Mae West: Much Imitated

MAE WEST is back onscreen. This assessment of her Blu-ray line-up is by Stephen Bjork. This is Part 10 of his lengthy review, the last segment.
• • “I'm No Angel” (Blu-ray Review) • •
• • Mae West: Transgressed the Racial Norms • •
• • Stephen Bjork wrote: Deighan also gives a nuanced look at the racial issues presented in the film, noting that Mae West both affirmed and transgressed the racial norms of that era. She also covers the way that queer culture had influenced West’s persona.
• • Stephen Bjork wrote: It’s a good commentary track which provides important historical context to enhance appreciation of the film.

• • Stephen Bjork wrote: She Done Him Wrong and I’m No Angel both established West as one of the biggest box office draws of her era, and also established a unique persona in the history of film which has been much imitated, but never equaled.
• • Stephen Bjork wrote: The Kino Lorber Studio Classics Blu-ray of I’m No Angel is a fantastic way to see a singular talent at the height of her powers.  
• • Stephen Bjork’s piece has now concluded with this post. Do you agree with his commentary? Tell us.
• • Source: The Digital Bits; published on Friday, 30 July 2021.  
• • On Sunday, 6 September 1942 • •
• • A photo of Mae West, costumed as Diamond Lil, appeared in the American Weekly supplement of the Los Angeles Examiner (on page 7) on Sunday, 6 September 1942.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Mae West's incredibly gorgeous Swan Bed had once been the property of Amelia Bingham and later of Diamond Jim Brady, which made it eminently fitting that it should descend to Diamond Lil. Its graceful neck arched over her blonde head. The swan’s beak caught on the back of her silken curtains.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said:  "I've taken good care of myself all my life."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • Helen Lawrenson wrote: When I rang the bell of her suite, Mae opened the door, peering past me to make sure no photographer lurked in my wake.
• • Helen Lawrenson wrote: Then she ushered me into the living room and I was back in the lush Hollywood-style Marie-Antoinette-boudoir decor of the Thirties. …
• • Source: Esquire; published on Saturday, 1 July 1967
• • 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 17th anniversary • • 
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past seventeen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 4,800 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fifteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,815th 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 1933 • •
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Mae West: Alabama Auction

On Sunday, 22 January 2012 an auction held in Alabama offers a large vintage Royal Doulton Character Toby Mug fashioned to look like MAE WEST. Designed by Colin M. Davidson for this special series, The Celebrity Collection, the Mae mug was issued 1983 — 1986.
• • This a-Mae-zing keepsake is listed on page 206 of the book "A Century of Royal Doulton Character and Toby Jugs."
• • Oh, I do wish I had one of these. Good luck to all the Mae-maven who might be bidding today.
• • WHERE: Estate Road Show Auctions LLC, 3450 Highway 72, Killen, Alabama 35645
• • Happy Birthday to Piper Laurie • •
• • Though we are not big fans of the 1982 TV bio-pic about Mae West, the actress who played Mae's beloved mother onscreen was born today.
• • Cast in this televised production as Matilda West, Piper Laurie's birthname was Rosetta Jacobs. The little redhead was born in Detroit, Michigan in the month of January — — on 22 January 1932 — — the daughter of a Polish immigrant and his Russian-American wife. The five-foot-four actress married her husband Joe Morgenstern on 21 January 1962, one day before her 30th birthday. They are now divorced.
• • On Monday, 22 January 1934 in Times Square • •
• • It was a festive Monday evening, on 22 January 1934, when Mae West and Eddie Cantor and many other stars entertained at the New Amsterdam Theatre — — at the 52nd annual benefit for the Actors' Fund.
• • Mae West, a longtime member of Actors Equity, left one-third of her estate to the Actors Equity Fund, hoping to assist actors and actresses who are facing a hardship and are in need. When I telephoned the Fund's headquarters in NYC to ask how much they had received (to date) from Mae's thoughtful provisions for them in her Will, they were unaware of this bequest. The Actors' Fund had never been contacted by the executors of Mae's Will; they have never received the funding Mae intended for them.
• • Now this is certainly too bad, that someone refused to administer Mae's charitable bequest and carry out her wishes after she died — — and isn't it a shame?
• • Who pocketed the money meant for The Actors' Fund?
• • On Wednesday, 22 January 1964 in The N.Y. Times • •
• • New York Times readers who turned to the financial business section of the paper, published on Wednesday, 22 January 1964, noticed this item on page 75.
• • The headline read: "Mae West Plays Role for 'Mr. Ed'; Actress Makes TV Episode for Showing in March."
• • Times reporter Val Adams wrote: Mae West, a theatrical sex symbol for more than half a century, has completed filming a guest star role for "Mr. Ed," the comedy series about a talking horse. Many fans of "Mr. Ed" are children, but the average age of the audience may increase considerably when Miss West's performance is televised by the Columbia Broadcasting System on a Sunday evening in March. ...
• • On Tuesday, 22 January 1980 in Los Angeles • •
• • It was a Tuesday, on 22 January 1980, when Mae West signed a check to give her sister Beverly West the sum of $125.00. Drawn on her personal account at the United California Bank, Mae noted that $125 was for "maintenance & care of the ranch." Beverly endorsed the check on the back.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "It takes two to get one in trouble."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article about "My Little Chickadee" playing in London mentioned Mae West.
• • Peter Bradshaw wrote: It has to be the King-Kong-meets-Godzilla event of classic screen comedy: WC Fields teams up with, and indeed ties the marital knot with, Mae West in this ridiculous, and ridiculously funny, 1940 comedy, a preposterous tale from the old west, presented next week as part of the Fields season at London's BFI Southbank.
• • Peter Bradshaw noted: The man himself plays Cuthbert J Twillie, a travelling salesman fond of a drink and the occasional sporting wager, whose business-card announces that he is the business of "Novelties & Notions". West is Flower Belle Lee, a woman who has scandalised the local community with her romantic adventures. Her chief accuser is a Mrs Gideon, a sour-faced spoilsport played by Margaret Hamilton, better known as the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz.
• • Peter Bradshaw continued: Flower Belle responds to these calumnies with a defiant hip-wiggle, but nonetheless submits to the general demands that she makes amends by getting married. She weds Cuthbert, whose fraudulent claims of bravery have fluked him into the unlikely job of sheriff in a neighbouring town, but finds Flower Belle intent on withholding his conjugal rights.
• • Peter Bradshaw added: The script, co-written by the stars, has an outrageous one-liner in every line, and there is a weird yin-yang rightness in the Fields/West pairing. ...
• • Source: Article: "My Little Chickadee" written by Peter Bradshaw for The London Guardian [UK]; posted on Friday, 22 January 2010
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started seven years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2185th 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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Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • 1983, Royal Doulton • •
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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.