Mae West: Never Forgets

MAE WEST met her fans on the silver screen and between the pages of the day’s popular fan magazines, all of whom skated dizzily on the surface of facts and never did any fact-checking. This is the first section, Part 1, segment 28 of 32.
• • "The Real Mae West" • •
• • Mae West: Never forgets a friend nor a kindness • •
• • Aileen St. John Brenon wrote: It practically gave Mae West her start in show business.
• • Aileen St. John Brenon wrote: Mae West never forgets a friend nor a kindness, and seems to have an inexhaustible memory for the faces of those who have crossed her pathway in her long journey from Brooklyn to Broadway.  
• • Aileen St. John Brenon wrote: Like all the children on the block, Mae West went to the public school, and she passes over the monotony of the schoolroom for the more exciting adventures in the evening when, as a child actress, with grease paint and furbelows, little Mae occupied the center of the stage.
• • Mae West: The Clarendon Stock Company • • ...   
• • This will be continued on the next post.
• • Source: The New Movie Magazine; issue dated for June 1934.
• • Mae West Contest: Follow-up • •

• • When New Movie Magazine asked readers for opinions about Mae West, they got lots of mail and many opinions.
• • Lively letters condemning Mae's influence (in 1934) were published from these readers:
• • Names: Mrs. Joe Miller, Charlotte, N.C.; Mrs. Mabel Hewes, Biloxi, Miss.; F.J. Bendick, New York City; and Phyllis Adato, New Brunswick, N.J.
• • On Tuesday, 23 June 1970 • •
• • "Myra Breckinridge" had its red-carpet, star-studded premiere in New York at the Criterion Theatre (1514 Broadway) on Tuesday, 23 June 1970. The movie went into general release in the USA one day later.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • By the way, Mae West is now working on her new contract by the terms of which she gets $100,000 a picture. They also say that the curvaceous one also gets about half that amount again for providing her own story and, be it known, Mae won't stand for anybody's writing stories for her pictures but Mae.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "A gal with good lines is better than one with a good line."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • A Bushwick site mentioned Mae West.
• • Danielle Thompson wrote: Despite the frequent moves, the West family appeared to build its strongest ties to Bushwick and its bordering community of Ridgewood.
• • Danielle Thompson wrote: In fact, Mae’s famed manner of speaking was thought to exemplify what one writer called the “Bushwick Avenyah” accent ― an accent that was once described as more of a “dialect, like Cockney,” that was “a life-long affliction.”  …
• • Source: Bushwick Daily; published on Monday, 25 February 2013
• • 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 5,000 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started seventeen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 5,022nd 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 • • in 1935 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: German Not French

MAE WEST met her fans on the silver screen and between the pages of the day’s popular fan magazines, all of whom skated dizzily on the surface of facts and never did any fact-checking. This is the first section, Part 1, segment 18 of 32.
• • "The Real Mae West" • •
• • Mae West: Exploits as a youngster • •    
• • Aileen St. John Brenon wrote: For the moment, let's meet the high-spirited little flaxen-haired girl, the daughter of the Wests, known because of her unconventional exploits at an early age as "that West child," and looked upon with arched eyebrows by the conservative mothers of the neighborhood because untamed, stubborn little spirit as she was, and the leader of the block, she refused to conform to the then current pastime of playing jacks in lady-like fashion on the top step, preferring to gang about with the boys.

• • Aileen St. John Brenon wrote: Mae West, the daughter of a French mother [sic] and an American father, grew up in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn.
• • Mae West: A Bushwick kid who got into mischief often • • ...   
• • This will be continued on the next post.
• • Source: The New Movie Magazine; issue dated for June 1934.
• • On Sunday, 9 June 1935 • •
• • Mae West did a few interviews with John Moffatt. In an article printed in the Sunday Times on 9 June 1935, Mae discussed parting with Libby Taylor, her longtime maid. Mae said, "When she began wanting me to wake her up in the morning, I told her she'd better stop being a maid and give her all to the public."
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • I am told that Mae West weighs more than one or two nutmegs — — but she is not British.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "Keep a diary and some day it'll keep you."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • A Texas newspaper mentioned Mae West.
• • "Life really is a comedy of errors" • •
• • From San Angelo, Texas, Britt Towery writes: At one time folks thought Mae West was what we needed. At one time all that America needed was a five-cent cigar. Cigars have disappeared and Mae West is but a life preserver and some still think America needs something. ...
• • Source: Go San Angelo; posted on Thursday, 9 June 2011
• • 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 5,000 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started seventeen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 5,012th 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 • • in 1927 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: Inherent Talent

MAE WEST met her fans on the silver screen and between the pages of the day’s popular fan magazines, all of whom skated dizzily on the surface of facts and never did any fact-checking. This is the first section, Part 1, segment 6 of 32.
• • "The Real Mae West" • •
• • Mae West: From the Bushwick section of Brooklyn • •
• • Aileen St. John Brenon wrote: Mae West's strong individuality and her firm willpower are as responsible for her success as her inherent talent — a talent which was as apparent at the age of five as the strong little personality which bossed all the children on the block, and was the terror of the brownstone house district of Brooklyn — the Bushwick Section.

• • Aileen St. John Brenon wrote: Mae West the child, as with Mae West the show-woman, never allowed anything to swerve her from her purpose.
• • Aileen St. John Brenon wrote: During her long career, which has taken her into all phases of the theater, stock, vaudeville, burlesque, musical comedy, producer of her own plays, she pressed forward.  
• • Mae West: Wanted to reach the top • •  ...   
• • This will be continued on the next post.
• • Source: The New Movie Magazine; issue dated for June 1934.
• • On Friday, 24 May 1929 • •
• • It was 1929 and Broadway star Mae West was feeling fine, touring from coast to coast with "Diamond Lil" — — specifically on Friday, 24 May 1929. And when a news man for a Midwestern tabloid approached, she agreed to an interview.
• • Mae told him that she had performed with Van Tenni's Arab Acrobatic Troupe. "I lifted three of the Arabs in the pinwheel formation," Mae affirmed, "and did other acts which required great strength."
• • She credited the hands-on training in gymnastics and acrobatics she received, coached by her father to develop her strength to the point where (she would claim later on) she was able to lift 500 pounds [sic] and support three athletes.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Colgate toothpaste propaganda points out that brighter smiles are more important in Hollywood than perfect figures. But Mae West complains she can't get anyone to admire her smile.  
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: “I never worry about diets. The only carrots that interest me are the number of carats in a diamond.”
• • Quote, Unquote • •

• • A Florida newspaper mentioned Mae West.
• • Sun Sentinel staffer Ivette M. Yee wrote: "Red Grooms delved in 3-D, and his celebrities often appear like caricatures in a pop-up book." 
• • Sun Sentinel staffer Ivette M. Yee wrote: In “Mae West Visits New England,” the voluptuous bombshell's breasts protrude from a slinky dress, drawing more attention than her sparkling diamond necklace. ...
• • Note: Born in Nashville, Tennessee, on Monday, 7 June 1937, Red Grooms is an American multimedia artist who is best known for his colorful pop-art constructions depicting frenetic scenes of modern urban life.
• • Source: The Sun Sentinel; published on Saturday, 24 May 2003
• • 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 5,000 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started seventeen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 5,000th 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 • • drawing made in 1935 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: 128th Birthday Babe

Happy Birthday to MAE WEST, Brooklyn Bombshell, Empress of Sex, Queen of Comedy, a notable quotable comedienne who maintained a long career on stage and on screen and also sizzled on the nightclub circuit.
• • Delivered by a local mid-wife, this feisty newborn drew her first lusty breaths in Bushwick on Thursday, 17 August 1893 (under the proud leonine sign of Leo) in her parents' bedroom. Little Mary Jane West always said: "I was born on a cool night in a hot month so I knew I could expect anything."
• • She trumped the income of every film actress of her generation because Mae was paid as a screenwriter as well as a box office draw.

• • Each day at least one publication in the world mentions her name. [We can verify our claim, too, because we've tracked this a-Mae-zing trend daily for the past 17 years now!]
• • Often imitated but never duplicated, the one and only Mae West endures in our hearts and memories.
• • Darling Mae, to your loyal followers, you don't look a day over twenty-sex!
• • Image: Mae West, Paramount Pictures publicity portrait.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Even at the fourscore mark, she remains a remarkable figure of a woman. The well-padded frame, which inspired the Mae West life jacket in World War II, seems little changed.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Mae West had been 40 when she made the first of 12 films and was an important influence on the early career of Cary Grant, teaching him much about the craft of comedy in the course of appearing with him in “She Done Him Wrong” and “I'm No Angel.”
• • The death of this sex goddess from Hollywood's Golden Age was front-page news in November 1980 when she was 87.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "Come up sometime and see me. I'm home every evening."
• • Mae West said: "I give 'em what they want to see."
• • Mae West said: "You have to outfight everyone else to succeed."
• • Mae West said: "I'll never believe the worst about anyone without complete proof."
• • Mae West said: "I've always liked athletes because they don't smoke, don't drink, and understand the importance of keeping their bodies in top working order — — and a hard man is good to find."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • "Mae West Turns Sixty" • •
• • The Horsham Times wrote: Mae West turned 60 recently. To reporters who went along to wish her many happy returns, Miss West made it plain that birthdays are one thing a lady just doesn't discuss.
• • Fluttering her inch-long eyelashes demurely, she said: "You can see for yourself, a girl's just as old as she feels."
• • Source: The Horsham Times;  published on Friday, 12 September 1952
• • 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 4,801st 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 • • in 1934 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: Brassy Gold

Reporters who met MAE WEST during the 1920s and early 1930s — — before stardom cloaked her utterly — — have a refreshingly different take than those who met her as a bonafide movie queen.
• • New York Herald Tribune reporter Stanley Walker came up to see Mae West often in New York.
• • A section in Stanley Walker’s 1935 memoir discussed Mae West. This is Part 3 of 19 segments.
• • “Sex Comes to America” • •
• • Miss West is a rather small woman • •
• • Stanley Walker wrote: Notwithstanding the impression one gets from her pictures and stage get-up, Miss West is a rather small woman.

• • Stanley Walker wrote: She is maybe 5 feet 4 inches tall [sic] and weighs about 120 pounds. The most she ever weighed was 136 when she went on a cream and pastry diet to build up for the role of Diamond Lil. She eats almost anything chopped as well as raw steak, kippered herring, and home-made pie. She is full of vitality and practically immune to fatigue.
• • Stanley Walker wrote: She does exercises and rides a stationary bicycle in her Hollywood apartment, but doesn't go in for sports. Broadway knew her hair as a brassy gold, but now it is platinum white and very fluffy.
• • Mae’s specially constructed front door is of the speakeasy type • • . . .
• • This long chapter by Stanley Walker will be continued on the next post.
• • Source: Chapter “Sex Comes to America” from "Mrs. Astor's Horse" written by Stanley Walker [NY: Frederick A. Stokes, 28 October 1935, 320 pages].
• • On Sunday, 16 March 1930 • •
• • It has been reported by multiple sources that Mae West's "Pleasure Man" trial began on 16 March 1930. But since March 16th was actually a Sunday, that date is imprecise.
• • Postponed from its scheduled start on 4 February 1930, the battling finally did get under way on Monday, 17 March in New York, NY.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Written by Caroline Boucher, "My Tea with Mae West" recalled an afternoon visit with the star at her Hollywood home in 1974.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "I have an extra thyroid gland. It gives me twice the energy and twice, the, you know, everything else I guess."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • Reporter George Lait interviewed Mae West for a four-part series in 1933.
• • "The Bushwick Baby Blonde" • •
• • George Lait wrote: La West had no time to devote to the flicker tintypes. She was too busy with the theater.
• • George Lait wrote: Matilda, Mae's mother, pridefully observing her daughter's progress as a dramatic actress, envisioned further fields to conquer. Vaudeville was in its ascendancy and it was a wide field for a talented young girl.
• • George Lait wrote: So little Mae was shipped off daily over the Brooklyn Bridge to Ned Wayburn's school in Manhattan to study dancing. Singing lessons, dancing lessons, dramatic lessons — — then readin’, writin' and ‘rithmetic when there was time — — that was a typical example of the average childhood day of the "Bushwick Baby Blonde.” Then rush home to supper, practice half an hour on the piano, and the mad dash to the theater for a last-minute rehearsal of the part she was to present that night.
• • George Lait wrote: Mae West declares that her mother alone is responsible for her success. …
• • Source: Winona Republican Herald [Minnesota]; Monday, 11 December 1933
• • 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 15th anniversary • • 
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past fifteen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 4,400 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fifteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,431st 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 • • in 1911 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: 125th Anniversary

MAE WEST endures, in our hearts, and also onstage. In honor of her 125th birthday, an A-MAE-ZING revival of her sexy and controversial works for the stage has been taking place everywhere.
• • For example, Arcola Queer Collective staged "The Drag” written by Mae West from 9 – 13 January 2017 in England. “Sex” was onstage at Hollywood’s Hudson Theatre until Sunday, 17 June 2018 with Andrea Hutchman as Margie LaMont. During the last weekend of June 2018, “The Drag” was onstage all weekend in the Montmartre section of Paris (the Left Bank). The National Theatre in Britain hosted “The Drag” on 10 July 2018. An Other Company just concluded their successful run of “Sex” in Provo, Utah. A musical called “Come Up ‘n See Me” debuts on August 27th at The Friars Club in New York, NY. And the venerable Shaw Festival, set in a scenic part of Western New York, Niagara-on-the-Lake, will produce “Sex” in 2019.

• • Applause, applause, let's have some a-MAE-zing applause!
• • To the Mae-mavens, dear Mae West, you will never be older than twenty-sex!
• • On Thursday, 17 August 1893 • •
• • On Thursday, 17 August 1893 Mae West was born in her parents' bedroom — — in Bushwick. The young Mom-to-be [born December 1870] and the Dad-to-be [born March 1866], who wed on 19 January 1889, had gone to a hospital for the birth of their firstborn child Katie, who entered their world in August 1891 but who, most unfortunately, died in infancy. Perhaps this is why the couple opted for a midwife and a home delivery when little Mary Jane West was due under the astrological sign of Leo.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Mae West sang loud enough to be distinctly heard in the rear.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "Come up sometime and see me."  
• • Mae West said: “You only live once. But if you do it right, once is enough.”
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • The Telegraph [U.K.] celebrated the 120th birthday of Mae West back in 2013.
• • "Actress Mae West was born 120 years ago today, was one of the great 20th century wits" • •
• • Culture Editor Martin Chilton wrote:  "I used to be Snow White but I drifted," quipped Mae West, the Hollywood actress who is remembered for her Wildean wit as much as her flamboyant personality.
• • Martin Chilton continued: Mae West was born on August 17, 1893, in New York, a place where this weekend they are staging her 1928 mob melodrama Diamond Lil.
• • Martin Chilton added: The death of this sex goddess from Hollywood's Golden Age was front-page news in November 1980 when she was 87. She had been 40 when she made the first of 12 films and was an important influence on the early career of Cary Grant, teaching him much about the craft of comedy in the course of appearing with him in She Done Him Wrong and I'm No Angel. It was to Grant that West uttered the famous, oft-misquoted line: ''Why don't you come up sometime and see me?''
• • Martin Chilton explained: West had been a late-Victorian stage performer and her vaudeville timing showed in the wonderful banter with W.C. Fields in the pre-war movie My Little Chickadee. By then she was world famous and during the war it pleased her greatly that the RAF dubbed its inflatable life-jacket a "Mae West". . . .
• • Source: Article: "Mae West: remembering Hollywood's wittiest sex goddess" by Martin Chilton for The Telegraph [U.K.]; published on Saturday, 17 August 2013
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • "Mae West Turns Sixty" • • 
• • The Horsham Times wrote: Mae West turned 60 recently. To reporters who went along to wish her many happy returns, Miss West made it plain that birthdays are one thing a lady just doesn't discuss. Fluttering her inch-long eyelashes demurely she said: "You can see for yourself, a girl's just at old as she feels."
• • Source: News Item: The Horsham Times; published on Friday, 12 September 1952
• • 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 14th anniversary • •  

• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past fourteen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 4,000 blog posts. Wow!  

• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fourteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4026th 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 1926 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest
NYC  Mae West