Mae West: Fulton Street

Raise your hand if you have an Arby's tumbler imprinted with the face of MAE WEST?
• • The roast beef sandwich chain, based in Georgia, is claiming to have sealed a juicy deal on their first Kings County outpost.
• • The fast food franchise will take top shelf space on Fulton Street inside the landmark that once hosted the venerable Gage & Tollner, where Mae West used to dine. Former patrons of Gage & Tollner were frequently high-fliers [think "Diamond Jim" Brady] along with colorful entertainers such as Jimmy Durante.
• • In 1879, a decade before Battling Jack West and Tillie Delker took their wedding vows, Charles Gage decided it was time to open an "eating house" in Brooklyn at 303 Fulton Street. By 1892, a year before Mae West was born, Gage & Tollner relaunched their dining saloon at 372—374 Fulton Street — — in a brownstone built in 1875 (before the district became commercial).
• • It seems odd to think of fast food served in an historic gaslight-era rowhouse that once boasted a prestigious steakhouse catering to swells and stars. But Raymond Chera, a Brooklyn-based franchisee, insisted that its gas lamps and wall-length mirrors will survive the dramatic transformation. “We’re keeping everything in place, and anything we move in will be non-permanent and easy to move out,” said Chera. “It will probably be the most beautiful Arby’s ever.”
• • But will the Mae West etched glassware return to Arby's? Stay tuned.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • none • •
NYC
Mae West.

Mae West: 15 January 1936

It was 15 January 1936 and MAE WEST was feeling the chill.
• • Her ally Emanuel Cohen [1892 — 1977] had packed up his bags at Paramount, which started to feel as friendly and cozy as the North Pole under the new studio boss Ernst Lubitsch.
• • Born in Berlin in the month of January [on 28 January 1892], Ernst Lubitsch had a domineering manner that quickly cooled cordial relations with many individuals under the Paramount Pictures roof. Appearing one day in Mae West's on-set dressing room to scold her, Ernst Lubitsch soon found himself hammered by a hand mirror. As he beat a retreat, a group of extras cheered the outcome.
• • Despite the momentary satisfaction Mae must have felt, before long Variety Magazine was reporting doom and gloom on Hollywood and Vine.
• • According to Variety — — issued on 15 January 1936 — — 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.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • none • •
NYC
Mae West.

Mae West: January 1934

In January 1934, MAE WEST was with her fellow vaudevillian Eddie Cantor.
• • Born on the Lower Eastside of New York — — on 31 January 1892 — — Eddie Cantor was an American comedian, singer, actor, songwriter, and one of the most popular entertainers in the USA in the early and middle 20th century. He was known to Broadway, radio, and early television audiences as "Banjo Eyes" and "the Apostle of Pep." Cantor was regarded by millions as "a member of the family" because of his intimate radio shows that involved anecdotes and antics about his wife Ida and their five daughters.
• • Stages where MAE WEST and Eddie Cantor both performed in NYC include the Paramount (the one in Manhattan as well as the Brooklyn venue), The Palace, and many places in Coney Island.
• • On 20 January 1934, Eddie Cantor was the M.C. during a stage show at the Paramount Theatre (Broadway and West 43rd Street). In one number, he appeared in a Mae West costume. Yes, this actually happened onstage, so try to imagine it.
• • On 22 January 1934, both Mae West and Eddie Cantor entertained at the New Amsterdam Theatre [214 West 42nd Street] — — at the 52nd annual benefit for the Actors' Fund.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • 1934 • •
NYC
Mae West.

Mae West: The Captive

MAE WEST was arrested on 9 February 1927 along with the cast of "Sex" and the cast of "The Captive." Snooty Basil Rathbone, who died in July [on 21 July 1967 in New York, NY], was cuffed and brought downtown to Jefferson Market Police Court along with Helen Menken and their co-stars.
• • Born in South Africa on 13 June 1892, Basil Rathbone was one year older than Mae West — — but in his mind, he was worlds apart even though they were both starring on Broadway in 1927.
• • During the 1920s, most of Basil Rathbone's work was in the legitimate theater. For many of his Broadway roles he portrayed a suave, sophisticated seducer of women — — quite a change from the legendary ascetic Baker Street detective he would play later in his career.
• • Making a sensation at the Empire Theatre [on Broadway and West 40th Street] was a drama that had been highly regarded in Paris: "The Captive." Basil Rathbone was cast in the role of Jacques Virieu, a young man engaged to be married, only to discover that his fiancée [played by Helen Menken] is in love with someone else — — a woman. Since homosexuality was such a controversial topic during the Roaring Twenties, the entire cast was charged with offending public morals, and the play was closed.
• • Rathbone was very angry about the censorship of his work, but even more aggrieved that show people would start whispering that he was arrested and booked — — with Mae West.
• • For years, Basil Rathbone and his wife made their home at 135 Central Park West. Mae lived in several westside locations, occasionally not far from Rathbone. But there is no record of their taking tea together to reminisce over their arrest on indecency charges in 1927.
• • Brush up on your Mae West lines right on Broadway on Friday evening 17 August 2007, when a guided tour will explore Manhattan's WEST-side during the "Mae West Side Story" walking tour. The event — — open to the public — — is timed to salute Brooklyn's own sexpot on her birthdate. [See the Annual Mae West Gala posting below.]
• • Only 18 more days until Mae's birthday!
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West's partners in crime, Rathbone and Menken • • 1926 • •
NYC
Mae West.