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MAE WEST was photographed by Cecil Beaton in January 1970.
• • He wrote an exceedingly detailed diary entry about this and it was printed in the book "The Unexpurgated Beaton: The Cecil Beaton Diaries as He Wrote Them, 1970—1980."
• • While he was waiting for Mae to finish dressing and primping, Beaton prowled around, examining her furnishings, opening doors to see if unused items (such as an old massage table) were dusty. They were. So what? Scrutinizing a "huge yellow china vase" holding one flower, Beaton realized the poesy was there to disguise a crack. The lengthy recollection he committed to paper — — describing one member of her entourage as "a fag" — — is often nasty, revealing more about the British photographer than about Mae. Here's a mild excerpt.
• • Cecil Beaton wrote: [Mae] gurgled at the compliments. She seemed shy and nice and sympathetic. When I told her that Lady Cunard had said she was dressed at a Sitwell party all in white like a vestal virgin, she pretended to be shocked. She moved very slowly into the living room . . .
• • Cecil Beaton noted: I told her Prince Charles had thought her "Chickadee" was the funniest thing he'd ever seen. "What a pity he saw me with W.C. Fields. I wish he's seen me in something else." . . .
• • Source: "The Unexpurgated Beaton: The Cecil Beaton Diaries as He Wrote Them, 1970—1980" [NY: Knopf Doubleday, 2007].
• • Happy Birthday on the 29th of January • •
• • Happy Birthday to actress Ann Jillian (born on Sunday, 29 January 1950), who portrayed Mae West in the 1982 TV bio-pic of the same name. Jillian was 32 when she starred in "Mae West" on the small screen.
• • Happy Birthday to actor Tom Selleck (born on Monday, 29 January 1945). It's been said by a few people that Mae West first noticed Tom Selleck in a Pepsi commercial. She was responsible for getting Selleck cast as The Stud in "Myra Breckenridge" [1970] when he was 25 years old.
• • On Monday, 29 January 1917 in Brooklyn • •
• • Mae West was a witness at her younger sister's wedding, which took place on a weekday, Monday, 29 January 1917 in Brooklyn City Hall, not far from the West family's Brooklyn residence.
• • On Sunday, 29 January 1978 in Sunday Express • •
• • Since "Sextette" had a British director, articles discussing what happened on the set in Hollywood popped up in the British tabloids. An article discussing a scene filmed in a mock elevator appeared in Sunday Express on 29 January 1978.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • In an interview, D.W. Griffth named Mae West as one of the ten most interesting persons in America.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "I'm much too busy to worry about gossip and trivial matters. If they don't like me, that's their business. Ive's got to keep busy turning out good pictures. Now that — — that's my business."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • Billboard mentioned Mae West.
• • "Diamond Lil" with Mae West (Royal Alexandra Theatre) Toronto, Canada.
• • Source: Item in Billboard; published on Saturday, 22 January 1949
• • The Mae West Blog celebrates its 10th anniversary • •
• • Thank
you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during this
past decade. The other day we entertained 1,430 visitors. We reached a milestone this week: 3,100 posts. Wow!
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started ten years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 3103rd 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 • • by Cecil Beaton in 1970 • •
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NYC Mae West
Who doesn't love MAE WEST?
• • Well, even though Cecil Beaton was madly pursuing Greta Garbo, who spurned his marriage proposal, he also dedicated himself to avidly photographing the aristocrats, the fashionable, singers, and movie icons such as the Brooklyn bombshell. 
• • In a new photography book Cecil Beaton: The Art of the Scrapbook, there are many handsome black-and-white stills. The collection was edited by James Danziger and published by Assouline. New York Magazine celebrated this new title with a neat slide show on their website — — featuring pictures Beaton took of Mae West as well as other big names.
• • Featured photo montage of Mae West, courtesy of Assouline.
• • Thomas J. Gray • •
• • Mae was named for her paternal grandmother Mary Jane Copley, who was born in Ireland. And her familiarity with Irish dialects gave Mae a tremendous advantage in vaudeville, where she was often cast as an Irish maid — — and sang Irish novelties such as Tommy Gray's comical song "They Are Irish," to which Mae added a few more choruses, each in a different Irish accent.
• • The "Bard of Broadway" was born in New York City, Mae's hometown.
• • Talented and prolific, Thomas J. Gray [1888 — 1924] was an author and lyricist who had been educated at Holy Cross School and was a charter member of ASCAP (1914). He served overseas during World War I, and later wrote songs for Broadway and London revues, plus special material for Mae West, Bert Williams, Blossom Seeley, Frank Tinney, Savoy & Brennan, Trixie Friganza, and many others. He was also a columnist for Variety and the New York Dramatic Mirror. His chief musical collaborators included Fred Fisher and Ray Walker.
• • Bronchitis cut short his brilliant career. Tommy died in the month of November — — on 30 November 1924. He was 36 years old.
• • Though Mae often did not pay his bills, and was taken to court more than once by Tommy, she attended his funeral at St. Malachy's in midtown, a standing-room-only affair.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • 1930s • •
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Mae West.
MAE WEST, Kylie Minogue, Judy Garland, Liza Minnelli, and Barbra Streisand may be adored by gays around the globe — — but they will not be part of a major summer exhibition announced by London's National Portrait Gallery titled "Gay Icons." Instead, a 10-strong panel [comprised of Elton John, Jackie Kay, Ian McKellen, Billie Jean King, etc.] has cast its net beyond the bygones and has gone in search of other names. 
• • Intentionally, we have dropped the "sir" honorific from those blimps who would deny the Empress of Sex a place on the wall of fame.
• • And with all due respect to Judy Garland and La Streisand, it is not in the history books that those beloved songbirds went to prison fighting for gay rights as Mae did during the Prohibition Era. There is a great deal more that the Brooklyn bombshell did to advance the agenda for homosexuals, female impersonators, and drag queens. And many people have not forgotten that.
• • And though the British gallery bigwigs are being coy about which faces made it into the final round of five dozen, these individuals have been picked: painters Francis Bacon and David Hockney; civil rights martyr Harvey Milk; writers Quentin Crisp, Joe Orton, Dame Daphne Du Maurier, Patricia Highsmith, and Walt Whitman; music makers Tchaikovsky, k.d. lang, Rostropovich, Will Young, and the Village People; entertainers Ellen DeGeneres, Kenneth Williams, and Lily Savage; also Nelson Mandela and Diana, Princess of Wales. Their stories will be illustrated by 60 photographic portraits including works by Andy Warhol, Linda McCartney, Lord Snowdon, Polly Borland, Fergus Greer, Terry O'Neill, and Cecil Beaton.
• • The National Portrait Gallery revealed several other "expected names" that will not be on display in London. Noticeably absent from this collection are: Mae West, Joan Crawford, Kylie Minogue, Dame Shirley Bassey, Oscar Wilde, Bette Midler, Marlene Dietrich, Joan Collins, Bette Davis, and Barbra Streisand. And no Liberace nor David Beckham neither.
• • The exhibition "Gay Icons" is set to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall riots in New York City.
• • Opened to the public in 1856, the National Portrait Gallery is situated in St Martin's Place, WC2H 0HE, London, England.• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • by Larry Salk • •
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Mae West.
