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In the role of Fay Lawrence, MAE WEST starred in "Tropicana" — — renamed "The Heat's On" [1943].
• • Underwhelmed by this rag-bag disguised as a musical for the screen, T.S. from The N.Y. Times wrote: After an extended sabbatical in which she streamlined her figure to more svelte proportions, Mae West, none other, has returned in a hit-or-miss item entitled "The Heat's On," now at Loew's State. The title is a misnomer. For the heat is off, but definitely. . . . Even so, the sumptuous siren — — and Victor Moore and William Gaxton, as well — — is nearly crowded out of her own picture by a series of dull production numbers. Miss West, you see, is the turbulent musical comedy star caught in the intrigues of two rival crooked producers, and the plot has been used as little more than an excuse to place Hazel Scott, Xavier Cugat, and some lesser folk through their paces — — none of which are particularly startling. So said The Times.
• • Walter Plunkett dressed Mae West. But her mountain-high headdresses and spectacular sequined gowns never reached the wide audience the producers hoped for. Clearly, Mae especially enjoyed Plunkett's serpent seductress creation because she had a similar costume made for a number she performed in the 1950s with Richard Du Bois in the "Mae West Revue."
• • Franz Planer [29 March 1894 — 10 January 1963] • •
• • It was bad planning on the part of Franz Planer, A.S.C. to get involved with "The Heat's On," a film credit that Wikipedia omits in his entry.
• • Born in Karlsbad, Austria-Hungary (now the Czech Republic) at the end of March — — on 29 March 1894 — — Franz Planer prepared to be a portrait painter. It seems he felt that photography would overtake the work that used to fall to artists and he turned to the film industry as his new vocation. Beginning in Germany as a director of photography, he gained experience. In 1937, he wisely left Hitler and Europe behind and headed to Hollywood.
• • With more than 125 films to his credit, Planer certainly had his successes. For instance, the cinematographer shot five of Audrey Hepburn's films including the iconic "Breakfast at Tiffany's" [1961]. And though "The Heat's On" is tepid fare, at least he got to work with Mae West.
• • Franz Planer suffered a heatstroke in Spain while working on the Sermon on the Mount sequence of "King of Kings." He died in Hollywood on 10 January 1963. He was 68.
• • On Sunday, 31 March 1912 • •
• • On Sunday, 31 March 1912 • •
• • The end of March signaled the beginning of excitement down at "The Corner" [Seventh Avenue and 42nd Street]. The New York Times announced on 31 March 1912 that "Mae West and Her Boys" would take the stage at Hammerstein's Victoria.
• • On Thursday, 31 March 1927 • •
• • On Thursday, 31 March 1927 it was reported in The New York Times that Sergeant Patrick Keneally of the Midtown Vice Squad, whose testimony was heavily flavored with a thick Irish brogue, quoted long passages from Mae's play "Sex" from memory. Moreover, "frequently, under the instructions of the Prosecutor," explained The Times, "assuming poses to demonstrate the manner in which members of the cast delivered their lines," Sgt Keneally gave the jury box quite a show.
• • On Monday, 31 March 1930 in The N.Y. Times • •
• • The N.Y. Times ran this headline to keep readers up to date on the "Pleasure Man" trial at the end of March 1930: CLASH MARKS MOVE TO FREE MAE WEST; Nathan Burkan Demands Details in Play Indictment — — Wallace Calls Motion Ridiculous. TWELFTH JUROR CHOSEN Then Panel Is Excused as Counsel Argue Over Terming Actress "Star of Case." Sales Manager Picked as Juror. Wants All Indecency Specified.
• • In March 1934 • •
• • Mae West was featured on the cover of the March 1934 issue of Radio Stars Magazine.
• • In March 1978 • •
• • Hollywood Studio Magazine featured a colorful Mae West cover on their issue for March 1978.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "A man has one hundred dollars and you leave him with two dollars. That's subtraction."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article about a shoe designer mentioned Mae West.
• • Luke Leitch writes: Those tourists and the odd Bath-based Sex and the City fan aside, Manolo Blahnik says he remains blissfully undisturbed in Bath, free to haunt Topping's for books and HMV for films ("They get me everything. Yesterday, it cost £10 for five movies; I got a whole box of Mae West and Orson Welles.") ...
• • Source: Article: "Bath time with Manolo Blahnik" written by Luke Leitch for The Telegraph [U.K.]; posted on 28 March 2012
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started seven years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2255th 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 • • as Fay Lawrence in 1943 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest
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Mae West.
MAE WEST's Irish paternal grandfather worked on ships in Canada and the USA. Before the West family moved to an area on the Brooklyn waterfront, her father John ["Battling Jack"] West spent his teenage years with his parents and siblings on Avenue C.
• • A bunch of young New Yorkers (who probably never heard of John West) were singing about his daughter Mae West in mid-December — — on 15 December 1938 — — right along Avenue C, a stretch facing the East River once quite familiar to the amateur young boxer.
• • During the Great Depression, case worker Fred Romanofsky conducted interviews among impoverished shoeshine boys. He spoke to the children between the hours of 5 — 7 PM, at the street corners of East Ninth and Avenue C, and East Eleventh and Avenue C, New York City.
• • Here is a song improvised by the locals to amuse themselves, while they cleaned the footwear of businessmen, salesmen, porters, and dockworkers, lyrics popular in 1938:
• • • Song of the NYC Shoeshine Boys • • • • • • Hei ho! Hei ho!
• • • To Hollywood we go,
• • • To see Mae West and all the rest.
• • • Hei ho! Hei ho!
• • • Me and my friend Toni
• • • We come from Italy.
• • • We drink the booze
• • • And shine the shoes
• • • Me and my friend Toni. ...
• • Source: "Text from Dead End Kids (Life on the East Side): interviews by case worker Fred Romanofsky" — — from WPA Life Stories (Library of Congress); on 15 December 1938.
• • In December, Let's Remember Edward Earle [1882 — 1972] • • 
• • Born on 16 July 1882 in Toronto, Canada, Edward Earle was active in vaudeville and on the stage where he was cast in musical comedies. His theatrical work paved the road to Hollywood and the slim six-footer was seen in close to 400 motion pictures from 1914 — 1956.
• • "The Heat's On" [released in the USA on 2 December 1943] was a 79-minute musical comedy starring Mae West as Fay Lawrence. Edward Earle was cast as one of Fay Lawrence's writers.
• • Edward Earle died in Woodland Hills, California during the month of December — — on 15 December 1972. He was 90 years old.
• • On 15 December 1933 • •
• • The release date for "She Done Him Wrong" in France was on 15 December 1933. In that country, the film's title was "Lady Lou."
• • Gift Giving in December 2011 • • 
• • The company Face á Face created eyeglasses based on Mae West's lips. Inspired by Salvador Dali's Mae West lips sofa, these Senso sunglasses come in red or black.
• • These spectacles are a-MAE-zing.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said, in response to Frank Wallace's statement that they were wed in 1911: "They'll have me married to triplets next! ... Since there were no signatures on that mysterious marriage certificate, Frank Wallace better dig up his divorce and find a signature on that."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article printed in People Magazine on December 15th mentioned Mae West.• • Brad Darrach writes: By 1930 he was playing leads on Broadway, and in 1932 Paramount signed him to a five-year contract at $450 a week and changed his name to Cary Grant. In a year Cary Grant did bit parts in seven movies. Then one day Mae West got an eyeful of his sultry good looks. "If he can talk," she's supposed to have said, "I'll take him." Cary Grant disliked the woman, but "She Done Him Wrong" made him faintly famous as the hunk she hooked with a notorious (and frequently misquoted) line: "Why dontcha come up sometime and see me?" Topper [1937] made him a star. ...
• • Source: Flashback Column: "Cary Grant Remembered" by Brad Darrach for People Magazine; written 15 December 1986; reposted on 27 April 2011
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started seven years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2146th 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 • • "The Heat's On" 1943 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest
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Mae West.
MAE WEST played Fay Lawrence in "The Heat's On," a motion picture released in the USA in early December — — on 2 December 1943. It's interesting that two gentlemen in the cast are linked to the date December 2nd as well. 
• • The character Tony Ferris was played by William Gaxton. The vaudeville song and dance man was born as Arturo Antonio Gaxiola in San Francisco in early December — — on 2 December 1890. During 1922 — 1945 he could be found headlining on The Gay White Way. During the 1930s, he was in a Broadway musical with actor Victor Moore [1876 — 1962], who was cast as Hubert Bainbridge in "The Heat's On." The theatre was his metier and he was only seen in eleven motion pictures between 1926 — 1945. William Gaxton died of cancer in New York City on 2 February 1963. He was 72 years old.
• • Colin Kenny was seen briefly as a night club patron in "The Heat's On." Born in Dublin, Ireland on 4 December 1888, the veteran character actor was featured in more than 200 projects. Active in Hollywood until 1966 and also a guest star on TV until the mid-1960s, Colin Kenny died in Los Angeles in early December — — on 2 December 1968. He was 79 years old.
• • In December, Let's Remember Sylvia Syms [1917 — 1992] • •
• • Born like Mae West in good old Brooklyn, New York, Sylvia Syms [2 December 1917 — 10 May 1992] was a jazz singer whose birthname was Sylvia Blagman.
• • When she was a child, Sylvia contracted polio — — a disease that also afflicted Mae's sister Beverly and which causes some sufferers to put on weight.
• • As a teen, Sylvia found her way to jazz joints on New York's "Prohibition Row" [West 52nd Street]. In 1941, the 24-year-old debuted at a club called Billy's Stable.
• • During 1948, Mae West went to performances at the Cinderella Club in Greenwich Village to see Rae Bourbon and listen to keyboard king Willie "The Lion" Smith. Fortunately for Sylvia Sims, Mae caught her act onstage there, too. Mae West gave her the part of Flo the Shoplifter in a Broadway revival of "Diamond Lil."
• • Thanks to this big break and the exposure Mae West afforded her, Sylvia Syms appeared on the stage as Bloody Mary in South Pacific and as Dolly Levi in Hello, Dolly! — — and also acted in straight roles. Sinatra was among the biggest fans of Miss Syms.
• • On 2 December 1943 in Hollywood • •
• • • • "The Heat’s On" [released on 2 December 1943] • • • •
• • Critic Guy Savage summed it up: "The Heat’s On" (AKA "Tropicana") is a sly knock at censorship and how it affects the entertainment industry. Broadway legend Fay Lawrence (Mae West) is in "Indiscretions" — — a show destined to flop — — until producer Tony Ferris (William Gaxton) gets the bright idea to rustle up free publicity on an indecency issue. ...
• • The director responsible for this rum-soaked cinematic mirth-quake was Gregory Ratoff.
• • The appealing costume designs for Mae West were done by Walter Plunkett.
• • On 2 December 1989 • •
• • "Mae West, Wilt, and the King" was written by Ira Berkow, who had interviewed Charles Miron. This article appeared in The N.Y. Times on 2 December 1989.
• • On 2 December 2001 in The N.Y. Times Book Review • •
• • Reviewing a biography of Potemkin on 2 December 2001, NYT critic Harlow Robinson begins with this sentence: When Mae West starred on Broadway in her critically panned but crowd-pleasing entertainment ''Catherine Was Great,'' she apologized nightly for omitting many events in the rich and ribald life of the brilliant 18th-century Russian sovereign: ''Catherine was a great empress. She also had 300 lovers. I did the best I could in a couple of hours.''
• • Harlow Robinson continues: In fact, according to Simon Sebag Montefiore, the reliable count of Catherine's lovers was more like a baker's dozen. But about which lover occupied the No. 1 spot there is no doubt, as Sebag Montefiore makes abundantly clear in ''Prince of Princes,'' a discursive, meticulously researched and mostly absorbing new biography of Prince Grigory Alexandrovich Potemkin [1739 — 1791]. ...
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "Those who are easily shocked should be shocked more often."
• • Mae West said: "Saving love doesn't bring any interest."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • Does the sham marriage (onscreen) between Flora Belle Lee and card sharp Cuthbert remind you of anyone? Mae West is mentioned in this spoof by parody writer William Russo, who has confused her film "Every Day's a Holiday" with "My Little Chickadee," co-starring W.C. Fields as Cuthbert J. Twillie.
• • Satirist William Russo writes: Kris Humphries now realizes how he was duped by Kim Kardashian. He has now admitted that he also considered buying the Brooklyn Bridge.
• • Old film star Mae West once played a woman of dubious morals who sold the famed New York bridge to gullible young men who were attracted to her.
• • Mae's counterpart, W.C. Fields, even starred in a movie called "Never Give a Sucker an Even Break." Kim Kardashian clearly was not about to let this 'live one' jump off the bridge before forcing nuptials upon him.
• • If the Queen of Calculated Videotape Sex was going to subject herself to a fraudulent marriage, she chose wisely. Kris Humphries was big, handsome, and dumb.
• • In the old movie "My Little Chickadee," Mae West "married" W.C. Fields out of convenience [sic]. She had no intention of sleeping with him — — ever. Each night she would turn out the lights and put an old goat in the bed with Fields who was so near-sighted that he felt she was cold, wearing a fur coat to bed. When the old goat cried out, "mmmaaaa," Fields was touched that the nervous girl was calling for her mother.
• • We suspect that Kris Humphries may have fallen into the same trap game.
• • Of course, the other side of the coin was that Kris Humphries was locked out of his NBA job. He feared that there would be no paychecks for the season, and his wife was one of the greatest moneymakers in cable television history. He knew a sucker when he bedded one. ...
• • Source: Satire: "Kris Humphries: Dumb, Dumber, and Snookered" written by William Russo for The Spoof; posted 1 December 2011
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started seven years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2133rd 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 • • 1943 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest
NYC
Mae West.
"The Heat's On" might not be a fan's favorite MAE WEST movie. Certainly, this is purely cinema of the Cuisinart — — take a ragged plot, dice up the most popular ingredients available (music! comedy! costumes!), toss it all in a blender, and say a prayer to Saint Genesius. Then count on the safety of numbers: acclaimed actresses and brilliant band leaders and velvety vocalists — — a hopeful cast mustering together to lend bulk and momentum to a script they suspect is threadbare. But, alas, purebred raisins cannot redeem a rotten pie.
• • Though Mae West felt she got tricked by Gregory Ratoff, she probably enjoyed working with Lester Allen, who was seen in the role of Mouse Beller.
• • Born in Utica, New York on 17 November 1891, Lester Allen was a variety artist who worked in vaudeville, burlesque, and the circus. After numerous stage bookings, Lester Allen was featured in Paramount shorts 1932 — 1933. His cinema resume lists only 19 titles.
• • Unfortunately, Lester Allen was killed by a 25-year-old driver while crossing Ventura Boulevard in the San Fernando Valley. He died in the month of November — — on 6 November 1949. Lester Allen was 57.
• • • • "The Heat’s On" [2 December 1943] • • • •
• • Critic Guy Savage summed it up: "The Heat’s On" (AKA "Tropicana") is a sly knock at censorship and how it affects the entertainment industry. Broadway legend Fay Lawrence (Mae West) is in "Indiscretions" — — a show destined to flop — — until producer Tony Ferris (William Gaxton) gets the bright idea to rustle up free publicity on an indecency issue. ...
• • The director responsible for this rum-soaked cinematic mirth-quake was Gregory Ratoff.
• • The appealing costume designs for Mae West were done by Walter Plunkett.
• • The main cast was:
• • Mae West — — Fay Lawrence
• • Victor Moore — — Hubert Bainbridge
• • Lloyd Bridges — — Andy Walker
• • William Gaxton — — Tony Ferris
• • Mary Roche — — Janey Bainbridge
• • Hazel Scott — — Herself
• • Lester Allen — — Mouse Beller
• • Xavier Cugat — — Xavier Cugat
• • In November, Let's Remember Harvey Thew [1883 — 1946] • •
• • Harvey Francis Thew massaged a famous screenplay with Mae West, who chose this collaborator herself.
• • Born in Missouri on 4 July 1883, writer Harvey F. Thew collaborated with Mae West, and screenwriter John Bright, and Lowell Sherman in 1932 on the film version of the bombshell's best-known three act stage play "Diamond Lil." For Paramount Pictures, Mae turned her 3-hour Bowery melodrama into a trim 66-minute comedy with the aid of Harvey Thew.
• • The studio released "She Done Him Wrong" on 9 February 1933. A Valentine for movie-goers!
• • At the age of 63, hard-working Harvey F. Thew died in Los Angeles on 6 November 1946.
• • On 6 November 1997 • • 
• • In their weekly issue for 6 November 1997, the hip San Jose publication Metro critiqued a new compendium by Simon & Schuster called "Tijuana Bibles" (edited by Bob Adelman) — — and the book review title and sub-title were "The Ultimate Mae West Movie: Even racier than her movies was the Tijuana Bible 'The Hip Flipper,' starring the comic-book version of Mae West."
• • "The Hip Flipper" cover depicted Mae West [as shown here on the left].
• • On 6 November 1933 in Time Magazine • •
• • In October 1933, Time Magazine reported this: "The Central Association of Obstetricians & Gynecologists, meeting in Milwaukee last week, congratulated Mae West for popularizing plump female figures . . . ."
• • The edition of Time for 6 November 1933 printed readers' letters reacting to that group of physicians along with the publishing of Mae's measurements in the same article.
• • On 6 November 2010 in Texas • •
• • On Saturday, 6 November 2010 an exhibit opened in Dallas.
• • Publicity materials announced that the title of this show "There is Never Only One Game in Town" is (supposedly) a Mae West quote and this statement is also on one of the drawings in the project starring the Brooklyn bombshell. Did Mae ever say that? Doubtful, I'd say.
• • No stickler for veracity, Lone Star artist Mary Beth Edelson was offering a look at work created from 1981 — 1997. Most of the 46 framed mixed-media wall pieces featured collages inspired by feminine power. The artist's imagination was fed (she said) by Hollywood nostalgia, which could be seen in her renderings of marquee names such as Mae West, Judy Garland, Marlene Dietrich in a military uniform, Helen Reddy, and also TV's Wonder Woman Lynda Carter.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "He who hesitates is a damned fool!"
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article about a hotel in Tennessee mentioned Mae West.
• • The Daily Meal writes: Check in to Union Station, a splendidly restored former train station-turned-hotel with custom-made furniture and more than a century of celebrity stays including Mae West, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and mafia kingpin Al Capone, who was being escorted to a Georgia penitentiary. ...
• • Source: Article: "A Long Weekend: Eating And Drinking In Nashville" written by The Daily Meal; posted on 5 November 2011
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started seven years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2106th 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 • • 1943 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest
NYC
Mae West.
MAE WEST performed musical numbers in the motion picture "The Heat's On" [1943], although the songs in this film are probably the least known. Portraying an actress Fay Lawrence, Mae opens the mish-mash musical singing “I’m Just a Stranger in Town.” When Hubert Bainbridge — — a pathetic would-be lothario [actor Victor Moore] — — comes to pitch some woo with his bad toupee unhinged, Fay says, “Don’t look now, honey, but your hair’s skiddin’!” 
• • Let's give credit where credit is due. Performed by Mae West (uncredited) in the show "Indiscretions" was "I'm Just a Stranger in Town"; music by Jay Gorney with lyrics by Henry Myers and Edward Eliscu [Copyright 1944 by Mills Music Inc.].
• • Well, once is never enough, right? Performed by Mae West (uncredited) and chorus in the show "Tropicana" was "Hello, Mi Amigo"; music by Jay Gorney with lyrics by Henry Myers and Edward Eliscu [Copyright 1944 by Mills Music Inc.].
• • Yes, yes, Mae deserved better. And so did the Romanian-American musician Edward Eliscu [1902 — 1998], born in New York, New York on 2 April 1902. The son of author Edward Eliscu, he attended City College and began to perform in stage plays. This introduction to the theatre led to his career as a lyricist; he went on to create the libretti for shows and then for Hollywood movies starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, etc. His lyric writing credits included several Broadway shows such as "The Garrick Gaieties" [1930] and "The Third Little Show." His chief collaborators included Jay Gorney, Gus Kahn, Billy Rose, and Vincent Youmans. Inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1985, Edward Eliscu died in Newtown, Connecticut in the month of June — — on 18 June 1998.
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • Writing from Indonesia, M. Dee Dubroff explains: Officials from Indonesia’s space agency and well-respected astronomers believe the crop circles were sculpted by human hands and all agree that a UFO, like Mae West used to say about goodness, had nothing to do with it. . ..
• • Source: Article: "Indonesian crop circles: Was a UFO responsible?" written by M. Dee Dubroff for Asian Correspondent; posted on 16 June 2011
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started seven years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 1965th 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 • • 1943 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest
NYC
Mae West.
In the role of Fay Lawrence, MAE WEST starred in "Tropicana" — — renamed "The Heat's On" [1943].
