Mae West: Bette's Memories

MAE WEST resented when performers imitated her in a professional setting.
• • When Bette Midler took on the role of the Executive producer of Mae West: Dirty Blonde on PBS, she remembered the time she heard from Mae's lawfirm.
• • Now age 75, Bette Midler recalled: “I used to sing a Mae West song when I first started working solo. I actually did not know she was still alive; there was no internet… She sent me a cease-and-desist letter telling me to stop imitating her,” she recalls. “Of course, I did, and I still have the letter! But truly, there will never be anyone like her. Her diamonds and feathers, her strict adherence to the clothes of the 1890s…were all part of the package. How could you not love her? She believed in her creation, and she lived it every day of her life. Now, that’s commitment!”
• • Source: Bette Midler web site; undated.
• • On Saturday, 6 July 1935 • •    
• • "Off to the Theatre" • •
• • On July 6th, the Urbana Evening Courier (Illinois) 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 amenities 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.
• • July 2004: Mae West Blog launches • •

• • What are we up to, writing about the Brooklyn-born bombshell for 17 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 • •
• • Bette Midler will star as Mae West in a new HBO Biopic. William Friedkin, Harvey Fierstein, Jerry Weintraub will be shepherding this feature based on the icon's 1959 memoir. (Announced in 2013, it's safe to say the script was on life-support and then died.)
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "She who laughs lasts."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article about Blu-Ray releases of 1930s films mentioned Mae West.
• • Rachel Bellwoar wrote: Today you hear actors and actresses talk about writing their own material because Hollywood wasn’t writing parts for them but that’s what Mae West was doing in the 1930s. She rewrote her dialogue in Night After Night. In terms of pay parity, West was the one with the larger salary. She made sure she was paid what she was worth.  ...
• • Night After Night, I’m No Angel, and She Done Him Wrong are available on Blu-Ray starting June 29th from Kino Lorber.
• • Source: Comicon; posted on Thursday, 24 June 2021
• • 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 4,700 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fifteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,771st 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 • • learning to shoot in 1934 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: So Scandalous

Lawyers for MAE WEST once sent Bette Midler a “cease and desist” letter, an artifact the 75-year-old performer still has in her archives.
• • KPBS explained: “Mae West: Dirty Blonde” was a documentary film  made for TV that explored Mae West’s life and career.
• • This quote is from Bette Midler: "I've loved Mae West since the moment I saw her sashay across the screen in ‘Night After Night,’ a movie in which she stole everything but the cameras. She created a persona she completely believed in, and never wavered from publicly or privately. One of the funniest women who ever lived, she made fun of sex at a time when the word was never uttered in polite society, and wrote plays that were so scandalous, she was arrested and sent to jail. A breath of fresh air on the Broadway stage, she single-handedly saved Paramount Studios from bankruptcy [sic], had legions of fans, and still does. A woman who believed she was the equal of any man, if not their superior, she continues to inspire with her humor, her glamour, and her brassy, sassy ways,” said executive producer Bette Midler.  
• • Source:  KPBS; posted on Wednesday, 24 March 2021.
• • On Sunday, 5 July 1970 • •
• • While the motion picture "Myra Breckinridge" was not a hit, the media exposure engendered a "Mae West revival," explained The New York Post.
• • On Sunday, 5 July 1970 The New York Times ran an interview with Mae West. It was a good chance to tell her fans what she thought of Gore Vidal's novel and the screenplay.
• • July 2004: Mae West Blog launches • •

• • What are we up to, writing about the Brooklyn-born bombshell for 17 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.
• • Photo caption: "Take a look at this, Gus, and learn something," says Diamond Lil. Seen in this 1928 photo: Mae West as Lil and Jack LaRue as Juarez, the sex trafficker from South America.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Mae West has been the subject of at least one bio-pic through the years. However, her wry, tough talent has not been brought to life in a project with such a high profile before: Bette Midler is aboard to star as the Broadway / Hollywood legend in a new film for HBO that William Friedkin will direct.
• • Harvey Fierstein is writing the script, working from Mae West’s autobiography Goodness Had Nothing To Do With It. It’ll chronicle West’s rise through scandalous Broadway shows (many of which she wrote) such as Sex and Diamond Lil, and how she battled with authorities, including a spell in jail for “corrupting the morals of youth.”
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "It was wonderful in England, in London. The men are a little reserved. And I'm not."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article about Blu-Ray releases of 1930s films mentioned Mae West.
• • Rachel Bellwoar wrote: Kino Lorber’s release comes with an intro by TCM host, Robert Osborne, a Pooch the Pup cartoon called ‘She Done Him Right,’ and two commentaries. In the first, film historian, David del Valle, talks about meeting West when she was filming Sextette and compares her career to Marlene Dietrich’s.
• • Rachel Bellwoar wrote: In the second, film historian, Kat Ellinger, talks about West’s costumes (which were not designed for sitting) and some of the specific ways the Hays code affected the production. ...
• • Night After Night, I’m No Angel, and She Done Him Wrong are available on Blu-Ray starting June 29th from Kino Lorber.
• • Source: Comicon; posted on Thursday, 24 June 2021
• • 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 4,700 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fifteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,770th 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 • • onstage on Broadway in 1928 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: Cease, Desist

Last year on Thursday, 20 November 2014, Out in New Jersey did a fabulous interview with Bette Midler on her chance to portray MAE WEST. Let's investigate.
• • "'Divine' intervention with Bette Midler" • •   
• • Interviewer Chris Azzopardi asked: You mentioned Mae West, and it was announced in late 2013 that you were cast as Mae in an upcoming HBO biopic. How's that project coming along?
• • Bette Midler replied:  I'll tell you something: The script just came in, but I haven't seen it. I'm waiting for the director, Billy Friedkin (director of "The Exorcist"), to make his notes, and then he's gonna hand it off to me and we'll see what happens. 
• • a letter telling me to cease and desist • •
• • Bette Midler explained:  I'm really looking forward to it because I've been reading and doing my due diligence. She's such a fabulous — — she's so fucking nuts! I mean, she was so insane. And you know, when I started my career all those many moons ago, I used to do an impersonation of Mae West, and I did it on "The Johnny Carson Show" — — my very first time with Johnny Carson — — and she sent me a letter telling me to cease and desist, which I swear to god I still have.
• • Bette Midler continued:  I didn't understand it at the time. I thought, "What's wrong with her?" Now that I've done all the reading and am of a certain age, I totally get it. She was protecting what she had made. She was protecting her creation. That was practically a trademark and she didn't want anyone to mishandle her creation. Ultimately, she was right. So I bowed to her wishes; I ceased and desisted. And I think it's so amusing. (Laughs) After all that, if the script actually comes to the point of doing it, it certainly would be  revenge. Take that, Mae!  
• • Interviewer Chris Azzopardi is the editor of Q Syndicate.
• • Source: Interview with Bette Midler written by Chris Azzopardi for http://outinjersey.net ; published on Thursday, 20 November 2014.
• • On Monday, 20 November 1911 • •
• • Mae West was cast in "Vera Violetta," which opened on Monday, 20 November 1911 at the Winter Garden Theatre.  Thanks to her ill-conceived attempts at upstaging the French star of the show, Mae West was seen only in the previews. Oh! That was foolish, Mae!
• • On Sunday, 20 November 1988 • •
• • Mae West once confided to a friend: "I felt Bill Fields had no class."
• • This exchange was printed in The Orlando Sentinel on Sunday, 20 November 1988.
• • On Monday, 20 November 2006 • •
• • Radio station WFMU's "Playlist for 20 November 2006" included Mae West's version of "I'm in the Mood for Love" from the album "The Fabulous Mae West." If you're in the mood, go to their web site and have a listen. 
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • After the war, reunion dinners began to be held.  One year the Goldfish Club received a message from Mae West herself, expressing pride that her name was associated with sea rescue.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said:  "I think dumb girls have had their day. They're out. If you're clever, you win. Of course, you don't let men know you're clever, understand; you might as well be dumb if you do."
• • Quote, Unquote • •

• • The Columbia Daily Spectator mentioned Mae West.
• • Zoopraxinographoscope apologizes for the cancellation of last week's movie, but absolutely promises to show 1.) Beaudine's "In the Money" (Starring the Bowery Boys) and 2.) Sherman's "She Done Him Wrong" (Starring Mae West and Cary Grant).
• • "Lowell Sherman deserves a niche of his own for the behaviorial glories of. . . Mae West in 'She Done Him Wrong'." — Andrew Sarris
• • Each double-feature will begin at 7:15 and 9:15 tonite, Lehman Auditorium $1 . . .
• • Source: Item in Columbia Daily Spectator; published on Monday, 20 November 1972 
• • 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 3315th 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 • • in 1932 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest
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Mae West: Max C. Freedman

MAE WEST recorded an LP "Great Balls of Fire" in 1972 — — and one track was "Rock Around the Clock," that great rock and roll standard.
• • Written in 1953 and first recorded by the Italian-American band Sonny Dae and His Knights [Arcade label], it became a phenomenal hit instead for a country music performer Bill Haley [1925 — 1981]. When Bill Haley & His Comets recorded it [Decca label] on 12 April 1954, the front man was pushing 30 and looked older.
• • Covered by 79-year-old Mae West in 1972, the hit was still so associated with Bill Haley that it will surprise people to learn that the songwriter was actually born the same year as Mae — — but in the month of January.
• • Hailing from Philadelphia, Max C. Freedman [8 January 1893 — 8 October 1962] was a veteran Tin Pan Alley songwriter who was best known for his novelty number "Sioux City Sue." But when he teamed up with James E. Myers (aka. Jimmy DeKnight) in 1953 to write a fast and furious rock and roll tune called "Rock Around the Clock," both men became known as chart-toppers. By then song-man Max was 60 years old.
• • Keeping up with the times, Mae offered her own sassy version on this album produced 18 years later.
• • Mae West's songs featured in "Brassy Broads" • •
• • This sassy and brassy revue "Brassy Broads" is a tribute to the divas of the American stage and screen. Three vivacious ladies take the lead to perform iconic numbers like “In the Mood,” etc. Featuring songs old and new from those great dames Mae West, Sophie Tucker, Ethel Merman, Carol Channing, Bernadette Peters, and Bette Midler.
• • The premiere is tonight — — on 8 January 2011 at 7:30 PM at Florida Studio Theatre, 1241 North Palm Avenue, Sarasota, FL 34236.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • 1972 • •
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Mae West: Red-Hot Grammy

MAE WEST appeared in variety with Sophie Tucker, who was born on January 13th — — and who is making an appearance at the Grammy Awards later this month.
• • According to informed sources, "When Grammy nominees Johnny Depp and Sophie Tucker, nominated in the same category, walk the red carpet at this year's Grammy Awards, TV cameras and photographers will have a field day when they see flamboyant Vaudeville star Sophie Tucker strutting down the aisle escorted by her writer/ producer Grammy nominees Lloyd and Susan Ecker."
• • "Sophie Tucker [13 January 1884 — 9 February 1966] was an icon to the world's most outrageous female entertainers including Mae West, Bette Midler, and Cher who have walked many red carpets in their showbiz careers," said the Eckers. "Sophie is looking forward to meeting Johnny at the awards telecast."
• • Innovative Films writer-producers Susan and Lloyd Ecker are nominated for Best Album Notes, "Sophie Tucker: Origins of the Red-Hot Mama, 1910 — 1922," for Archeophone Records.
• • The Grammy red carpet will be unfurled on 31 January 2010 when the winners will be announced on CBS.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • none • •
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