Mae West: Eugene Borden

This French native worked once with MAE WEST. Eugene Borden played French Captain Dupont in "Goin' to Town" [1935].
• • Born in Paris in the month of March — — on 21 March 1897 — — his cinema career began in 1917 when he was 20 years old. Often cast as a French diplomat, gendarme, waiter, porter, purser, chauffeur, prosecutor, the busy bit parts player was rarely ranked in the credits but managed the trick of being recognizable. Fans of "An American in Paris" [1951] will recall him as Gene Kelly's landlord.
• • Like most character actors, Eugene Borden soldiered on and was part of 210 projects for the silver screen and TV from 1917 — 1966.
• • Borden died in Woodland Hills, California on 21 July 1971. He was 74.
• • Barney Bernard [17 August 1877 — 21 March 1924] • •
• • Born in Rochester, New York on 17 August 1877, Barney Bernard had been on Broadway since 1907. He was cast (as Mr. Wiseheimer) in the "Ziegfeld Follies of 1908" as well as in other high profile shows such as "Vera Violetta" [1911] when he worked with Mae West briefly.
• • The beloved star of stage and screen was 46 years old when he caught pneumonia. Barney Bernard died in Manhattan in the month of March — — on 21 March 1924 and he was buried in Washington Cemetery on Bay Parkway in Brooklyn, NY.
• • Timothy Dalton's Birthday • •
• • Mae West's co-star and screen husband in "Sextette," Timothy Dalton was born in March — — on 21 March 1946. He is 66 today and we wish him a Happy Birthday!
• • On 21 March 1936 in the Hollywood Reporter • •
• • The trade publication Hollywood Reporter followed the back-biting between Will Hays and the film starring Mae West "Klondike Annie." They printed an article about this in their issue dated for 21 March 1936.
• • On 21 March 2005 • •
• • Talented Tom Tierney, who does the enjoyable series for Dover on celebrity paper dolls, released his beautiful work "Mae West Paper Doll" in paperback on 21 March 2005.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "I've been on more laps than a napkin"
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article about USC Libraries mentioned a former honoree — — Mae West.
• • Beverly Hills Courier wrote: The Friends of the USC Libraries hosted their 2lst annual Scripter Awards Gala at the ornate Los Angeles Times’ Reference Room in the historic Doheny Memorial Library, built in 1932 by the oil-wealthy Doheny family. Entering its third decade, the black-tie event draws 300 supporters, and stands out in the City of the Angels’ social calendar. Co-founded in 1988 by Glenn Sonnenberg, president of the Friends of the USC Libraries and former USC trustee, and Marjorie Lord Volk, the evening acknowledges screenwriters and authors, who, as Marjorie noted, “often get very little attention.” ...
• • Beverly Hills Courier continued: Mae West, chosen as Woman of the Year during the first Scripter event, arrived reclining on a platform. Robert Buchanan, a board member of the Friends of the USC Libraries, remembers Mae waving all the while to the crowd, as she was carried into the room by the USC football team. She drawled another of her classic bon mots, “I’ve been on more tables than a dinner napkin.” . . .
• • Source: Article: "USC Library Reviews" published in Beverly Hills Courier; printed on Tuesday, 20 March 2012
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started seven years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2245th 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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• • Photo: • • Mae West • • 1935 • •
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Mae West: Harry Pilcer

In 1911 MAE WEST first met dancer Harry Pilcer when both were involved with Ned Wayburn's productions at the short-lived showcase in Times Square, the Folies-Bergere. Mae, then 18 years old, was cast in "A La Broadway," which alternated with "Hello, Paris," which featured 26-year-old Harry Pilcer.
• • Born in New York, NY in the month of April — — on 29 April 1885 — — Harry Pilcer made his stage debut at the age of fourteen. In 1912 he began a high-profile partnership with the French diva Gaby Deslys [1881 — 1920]. They met during rehearsals for "Vera Violetta," shortly after he was tapped for the role of Andrew Mason. Mae West was in the cast as well, but gamely attempted to upstage Gaby and was soon shown the door.
• • Harry impressed his lady love by inventing the "Gaby Glide" for her, which they danced in "Vera Violetta" [1911 — 1912]. When the show closed, they continued to work and canoodle together. Rumor has it that, when the French performer died at age 38, Harry was wilting at her side.
• • After 1920, Harry quickly recovered his balance. He would partner for the next ten years with that iconic beauty with the million dollar legs, Mistinguette; tour the circuit of European music halls, Parisian cafes, and Berlin cabarets; appear on Broadway until 1922; make seven motion pictures (from 1915 — 1946) and choregraph musicals for Hollywood directors as well.
• • He spent his later years in the south of France. After World War II, he found work as an M.C. in high-end French gambling dens at LaBaule and Cannes. He had just concluded a show at the Ambassador Casino on the French Riviera on 14 January 1961 when he had a fatal heart attack at age 75.
• • Image: song sheet from "Vera Violetta" [1911] with Gaby and Harry.
• • Ms. Mamerow as Mae in Greater Green Bay • •
• • Barb Mamerow, dressed as Mae West, greeted people on Wednesday, 27 April 2011 during the Attraction Showcase hosted by the Greater Green Bay Convention & Visitors Bureau in Shopko Hall in Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin.
• • PHOTO CREDIT: Evan Siegle/ Press-Gazette
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • Jeffrey Kirkpatrick leads off his review with Mae on his right side: To borrow the old and overused Mae West line, when Tom Welling is good, he's good; but when he's bad, he's better. ...
• • Source: Article: "Smallville Review: Leaving It All Behind" written by Jeffrey Kirkpatrick for TV Fanatic; posted on 15 April 2011
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started seven years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 1915th 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: Post # 1893

The MAE WEST BLOG is celebrating a special anniversary today — — blog post # 1893. To mark this occasion, a number of Mae-mavens offered their Westian wisdom inspired by the Brooklyn bombshell who was born in the year 1893.
• • • What is Mae West's legacy, in your opinion, and is she still relevant?
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • Damon Devine, stylist and make-up artist extraordinaire, Hollywood, California
• • Mae West was a pioneer is so many ways. She was the first female public figure to show that a woman can be in total control of her own destiny. She knew herself better than anyone else and seemed to have known instinctively what was right for her. She believed herself to be the most beautiful, the sexiest, and always a winner. And she made us believe it (and love it!).
• • Unfortunately, she is the most underrated icon of all time. The more shallow society became, the shorter their attention span, the obsession with tragedy and scandal — — the more Mae West's legend appears to have taken a backseat to Marilyn Monroe and James Dean. However, I have faith that Mae West will have a total renaissance again one day and will empower everyone to know and love themselves and focus on success as well as the pleasures life can offer.
• • Damon Devine is involved in the Annual Mae West Birthday Bash in Los Angeles, which takes place in August every year and has a colorful Mae West theme.
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • Ian Macnicol, collector of Mae memorabilia, Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom
• • The author of this blog asked me to write a short guest piece setting out my views on Mae West’s “legacy” in celebration of the 1,893rd blog. Quite an achievement, huh? The fact that there is a daily Mae West blog that has devoted such a huge amount of energy during the pat seven years to celebrate the great Mae West is a testament, I think, to Mae’s legacy.
• • Similar energy and love went into the “Mae West Color Website” a few years back by Martin Kappinga and myself. In addition, many other websites, books, TV documentaries, and plays have been written to commemorate and examine her life and career. So Mae West, some 30 years after her death and more than 80 years since her heyday, quite clearly continues to fascinate, excite and inspire current day generations. Her legacy is tangible.
• • The most obvious legacy is, of course, her films. She made only a dozen films but once seen Mae West can never be forgotten — — her personality grabs you, you are hooked by her and want to know more. What is heartening is that she is being rediscovered by successive generations and we must hope and expect that this will continue into the future. The thoroughly delightful Romain Tutak is a prime example of a young man besotted by Mae, a woman who had been dead for nearly a decade when he was born. I also have a friend whose interest was ignited as a child when he saw footage on TV marking her passing. And what is particularly remarkable about Mae West fans is that, once bitten, we remain bit! She appears to engender great loyalty in her fans. I have been very impressed by this and have met many of them. There is also some rivalry between them but mostly that is good-natured and I, personally, have had nothing but kindness and friendship over the years from my fellow fans.
• • So if her films are the shop window that first attracts us, what else do we find has had lasting significance once we pass through the shop doors? Her pushing of the envelope in the 1920s no doubt created a thirst for even more progressive theatre and we are probably still feeling the effects of that today. For example, by shining a light on women’s and black and gay people’s place in society, she moved issues of gender, race and gay equality forward in the general societal consciousness. She was in very near the beginning of these various struggles — — always a difficult place to be — — but she did it all with a light touch and with humour; she almost always got her own way and without a doubt, made a difference to the social and sexual mores of the day. In short, her influence was one of the early building blocks for the more inclusive society we in the western world enjoy today.
• • It was as an older woman that she fought her last battle with societal censorship and she did that simply by defying the then accepted roles for older women and older actresses in particular; no playing mothers or grandmothers for Mae West! She was a sexual woman in real life and she wanted to be celebrated and enjoyed for this in her public persona. So, even in old age, she projected the image of a glamorous and desirable woman. She was ridiculed in some quarters at the time but, with the benefit of hindsight, it is clear that she was remarkably ahead of her time. Today it is fashionable for older people to strive to live full lives and they are actively encouraged and applauded for not letting their age restrict their lifestyles. Mae was a trail-blazer for this.
• • Finally, Mae West pulled off something almost unique (Chaplin being the only other example that springs to mind) when she created the Mae West “character” — — an over-blown blonde with trademark walk, voice, and mannerisms. Over the years, the actress and the woman became one and the same, with Mae reinforcing the character at every opportunity. Eventually, it entered into the social consciousness as an entity, supported by dozens of fabulously funny one-liners. Both the character and her sayings are still immediately recognizable today and are trotted out regularly on radio and TV — — and indeed by all of us, especially at Halloween. In short, she remains one of the most impersonated and quoted women in the world — — which is quite a legacy in itself!
• • So what lessons from her life are still relevant today? Mae West was a tough cookie, relatively uneducated, who was born at the end of the 19th century. However, she had a very clear vision of what she wanted for herself and how she wanted to live her life regardless of the blueprint society had mapped out for her. Most of us conform to this and we make but a ripple on the shore in our lifetimes. Mae West decided not to conform and in so doing she created a tidal wave. The effect was enormous in the 20s and 30s and I have argued that we are still feeling its after-effect today. For all of us, I believe that the main lesson to be learned from the life of Mae West is — — decide on your goal, don’t listen to your detractors, and then go for it big-time!
• • Visit the Mae West Color Site — — www.maewest.nl/
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • Romain Tutak, French fashion designer, Paris, France
• • Oh my... Mae West!!! Her life, her character, her career, her diamonds — — everything about Mae West was bigger than life. She was not destined to become The Ultimate Hollywood Sex Goddess, and the Very First Bombshell. She was not the most beautiful girl, nor the best actress, yet she succeeded in becoming a legend.
• • Born in 1893, at a time when a woman was not supposed to have any opinion of her own, Mae grew up to become a very driven little girl who knew what she wanted, and what she wanted was to become a star. And She Became Way More than that, she became an Institution (even if she wasn't ready for an institution).
• • From a very young age she had played the Vamp kind of woman, and when she didn't find a play to satisfy her, she wrote one, and what a play it was. “Sex” — — and she found the money to bring it to Broadway. Then a Huge Hit, a Huge Scandal, a Trip in Prison, and a Star was Born!!! The rest is History!!! Mae West "climbed the ladder of success wrong by wrong.”
• • What is still relevant in Mae West's Career & Life is that If you work hard enough, if you devote your life to this goal, then you can achieve whatever you want. But there is more than that. Mae West was the Most powerful woman in the entertainment business for almost a decade. And, as far as I can remember, she is the ONLY Woman who played this sexual, campy, strong woman who ruled over the male (both onstage and in reality). She is the Only Sex Symbol to do so. All the other actresses were either sweethearts, dumb blonds, or campy — — but in an innocent way.
• • If you take all the Sex Goddesses of Hollywood, and put them in a “whorehouse,” Mae West would have been the One who would have ruled it, make it become the Best, the most Outrageous, the Most Beautiful, the Most Refined, the Most entertaining and Renowned Whorehouse in the world, and she would have made a Fortune on it. And what I like the most in that Idea (which could make a GREAT play, if you want my opinion) is that I think Mae would have loved that.
• • To conclude and to sum up what I want to say: Mae West is, in my opinion, everything a woman should be! Very wise, campy, a bit daring, self-confident, and (of course) UNIQUE!!!
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • More guest commentators to follow tomorrow!
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • Darryl Bauer writes: My experience with the event started last year, when I was asked to portray Gus Sun, who worked here in Springfield, Ohio and was the booking agent for big names like Mae West, Lillian Gish, The Marx Brothers, Bob Hope, Eddie Cantor, W.C. Fields, and Burns and Allen. He built the Regent Theatre in downtown Springfield, and when he had his office there, it was one of the busiest Western Union telegram sites in the country. ...
• • Source: Article: "‘Night at the Museum’ unlocks local history" written by Darryl Bauer, WHIO Radio; posted on 6 April 2011
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started seven years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 1893rd 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: Paris Movie Museum

MAE WEST images are admired in France amid the memorabilia in a unique movie museum.
• • According to Vivian Thomas: In movie-mad Paris, the Cinémathèque Française and its founder, Henri Langlois, have been cultural icons since the 1930s. . . .
• • Vivian Thomas explains: Founded in 1936 and the first institution of its kind, the Cinémathèque is dedicated to rediscovering, restoring and conserving old movies and making them available to the public. Realizing that films, considered disposable commodities, were fast disappearing, Henri Langlois became the first film preservationist, starting with silent movies and begging, borrowing and literally stealing films to create his collection. . . .
• • Serpent-topped headdress worn by Mae West • •
• • Vivian Thomas adds: Early engravings of cityscapes twinkle with tiny pinholes of light and hands-on exhibits abound: turn a wheel and a seagull flies, spin a dial and a ballerina twirls, rotate a handle and dancer Loïe Fuller flutters her shimmering multicolored scarves like silken butterfly wings. Film posters from all over the world adorn the walls and costume displays sparkle with a serpent-topped sequin headdress worn by Mae West and Louise Brooks's spangled silver flapper dress. . . .
• • Cinemaphiles and armchair travelers will find many interesting details here — — so check out this fine article.
• • In Paris, Cinémathèque Française is presently located at 51 rue de Bercy.
— — Excerpt: — —
• • Article: "The Cinémathèque Française"
• • Byline: Vivian Thomas
• • Published by: France Today
• • Published on: 1 January 2011
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West: August at The Corner

It was 1912 when MAE WEST got her first major vaudeville break: a spot on the bill at Hammerstein's Victoria in mid-May. At last the scintillating singing comedienne could demonstrate that she was in a league with top-tiered headliners such as Eva Tanguay, Sophie Tucker, Fanny Brice, and Nora Bayes.
• • Later that year, close to her 19th birthday, Mae had been invited back to "The Corner" for a weeklong booking that began on 6 August 1912. She shared the stagebill with several acts — — including Fields and Carroll.
• • Half of the team was Arthur Fields [1888 — 1953] who was born as Abe Finkelstein in Philadelphia in the month of August — — on 6 August 1888 — — and who toured for years with Harry Carroll. Fields was just 11 years old when he turned pro, accepting singing engagements in Utica, New York and then branching out to Coney Island. Around 1908 the ambitious baritone toured with Guy Brother's Minstrel Show, and helped assemble a vaudeville novelty "Weston, Fields, and Carroll." Four years later, the partnership had been paired down to Fields and Carroll. Arthur Fields had his first hit as a songwriter with "On the Mississippi" (1912); he had composed this ragtime music with Harry Carroll, but Ballard MacDonald supplied the lyrics.
• • Mae West heard Fields and Carroll perform their jaunty rag "On the Mississippi" — — 98 years ago today on the corner of Seventh Avenue and 42nd Street. Then "Mae West and Her Boys" sang a few rags and played the bones, minstrel style. Variety slammed their routine, suggesting she return to burlesque since she lacked the refinement necessary for top-drawer vaudeville. Instead Mae once again became a solo act, purchased new material, and kept on trouping.
• • "It's better to be looked over than overlooked," Mae would often say, refusing to hear the nay-saying, and steeling herself to press ever onward. Bravo.
• • Proust said that truth is only a point of view about things. Romain, who is a fairly new toastmaster at the Mae West banquet table, shares his personal tastes with our readers.
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • In commemoration of the thirtieth anniversary of Mae's burial, French follower Romain Tutak shares his journey into the heartland of Mae West country.
• • Part 2 • •
• • Romain writes: Since the Internet helped me acquire Mae West books and keepsakes, I was often trolling online for more Westiana.
• • The Mae West Color Site • •
• • Since I enjoyed the Color Site so much, I left a guestbook comment back in April 2007. Not long after, a response arrived from the webmaster Martin. He explained that he had developed the web site in collaboration with Ian, another fan, and he'd be happy to answer any questions.
• • Well, the conversation has not yet ended. I am often asking Martin's advice about items to buy. Martin told me about his experiences — — his meeting at Ian’s place filled with mountains of Mae-morablia. He clued me into other motion picture classics such as "Sunset Boulevard" and acquainted me with actresses like Bankhead, or Gloria Swanson. And, playfully, Martin called me a freak because I am so young but have old-fashioned tastes.
• • In 2007, I decided to leave Paris for Toulouse (Southern France) to study Fashion Design in a more affordable school.
• • SURPRISINGLY, this was where I stumbled across many fascinaing Mae West collectibles. No longer did I need to buy online when there were the most curious little shops — — unfortunately, some have since closed — — where I found her LPs and posters. One proprietor, a very kind man in his forties, sold me records at a discount. He'd say, "Because you seem to really like her, and that’s my only chance to sell it…!"
• • It seems to me that my modest collection is not impressive at all. I do not own anything that was hers, for instance. It's quite funny that, even when I was in Toulouse, burdened with tuition and living expenses, I always managed to have some euros to spend on Miss West, for a book, or another LP or a DVD.
• • • • The Lack of a Mae West Fan Club • • • •
• • I think it’s too bad there is no one who cares to maintain an official Mae West Fan Club or even an on-going forum on the Internet dedicated to her. A newcomer such as myself always needs a guide to check things out about Mae West. Despite the Internet, it is still difficult to get RELIABLE information. Internet information isn’t really trustworthy nor are some of the books.
• • Recently, I bought a new Mae West biography, only to discover it was filled with stupid errors; the writer made many careless mistakes, saying she died in 1978 and was buried in California, for example, and he furnished mostly the wrong dates for her films, songs, and shows. With disappointing biographies like this floating around, it becomes even more valuable to be able to check details with longtime fans, people who can answer my questions or verify details — — such as which perfume did Mae wear. Without an official fan club, where reliable information might come from, Mae's fan base is the only source. And I really want to thank these Mae experts. They know who they are and I feel blessed to "know" them.
• • Lack of Legacy Management • •
• • But it is a shame that there is no formal fan club for other reasons, too. These days my main concern is what her legal claimants are doing to keep her legacy, her memory, and her work alive. It does seem like she’s still very vivid as a character in people’s mind in the USA. With the right legacy management, Mae West could be like Marilyn Monroe or James Dean or Audrey Hepburn … though, of course, this was not half of what Miss West was!!! A fan club could help attract new FANS!!! I just don’t understand why they don’t try harder to make that happen.
• • There are plenty of things to do, to spread the word about Mae West, which would bring them loads of money. Let me ask these questions! Where are the unpublished plays?! Where is the Complete Collection of Miss West Movies? LPs? Writtings? Where is the tour operator who could design the ultimate Miss West Hollywood/ New York trip? The Mae West Official Youtube Channel, Facebook page, website (which is not a joke), forum, myspace…?!
• • Despite my being a tyro who still does not know much about her, Miss West has become part of my life. And she will stay a part of it for a long time, and I hope more people of my generation will be attracted to her… so that we’ll keep her work, her image, and her message of tolerance, acceptance, and humor still alive!! Though she is dead, this is not over. Her fascination and her impact will continue. I know this.
Written by: Romain Tutak, Paris, France
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• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West: A French Twist

On the Internet, searches for MAE WEST spike during her birth month. In her screenplay for "I'm No Angel," she lent lion lady Tira her own birthday.
• • • • Rajah: You were born in August.
• • • • Tira: Yeah, one of the hot months.
• • • • Rajah: It was on the 17th under the sign of Leo, the Lion.
• • • • Tira: Aw, King of the Beasts, huh.
• • So many images of the screen queen and all of them upbeat, vivacious, quick-witted, determined to triumph. In the cinematic miracle of wish fulfillment, fans put a hand in hers, knowing it will close on what they meant to find. After spending sixty-six minutes immersed in one of her motion picture classics, the world can become brighter, clear as a just washed picture window.
• • True Mae-mavens baptize themselves in this epistle of joy and laughter, reaching a lion-hearted clarity, and primed to charge anew like a rocket trailing sparks.
• • Proust said that truth is only a point of view about things. Romain, who is a new convert to the Mae West mania, shares his epiphanies with our readers.
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • In commemoration of the thirtieth anniversary of Mae's burial, French follower Romain Tutak explains the influences that spurred his new obsession with Mae West.
• • Romain writes: I was born in France in 1986, six years after Mae West had died, and I am 24 years old now. My grandparents were not even alive when "She Done Him Wrong" was first shown in movie houses. In France, her impact on the cinema was not as important as in English speaking countries. It seems to me that very few French people know who she is.
• • Miss West wasn’t supposed to cross my path. But as I matured, I became even more interested in powerful women with a strong personality. Perhaps that is the link that connected me to her.
• • In 2006, when I was 20 years old, I discovered her. At the time I was a student studying English Literature and British Civilization. I was really into pin ups and the 1950s. Vintage was à la mode, it really was my thing such as watching old American movies with Marlene, Rita, Audrey etc. And since I was researching images of "the pin up girl" — — Bettie Page, Vargas, and Elvgren‘s drawings — — I discovered some graphics with powerful girl power message. I am part of The Spice Girls generation.
• • I hoped to learn more about these female identities in order to read their biographies. Then I found something that listed the pin-up girls by decade. Mae West was listed as one pin-up of the 1930s along with Marlene Dietrich. Her name rang a bell because I recalled her saying "I used to be Snow White, but I drifted."
• • That was enough for me to start digging deeper and I chanced upon a page with many of her one-liners. It blew my mind!!!
• • • • So Who the Hell Was This Funny Lady?! • • • •
• • I had to find out. Wikipedia gave me some quick details and then I fell in love. I HAD TO know more about her!!! I then discovered the Mae West Blog, which I had mentioned on a blog I was writing back in September 2006, and also the Mae West Color Site. Here I was hooked on Mae West, 26 years after her death, 74 years after her first appearance on the big screen, 80 years after "Sex," and 113 years after her birth.
• • So began my fabulous trip around the Mae West universe. I had previously been introduced to the Roaring Twenties by reading Francis Scott Fitzgerald's novel "The Great Gatsby" for my English class in high school. This started me off adoring that 1920s and 1930s look of glamour — — the fashionable silhouettes, the cabaret music, the big names: Louise Brooks, Mistinguett, Joséphine Baker etc. But Miss Mae West really nudged what was just a little crush into a Big Love Story!!!
• • The Internet helped me grow my modest collection of Westiana. First I got "Night After Night," and then "I’m No Angel," and then (I think) "Sextette," and others. Additionally, I’ve bought "The Fabulous Mae West and Other Wonderful Girls," Jon Tuska’s book (which I read from cover to cover without stopping). And I was still hunting for anything about Mae West online. [to be continued]
Written by: Romain Tutak, Paris, France
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• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West: Dreamlands Exhibit

Espace Dali in Paris — — France’s only museum dedicated to Dali — — has lent the iconic MAE WEST Divano [Sofa], created by the Catalan genius during the 1940s, to be part of the "Dreamlands" exhibition organized by the Pompidou Centre, in Paris, which runs from May to August 2010.
• • This French news bulletin also stated: Based on the famous American actress's sensual lips, Dali pays homage to Mae West with this inspired and original artwork. The "Dreamlands" exhibition will be held this summer in the Grand Galerie of the Pompidou Centre.
• • Though it's unclear who named the Parisian exhibit "Dreamlands" or why an American term was selected, this word would have resonated with the Brooklyn bombshell.
• • In May 1904, Dreamland opened in Coney Island. To the right of the Surf Avenue entrance stood a building that Mae West entered, holding the hand of her father "Battling Jack" West. Almost 11 years old, but looking younger because of her petite frame, little Mae was nearly as transformed by the experience as Alice was when plunging into Wonderland.
• • Though Mae's favorite place in Coney Island came to an unfortunate end in May 1911, we wish nothing but the best for the "Dreamlands" extravaganza in The City of Light this summer.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
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Mae West.

Mae West: Colette, Caron, Cukor

MAE WEST, Colette noted in a 1938 publication, had the confidence to create an unapologetic majority-of-one presence on the silver screen — — as self-sufficient and durable as a diamond solitaire. "She alone, out of an enormous and dull catalogue of heroines, does not get married at the end of the film, does not die, does not take the road to exile, does not gaze sadly at her declining youth in a silver-framed mirror …. She alone has no parents, no children, no husband," wrote Colette. "This impudent woman is, in her style, as solitary as Chaplin used to be."
• • Can you imagine the buxom Brooklynite translated into the character of one of the 1890s Parisian prostitutes who people "Gigi," an arch novella written in 1944 by Colette [28 January 1873 — 3 August 1954]? Ooooh-la-la!
• • Defanged by the American musical comedy team of Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe, who laundered and starched all the sex and naughtiness out of the original, "Gigi" became a romantic tale of mismatched parts and was chastely adapted for the screen in 1958, starring a very ladylike French native Leslie Caron [born 1 July 1931] as the ingenue tutored by the scarlet women in her family. The motion picture version premiered at the Royale Theatre — — the Broadway house where "Diamond Lil" debuted in 1928 — — in Manhattan on 15 May 1958.
• • Still active and sought after, the 78-year-old Academy-Award-nominee will soon portray Madame Armfeldt in a Paris revival of Stephen Sondheim’s "A Little Night Music," a musical about shady ladies that leaves the sex and sass intact. Moreover, Leslie Caron's memoir "Thank Heaven" will be published by Viking around Christmas.
• • Mae West and Leslie Caron • •
• • In The Examiner, Alan Petrucelli has put together a most intriguing profile that includes this morsel about Leslie Caron and Mae West.
• • Pittsburgh Stage and Screen Examiner Alan Petrucelli writes: And this story, which we’ll call The Women, Part Deux, is a hoot! One day director George Cukor “begged” Caron to make up a lunch quartet with — — are you ready? — — Mae West, Greta Garbo, and Barbra Streisand. Caron coos: “An absolutely historical luncheon, I know, but I would have felt very uncomfortable in front of these great dames. You know what happened? Streisand says, ‘Gee, Miss West, I do so admire your work,’ and West replies, ‘Sure honey, I can tell by the way you been stealin’ it…’” [from "Leslie Caron? Oui! Make no reservations about it, just thank heaven for this little/ big girl" printed on 7 September 2009; by Pittsburgh Stage and Screen Examiner Alan Petrucelli; published in: The Examiner — — www.examiner.com].
• • Hmmmm. Though that nostalgic nugget goes together like misfitted pipes amid nougat, and the imagined comeback by Mae West to Brooklyn's Barbra twangs like a nail mis-struck, it is nice to see the Empress of Sex fondly recalled by an awestruck foreign thespian who did not have lunch with her after all (and who did not do her own singing on screen either). We do hope her memoir is a real page-turner quite unlike the clutch of mud most of these celeb tell-alls have been.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
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Mae West.

Mae West: Vanishing Sob

In the summer of 1919 MAE WEST was on Broadway performing in "Sometime" — — ninety years ago — — when she was 26 and more used to appearing in vaudeville than the legit. The "musical comedy of commerce," designed to showcase the talents of laughmeister Ed Wynn, had opened at the Shubert Theatre on Saturday 4 October 1918 (and went on to enjoy a nice healthy run until June 1919 on West 44th Street).
• • It was Mae's character Mayme Dean who appeared onstage first. But the play's heroine, the actress who got to sing the titled tune "Sometime," was 20-year-old Francine Larrimore, who was born in the month of August — — on 22 August 1898. The New York Times drama critic enjoyed her rendition, adding that her theatrical presentation had "a touch of distinction."
• • Born in France into one of the great acting families of the Yiddish Theater, the Adlers, Francine Larrimore emigrated to America in 1905.
• • By 1910, this beauty made her debut in "Where There’s a Will" at Webber’s Theater in New York. Frequently cast in temperamental "pouty girl" roles, Francine Larrimore worked quite regularly on the Great White Way in a number of musicals and farces. She had training and could put across a song as well as act, dance, and flounce around with elan.
• • A Haunting, Vanishing Sob • •
• • Here's how The New York Times reviewer described her voice: "She has, in fact, a wistful, childlike quality, and a haunting vanishing sob in her voice that go straight to one's sympathies. It is she [who was cast in the role of Enid Vaughn] who sings the theme song 'Sometime,' and she is almost equally appealing in the second act with 'Baby Doll'."
• • Her Broadway fame lasted from 1917 — 1929, though she was seen onstage in a great many plays for almost 25 years. In 1926, when "Roxie Hart" bowed at the Music Box Theatre in New York City, Francine Larrimore originated the title role of the Cook County murderess who hires lawyer Billy Flynn.
• • After a handful of silent films and much acclaim in mainstage productions, Miss Larrimore was cast in the none too successful motion picture "John Meade’s Woman" [1937]. The actress left her fans bereft when she passed away on 7 March 1975 with (or without) a haunting, vanishing sob.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West's co-star • • Francine Larrimore • •
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Mae West.