Mae West: Was It Gay?

MAE WEST was a soft touch for a hard luck story. Mae rarely discussed her generosity in an interview, however, which makes this seldom seen piece in Screenland worth reading. This is Part 10 of 18 segments.
• • Mae West’s Secret Self • •
• • Mae West: Unless you’re bad, you don’t get a break • •
• • Aileen St. John Brenon wrote: Mae West swears that nobody remembers a good girl, and that you've got to be bad to make the world give you a break.  
• • Aileen St. John Brenon wrote: Well, listen to this:
• • Aileen St. John Brenon wrote: She gave her first Hollywood party the other day.

• • Aileen St. John Brenon wrote: "Come on, boys," she said, with that husky, insinuating drawl of hers, "let's go!"    
• • Aileen St. John Brenon wrote: And they went, with a will! Was that party gay? Did they yell and scream? Did they make whoopee?  
• • Mae West: Joy unrefined • • …
• • This will be continued on the next post.
• • Source: Screenland; issue dated for October 1933.
• • On Thursday, 29 July 1937 • •
• • Frank Wallace and the on-going lawsuit he initiated, to get the court to recognize his marriage in 1911 to Mae West, made enough waves in the news media. However, an item in the Los Angeles Citizen-News on Thursday, 29 July 1937 reported that Paramount Pictures "announced 98% of her fan mail had been favorable" despite the drawn-out divorce debacle.  
• • July 2004: Mae West Blog launches • •
• • What are we up to, writing about the Brooklyn-born bombshell for eighteen years now?
• • We’re here to keep Mae mavens up to date, correct errors, celebrate each revival of a play she wrote, post the latest Westian stage and book reviews. And answer our fan mail!
• • The light’s still on. Come up and see Mae every day.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • I doubt that Mae West is the last of her line. More subtle approaches are distinctly possible.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "Men and jewels are my hobby."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • Jump Cut: A Review of Contemporary Media mentioned Mae West.
• • "Why women go to the movies" • •
• • Marc Silberman wrote: The vamp represents one of the few female images that is allowed to look at men freely. Mae West couples her disparaging meat-tester's gaze directly with carnal motives: after a few knowledgeable glances she taps the men on their rear ends. In contrast to this is Marilyn Monroe's constantly veiled stare.  ...
• • Source: Excerpt from an article written in German by Gertrud Koch, translated into English by Marc Silberman; published in Jump Cut, number 27, pp. 51-53, issue dated for July 1982
• • 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 18th anniversary • • 
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past eighteen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 5,000 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started eighteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 5,048th 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 • • Mae West with orphans in 1933 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: Almost Kissing

MAE WEST was a soft touch for a hard luck story. Mae rarely discussed her generosity in an interview, however, which makes this seldom seen piece in Screenland worth reading. This is Part 9 of 18 segments.
• • Mae West’s Secret Self • •
• • Mae West: Invited her to get warm in her dressing room • •
• • Aileen St. John Brenon wrote: “Miss West was kind enough to listen to me and immediately invited me to her dressing-room.”
• • Aileen St. John Brenon wrote: "Once there, I told Mae West my story. She didn't ask me any questions, but simply said she understood. She gave me $10, and let me sit in her dressing-room to get warm. She told me if I ever needed any more to come to see her.”
• • Aileen St. John Brenon wrote: "I wonder if Mae West realized how great a sum that $10 seemed to me! I left her after almost kissing her hands in gratitude. And since that night, things have seemed so much better."
• • Mae West: Unless you’re bad, you don’t get a break • • …
• • This will be continued on the next post.
• • Source: Screenland; issue dated for October 1933.   
• • On Wednesday, 28 July 1954 in Variety • •

• • Variety was awestruck by "this magnificent herd of males" and such a refreshing new concept. The article "Odds Are Sex-to-1 Mae West Makes Her Point in Las Vegas" was printed on page 3 in Variety on Wednesday, 28 July 1954.
• • July 2004: Mae West Blog launches • •
• • What are we up to, writing about the Brooklyn-born bombshell for eighteen years now?
• • We’re here to keep Mae mavens up to date, correct errors, celebrate each revival of a play she wrote, post the latest Westian stage and book reviews. And answer our fan mail!
• • The light’s still on. Come up and see Mae every day.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Had Mae West been available for the part that Ethel Merman played, there probably would have been even more complaints.  
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Reflecting upon her divorce from Frank Wallace, Mae West noted this about hastily tying the knot in 1911: "It was later proved to be some knot. The judge must have learned it from a sailor."
• • "He'll always remain in the wastebasket of my memories," Mae West quipped on learning of the death of her former bridegroom Frank Wallace.
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article about a theatre mentioned Mae West.
• • "Mae West Sold Out Here" • •
• • Kelly Lincoln wrote: Before the NJPAC was the Paramount Theater. Opened in 1895 as the Newark Vaudeville house, it was converted in 1917 by Newark's own architect, Thomas W. Lamb into a movie palace, with a neo-classical interior that became known as "Adamesque."
• • Kelly Lincoln wrote: In 1932, it was renamed the Paramount. It operated as a movie house until 1 April 1986, when a 500% increase in insurance forced the 2003 seat Newark theater and the Adams theater to close.
• • Kelly Lincoln wrote: Among the stars that trod the boards here was Mae West, according to Variety.   ...
• • Source: The Examiner; published on Wednesday, 28 July 2010
• • 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 18th anniversary • • 
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past eighteen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 5,000 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started eighteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 5,047th 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 1954 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: A Bold Step

MAE WEST was a soft touch for a hard luck story. Mae rarely discussed her generosity in an interview, however, which makes this seldom seen piece in Screenland worth reading. This is Part 8 of 18 segments.
• • Mae West’s Secret Self • •
• • Mae West: Was approached by a former inmate • •
• • Aileen St. John Brenon wrote: Here's a girl who tells her own story. She had just served a term in jail for taking things that did not belong to her.
• • Aileen St. John Brenon wrote: "The few dollars they gave me when I was freed from the Workhouse didn't last very long," she said. "Broke again, I decided upon a bold step,” explained the jailhouse thief.

• • Aileen St. John Brenon wrote: "Mae West was playing at the Paramount. I had read about her, and I felt she would help a girl in want.”
• • Aileen St. John Brenon wrote: "I waited at the stage entrance for her one night. When she got out of her car, I approached her. She looked like a real person.”
• • Mae West: Invited her to get warm in her dressing room • • …
• • This will be continued on the next post.
• • Source: Screenland; issue dated for October 1933.   
• • On Tuesday, 27 July 1954 in Vegas • •
• • On Tuesday, 27 July 1954 Mae West opened at the Congo Room. This exotic night spot, inside the Sahara Hotel in Las Vegas, offered patrons a full supper as they watched a live performance. If you were in the audience when "The Mae West Revue" was onstage in 1954, you might have selected Broiled Fresh Colorado Brook Trout, Maitre d'Hotel, for $5.25.
• • The Sahara knew that guests wanted to bring home special keepsakes, so they commissioned souvenir keys. The front side of the key was imprinted "Hotel Sahara Las Vegas, Nevada" while the reverse message was "Come up and see me sometime, Mae West."
• • July 2004: Mae West Blog launches • •
• • What are we up to, writing about the Brooklyn-born bombshell for eighteen years now?
• • We’re here to keep Mae mavens up to date, correct errors, celebrate each revival of a play she wrote, post the latest Westian stage and book reviews. And answer our fan mail!
• • The light’s still on. Come up and see Mae every day.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Mae West — — now she is a trouper of the old order.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "Clara Bow was through at Paramount. I could have had her old dressing room if I wanted it."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • The New York Times mentioned Mae West.
• • A book review of a Mae West bio was published in July 1997.
• • "Censorship Made Me" • •
• • Martha McPhee wrote: When most people, including me, think of Mae West, they think of Flower Belle Lee from ''My Little Chickadee.'' They remember a pneumatic blonde, part siren, part caricature, strutting slowly across the screen, all hips and bosom, her infamous one-liners sliding out of the corner of her mouth. Yet the film, made in 1940 when the actress was close to 50, came relatively late in West's career, and she hated it. She hated sharing equal billing and equal screen footage with W. C. Fields, whom she found to be an obnoxious drunk.
• • Martha McPhee wrote: Moreover, for audiences of the time, as Emily Wortis Leider tells us in ''Becoming Mae West,'' her insightful and engaging new biography of the star, Flower Belle was an old number, a rehash of the character that Mae West had spent nearly 40 years perfecting.  ...
• • Source: The N.Y. Times; published on Sunday, 27 July 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 18th anniversary • • 
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past eighteen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 5,000 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started eighteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 5,046th 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 1932 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: Dan Makarenko

MAE WEST was a soft touch for a hard luck story. Mae rarely discussed her generosity in an interview, however, which makes this seldom seen piece in Screenland worth reading. This is Part 7 of 18 segments.
• • Mae West’s Secret Self • •
• • Mae West: Vaudevillian Dan Makarenko was important once • •
• • Aileen St. John Brenon wrote: Therefore, Dan Makarenko used to be seen often around Broadway and 46th Street, New York's mart for vaudevillians.
• • Aileen St. John Brenon wrote: While she was in New York recently, Miss West encountered her old acquaintance of the variety shows, and sensing his predicament, promised to find some film work for him in Hollywood.
• • Aileen St. John Brenon wrote: She did not forget.

• • Aileen St. John Brenon wrote: Makarenko, now in Hollywood, will appear in an important role in her new Paramount picture, "I'm No Angel."
• • Note: Though Makarenko has three film credits (one of these for the Yiddish language feature “Tevya”), he is not listed in any Mae West productions. By 1933, Daniel Makarenko would have been 54 years old.
• • Mae West: Was approached by a former inmate • • …
• • This will be continued on the next post.
• • Source: Screenland; issue dated for October 1933.   
• • On Wednesday, 26 July 1950 • •
• • On Wednesday, 26 July 1950, Guido Deiro, age 63, died after a long illness. He was Mae West's secret Italian husband, at one time a vaudeville headliner, a composer, and a recording artist for Columbia Records. Mae West married Guido Deiro after her relationship with Frank Wallace (husband # 1) fell apart.
• • July 2004: Mae West Blog launches • •
• • What are we up to, writing about the Brooklyn-born bombshell for eighteen years now?
• • We’re here to keep Mae mavens up to date, correct errors, celebrate each revival of a play she wrote, post the latest Westian stage and book reviews. And answer our fan mail!
• • The light’s still on. Come up and see Mae every day.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Interviewing Mae West is rather like talking with the Sphinx or warming up to the Mona Lisa. You are so filled with awe at conversing with one of the Wonders of the World, and with admiration of the ultimate in symbolic sex sorcery, that addlement may easily set in.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "My public expects me to be bad."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • The New York Clipper mentioned Mae West.
• • "Answers to Queries" • •
• • Frank Tinney was at the Moulin Rouge (New York Theatre) in "A Winsome Widow." There were also Harry Kelly, Chas. J. Ross, Leon Errol, Chas. King, Elizabeth Brice, Emmy Wehlen, Harry Conor, Sidney Jarvis, The Dolly Twins, and Mae West.  . . .
• • Source: The New York Clipper; published on Wednesday, 20 July 1921
• • 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 18th anniversary • • 
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past eighteen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 5,000 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started eighteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 5,045th 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: Four-a-Day

MAE WEST was a soft touch for a hard luck story. Mae rarely discussed her generosity in an interview, however, which makes this seldom seen piece in Screenland worth reading. This is Part 6 of 18 segments.
• • Mae West’s Secret Self • •
• • Mae West: Caught maurauding the larder • •
• • Aileen St. John Brenon wrote: She has learned to size people up at a glance.
• • Aileen St. John Brenon wrote: When the pair had gone, Miss West looked like a naughty school girl caught maurauding the larder.
• • Aileen St. John Brenon wrote: When she was a vaudeville headliner some years ago, a performer named Dan Makarenko [1879 ― 1957] frequently appeared on the same bills with Mae West.  
• • Aileen St. John Brenon wrote: Mae said Makarenko was an important figure then, in the world of the four-a-day.  
• • Aileen St. John Brenon wrote: But entertainment tastes shifted from vaudeville to the deluxe motion picture theatres.
• • Mae West: Vaudevillian Dan Makarenko was important once • •…
• • This will be continued on the next post.
• • Source: Screenland; issue dated for October 1933.   
• • On Thursday, 25 July 1946 • •

• • The famous photo of Mae West with her hand on bodybuilder John Farbotnik's flexed upper arm was taken on Thursday, 25 July 1946 after the muscleman had won the Mr. Chicago title.
• • Notice Mae West's strappy platform high heels. Very very much the 1940s chic.
• • July 2004: Mae West Blog launches • •
• • What are we up to, writing about the Brooklyn-born bombshell for eighteen years now?
• • We’re here to keep Mae mavens up to date, correct errors, celebrate each revival of a play she wrote, post the latest Westian stage and book reviews. And answer our fan mail!
• • The light’s still on. Come up and see Mae every day.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Hollywood — William Morris, Jr., Murray Feil, William Perlberg, Albert G. Ruben, Moss Hart, Harold Hecht, Bert Marx, Alexander Hall, Frankie Eastman, and Arthur Lubin at Mae West's Paramount party.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "As a rule I have most actors around me work faster than I do; they keep the pace while I take my liberties in my timing."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article in a Singapore newspaper discussed Mae West
• • "Notes on the Screen" • •
• • Mae West's next film will be "The Queen of Sheba" • •
• • "Close-Up" offered this tidbit to film fans on 25 July 1934: I understand that Mae West's next film will be "The Queen of Sheba." That is not a joke. My information is that "the production will not be burlesque, and the star will give a 'straight' characterisation." Clearly Miss West is ambitious; but her ambition may lead her into trouble.  . . .
• • "Close-Up" added: As the Queen of Sheba she would have to create a very different characterisation. It remains to be seen whether she can do that. Cecil B. deMille at once suggests himself as director. He directed Betty Blythe in the original Queen of Sheba film. …
• • Source: The Argus (Australia), on page 5; published on Wednesday, 25 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 18th anniversary • • 
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past eighteen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 5,000 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started eighteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 5,044th 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 July 1946 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest