanted the doll on the top shelf • • ...
• • Caroline Somers Hoyt's 1933 interview will continue on our next post.
• • Source: Modern Screen; issue dated for May 1933.
• • On Tuesday, 25 February 1913 • •
• • The announcement that "Mae West, the comedienne" was appearing at the Grand ran in the Atlantic Journal on Tuesday, 25 February 1913.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • In Mae West's newest motion picture, what many viewers will enjoy most is Mae West's rendition of the aria "My Heart Opens at the Sound of Your Voice" from the opera ''Samson and Delilah."
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said:  "You know, my audience wants me bad. I'm always sensational."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article about Hollywood films mentioned Mae West.
• • Mae West's Next Picture • •
• • "Klondike" is the tentative title of Mae West's next picture. It has an Alaskan background.
• • Lillian Kilgannon, who plays cigarette girls in the movies, stands in for Mae West and Kilgannon's beautiful legs are used in close-ups.
• • Directors say she has the most feminine and shapely limbs in pictures. That is why Lillian's legs are used when close-ups are needed of a star's legs, that is a star whose figure may not be all that is desired by the cameraman.
• • Lillian Kilgannon wears tights and an abbreviated costume as a cigarette girl in night club sequences. And she dons a blonde wig and acts as Mae West's stand-in because she is the same height, weight and coloring. Her hair is darker.  ...
• • Source: The Boston Globe; published on Wednesday, 24 April 1935
• • 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 4,678th 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 • • at her West End Avenue home with her sister in 1933 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: Fluttery Woman

MAE WEST gave various accounts about the inspiration for Diamond Lil and other particulars while still a Hollywood newcomer. Caroline Somers Hoyt interviewed Mae in January 1933. Her piece was published in the May issue, available to subscribers at the end of April. This is Part 4 of 13.
• • Bad, Bad Woman: Meet Mae West, a truly remarkable woman • •
• • Caroline Somers Hoyt spoke to Mae for Modern Screen • •
• • Mae West: No, you must not touch that! • •
• • Hoyt wrote: The hostess — a fluttery woman — ran to her. "No, no, dear, you mustn't touch that. That isn't for little girls to play with."

• • Hoyt wrote: Without a word Mae walked into the bedroom, got her own coat and hat and her mother's. She carried her mother's wraps to her and said, "Here put these on. We're going home."
• • Hoyt wrote: The hostess begged them to stay. She lured Mae with promises of the lovely cakes that would arrive with the tea. She told her that there would be piano playing later on. She begged Mae to forgive her. "She even," said the West in telling the story, "offered to let me play with the damn thing."
• • Mae West: Was promised a doll • • ...
• • Caroline Somers Hoyt's 1933 interview will continue on our next post.
• • Source: Modern Screen; issue dated for May 1933.
• • Paul Novak [24 February 1923 — 14 July 1999] • •
• • Born Chester Rybinsky in Baltimore on 24 February 1923, Mae West's live-in lover was thirty years her junior. He entered physique contests as Chuck Krauser.
• • They met and became acquainted when Charles Krauser, George Eiferman, Irvin "Zabo" Koszewski, Dick DuBois, Dominic Juliano, Joe Gold, Armand Tanny, Gordon Mitchell, and Mickey Hargitay were among the star bodybuilders in West's chorus for all (or part) of the show's three-year run.
• • Chuck Krauser changed his name again, becoming Paul Novak, Mae's main man for the next 24 years. The Mae West Blog remembers him on his birthday, February 24.
• • On Saturday, 24 February 1912 • •
• • "Show Girl Heard Smacks in Newark, N.J." • •
• • A New Jersey reporter wrote: May (sic) West, a former show girl, now a detective, figured prominently as a witness in the hearing today before Vice-Chancellor Stevens in the cross-suits for divorce brought by George M. Rusling and Nettie R. Rusling. The husband alleges infidelity and the wife charges abandonment. Rusling names A.D. Tooley, a Brooklyn restaurant keeper, as correspondent.
• • According to Miss West's testimony last March, she was called upon to don her gum-shoes and solve a deep mystery. She was employed in the Rusling home (58 South 13th St.), as a maid. Mrs. Rusling, according to the testimony, did not know that Miss West was a sleuth or she would have fired her in a minute.
• • Note: The detective agency Mae West was attached to was operated by her father. Mae was 18 years old when this trial was in progress but only 17 when she was first hired as a housemaid in the Rusling residence in March of 1911.
• • Source: New Jersey Morning Telegraph; published on Saturday, 24 February 1912.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Would you like to see Clark Gable as Mae West’s screen lover? It’s an idea that Modern Screen is sure would please the fans and—well, the question is put up to you all to answer.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said:  “No gold-digging for me. I take diamonds! We may be off the gold standard someday.”
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • Motion Picture Daily mentioned problems with pictures starring Mae West.
• • Insiders' Outlook columnist wrote: Paramount and Metro have two troublesome women on their hands. At Paramount, it's a gal named Mae West. At Metro, a more platinum blonde named Jean Harlow. Both producers are thinking hard what they can do about them in the light of the church movement.
• • Insiders' Outlook columnist wrote: Take either one or both, if you like, and imagine La West or La Harlow in a sweet and virginal "Little Women" type of role. It would be funny. Their producers recognize in these two players the public's association with well-defined characterizations. They argue tickets are bought on that basis. But it is a basis which church forces do not like. What to do about them is major and tough to solve. ...
• • Source: Motion Picture Daily; published on Monday, 16 July 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 4,600 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fifteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,677th 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 • • in 1933 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: Touched It

MAE WEST gave various accounts about the inspiration for Diamond Lil and other particulars when she was still a Hollywood newcomer. Caroline Somers Hoyt interviewed Mae in January 1933. Her piece was published in the May issue, available to subscribers at the end of April. This is Part 3 of 13.
• • Bad, Bad Woman: Meet Mae West, a truly remarkable woman • •
• • Caroline Somers Hoyt spoke to Mae for Modern Screen • •
• • Mae West: There's some bad in all women • •
• • Hoyt wrote: “If I didn't have that outlet I might have been one of 'em myself. I couldn't make any prophecies. I've always been interested in women like that. Maybe it was the theatre that saved me. Anyhow, I've made a lot more money in the theatre,” said Mae West.     

• • Hoyt wrote: Mae West claims she was a willful kid. Once she and her mother were invited to a friend's house for tea. It was one of those dignified gatherings. But immediately after the wraps were "laid off" Mae espied one of those living- room atrocities — waxed flowers underneath a cylinder of glass.
• • Hoyt wrote: She thought it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen and because it was so beautiful she wanted to touch it. So, wanting to touch it, she did — running her little hands over the smooth, rounded glass.
• • Mae West: No, don't touch that! • • ...
• • Caroline Somers Hoyt's 1933 interview will continue on our next post.
• • Source: Modern Screen; issue dated for May 1933.
• • On Wednesday, 23 February 1927 in Variety • •
• • Variety sympathized with Mae West and the others whose Broadway shops were closed down due to a contagious censorship epidemic. This article ran on 23 February 1927.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Mae West has written a new play, and it looks as if it will bring her Hollywood career to an end — — at least for the time being. Her film contracts in Hollywood will terminate shortly, and she is thinking of appearing in her own play on Broadway, where she was a famous star in the "Diamond Lil" days.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said:  "I'm all dignity."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article about Hollywood films mentioned Mae West.
• • Lillian Kilgannon, who stood in for Mae West, Marlene Dietrich. and Ethel Merman in their latest movies at Paramount studio, now is standing in for Jean Parker in "Limehouse Nights."
• •"We are the shadows," Lillian Kilgannon said. "We stand in while the set is being lighted, sometimes for an hour or more, so that all my be in readiness for the star who may then do the scene in five minutes. ... We just step out. We are the shadows."  ...
• • Source: The N.Y. Daily News; published on Monday, 17 September 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 4,600 blog posts. Wow!
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fifteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,676th 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 • • Modern Screen interview in 1933 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: Too Willful

MAE WEST gave various accounts about the inspiration for Diamond Lil and other particulars when she was still a Hollywood newcomer. Caroline Somers Hoyt interviewed Mae in January 1933. Her piece was published in the May issue, available to subscribers at the end of April. This is Part 2 of  13.
• • Bad, Bad Woman: Meet Mae West, a truly remarkable woman • •
• • Caroline Somers Hoyt spoke to Mae for Modern Screen • •
• • Mae West: How it began • •
• • Hoyt wrote: It all begins back in Brooklyn when Mae West was a kid. A dignified aunt used to watch Mae bullying the boys in the street and say to her mother, "Tcht, tcht, that child is too willful. She'll come to no good end. Why don't you make her act more like a lady? Why do you let her have her own way? Why don't you correct her?"

• • Hoyt wrote: If that same dignified aunt could see her, now that she has become famous playing bad, bad women for the edification of thousands of audiences! If that aunt could see her jewels and her spangled gowns and could hear her say — as she said to me a few weeks ago in that husky voice:
• • Hoyt wrote: "Listen, there's some bad in all women. I work off my energies— and I've got plenty of energy— by being that sort of woman on the stage and screen,” said Mae West.
• • Mae West: There's some bad in all women • • ...  
• • Caroline Somers Hoyt's 1933 interview will continue on our next post.
• • Source: Modern Screen; issue dated for May 1933.
• • On Saturday, 22 February 1947 • •
• • The show "Come On Up" starring Mae West opened in Los Angeles, California at the Biltmore Theatre on Saturday, 22 February 1947.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Unlike Miss Dietrich, Mae West bares nothing but reveals everything.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "I never expected to be sent to jail."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article in Modern Screen mentioned Mae West.
• • Mae West at the Circus • •
• • Mae West is a pretty swell gal. In her next picture, "I'm No Angel," she plays the part of a circus performer. So when the Barnes Circus was in town, Mae made several trips over to the Big Top to gain some first-hand information on trapeze artists. Upon each visit she noticed there was always a line of wistful looking children standing outside, without the price of a ticket.
• • So what does Diamond Lil do but take two hundred little orphans, including fifty negro children, to the circus one Sunday afternoon! She treated 'em to popcorn 'n' peanuts 'n' everything, and did they have a swell time! Believe you me, those kids won't be forgetting Mae West for a long time.  . . .
• • Source: Modern Screen;  published in the issue dated for July  1933
• • 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 4,675th 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 1933 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: Bad Woman

MAE WEST gave various accounts about the inspiration for Diamond Lil and other particulars when she was still a Hollywood newcomer. Caroline Somers Hoyt interviewed Mae in January 1933. Her piece was published in the May issue, available to subscribers at the end of April. This is Part 1 of  13.
• • Bad, Bad Woman: Meet Mae West, a truly remarkable woman • •
• • Caroline Somers Hoyt spoke to Mae for Modern Screen • •

• • Hoyt wrote: Mae West, the famous exponent of sex in the theater, makes her Hollywood debut.
• • Hoyt wrote: What's she like? Well, she's different, and startling, and amazing— see for yourself.
• • When Mae West first swayed across hundreds of American screens with one hand on hip and shoulders hunched forward, folks in the audience turned to each other and said, "Oh boy, I'll bet that baby has had a past !" And, oh boy, that baby has had one, too!
• • Let's start right at the very beginning and find out how Mae West got that way — where she got that whiskey voice that Bowery walk, those smart come-backs. What, in other "woids" (that's the way Mae would say it on the stage) makes Mae West tick and how was she able to give dignified magistrates a laugh when the people of New York preferred charges against her?
• • Mae West: How it began • • ...
• • Caroline Somers Hoyt's 1933 interview will continue on our next post.
• • Source: Modern Screen; issue dated for May 1933.
• • On Saturday, 19 February 1927 • •
• • When Aimee Semple McPherson visited New York on Saturday, 19 February 1927, the famed evangelist insisted on visiting Texas Guinan's club.
• • Mae West was there to meet this intriguing individual with her marcel-waved hair and charismatic podium presence who dared to tell church-goers at collection time, "No coins, please."
• • The New York Times quoted Texas Guinan commenting about Aimee: "This is a woman I admire."
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Authorities yesterday were investigating the apparent suicide of Ray Charles Wallace, 44, personal chauffeur for actress Mae West.  His body was found Tuesday in Miss West's Cadillac limousine on a farm near Patoka, Indiana.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said:  “When it comes to finances, remember that there are no withholding taxes on the wages of sin.”
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article in Modern Screen mentioned Mae West.
• • Mae West Denies Report That She Is Married to Manager • •
• • Mae West is good and mad. It seems that a magazine (oh, no, not Modern Screen) printed a story which said that Mae was married to her manager and that, furthermore, he has a wooden leg, of all things.
• • To all of which Mae says: "I am not married — nor have I even selected a victim as yet!" That's that.
• • Source: Modern Screen;  published in the issue dated for July 1933
• • 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 4,674th 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 • • early interview: Modern Screen in 1933 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: Careless Smoker

MAE WEST said this about being on TV: “too many people seeing me for free.” But now that her motion pictures are on the small screen, Mae is being newly discovered. Let's hear from Scott Marks. This is Part 8 of 8.
• • The Best of Mae West • •
• • She Done Him Wrong: Mae West’s career died for your sins.
• • Mae West: Hollywood display of religious ecstasy • •
• • Mae West portrays Ruby Carter • •
• • Scott Marks wrote: It was enough to make Jean-Pierre Coursodon call the sequence “an immensely tasteless” number in which West sings along with a “black chorus going through grotesque contortions in a repulsively Hollywood display of religious ecstasy.”

• • Scott Marks wrote: What better way to end the film that introduced the world to jazz standard “My Old Flame” — Duke Ellington and his orchestra are on hand to accompany West — than by having a flicked butt, tossed by careless smoker Mae West, miss the fireplace and literally bring the house down?
• • Scott Marks wrote: Mae West appeared in but a dozen features, and I suggest you see them all, including Myra Breckinridge. Make that especially Myra Breckinridge!
• • Part 8 ends this article written by Scott Marks.
• • Source: San Diego Reader; published on Friday, 11 December 2020.
• • On Saturday, 18 February 1933 • •
• • An article about Mae West and her new film "She Done Him Wrong" was printed in The New Yorker in their issue dated for Saturday, 18 February 1933.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • "I'm an occidental woman in an Oriental mood for love," sings the curvaceous Queen of Innuendo, Mae West, sporting a bespangled pseudo-Chinese headdress in the 1936 film "Klondike Annie." The scene is classic West and pure Hollywood kitsch.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said:  "When a person thinks only of himself, he saves himself a lot of trouble."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article in Australia said Mae West inspired a train.
• • 'Mae West' is the new fast train • •
• • The new fast train from Mudgee to Oconabarabran has been dubbed by bright residents of the latter town the 'Mae West.'  The good Coonaberabranarians assembled In force on the railway platform to welcome Mae on arrival after her first trip with the enthusiasm reaching great heights.  ...
• • Source: Mudgee Guardian and North-Western Representative (NSW); published on Monday, 11 February 1935
• • 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 4,673rd 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 • • "Belle of the Nineties" in 1934 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: A Deviation

MAE WEST said this about being on TV: “too many people seeing me for free.” But now that her motion pictures are on the small screen, Mae is being newly discovered. Let's hear from Scott Marks. This is Part 7 of 8.
• • The Best of Mae West • •
• • She Done Him Wrong: Mae West’s career died for your sins.
• • Mae West: stereotypical mix of fire-brimstone with bayou hoodoo • •
• • Scott Marks wrote: In "Belle of the Nineties," Mae West doesn’t even sing [sic]. (That chore goes to one of her stud muffins.)

• • Scott Marks wrote: "Belle" isn’t a musical as much as it is a series of stage performances by Mae West interspersed between bits of melodrama.
• • Scott Marks wrote: The one deviation occurs when she steps out on the balcony for a smoke and observes an all-black revival meeting being held practically in her backyard.
• • Scott Marks wrote: These numbers were quite popular in the day, but there is something particularly off-putting about this stereotypical mix of fire and brimstone and bayou hoodoo.
• • Mae West: Hollywood display of religious ecstasy • • ...  
• • Part 8 will follow tomorrow, the final segment by Scott Marks.
• • Source: San Diego Reader; published on Friday, 11 December 2020.
• • On Saturday, 17 February 1951 in Los Angeles • •
• • In Los Angeles on February 17th, Pete Ermalinger, manager of the Biltmore Theatre, was negotiating for "Diamond Lil" the Mae West starrer currently in Texas.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Mae West warbles four numbers, one, "Scandalizin' My Name," counter-pointed with Negro spirituals being particularly effective to eye and ear.  Leo McCarey's direction has flavor and distinction. Exploited smartly, "Belle of the Nineties" should do Golden West business even though repeat bookings may or may not be so abundant.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "In my pictures I never took a man from another woman or pursued another woman's husband. That was all part of my plan to keep women audiences happy.”
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • The N.Y. Times mentioned Mae West.
• • On Tuesday, 15 February 1927, in the West Side court, Mae West and her producers were offered the possibility of an 'implied immunity' in return for pulling the show. They turned it down.  ...
• • Source: The N.Y. Times; published on Wednesday, 16 February 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 4,600 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fifteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,672nd 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 • • "Belle of the Nineties" in 1934 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: Gawker's Paradise

MAE WEST said this about being on TV: “too many people seeing me for free.” But now that her motion pictures are on the small screen, Mae is being newly discovered. Let's hear from Scott Marks. This is Part 6 of 8.
• • The Best of Mae West • •
• • She Done Him Wrong: Mae West’s career died for your sins.
• • Mae West: Calling the shots • •
• • Scott Marks wrote:  And Leo McCarey did them all in a row, too, from Duck Soup to Six of a Kind to Belle of the Nineties.
• • Scott Marks wrote: For the first time in her career, West received sole screenwriting credit, and it was she, not McCarey, calling the shots.

• • Scott Marks wrote: Unlike her slow roll-out in “She Done Him Wrong,” where it takes 10 minutes of screen-time before we see Lady Lou, West’s quick-to-arrive first musical number is a gawker’s paradise.
• • Scott Marks wrote: “My American Beauty” amounts to little more than an immobile West positioned center frame, hands planted firmly on hips that can’t stop gyrating, performing from within a quintet of costumier Travis Banton’s tightest — legend has it West had to be sewn into her costumes — and most outlandish creations.
• • Mae West: stereotypical mix of fire and brimstone with bayou hoodoo • • ...  
• • Part 7 will follow tomorrow.
• • Source: San Diego Reader; published on Friday, 11 December 2020.
• • On Thursday, 16 February 1950 in Rochester • •
• • Rarely did Mae West miss a performance. When she did, however, it made the news.
• • On Thursday, 16 February 1950, Mae was starring in her popular Bowery melodrama "Diamond Lil" at the Auditorium Theatre in Rochester, NY — — when she collapsed onstage. At first it was thought that she was suffering from food poisoning.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • The renaming of Mae West's "It Ain't No Sin" as "The Belle of New Orleans" drew protests today from civic and political bodies in Louisiana.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "I had to have the spotlight more than anything else, shining full on me. I ached for the spotlight — — which was like the strongest man's arm around me, like an ermine coat."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article in Variety mentioned Mae West.
• • Note: In 1955 Mae West shattered all attendance records at Chez Paree, co-owned by Jay "Jack" Schatz.
• • Note: During its glory days, this popular supper club was the place to catch performances by Lena Home, Sophie Tucker, and (of course) Mae West, always backed by its in-house chorus line.
• • When Mae brought her show to Chicago's Chez Paree, Variety reviewed the act on Wednesday, 16 February 1955.
• • Variety wrote "The femme ringsiders give blushing gasps of admiration to the musclemen, while their paunchy or anemic escorts cringe before the display of physical excellence."  . . .
• • Source: Review in Variety; published on Wednesday, 16 February 1955
• • 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 4,671st 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 • • "Belle of the Nineties" in 1934 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: Male Lechery

MAE WEST said this about being on TV: “too many people seeing me for free.” But now that her motion pictures are on the small screen, Mae is being newly discovered. Let's hear from Scott Marks. This is Part 5 of 8.
• • The Best of Mae West • •
• • She Done Him Wrong: Mae West’s career died for your sins.
• • Mae West: the poignancy of male lechery • •

• • Scott Marks wrote: The film was directed by Lowell Sherman, a man Andrew Sarris said was “gifted with the ability to express the poignancy of male lechery when confronted with female longing.” Much of what made it on the stage was not suited for mass consumption at the movies; still, what’s here is probably the closest to undiluted Mae West as the Golden Age of Hollywood would allow.
• • Editor: Very little of the actual 3-hour play-script was used in the 66-minute film version.
• • Belle of the Nineties starring Mae West (1934) • •
• • Scott Marks wrote: Paramount in the ‘30s, the right place and right time for Leo McCarey, the only director fortunate enough to work with the studio’s behemoths of comedy, that triple-helping of absurdity The Marx Bros., W.C. Fields, and Mae West.
• • Mae West: Calling the shots • • ...
• • Part 6 will follow tomorrow.
• • Source: San Diego Reader; published on Friday, 11 December 2020.
• • On Tuesday, 15 February 1927 in Manhattan • •
• • In New York City on 15 February 1927 there had been a hearing against "Sex" in the Magistrate's Court, closely followed by The New York Times and other newspapers.
• • It was on that Tuesday in mid-February that Mae West's obscenity trial officially began.
• • Mae's obscenity trials are dramatized in the play “Courting Mae West.”
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Hollywood's gangsters did this: Held up Zeppo Marx for thirty-eight thousand dollars. Forced Mae West to part with about $16,000 worth of jewelry. Robbed Helene Costello's home of about $30,000.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "In my pictures I never took a man from another woman or pursued another woman's husband. That was all part of my plan to keep women audiences happy."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article on “She Done Him Wrong” mentioned Mae West.
• • “She Done Him Wrong” (Paramount) • •  
• • Modern Screen wrote: Mae West (Diamond Lil) sure dishes out plenty of that risque business in this one (that's putting it delicately, but in spite of that, or on account of it, depending on yourself, it is downright funny).
• • Loaded with diamonds, Lil starts out as a saloon keeper's sweetie. She has men by the score and finally winds up by gettin' her man . . . who was darn tough to land. The cast is great, including Cary Grant, Gilbert Roland, Noah Beery and Rochelle Hudson. If you're not too highbrow, you'll go for this one! But leave the kids at home! ...
• • Source: Modern Screen; issue dated for May 1933
• • 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 4,670th 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 • • Lil and Sergei in "She Done Him Wrong" 1933 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest