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An article "MAE WEST Talks about Her Marriage," written by Mr. Kirtley Baskette, was published in Photoplay Magazine in the summer of 1935. This is Part 3.
• • Mae West Talks About Her "Marriage" • •
• • About this interview, Kirtley Baskette told his readers: Mae dropped a stitch with her eyebrows. "Well — what about him?" she repeated.
• • "Frank Wallace says you married him in Milwaukee."
• • "It was funny for a while — even to me," says Mae. "It wasn't so bad when it was just one marriage, but now it's practically bigamy!"
• • Frank Wallace of New York might have paraphrased the title of one of Mae's pictures. "She Done Him Wrong." He claims that Mae's denial has made him suffer.
• • "The only thing I know about Milwaukee," said Mae, "is that they make beer there. It's pretty good beer — but it never was good enough to make me get married and then forget about it."
• • "Then," I rallied, "he says you played Omaha."
• • "Wrong again," said Mae, "I picked Nellie Flag. Us girls have got to stick together," she explained. "I wish I had played Omaha," she sighed wistfully, "on the nose."
• • "Pardon me," I said, "but I mean the town."
• • "Oh," said Mae, "I thought you meant Omaha the racehorse. Well, either way, it's a horse on me. I never played either one."
• • "This Wallace quotes certain figures," I began.
• • "I've heard some favorable quotes on mine," interrupted Mae.
• • "Let's take a look at his figures — " I began again.
• • "You wouldn't be interested in taking a look at mine, would you?" queried Mae. "I think it speaks for itself. What do you think?"
• • All these so-styled ex-husbands of Mae's have quoted heart-balm figures. "But," says Mae, "I've heard some favorable quotes on mine."
• • "I'm not thinking straight," I assured her. "Mind if I open a window?"
• • "Not at all," said Mae, "but don't fall out — and don't shout for help."
• • "Hardly," I replied gallantly. "Now about these husbands — "
• • "Husbands," said Mae airily, "are all right in their place." . . .
• • Part 3 ends here. This very long interview may be continued, perhaps, at another time.
• • Source: Article in Photoplay Magazine; published in the issue dated for August 1935.
• • On July 6th • •
• • To those who share a Mae West mindset, memories tied to the sixth of July will be forever linked to the deaths of two men she admired, gifted black musicians who died of heart attacks on that day.
• • Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, Louis Armstrong [4 August 1901 — 6 July 1971] was a versatile and innovative singer and jazz trumpeter nicknamed Satchmo.
• • Impressed by Armstrong, Mae asked him to participate in "Every Day's a Holiday" [1937].
• • Louis Armstrong died shortly after a heart attack in New York City. He was 69.
• • Born in Washington, DC, Van McCoy [6 January 1940 — 6 July 1979] was an accomplished musician, music producer as well as an arranger, orchestra conductor, and lyricist. He is best known for his massive 1975 international hit "The Hustle."
• • Mae West, who starred and wrote the screenplay for "Sextette," asked Van McCoy to write the theme song, and to make a cameo appearance in her motion picture.
• • Van McCoy was in Englewood, New Jersey when felled by a fatal heart attack. He was 39.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • The three movie sets that an outside photographer positively can't enter in Hollywood are those of Mae West, Shirley Temple, and Greta Garbo.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "My life hasn't been any bed of roses. I never felt anything like secure until just recently. I've never felt free to get married."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An Illinois newspaper mentioned Mae West.
• • "Off to the Theatre" • •
• • Beverly Bryant wrote: Mae West is back again in "Goin' to Town," which comes to the Princess Theatre Sunday for three days. Mae is at her voluptuous best. The plot concerns the story of a cow-town dance hall girl who wins a bunch of oil wells when her fiance dies. . . . No longer swathed in the clothes or the social emenities of the "Gay Nineties," Mae West becomes an up-to-date girl with ultra-modern ideas in modern surroundings. The opening scenes of "Goin' to Town" are laid in the middle west where Mae West acquires a lot of money by the process of getting rid of her wealthy husband. Then she really starts going places. . . .
• • Source: Item in the Urbana Evening Courier; published on Saturday, 6 July 1935
• • The Mae West Blog celebrates its 11th anniversary • •
• • Thank
you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these
past eleven years. The other day we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a
milestone recently when we completed 3,200 blog posts. Wow!
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started ten years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 3215th 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 • • on the set in 1935 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest
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"MAE WEST in opera?" was the title on Wednesday, 20 February 1935.
• • Her latest picture is directed by Alexander Hall. And Hall did his part nobly. When everything was ready on the set, the lady who has made his world conscious of the fact that she is in charge shouted loudly for silence.
• • Then Mae began to sing. Three different arias came from her throat without a single false note. Her latest heroine Cleo Borden has grown highbrow on us! Yup, it's a fact. While lying in bed the other night, the utterly curvaceous blonde suddenly decided, "Let's throw 'em an opera!"
• • After her number, Mae asked, "How am I doin'?"
• • And we heard that Mae received a round of applause strong enough to have delighted Amelita Galli-Curci. . . . Now that Mae's had this fling, her fans are wondering: will she turn to grand opera seriously? . . .
• • Source: The Daily Times-News (Burlington, North Carolina); published on Wednesday, 20 February 1935.
• • On Thursday, 20 February 1936 in Hollywood • •
• • There is a Joseph Breen PCA office memo, dated 20 February 1936, in the "Klondike Annie" PCA case file. Alas, Breen felt that Mae West was "censorable" and he never let up.
• • On Thursday, 20 February 1936 in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette • •
• • Many newspapers including the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported on the script disputes and disagreements between Joe Breen and Mae West over "Klondike Annie" and these articles were published on 20 February 1936.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Mae West said she thinks she is a narrow-minded woman. Well, we forgive her. It's the only place she is
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "You'll never catch me in pants."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • The New Orleans City Guide mentioned Mae West.
• • Tom Anderson's name is in tile on the corner of Iberville and Saratoga Streets, and Lulu White's name may still be seen cut in the glass transom of her palace at 235 Basin Street; but the palace is now a warehouse. When Beth Brown wrote "For Men Only" in 1930, her heroine, Lily Love, flourished in the whale-bone period, as did Mae West in her cinematic portrayal of another sporting house Lulu, in "Belle of the Nineties," which at first was to be called "Belle of New Orleans." . . .
• • Source: The New Orleans City Guide; published in 1938
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started nine years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2858th 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:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml
Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • with Alexander Hall in 1935 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest
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The Asheville Film Society is featuring the memorable MAE WEST comedy "Goin' to Town" [1935] today — — on Tuesday, 17 April 2012, at 8:00 PM. This classic, directed by Alexander Hall, will be shown in the Cinema Lounge of The Carolina Asheville and it will be hosted by Xpress movie critics Ken Hanke and Justin Souther.
• • The tireless and extraordinary Xpress movie critic Ken "Cranky" Hanke has written this summary: By 1935, the Production Code had taken its toll on what Mae West could get away with, but "Goin' to Town" managed to more-or-less play by the rules and still emerge as a good Mae West picture. (Two of her later films would also pull off a similar feat.) Her Cleo Borden is certainly not more moral than her earlier characters — — she's openly mercenary and quite glad to inherit the estate of a cattle baron who signed it over to her in the 1935 version of a pre-nuptial agreement. What's mostly been toned down is the sexual innuendo, though some of it gets through. For instance, there's an exchange where Borden says that for a long time she was ashamed of the way she lived, and is then asked if she has reformed. She responds, "No. I got over bein' ashamed." How that got through the censors is anybody's guess. Most of the humor here, however, is grounded in her attempts to impress stuffy Paul Cavanagh with her refined and ladylike qualities — — things that are not in her nature. (Her Brooklyn-born commonness would become a major part of the next two films as well.) It all works in an agreeable fashion, and does offer the spectacle of Mae playing Delilah ("That's one lady barber who made good") in Camille Saint-Saëns' opera Samson and Delilah. The film also offers one of West's best put-downs (addressed to a cop no less), "I never walk when I can ride, and when I ride it won't be with you."
• • WHERE: The Carolina Asheville, 1640 Hendersonville Road, Asheville, NC 28803; T.(828) 274-9500.
• • Tell them you heard about it on the Mae West Blog.• • Marjorie Gateson [17 January 1891 — 17 April 1977] • •
• • In "Goin' to Town" Mae West played Cleo Borden — — and Marjorie Gateson played Mrs. Crane Brittony.
• • Born in Brooklyn, New York (like Mae), Marjorie Gateson came into this world on 17 January 1891.
• • Miss Gateson made her film debut in 1931 after a career on the stage of more than two decades, playing secondary character roles — — usually as females of wealth and breeding, who were often haughty and aloof. She is perhaps best known for her roles as the society matron who attempts to thwart Mae West's plans for social climbing in the 1935 film "Goin' To Town" and for a kinder, gentler socialite who learns to box through the efforts of Harold Lloyd in "The Milky Way" [1934].
• • Transitioning into TV gigs as an occasional guest star, Marjorie Gateson eventually found a reliable paycheck via the soaps. She had a continuing role on "One Man's Family" and found fresh fandom at age 63 playing the matriarch Grace Harris Tyrell on the popular daytime soap opera "The Secret Storm" [1954 — 1968].
• • In her later years, the character actress suffered bouts of poor health and died of pneumonia on Sunday, 17 April 1977. She was 86.
• • On Thursday, 17 April 1924 • •
• • On Thursday, 17 April 1924 "Big Boy" was copyrighted by Ager, Yellen, & Bornstein, Inc., 1595 Broadway, New York City. By the time the Wolverines recorded this number a few months later (in October 1924), it had already become a runaway chart-topper.
• • It was during 1924 that Mae West attached herself to the subversive song "Big Boy," a run-away hit by the lyricist Jack Yellen [1892 — 1991] and the composer Milton Ager [1893 — 1979]. "Big Boy," with explicit lyrics about a darktown sheik who drives both pale and brown-skinned women wild in bed, was offered by Advanced Music Corp. on a song sheet disguised with artwork depicting a jaunty white male.
• • Born in Poland on 6 July 1892, Jack Selig Yellen was a year older than Mae. At five years old, little Jackie emigrated with his parents to the United States; he was raised in Buffalo, New York and started to write songs in high school.
• • Jack Yellen [6 July 1892 — 17 April 1991] is best remembered for his collaboration with composer Milton Ager. In 1924, Mae appeared on their song sheet for "Hula Lou"; so did Sophie Tucker and other singers. Jack Yellen also worked with the composers Harold Arlen and Sammy Fain. [Sammy Fain created a number of songs Mae performed while under contract for Paramount Pictures such as "He's a Bad Man" and "Now I'm a Lady," part of the "Goin' to Town" soundtrack.].
• • Jack Yellen was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1972 and the Buffalo Music Hall of Fame in 1996. After enjoying a full life with many career high points, he died in Concord, New York, aged 98, during the month of April — — on 17 April 1991.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "I never saw so many poles in my life! I wondered how Hollywood men could stand them. But everyone said I had to get thin. I figured they knew this racket and I didn’t, so I went on one of them Hollywood diets. . . . It was pretty bad, but I’d been through a lot for art’s sake so taking off twenty pounds or more was just one more piece of the routine. I got down to 103 pounds. I stood in front of the mirror to study the results. I didn’t like it. I didn’t look — — well, you know — — voluptuous. And that isn’t all. I didn’t even look healthy. And man or woman, you got to look healthy to look right. Half-starved women can’t have no life in them any more than a half-starved dog." . . .
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article in The Chicago Tribune in April 1945 mentioned Mae West.
• • The Chicago Tribune wrote: "Mae West has Chicago's Hotel Stevens in a dither over her widely-broadcast invitations to friends to come up for a spiritualistic seance some time." . . .
• • Source: News Item: for The Chicago Tribune; published on 13 April 1945
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started seven years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2273rd 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 • • with Paul Cavanagh in 1935 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest
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Mae West.
