Mae West: Godmother to Gwen

MAE WEST, who never testified during her controversial “Sex” trials in 1927, was almost the star witness at another trial in Los Angeles a decade later. Let us go back in time. This is Part 2 of 2.
• • In April 1937, Clark Gable entered a Los Angeles courtroom to face Mrs. Violet Wells Norton, who claimed he was the father of her 13-year-old daughter, Gwendoline. She’d been arrested in January of that year on charges of mail fraud, for writing to the actor and demanding money from him.
• • These curious letters, however, had begun arriving in 1932.
• • Miss Norton, the government charges, wrote Gable for money on the claim that he “wooed and won” her in England (back in 1922).
• • Violette Wells Norton [shown here] claimed in her letters that she knew Clark Gable as a tutor in England.

• • Despite Violet’s attempts to garner support from Jimmie Fidler and Mae West (and who knows how many others?), Gable had no difficulty refuting her claims.
• • Clark Gable produced witnesses from the Pacific Northwest to prove that, during the time he was allegedly impregnating his accuser, he was selling neckties and working as a lumberjack in Oregon.
• • Gable had other witnesses, including Franz Doerfler would testify on his behalf; she’d dated Gable during his lumberjack days in Oregon, and vouched that he’d been nowhere near England at the time.
• • Mae West had been called to testify that she had received a letter from Mrs. Norton asking for a chance in the movies for her daughter, Gwendoline, “Gable’s child.”
• • Mae West was not the star witness for the prosecution ― ― in person. She was represented by proxy in court.
• • In addition to Franz Doerfler and Mae West, other witnesses included a “movie commentator” named James Fidler, who received an 18-page missive detailing Violet Norton and “Billing’s” supposed English affair, as well as how Clark Gable (born William Clark Gable in Cadiz, Ohio) became Frank Billings, taking his first name from the local grocer and his last name from the shop itself, “The Gables.”
• • Was Clark Gable secretly an Englishman named Frank Billings? • •
• • At a certain point, the real Frank Billings apparently stepped up and identified himself as Gwendoline’s father (he was said to have a passing resemblance to Gable, so maybe Norton wasn’t completely off her rocker, though she still maintained Gable was hiding "his secret British past").
• • A Los Angeles jury found her guilty of mail fraud. Violet was sentenced to a year in prison; she was subsequently deported to Canada.
• • Gable did have quite the way with the ladies but not that one.  
• • On Thursday, 3 August 1944 • •
• • "Catherine Was Great" opened on Wednesday, 2 August 1944. Reviews appeared soon after.
• • The Herald Tribune reported on Thursday, 3 August 1944: "Mae West came to Broadway last night, decked out like a battleship in a swimming pool" ....
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •

• • A 1938 headline tooted: "Mae West and Clark Gable." In that year, the screen queen was in her mid-40s and the leading man would have been 37 years old.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: “The wages of sin are sables and a film contract.”
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article in a California paper discussed Mae West and Clark Gable.
• • Will super-masculine Clark Gable marry super-feminine Mae West?
• • Probably not, but you’d be surprised how many movie fans think it would be a swell idea. Kibitzing the motion picture marriage market is apparently the favorite indoor sport of those who take film players seriously enough to write letters to and about them.
• • Several hundred during the past month have urged Mae West to flee altar-ward with the virile Gable, and vice versa.
• • Fans are often ignorant of actors’ currently marital ties or blithely disregard them.  ...
• • Source: San Bernadino News; published on Tuesday, 1 September 1936
• • 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 4,791st 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: https://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml  
• • Be sure to bookmark or follow The Mae West Blog
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • Mae West and Clark Gable cover in 1933 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: Gable's Child?

MAE WEST, who never testified during her controversial “Sex” trials in 1927, was almost the star witness at another trial in Los Angeles a decade later. Let us go back in time. This is Part 1 of 2.
• • In April 1937, Associated Press wrote: Mae West was expected to become today’s star witness for the prosecution.
• • Miss West, like other figures in the movie colony, received mail and other communications from Violet Wells Norton.
• • Violet's letter received at Paramount Studio in January 1936 read:

• • “Dear Mae West: How would you like to be fairy godmother to Clark Gable’s child? Nothing could be more lovely than for you, Miss West, to be fairy godmother to my Gwendolyn, and put Clark Gable to shame.”
• • On numerous occasions, Violet Wells Norton attempted to correspond with Mae West. However, West’s publicist, Terrell De Lapp, intercepted the missive during a routine vetting of Miss West’s incoming mail.
• • In one of her letters, Violet wrote that she knew Mae had no husband. Nevertheless, she felt sure Mae “would understand the problems of a deserted wife and mother.”
• • The letters to screen star Mae West and Hollywood columnist Jimmie Fidler were not the only ones Violet Wells Norton wrote during her futile attempt to prove that a man she believed to be Clark Gable had seduced her in Great Britain, when he was a tutor and she was an ingenue who was smitten with him.
• • In the days before DNA was used, a paternity suit within the Hollywood community was handled differently.
• • Part 2 will appear tomorrow and conclude this true story.
• • On Wednesday, 2 August 1944 • •

• • It was Wednesday, August 2nd and the applause rang out from the Shubert Theatre [225 West 44th Street], signaling the gala Broadway debut of "Catherine Was Great," when Mae West portrayed the Empress of Russia. Produced by Mike Todd, the show starred Mae as the Empress of Love who handled her men as skillfully as she handled affairs of state.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Mae West bought a biography written by Clark Gable's widow. Kathleen Gable inscribed it: "Dear Mae West, My Heart Is Filled With Every Happiness For You. Do Remember Clark In Your Prayers, He Admired You Very Much. Fondly, Kathleen Gable, Nov. 1963."
• • The book was Clark Gable: A Personal Portrait [NJ: Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, 1963].
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "You've got to fight in this world! You've got to fight to get there — — and fight to stay there."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article on Hollywood movies in the works mentioned Mae West and Clark Gable.
• • "Film News of the Week" announced: It seems impossible to avoid the topic of the new star teams. The latest to be announced is the partnership of Mae West and Clark Gable, who are proposed for the latest roles in "New Orleans," an original story by the man who wrote "San Francisco."
• • "Film News of the Week" explained: These two champions of the rough-and-ready school should make a perfect screen match. The story, however, demands renunciation in the last reel. Mae West, as a torch-singing New Orleans belle, sacrifices love and leaves the hero to the youthful ingenue.
• • "Film News of the Week" continued: Mae West's popularity has been declining rapidly. One group of American exhibitors even went so far as to announce that her name was "poison at the box office." The fact that in the past she has always insisted on writing, casting, and to some extent producing her own films may have something to do with it. M.G.M. have wisely inserted a clause in her contract which confines her activities to acting alone. ...
• • Source: The Sydney Morning Herald; published on Thursday, 7 July 1938
• • 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 4,790th 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: https://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml  
• • Be sure to bookmark or follow The Mae West Blog
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • news clip in April 1937 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: Clark Gable

The December 1937 radio broadcast on "The Chase and Sanborn Hour" and the lackluster response to "Every Day's a Holiday" [1938] helped to sever the professional relationship between MAE WEST and Paramount Pictures. But Metro-Goldwyn Mayer had their starry eyes on her.
• • A 1938 headline in The Sydney Morning Herald tooted: "Mae West and Clark Gable." The screen queen was in her mid-40s and the leading man was 37 years old
• • "Film News of the Week" announced: It seems impossible to avoid the topic of the new star teams. The latest to be announced is the partnership of Mae West and Clark Gable, who are proposed for the latest roles in "New Orleans," an original story by the man who wrote "San Francisco."
• • "Film News of the Week" explained: These two champions of the rough-and-ready school should make a perfect screen match. The story, however, demands renunciation in the last reel. Mae West, as a torch-singing New Orleans belle, sacrifices love and leaves the hero to the youthful ingenue.
• • "Film News of the Week" continued: Mae West's popularity has been declining rapidly. One group of American exhibitors even went so far as to announce that her name was "poison at the box office." The fact that in the past she has always insisted on writing, casting, and to some extent producing her own films may have something to do with it. M.G.M. have wisely inserted a clause in her contract which confines her activities to acting alone.
• • Source: The Sydney Morning Herald, "Film News of the Week" on page 28, Thursday, 7 July 1938.
• • A year before that, in April 1937, Mae's name was starting to appear in the papers linked to a Clark Gable paternity suit in a very peculiar way. For instance, "It was also alleged that Mae West, the film actress, received letters asking her to intercede with Clark Gable to persuade him to pay Mrs. Violet Norton, 47, a Canadian. ... Mrs. Norton is accused of trying to extort money from Clark Gable, the film actor, by asserting that he is the father of her 13-year-old daughter." Let's move forward to 1939 in Hollywood.
• • On Sunday, 20 February 1939 • •
• • According to Hecht biographer, William MacAdams, “At dawn on Sunday, 20 February 1939, David Selznick … and director Victor Fleming shook Ben Hecht awake to inform him he was on loan from MGM and must come with them immediately and go to work on Gone with the Wind, which Selznick had begun shooting five weeks before. It was costing Selznick $50,000 each day the film was on hold waiting for a final screenplay rewrite and time was of the essence.
• • Clark Gable [1 February 1901 — 16 November 1960] • •
• • Born in Cadiz, Ohio, Clark Gable [1 February 1901 — 16 November 1960] was an American film actor most famous for his role as Rhett Butler in the Civil War epic film "Gone with the Wind" [1939], in which he starred with Vivien Leigh. His performance earned him his third nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor.
• • Clark Gable's marriage to his third wife, actress Carole Lombard [1908 — 1942], was the happiest period of his personal life. Clark Gable and Carole Lombard had eloped on 29 March 1939 when Gable had two days off from filming "Gone with the Wind" for MGM.
• • Gable died in Los Angeles on 16 November 1960, aged 59, from a coronary thrombosis ten days after suffering a severe heart attack.
• • George Givot [18 February 1903 — 7 June 1984] • •
• • Born in Omaha, Nebraska on 18 February 1903, George Givot gained fame in vaudeville as a dialect comedian. Often appearing onstage as an English-language-mangling Greek immigrant, Givot's familiar tag was this: "How'd ya like that?" He sailed onto The Great White Way in "Earl Carroll's Sketch Book," a musical revue that debuted on 1 July 1929 and lasted for a year until it closed on 7 June 1930.
• • George Givot co-starred opposite Mae West in the Broadway production of "The Constant Sinner" in 1931. Though he continued to work on Broadway until 1962, he was almost always cast in dialect roles as a Latino or a Greek.
• • George Givot died in Palm Springs, California on 7 June 1984. He was 81 years old.
• • On Saturday, 18 February 1933 in The New Yorker • •
• • An article about Mae West and her new film "She Done Him Wrong" was printed in The New Yorker in their issue dated for Saturday, 18 February 1933.
• • On Thursday, 18 February 1999 in Australia • •
• • "She's No Angel: A Mae West Vaudeville" was written by Barry Lowe. This musical featured "witty songs by Sean Peter, and director Jack Webster gives it a larger-than-life verve that threatens to spill out into Queen Street. The vaudeville is tailored to the talents of [George] Hoad ... He makes Mae West a commanding, no-nonsense figure, whose life and career are played out in the manner of a tawdry circus ...," wrote Bryce Hallett.
• • Source: Theatre Review by Bryce Hallett in The Sydney Morning Herald on page 11, on Thursday, 18 February 1999.
• • On Tuesday, 18 February 2003 • •
• • The biography written by Jill Watts "Mae West: An Icon in Black and White" was published on 18 February 2003 by Oxford University Press [USA]. If you love Mae West, then you must own this bio.
• • On 18 February 2004 in The Villager • •
• • "Mae's return court date" was the title in The Villager, a weekly newspaper in Greenwich Village. The cast and the author of “Courting Mae West” celebrated after a staged reading before a full house at Jefferson Market Library.
• • Source: The Villager, Volume 73, Number 42 | February 18 — 24, 2004
• • Link: thevillager.com/villager_42/maereturncourtdate.html
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said upon arriving in Los Angeles: "So this is the place where a leaf falls up in some canyon and they tell you it's winter."
• • Mae West said: "As a rule I have most actors around me work faster than I do; they keep the pace while I take my liberties in my timing."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article on "Myra Breckinridge" mentioned Mae West. Raquel Welch, who appears seldom on the screen and who has been unpopular in Hollywood for decades (despite all her plastic surgery), had nothing good to say about her co-stars from more than 40 years ago. Evidence of the brunette wig-hawker's spiteful personality appears below.
• • Contactmusic wrote: Movie beauty Raquel Welch still has her suspicions that Mae West was a male drag queen after getting up close and personal to the silver screen icon during one of her final films, "Myra Breckinridge" [1970].
• • Contactmusic wrote: The two goddesses spent a lot of time in each other's company on the set of the 1970 film — — and Welch admits she started to think there was something more than a little odd about her co-star.
• • Contactmusic wrote: During a Raquel Welch film retrospective in New York at the weekend (February 11 — 12), the still-stunning actress explained, "She never worked before 5pm and... she also never moved by herself, so the limo that took her to the studio, to her dressing room, also brought her onto the set. So they had to open the huge door where they load in scenery. She was kind of like a piece of scenery!"
• • Contactmusic wrote: "When I went over to say hello to her (one day) I said, 'Hi, it's Raquel, remember?' She sort of extended her hand to me and I went to kiss the ring and one false fingernail painted silver fell to the floor. I looked at the hand and I thought, 'Oh, I'm getting a vibe.' I really think she's a man!"
• • Contactmusic wrote: "At this point in her life all bets are off and you're not going to be able to doll it (appearance) up that much. I would say it's pretty accurate that she resembled a dock worker in drag."
• • Contactmusic wrote: Welch admitted it was a thrill to work with West — — but she took away a very bad memory from their time together: "I had this beautiful dress and it was black with a big white ruffle around the neck and a black velvet hat, based on a costume that was worn by Greta Garbo. It was very chic and I couldn't wait to wear it. (Costume designer) Theodora Van Runkle designed it for the scene with Mae West because she was wearing all white with black trim, so this would be perfect."
• • PHOTO: Theodora Van Runkle designed this costume for Raquel Welch, with the white ruffle around the neck, that Mae objected to.
• • Contactmusic wrote: "Apparently Mae got wind of the fact that I was wearing this exquisite dress and I went to the studio that day for our scene together. I got coiffed, got my hair done and went to the closet to get the dress and it wasn't there. I asked my dresser what happened to the dress and she said, 'It's been confiscated. Mae does not want you to wear that dress. You can wear the red dress that you wore in the last scene!'"
• • Contactmusic wrote: "Mae had approval over everything that was worn on the set... The producer said, 'It's (dress) a non-colour and nobody gets to wear non-colours in the movie but Mae.'"
• • Contactmusic wrote: Welch was so outraged, she stormed off the set and refused to return until the dress was back in her closet. She recalled, "For the scene, we never appeared in a two-shot together. Mae left after she did her lines and I had someone off-camera reading her lines and I had to pretend she was there." ...
• • Source: Interview: "Raquel Welch: 'I Think Mae West Was A Man" written by Contactmusic; posted on: 17 February 2012
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started seven years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2213th 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 • • Modern Screen in 1933 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest
NYC
Mae West.

Mae West: Rex, Alyce, Myra

MAE WEST may have preferred to forget the shadows that fell across her silver screen beams in "Sextette," her last motion picture. It was released in the month of March — — on 3 March 1978. However, one of her handsome co-stars still has fond memories of being in "Myra Breckinridge" with her and also relishing her singular star turn on Oscar night.
• • Rex Reed Misses Mae West • •
• • N.Y. Observer columnist Rex Reed writes: I can't chastise the absence of charisma and talent in today's bland, unfocused workforce. It's not their fault they aren't Barbara Stanwyck, Gary Cooper, and Bette Davis. I remember Doris Day paired with Clark Gable and Mae West crooning to Rock Hudson. Now we get Mila Kunis and Justin Timberlake. Next year, we'll probably get Justin Bieber. What we need more than anything else is some genuine humor. . . [Source: Column: "What the Hell Happened to the Oscars?" written by Rex Reed for The New York Observer on 1 March 2011].
• • "Love Goddesses" Released on March 3rd • •
• • Mae West film footage is used in the documentary "Love Goddesses," originally released in the month of March — — on 3 March 1965.
• • Alyce Ardell Died on March 3rd • •
• • When she worked with Mae West in "Go West, Young Man" [1936], Alyce Ardell portrayed Jeanette, a French maid. She retired early from the cinema — — perhaps out of boredom or frustration.
• • Born as Marie Alice Pradel in Paris on 14 November 1902, the French voice actress Alyce Ardell lent her sexy accents to several intriguing cartoons as well as shorts and many motion pictures in which she was often cast, mais oui, as a French maid from 1925 — 1939.
• • Alyce Ardell died at age 95 in Laguna Hills, California in March — — on 3 March 1996.
• • Mae West Memento Lost in New Jersey • •
• • ABC reporter Nina Pineda writes: The contents we could see was a trove of jewelry, pearls, pocket watches, antique clocks, coins, a vintage dollar from the roaring 20's, a collectible program signed by screen siren Mae West, even a century-old Derringer pistol. . . [Source: Article: "Find your unclaimed property!" written by Nina Pineda for WABC in Trenton, NJ on 1 March 2011].
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • Contemplating the cinema releases of 1933, movie maven Eric D. Snider writes: The list of 1933's most popular movies lends credence to the theory that audiences weren't in the mood for such jarring, chaotic satire. Instead they favored light musicals (State Fair, 42nd Street, escapist fantasy (King Kong), saucy Mae West comedies (I'm No Angel and She Done Him Wrong), historical dramas (Queen Christina) and serene literary adaptations (Little Women). . . [Source: Article "What's the Big Deal?: Duck Soup (1933)" written by Eric D. Snider for FILM.COM].
• • 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 Rock Hudson at the Oscars • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest
NYC
Mae West.

Mae West: Chico's Mercedes-Benz

In 1932 Chico Marx issued a challenge and MAE WEST, Clark Gable, Carole Lombard, and Gary Cooper were among silver screen luminaries who turned out in four busloads to watch the showdown at Muroc Dry Lake in the Mojave desert, north of Los Angeles, according to N.Y. Times reporter Jerry Garrett. Six years later, Muroc Dry Lake, now known as NASA's Edwards Air Force Base, was also the site of hot-roddings first major lakes professional event that took place back in 1938.
• • Test-driving the Marx Brothers' splendid 1928 Mercedes-Benz S 26/180 Boattail Speedster on a California speedway recently, Jerry Garrett explained: "The Mercedes-Benz is expected to be one of the stars of the auction blocks. It is largely in the same trim it was in 1932 when Chico Marx, the oldest of the comedic siblings, issued a challenge for a high-stakes match race against a Model J Duesenberg owned by a prominent Hollywood agent. ... The cars are to be offered for sale after the Pebble Beach Concours d’Élégance on August 15th." [Source: "Art to Go: Driving 3 Masterpieces" by Jerry Garrett, The N.Y. Times on 6 August 2010].
• • It was in New York City during the 1920s that Mae West applied for her first driver's license. She gave her birth year as 1900.
• • During this week, the MAE WEST BLOG will savor some more revealing commemorations of the screen queen by her long-time fans and collectors of Westiana.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
________
Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • none • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest
NYC
Mae West.

Mae West: Byron Hot Springs

During the 1930s, MAE WEST took a breather from movie-making and relaxed at a luxurious West Coast oasis — — an elite enclave shaded by mature oleanders and Egyptian palms, fastidious landscaping that gave the 1912 Byron Hot Springs Hotel a lush tropical ambience.
• • According to California historians, during the early twentieth century, San Francisco power brokers, Hollywood stars, and sports figures flocked to this resort paradise to indulge in recreation and the healthful mineralized springs. They relaxed on the lawn or stretched out on shaded verandas. Available to guests like Mae were golf, tennis, croquet, baseball, shuffleboard, and billiards.
• • This extraordinary 160-acre property, a few miles east of San Francisco, featured (at various times) three grand hotels, a Queen-Anne cottage called the Mead Mansion, a hospital, and several guest cottages. Visitors restored their health and well being through hydropathic “cures,” mud baths, restorative spring waters, swims and strolls through the exotic gardens. The resort was called the “Carlsbad of the West” after the famed European health spa.
• • Though now dilapidated, closed to the public, and under renovation, this once exotic hide-away in Contra Costa County, California has a curious history that has kept a small group of devotees paying attention to the property. During World War II, this spa was sold to the military and transformed into a top-secret prisoner interrogation center called Camp Tracy.
• • Army Major Alex Corbin — — author of the book “The History of Camp Tracy: Japanese WWII POWs and the Future of Interrogation” — — recently took a small tour group through there. He discussed the former resort, whose natural sulfur springs and mud baths had appealed to high-earning Hollywoodites such as Mae West, Clark Gable, Charlie Chaplin, and other stars during the 1930s, and how the acreage was put to a more clandestine use during the 1940s, which is to say gently wresting military secrets from Japanese seamen and soldiers in an operation so under-cover that its existence had been completely unknown to outsiders until a few years ago.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
________
Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • none • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest
NYC
Mae West.

Mae West: Northern Nevada

MAE WEST entertained thousands of Mae-mavens at The Mapes.
• • According to sports betting expert Ross Everett, The Mapes Hotel (which opened in 1947) in Reno, Nevada was an important part of Northern Nevada history. Ushering in a new era in casino gambling, The Mapes was actually the first property in the country to combine a hotel, casino, and live entertainment under the same roof.
• • Writing for The Daily Downer, Ross Everett explains: It also became the hotel of choice for celebrities staying in Northern Nevada. Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe stayed at The Mapes during the filming of "The Misfits." During the Rat Pack era of the 1950s and 1960s it became, along with the Cal-Neva Lodge in Lake Tahoe, the place to be seen in Northern Nevada. The 11th floor, window-walled Sky Room Lounge hosted performances by a roster of entertainment legends — — including Mae West, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr., Dean Martin, Louis Prima, Keely Smith, and Milton Berle.
• • After enjoying a long bout of prosperity, The Mapes foundered and closed in 1982 and was demolished in 2000 despite attempts to preserve it.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
________
Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • none • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest
NYC
Mae West.

Mae West: In England

A new show in England about the history of cinema will feature MAE WEST.
• • In Great Britain, actor Robert Powell has assembled an "affectionate and nostalgic romp through the first 113 years of cinema," according to the Express and Star.
• • Interviewed by reporter Mark Andrews, Powell promised not to be boring: “It’s a little of entertainment, a bit of film, a bit of history, and a bit of fun.”
• • The production begins with cinema pioneers the Lumiere Brothers in Paris in 1895 — — and finishes with Bond 22 being filmed at Pinewood Studios in 2008.
• • The audience is introduced to Mae West, Charlie Chaplin, Mickey Mouse, and Humphrey Bogart along the way, with appearances by Clark Gable, Groucho Marx, Marilyn Monroe, and Jack Lemmon.
• • Also appearing in the production are Christine Croshaw and Clive Conway.
• • The journey will be sweetened with musical interludes from Scott Joplin, George Gershwin through to John Barry’s “James Bond” theme.
• • "Robert Powell’s Silver Screen" is on at Lichfield Garrick Theatre on 30 May 2009, starting at 7:30 pm. Telephone the box office for details: 01543 412121 [UK].
— — Excerpt: — —
• • Article: "Affectionate look at history of cinema"
• • Byline: By Mark Andrews
• • Published in: UK's Express and Star — — www.expressandstar.com
• • Published on: 12 May 2009
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
________
Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • none • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest
NYC
Mae West.

Mae West: 100 Years

Formerly known as the Columbia Theatre and the Geary Theatre when MAE WEST trod the boards, this magnificent San Francisco showplace will soon celebrate its 100th birthday.
• • Constructed in 1909, and opened to the public on 10 January 1910, the 1.024-seat Beaux Arts auditorium has been the headquarters of the A.C.T. acting company since former director Bill Ball relocated the group to the West Coast from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1965.
• • The Geary Theater was nearly destroyed in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake; the extensive damage caused to the structure shuttered it for seven years.
• • American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) Artistic Director Carey Perloff announced the lineup of the company's 43rd subscription season today. The season will welcome some of the best American and international artists to the Bay Area and also celebrate the 100th anniversary of this national landmark, a celebrated architectural icon in a city renowned for its urban beauty.
• • During its storied past, this has been a venue for performers of the likes of Mae West, Sarah Bernhardt, Helen Hayes, Isadora Duncan, Clark Gable, Laurence Olivier, and others.
• • The building is located here: 415 Geary Street [at Mason Street], San Francisco, CA 94108.
• • Its near neighbor is the Curran Theatre — — where Mae West performed her blockbuster success "Diamond Lil" in 1929 — — located at 445 Geary Street (San Francisco, CA 94102).
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
________
Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • Diamond Lil • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest
NYC
Mae West.