skip to main |
skip to sidebar
From 1912 — 1916, MAE WEST had an ally in vaudeville: her well-connected booking agent Frank Bohm. 
• • When the Brooklyn-born tough chick was 19 years old, she described herself as "a hard-boiled, wise-cracking kid, doing anything to get a laugh."
• • Born in Hungary in 1883/4, the 29-year-old booking agent at first struck Mae as brash and rude; when first introduced, he didn't even bother to remove his hat. But he was soon exerting his influence, cautioning her against being a sidewalk cut-up and giving away her good stuff for free.
• • And not long after, Mae was influencing Bohm; she confided that the married man (with a pregnant wife) was "in trouble" over her. Soon they were sitting in a Times Square restaurant having dinner when Frank Bohm presented Mae with a diamond ring as he implored her not to encourage a rival agent: Joseph M. Schenck, the Loew circuit booking manager.
• • Mae's career took flight under Frank Bohm. In 1912, he arranged for her to appear on sheet music for "Cuddle Up and Cling to Me" with the "Girard Boys." Shortly after, he encouraged her to go out as a single in variety, promising her $350 — $500 week. And knowing she was special in his eyes, Mae took full advantage of this stepping stone.
• • Mae West claimed that her father went into real estate when she signed with Frank Bohm.
• • When Guido Deiro and Mae were hot and heavy over each other, it was Bohm who was booking them both — — "engaged jointly as headline features" for 40 weeks on the prestigious Loew circuit.
• • Under Bohm's careful grooming, Mae transformed herself into a headliner for Manhattan's American Roof Theatre in January 1915 where she performed Sheldon Brooks's "Balling the Jack" and her trademark number "I've Got a Style All My Own."
• • Unfortunately, the agent who was so "generous, vital, and adoring" to Mae was cut down by tuberculosis of the spine when he was only 33 years old. Frank Bohm died in the month of March — — on 9 March 1916.
• • By March 1916, however, Mae West had fallen off the pathway to stardom. From applauded headliner at a good theatre a few steps away from Broadway in January 1915, by March 1916 Mae was slaving away at Pittsburgh's Victoria Theatre, performing in cheap, third-rate burlesque. Drat.
• • Mae West and Grapes • •
• • The name Mae West, controversial stage and film star of the early 20th century, conjures up visions of grapes. “Beulah, peel me a grape,” she said in the 1933 movie “I’m No Angel.” ... [Source: "Who and what in food lore" written by Page H. Onorato for The Dispatch; posted on Tuesday, 8 March 2011].
• • Quote, Unquote in the United Arab Emirates • •
• • 'Too much of a good thing is wonderful," the legendary Hollywood actress Mae West once said. It is arguable, however, whether the rapier-tongued diva would still have the same opinion had she spent a few hours waiting for a taxi under the scorching mid-summer UAE sun . . . [Source: Here comes the sun: National Editorial; The National in Abu Dhabi, UAE; posted on 9 March 2011].
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
________
Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml
Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • 1912 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest
NYC
Mae West.
MAE WEST and the Italian accordionist Guido Deiro made beautiful music together for several years in variety. 
Her marriage to the Mediterranean keyboard king was one of the few secrets Mae kept from her mother Matilda.
• • Vibrant, jealous, well-built, ambitious, financially successful, talented, and sexy, Deiro even threatened to kill the next man who tried to take Mae away from him. John "Battling Jack" West, alarmed for his daughter's safety, cautioned Guido: "None of those Italian knife tricks now, please!"
• • About his brother Guido and his sultry spouse, Pietro Deiro recalled: "We played together and we both shared great successes, Guido becoming rapidly very popular — — especially among restaurant waiters for his large and ostentatious tips. A few years later in New York, Mae West, Guido, and I went for supper to the old Gillette's restaurant. The meal finished, my brother left a two-dollar tip on the table. As he rose to leave, I picked up one of the dollars and later went fifty-fifty with Mae West. This got to be a habit with us. ... "
• • Pietro Deiro misremembered the name of the eatery, a special place Mae and Deiro returned to often when they were in New York City. It was located back then on West 49th Street. [This year's Mae West walking tour will swing by there and attendees will be shown vintage pictures of the building's exterior and the beautiful interior dining rooms where the lovebirds often enjoyed themselves.]• • When Mae and Guido went their separate ways in vaudeville, the Brooklyn bombshell wound up on a much lower tier of bookings.
• • July 14th • • • • On the 14th of July 1920, Mae West filed for a divorce from Guido Deiro, charging him with abandonment. Having moved back to her parents' house in Queens County, Mae filed her petition at the courthouse in Jamaica, Queens.
• • When their divorce became final in November 1920, Guido quickly wed his third wife.
• • Mae West was so daunted by this marriage (and the way Guido affected her equilibrium), that she does not even mention his name in her autobiography, coyly referring to him only as "Mr. D."• • The 14th of July 1999 is a date Mae West [1893 — 1980] did not live to see. On that day, Mae's longtime lover Paul Novak passed away in California.• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
________
Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml
Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • 1914 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWestNYC
Mae West.
Did the Brooklyn bombshell sigh each year on November 9th? MAE WEST and Italian-born accordionist Guido Deiro made beautiful music together for some years in variety. Her marriage to the Mediterranean keyboard king was one of the few secrets Mae kept from her mother Matilda. And even though her mom had died in 1930, when Mae West penned her autobiography in 1959, she covertly referred to her [deceased] former husband as "Mr. D."
• • When Mae and Guido went their separate ways in vaudeville, the Brooklyn bombshell wound up on a much lower tier of bookings.
• • On 14 July 1920, Mae West quietly filed for a divorce from Guido Deiro — — charging him with abandonment. Having moved back to her parents' house in Queens County, Mae filed her petition at the stately courthouse in Jamaica, Queens.
• • When their divorce became final on 9 November 1920, Guido quickly wed his third wife.
• • Mae West was so daunted by this marriage (and the way sexy, emotionally-charged Guido affected her equilibrium), that she did not walk down the aisle again.
• • Deiro came up to see Mae in Hollywood — — when he was down on his luck and she was a millionaire. He had a bulge in his pocket: a manuscript about their intimate life together. To quiet the storm, Mae exchanged a big check for this packet of pages, and no one saw this memoir again. • • On 26 July 1950 Guido Deiro, age 63, died after a long illness.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
________
Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml
Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • 1914 • •
NYC
Mae West.
From 1912 — 1916, MAE WEST had an ally in vaudeville: her well-connected booking agent Frank Bohm.
• • When the Brooklyn-born tough chick was 19 years old, she described herself as "a hard-boiled, wise-cracking kid, doing anything to get a laugh."
• • Born in Hungary in 1883/4, the 29-year-old booking agent at first struck Mae as brash and rude; when first introduced, he didn't even bother to remove his hat. But he was soon exerting his influence, cautioning her against being a sidewalk cut-up and giving away her good stuff for free.
• • And not long after, Mae was influencing Bohm; she confided that the married man (with a pregnant wife) was "in trouble" over her. Soon they were sitting in a Times Square restaurant having dinner when Frank Bohm presented Mae with a diamond ring as he implored her not to encourage a rival agent: Joseph M. Schenck, the Loew circuit booking manager.
• • Mae's career took flight under Frank Bohm. In 1912, he arranged for her to appear on sheet music for "Cuddle Up and Cling to Me" with the "Girard Boys." Shortly after, he encouraged her to go out as a single in variety, promising her $350 — $500 week. And knowing she was special in his eyes, Mae took full advantage of this stepping stone.
• • Mae West claimed that her father went into real estate when she signed with Frank Bohm.
• • When Guido Deiro and Mae were hot and heavy over each other, it was Bohm who was booking them both — — "engaged jointly as headline features" for 40 weeks on the prestigious Loew circuit.
• • Under Bohm's careful grooming, Mae transformed herself into a headliner for Manhattan's American Roof Theatre in January 1915 where she performed Sheldon Brooks's "Balling the Jack" and her trademark number "I've Got a Style All My Own."
• • Unfortunately, the agent who was so "generous, vital, and adoring" to Mae was cut down by tuberculosis of the spine when he was only 33. Frank Bohm died on 9 March 1916.
• • By March 1916, however, Mae West had fallen mightily off the wagon to the stars. From applauded headliner at a good theatre steps from Broadway in January 1915, by March 1916 Mae was slaving away at Pittsburgh's Victoria Theatre, performing in cheap, third-rate burlesque.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
________
Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml
Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • 1912 • •
NYC
Mae West.
