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In 1952 the Sahara Hotel opened in Las Vegas and two years later MAE WEST launched her new concept — — The Mae West Revue — — on the Strip. In its heyday, the Rat Pack rumbled and the Saharem Dancers did high kicks. When Dean Martin performed at the hotel in scenes from the original "Ocean's Eleven" movie, his piano advertised Sahara on the back.
• • On 27 June 1954, Mae West delighted the audience, and women patrons stormed the stage, when the bodybuilders filed into the Sahara's Congo Room. The Mae West Revue would remain there for almost three weeks.
• • In 1957, the long-running sold-out stage show would close in Las Vegas — — again at the Sahara.
• • Sayonara Time at the Sahara • •
• • Gary A. Warner writes: The Sahara Hotel & Casino, which dates to the days of Frank Sinatra's "Rat Pack" and has featured the likes of Mae West and Marlene Dietrich in its showrooms, will close 16 May 2011.
• • Gary A. Warner adds: Hotel officials said ownership was considering its options on whether to re-brand the hotel or redevelop the aging property. ... [Source: "Sahara hotel in Las Vegas to close in May" written by Gary A. Warner, Register Travel Editor, for The Orange County Register; posted 11 March 2011].
• • Dave Williams Died on March 13th • •
• • For the 1972 audio album "Great Balls of Fire" Mae West performed the rock and roll classic "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On," which has been recorded by many vocalists including Jerry Lee Lewis.
• • Though the origins of the song are in dispute, it is a fact that Roy Hall made a recording of the song in September 1955 for Decca Records, and a Decca sample copy of Hall's recording lists Dave Williams as the sole writer.
• • The African American singer and songwriter Dave "Curlee" Williams [26 April 1920 — 13 March 1982] seems to have collaborated with the white pianist, bandleader, and songwriter James Faye "Roy" Hall [7 May 1922 — 2 March 1984].
• • Roy Hall died in the month of March and so did Dave Williams — — on 13 March 1982 — — a talented musician about whom very little is known. So we came to sing their praises today.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • debut in Vegas June 1954 • •
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Mae West.
Memories of MAE WEST aroused fresh delight among her fans in Glasgow, Scotland — — where a 1927 hotel she stayed in has been lovingly restored.
• • Marianne Halavage writes: Mae West, Gene Kelly, and Cary Grant were among the stars who checked in to Glasgow's Central Hotel — — now it has been reborn. . . . Fast-forward to 2010, and Jack Dyce, 91, and Netta, 89, are sitting in their living room in Giffnock, outside Glasgow, reminiscing about how integral the Central has been to their lives. ...
• • According to Marianne Halavage: In its post-war heyday, the Central drew more than just the elite of Glasgow. Frank Sinatra, Winston Churchill, Laurel and Hardy, the Queen, John F Kennedy, Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, Cary Grant and the Beach Boys, to name just a few, stayed or dined there. Netta remembers being on the desk in the 1940s when Edward G Robinson, the American actor who played gangsters in films such as Little Caesar and Key Largo, was in town. He brought her chocolate. “I was astonished to find that he had a beautiful voice and he loved paintings and was very cultured,” Netta says. “He was the opposite of the Robinson in his films.”
• • Halavage, who interviewed Netta Dyce, adds: She met other Hollywood stars as well, including Vivien Leigh (“very friendly, very nice”), Danny Kaye (“a hoot”), and Mae West. “Mae West really did walk with her hands on her hips, like in her films. I’ve a nice signed photograph from her.” Netta puts her hands on her hips and imitates West’s drawl. “She used to come by and say, ‘Hullow Nedda, howya doin'?’” . . .
• • To continue reading about the stage and screen stars who briefly stayed in Scotland, see the link below.
— — Excerpt: — —
• • Article: "Ghosts, glamour, and Hollywood greats at Glasgow’s Central Hotel"
• • By: Marianne Halavage
• • Published in: The Herald Scotland — — www.heraldscotland.com/
• • Published on: 20 September 2010
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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A comedian who owes his snappy stage name to MAE WEST is appearing onstage in the coastal corner where "Sex" made a splash in 1926 — — Bridgeport, Connecticut.
• • According to staffwriter Joe Meyers of News Times: The performer got his name from Mae West back in the 1950s when he opened for the star at the Sahara — — "Joseph Charles Tafarella" overshadowed her name on the marquee, so she shortened it — — and over the next two decades he would come to know and perform with all of the show business greats from Frank Sinatra to Nat King Cole.
• • Joe Meyers adds: Steve Rossi [birthdate: 25 May 1928] is excited about being in a new show about the life of exotic dancer Sally Rand, who [sic] he met in the 1940s. "Fandance" allows Rossi to show off comic timing he has been honing for more than 50 years, as well as to sing some great tunes.
• • Performer Sally Rand was born in Missouri in April — — on 3 April 1904. "Fandance" will entertain an East Coast audience all during this month through 25 April 2010 at Bridgeport's Downtown Cabaret Theatre at 263 Golden Hill Street. If you are a fan of Sally Rand, then check out this production.• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/________
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MAE WEST entertained thousands of Mae-mavens at The Mapes — — and her fans remembered how she lit up the Sky Room.
• • Happy memories of the Mapes Hotel outlasted lingering anger over its implosion 10 years ago, as 200 people gathered Sunday [31 January 2010] for a celebration of the downtown icon, according to reporter Bill O'Driscoll of the online news outlet RGJ.com.
• • "I was there opening night in 1947," said Harry Spencer, longtime area publicist and writer. "Overnight, the whole atmosphere of Reno changed from honky-tonk cow town to upscale. Reno truly was cosmopolitan."
• • According to sports betting expert Ross Everett, The Mapes Hotel 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.
• • Name the stars of the day, and they likely appeared on the Mapes stages, Harry Spencer recalled, remembering fondly the excitement of the legendary Mae West, who performed for a standing room only audience in the elegant window-walled Sky Room Lounge on the 11th floor. Live stage shows also billed big-name entertainers such as Liberace, Milton Berle, Nelson Eddy, Sammy Davis Jr., Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney, Debbie Reynolds, Wayne Newton, Dean Martin, Louis Prima, Keely Smith, and Milton Berle.
• • Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe stayed there while shooting "The Misfits" film.
• • 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/________
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Mae West.
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/________
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It's been years since MAE WEST toured the midwest so happy Hoosiers are hand-clapping about her revisiting next month.
• • The upcoming season of the Lawrence County Concert Association revolves around the theme "Stars of the Silver Screen," with "appearances" by Mae West, Ginger Rogers, Fred Astaire, Judy Garland, John Wayne, Charlie Chaplin, and possibly Marilyn Monroe or Frank Sinatra.
• • On Saturday, 26 September 2009, ticket-holders will enjoy a performance of "Red Hot Hollywood" with actress Maggie Timan slinking into the spotlight as the Empress of Sex.
• • Just announced is this event — — From the silver screen to the stage, Matt Davenport Productions, Inc. presents a thrilling "red carpet" review of Hollywood's greatest music memories. A versatile cast of eleven sing, dance, and recreate magical movie memories.
• • Get details from the Lawrence County Concert Association of Bedford, Indiana by phoning 812-279-6542. Tell them the Mae West Blog pointed you in their direction.• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West.
The MAE WEST Revue would have turned 55 on 27 June 2009. 
• • In April 1954, Jim Timony had suffered a fatal heart attack, leaving Mae without a steadfast, faithful manager by her side for the first time since 1917. Despite being hospitalized in 1950 for heart failure, and physically declining during the early 1950s, Timony had been laying the groundwork for a new Las Vegas hotel — casino called "Mae West's Diamond Lil Casino." His death put an end to this desert tribute but the idea of appearing in Nevada's most glamourous venues ignited Mae's daydreams.
• • By the early 1950s, Marlene Dietrich, Frank Sinatra, Danny Thomas, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., and other big names had all played Vegas. So why not Diamond Lil? Soon Mae was sashaying through the fanciest casinos. Eventually she signed with the Sahara, who agreed to give her $25,000 a week — — a whopper of a payday. There was only one teeny obstacle: the 60-year-old Brooklyn bombshell had to come up with a concept.
• • After Mae was introduced to the newly crowned Mr. America of 1954 — — supremely gorgeous Richard DuBois — — her fantasies got fired up. Instead of the usual extravantly costumed showgirls, West selected a bevy of bodybuilders to accompany bawdy songs such as "I Want to Do All Day What I Do All Night." George Eiferman, Irvin "Zabo" Koszewski, Dick DuBois, Dominic Juliano, Joe Gold, Armand Tanny, Gordon Mitchell, Mickey Hargitay, and Charles Krauser were among the star bodybuilders in West's chorus for all (or part of) the show's three-year run. The act, which ran a little over half-an-hour, also featured a lusciously decked out Mae being attended by her onstage maid Louise Beavers, and being waltzed around by Steve Rossi.
• • As the young Apollos paraded onstage, Mae would announce: "I've got something for the girls — — boys, boys, boys!" Whereupon the females in the audience would rush up to crowd around the guys, recalled Steve Rossi. "It was sensational, almost a riot. It took 20 minutes for people in the audience to go back to their tables."
• • On 27 June 1954, the Mae West Revue would debut at the Sahara's Congo Room and remain there for almost three weeks.
• • In 1957, the long-running sold-out stage show would close in Las Vegas — — again at the Sahara.• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • 1954 • •
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Mae West.
Word comes that a publicist who worked with MAE WEST has gone to the everlasting "Spin City" in the beyond.
• • Born in Brooklyn like Mae, Lee Solters came into the world on 23 June 1919. A creative person who enjoyed writing, the native New Yorker studied journalism and advertising at New York University. He covered high school basketball for The New York Times before he was drafted. While in the military, he penned pieces for Stars & Stripes. After receiving discharge papers, Solters began his own public relations firm during 1948 with partner James J. O'Rourke: Solters O'Rourke.
• • During the 1940s and 1950s, columnists were regulars at the top nightspots. Solters dropped in at clubs like Toots Shor and learned how to plant items with gossip guru Walter Winchell and finesse favorable mentions with society snitch Hedda Hopper.
• • The New York Times (and others) have made mention of his shrewdness. For example, one trick was devised to aid producer David Merrick to salvage a foundering Broadway show: Lee Solters and Merrick concocted a newspaper advertisement with quotations from men they had found in the phone book with the same names as top theater critics.
• • It has been said that in the late 1970s, Mr. Solters moved to Hollywood, where he helped set the trend for hiring entertainers to sell products and images. Forty years before that, however, Mae West was hired to lend glamour and sex appeal to cigarette brands and even soap in the 1930s.• • Unlike many theatrical press agents of today — — who charge $7,500 + merely to send out a boring press release by fax — — it seems that Lee Solters had the imagination, personal touch, amicable deceitfulness, and discernment that creates buzz.
• • His client roster of entertainment stars included: Mae West, Benny Goodman, Cher, Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, Michael Jackson, the Muppets, Cary Grant, Led Zeppelin, Dolly Parton, and others. He claimed he knew Dolly when she was still flat-chested.
• • He also worked with more than 300 Broadway productions, musicals, and dramas including "Guys and Dolls," "Funny Girl," "The King & I," "My Fair Lady," "Camelot." as well as works by Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller, and Neil Simon. In Nevada, he repped Sinatra, Caesars Palace, and (eventually), the City of Las Vegas.
• • Solters' namesake public relations firm says the New York native died at age 89 at his West Hollywood, California home on Monday morning.• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West.
While Broadway is playing musical chairs, the return of a 68-year-old musical to the Gay White Way on 18 December 2008 has a whiff of MAE WEST.
• • Which names would you cast in the principal roles in Rodgers & Hart's "Pal Joey"?
• • The Hollywood Reporter reminded readers this has never been a creampuff of a show.
• • According to the Hollywood Reporter: For all its legendary status today, the reviews for the original production — — it opened December 25, 1940, at the Barrymore and made a star of Gene Kelly — — were decidedly mixed. It lasted less than a year (374 performances), with the 1952-53 revival (540 performances) being much more warmly received. Later revivals were done with the title role played by Bob Fosse (1963) and Christopher Chapman (1976).
• • Meanwhile, Columbia bought the film rights early on, but for various reasons — — including hassles from the Production Code Office because of the "Joey" story line and lyrics of several of its songs — — it took 17 years before cameras turned.
• • Along the way, however, several interesting casting ideas for it were announced: Gene Kelly and Rita Hayworth, the latter playing the young love interest, in the 1940s; Marlon Brando and Mae West as the older woman in the early 1950s; as well as Jack Lemmon and Marlene Dietrich — — Dietrich eventually turning it down because, at the time, she'd never heard of Lemmon.
• • It was finally done in 1957 with Frank Sinatra as Joey and the older woman played by Hayworth, who at 39 was three years younger than her boy toy. . . .
— — Excerpt: — —
• • Published in: Reuters/ Hollywood Reporter
• • Published on: 5 December 2008
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West.
MAE WEST featured saloons and gambling joints in her motion pictures. Now word has come to light about an elite underground casino the actress had visited in Arlington, Texas during the 1930s.
• • According to journalist Michael E. Young: Before this was Arlington Baptist and before it was Bible Baptist Seminary, these 46 acres on West Division Street were known by another name: the lilting Top O' Hill Terrace. And in the 1930s and '40s, it was the fanciest gambling joint around — — a forerunner to Las Vegas looming over the Texas plains.
• • Top O' Hill was the vision of Fred Browning, who had run some gambling operations in Fort Worth, Texas but was weary of the efforts of the Rev. J. Frank Norris of the First Baptist Church to put him out of business.
• • He bought the property in 1926 from a pair of sisters who'd operated a tea room and garden there and promptly dug a 6,000-square-foot basement beneath the restaurant for a casino and showroom large enough to house the big bands of the day.
• • Vickie Bryant, wife of Arlington Baptist president David Bryant and a tenacious investigator of the school's history, said Mr. Browning and Dr. Norris were inextricably linked.
• • Even as Mr. Browning built his casino's reputation, attracting many of America's best-known players to his tables, Dr. Norris fought to shut him down, vowing that one day, "We will own that place."
• • Mrs. Bryant recounts their stories before leading the tours through the old Top O' Hill's attractions. And she still marvels "how God has taken this place from poker to preachers."
• • When Mr. Browning bought the property, he told his wife, Mary, that he'd build a fortress there, "so those pesky Baptists and the law couldn't break in," Dallas historian and writer Jim Gatewood said.
• • And that's exactly what Mr. Browning did.
• • Twenty guards, some working with attack dogs, protected the property. It took a password, repeated several times at various points, to gain access to the stairway leading down to the casino. And Mr. Browning ordered his staff to ensure the anonymity of his guests.
• • But over the years, names trickled out — — Mae West, Clark Gable, Hedy Lamarr, Tom Mix, and Howard Hughes. John Wayne visited. So did Frank Sinatra.
• • Gangster Bugsy Siegel gambled there, and so did Bonnie and Clyde. A young Ginger Rogers tap-danced there. The Tommy Dorsey Orchestra entertained, and so did fan dancer Sally Rand.
• • Top O' Hill drew Texas' new oil millionaires, too, including H.L. Hunt, Mrs. Bryant said.
• • The subterranean casino deterred too much snooping. But gambling was illegal in Texas, and Dr. Norris, Mr. Browning's nemesis, rarely rested.
• • So he designed the place with hidden rooms to hide the gaming tables and slot machines and built an escape tunnel so gamblers could scramble to the nearby "tea garden." There, food and drinks were always set out so arriving Texas Rangers would find the guests relaxed and happy in the hilltop garden.
• • Still, word spread and the raids began in 1935, with at least four more through 1947, when Texas Ranger Capt. M.T. "Lone Wolf" Gonzaullas led several officers through an open doorway, arresting dozens of gamblers and staff and destroying the gambling paraphernalia. . . .
— — Excerpt: — —
• • Article: Arlington Baptist College offers tours of grounds' casino past
• • Byline: Michael E. Young
• • Published in: The Dallas Morning News
• • Published on: 8 November 2008
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West.
MAE WEST and Paramount Pictures — — for awhile, it was a happy marriage, and the actress's latest release would always be booked at the Paramount Theatres in her hometown: Brooklyn and Manhattan. 
• • Built in 1926 — — right in the heart of Times Square — — was the 40-story Paramount Building [at 1501 Broadway], originally a home to the late, great Paramount Theater and also the eastern headquarters of the production company that was to become Paramount Pictures.
• • Like the movie giant it wanted to be, the structure commands attention, spanning an entire city block on Broadway between West 43rd and West 44th Streets. The architects were Cornelius W. Rapp and George Leslie Rapp.
• • On 19 November 1926, the eight-story Paramount Theatre had its star-dusted opening with an elaborate live show staged by John Murray Anderson, and the motion picture God Gave Me Twenty Cents starring Lya de Putti.
• • All of Mae West's motion pictures for Paramount opened with exclusive engagements promoted with great fanfare. The Brooklyn bombshell once caused a frenzy by arriving at 1501 Broadway with an escort of handsome New York City policemen on motorcycles.
• • The house could seat 3664 ticket-holders.
• • The lobby of the [now demolished] Paramount Theatre was modeled after the Paris Opera House with white marble columns, balustrades, and an opening arms grand staircase. Inside the auditorium, the drapes were red velvet and the rugs were a similar red. The theater had a grand organ as well as an orchestra pit that rose up to the stage level. The ceilings were fresco and gilt. The railings were brass, the seats plush. There were Greek statues and busts in wall niches. The rest rooms and waiting rooms were as impressive as the facilities at Radio City or the Roxy. The main lobby was decorated with an enormous crystal chandelier.
• • Over the years, many of the top stars performed there, including Sinatra and dozens of the era's luminaries.
• • A who's who of entertainers performed or headlined here from Amos and Andy, Fred Astaire, Jack Benny, Ray Bolger, Bing Crosby, Maurice Chevalier, Gary Cooper, Eddie Cantor, Ruth Etting, Betty Hutton, Bob Hope, George Jessel, Dorothy Lamour, Gertrude Lawrence, Bea Lillie, Ethel Merman, Mary Pickford, Ginger Rogers and Buddy Rogers, Gloria Swanson, Red Skelton, Dinah Shore, Rudy Vallee, etc.
• • Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis had many sold-out shows here.
• • Frank Sinatra was one of many who began an illustrious career at The Paramount.
• • Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, Guy Lombardo, and Paul Whiteman all led their bands there.
• • After years of showing movies and shows, after 1964 the theater was gutted to make way for office and retail space.
• • Today, the Paramount Building is occupied in part by the Times Square location of the Hard Rock Cafe.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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• • Photo: • • Mae West • • 1933 • •
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Mae West.
Octogenarian Tony Curtis is not dead yet — — and on Tuesday 18 November 2008 he will be dishing about MAE WEST and others.
• • In San Francisco, the Castro impresario Marc Huestis will be teaming up with the Mill Valley Film Festival to present a special tribute to the once handsome film legend at the venerable Castro Theatre — — featuring Tony Curtis live in person, being interviewed by Jan Wahl.
• • Here's the event forecast — — Tony Curtis [born as Bernard Schwartz in the Bronx, New York on 3 June 1925] will be coaxed into sharing intimate details about working with such icons as Mae West, Marilyn Monroe, Burt Lancaster, Gregory Peck, Cary Grant, Elizabeth Taylor, and Frank Sinatra. The event will offer the attendees film clips, surprise guests, a screening of "Some Like It Hot," and a presentation of the MVFF Award for Lifetime Achievement. Afterward, Tony Curtis will be in the Castro lobby signing copies of his new book: American Prince — A Memoir.
• • Event info: (415) 863-0611.• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West.
During the 1930s, MAE WEST's motion pictures had exclusive engagements at both the New York Paramount and the Brooklyn Paramount [385 Flatbush Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11201] near DeKalb Avenue. 
• • The Brooklyn Eagle reminds us of this: During its heyday, up to 4,000 patrons at a time sat to watch movies accompanied by “colossal” stage shows at the Brooklyn Paramount Theatre.
• • The last show on August 22,1962 attracted around 300 patrons to see a John Wayne feature.
• • Gracing its ornate stage during its reign as the mecca of Brooklyn entertainment were such celebrities as Mae West, Frank Sinatra, Liberace, Rudy Vallee, Ginger Rogers, Bing Crosby, Eddie Cantor, George Jessel, and most of the big band era orchestras.
• • Basketball fans now sit to watch Long Island University games in the former movie palace auditorium.
— — Excerpt: — —
• • Article: On This Day in History: August 22 — — Paramount’s Last Picture Show
• • By Brooklyn Eagle — — www.brooklyneagle.com/
• • Published online: 22 August 2008
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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• • Photo: • • Mae West • • Brooklyn Paramount • • circa 1932 • •NYC
Mae West.
Born like MAE WEST in Brooklyn, New York, Sylvia Syms [2 December 2, 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 causes some sufferers to put on weight.
• • As a curious 15-year-old, 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.
• • Among others who observed her in night spots was Frank Sinatra who considered her the "world's greatest saloon singer." Sinatra conducted her album "Syms by Sinatra" [1982].
• • Signed to Decca Records, she had a million-selling record in 1956 with an up-tempo version of "I Could Have Danced All Night" from the soundtrack of My Fair Lady. It was her one mega hit.
• • In a nightclub career that spanned 51 years, the New York rooms in which she performed included Bon Soir [on West 8th Street], Ruban Bleu, The Living Room, Village Vanguard [on Seventh Avenue], Cafe Carlyle, Freddy's, Michael's Pub, The Cookery [on East 8th Street], Marty's, and Eighty-Eight's [on West 10th Street].• • She died on stage at age 74 in New York City from a heart attack.
• • Her New York Times obituary said: "With her deep, grainy contralto, I've-been-through-it-all air of sophistication, and sinuous phrasing that echoed her idol, Billie Holiday, Miss Syms was a quintessential saloon singer, a term she said she preferred to cabaret singer. In the saloon tradition of Mr. Sinatra, she treated everything she sang as an intimate personal communication."
• • Times staffer Stephen Holden wrote: "When you perform it's a one-to-one love affair with the people out there," she once said. "That's how it has to be."• • On Sunday 17 August 2008, during the "Mae West's Walk on the Wild Side" walking tour, the group will visit the Cinderella Club and "I Could Have Danced All Night" will be sung live by a vivacious actress, a native New Yorker who has performed in many musicals.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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• • Photo: • • Mae West's protege • • Sylvia Syms • •
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Mae West.
In 1952 the Sahara Hotel opened in Las Vegas and two years later MAE WEST launched her new concept — — The Mae West Revue — — on the Strip. In its heyday, the Rat Pack rumbled and the Saharem Dancers did high kicks. When Dean Martin performed at the hotel in scenes from the original "Ocean's Eleven" movie, his piano advertised Sahara on the back.
