Mae West: Wad of Bills

MAE WEST was a soft touch for a hard luck story. Mae rarely discussed her generosity in an interview, however, which makes this seldom seen piece in Screenland worth reading. This is Part 13 of 18 segments.
• • Mae West’s Secret Self • •
• • Mae West: Keeps a wad of dollar bills in her sock • •
• • Aileen St. John Brenon wrote: She writes her own scripts for pictures, invents bits of business, gags, wisecracks, is the author of books, but she's never too busy to lend a helping hand, to listen to a tale of woe, or to give the other fellow a lift up.  
• • Aileen St. John Brenon wrote: She's especially thoughtful of old comrades.
• • Aileen St. John Brenon wrote: To her dressing-room at the studio or the theatre comes a steady procession of those in trouble.  
• • Aileen St. John Brenon wrote: She keeps a wad of bills in her sock, and before the day is half over, the money is gone — found its way into the empty pocket of some needy comrade of a day gone by.
• • Mae West: She has known hardships, too • • …
• • This will be continued on the next post.
• • Source: Screenland; issue dated for October 1933.   
• • On Monday, 3 August 1942 • •

• • The issue of Newsweek dated for Monday, 3 August 1942 included this very oddly-worded and misleading headline: "Mae West divorces after 21 years of marriage."
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Mae West had a pet monkey sent out from New York.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "I've always liked athletes because they don't smoke, don't drink, and understand the importance of keeping their bodies in top working order — — and a hard man is good to find."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article about a theatre mentioned Mae West.
• • "Mae West Sold Out Here" • •
• • Kelly Lincoln wrote: Before the NJPAC was the Paramount Theater. Opened in 1895 as a the Newark Vaudeville house, it was converted in 1917 by Newark's own architect, Thomas W. Lamb into a movie palace, with a neo-classical interior that became known as "Adam-esque." In 1932, it was renamed the Paramount. It operated as a movie house until 1 April 1986, when a 500% increase in insurance forced the 2003 seat Newark theater and the Adams theater to close. Among the stars that trod the boards here was Mae West, according to Variety.  ...
• • Source: The Examiner; published on Wednesday, 28 July 2010
• • The evolution of 2 Mae West plays that keep her memory alive • •
• • A discussion with Mae West playwright LindaAnn LoSchiavo — —
• • http://lideamagazine.com/renaissance-woman-new-york-city-interview-lindaann-loschiavo/
• • The Mae West Blog celebrates its 18th anniversary • • 
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past eighteen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 5,000 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started eighteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 5,051st 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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• • Be sure to bookmark or follow The Mae West Blog
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • Mae West and Frank Wallace onstage in 1928 • •
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Mae West: Joy Unrefined

MAE WEST was a soft touch for a hard luck story. Mae rarely discussed her generosity in an interview, however, which makes this seldom seen piece in Screenland worth reading. This is Part 11 of 18 segments.
• • Mae West’s Secret Self • •
• • Mae West: Joy Was Unrefined • •

• • Aileen St. John Brenon wrote: They certainly did. There was no stopping that gathering once it got under way, and the guests ate too much and drank too much and joy was unrefined.
• • Aileen St. John Brenon wrote: Did Hollywood stare! The guests — there were two hundred of them — came to the party by the busload. The hostess didn't even know their names!  
• • Aileen St. John Brenon wrote: Yes, Mae West, who has captured London, Paris, Park Avenue, Main Street, and the Bronx by her free and easy ways, who exhibits sex without moonlight, flowers, or sweet whispers, who scorns Betsy Ross because all she could make was a flag, is big-hearted when she gives a party, and her invitation was carte blanche.
• • Mae West: Had a busy life • • …
• • This will be continued on the next post.
• • Source: Screenland; issue dated for October 1933.   
• • On Sunday, 1 August 1937 • •
• • "Mae West's Romance Told by Husband" • •
• • Frank Wallace, the man Mae West wed in April 1911 but ditched soon after, seemed to have the best memory in the world. Or so he convinced the Los Angeles reporter who sat down with him for this lengthy interview published in Singapore on Sunday, 1 August 1937.
• • Reading the page 1 article, "Mae West's Romance Told by Husband," you would think Mae has the same determined let's-march-down-the-aisle outlook on relationships that rings true for the Harlequin romance audience. Ummm, well, that's Frank's silly story anyway.
• • The Straits Times wrote: "Mae West and I were playing in New York when the intoxicating truth dawned on me that Mae loved me," recalled Frank Wallace.  ... "Mae," he added, "seemed restless and suddenly she blurted out, 'Honey, my lungs need ventilation. Let's walk to the park.' 'Okay, sweetie, I replied. 'Let's go.' Hand in hand we walked through the streets of Milwaukee ... Then like a bolt out of the sky, she spoke in that throaty voice of hers.  'Where's it all taking us, Frank?' ... 'How much longer can we go on this way?' ...."
• • Source: The Straits Times (Singapore); published on Sunday, 1 August 1937.
• • On Sunday, 1 August 1971 • •
• • Mae West was featured in Parade Magazine (issue dated for Sunday, 1 August 1971).    
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Film critics are predicting that you will see another new and sensational star — none other than Mae West, the "Diamond Lil" of Broadway.  
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "Good sex is like good bridge. If you don't have a good partner, you'd better have a good hand."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • A newspaper mentioned Mae West.
• • "Mae West Takes to Flying" • •
• • A member of the British Coastal Command, who painted a curvaceous image of Mae West in costume on his parachute equipment, nicknamed "the Mae West," was featured.  Yes, he admitted he was a big fan of the screen siren. …
• • Source: Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 180; published on Friday, 1 August 1941
• • The evolution of 2 Mae West plays that keep her memory alive • •
• • A discussion with Mae West playwright LindaAnn LoSchiavo — —
• • http://lideamagazine.com/renaissance-woman-new-york-city-interview-lindaann-loschiavo/
• • The Mae West Blog celebrates its 18th anniversary • • 
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past eighteen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 5,000 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started eighteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 5,049th 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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• • Be sure to bookmark or follow The Mae West Blog
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • Mae West with orphans in 1933 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: Free Beer

Malcolm H. Oettinger profiled MAE WEST for Screenland. Since this interview has rarely been seen, let us enjoy it together. This is part 6 of 13.
• • “Going West” • •   
• • Mae West: "Diamond Lil" offered free beer between the acts • •
• • Malcolm H. Oettinger wrote: No one took heed of her [sic] until the night "Diamond Lil" was born, with free beer between the acts.  

• • Note: Prohibition was in force in 1927. Imagine being able to drink beer in public in 1927 — during a Broadway play.
• • Malcolm H. Oettinger wrote: "Diamond Lil" was an old-fashioned melodrama with the new freedom from inhibitions and it clicked from the start. 
• • Note: Vaudevillian Frank Wallace, who wed Mae West in April 1911, was given a minor role as a waiter in Gus Jordan's Bowery saloon. In the paperback novel version, Mae called it "Suicide Hall," although the saloon so named was by Houston Street — not off the Bowery. See Frank Wallace behind Mae West in the photo.
• • Malcolm H. Oettinger wrote: Standing room only was the rule at all performances. At every performance Mae West panicked 'em.
• • Malcolm H. Oettinger wrote: Then there was "Sex," a less than scientific approach to the subject, and later Mae West began touring the provinces as Diamond Lil.  
• • Mae West: Her movie was phenomenally successful, "She Done Him Wrong" • • …
• • This will be continued on the next post.
• • Source: Screenland; published in the issue dated for June 1933.
• • On Sunday, 2 May 1982 • •
• • In the United States the bio-pic "Mae West" was shown on TV on Sunday, 2 May 1982. Actress Ann Jillian was cast in the title role.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Mae West told a hidden chapter of her life story to buttress her repeated assertions that she was never married [sic].
• • A Hollywood reporter quoted Mae, who affirmed this: "I had obligations to my mother," Mae said. "I couldn't let anything interfere with them while she was alive, and I never discussed them. Well, she's gone now."
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: “The curve is the loveliest distance between two points.”
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article in The Orlando Sentinel mentioned Mae West.
• • "In Days Before Dolly, There Was Mae West" • •
• • "I met her, Mae West, not Catherine the Great, very briefly" • •
• • Allen Rose of The Sentinel Staff wrote: Mae West’s response was right in character. Poking an index finger into Dick Gordon's shoulder, she said: "You bet I was, buster." And went on her way. Alone, for once. ...
• • Source: The Orlando Sentinel; published on Wednesday, 20 April 1988
• • The evolution of 2 Mae West plays that keep her memory alive • •
• • A discussion with Mae West playwright LindaAnn LoSchiavo — —
• • http://lideamagazine.com/renaissance-woman-new-york-city-interview-lindaann-loschiavo/
• • The Mae West Blog celebrates its 17th anniversary • • 
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past seventeen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 4,900 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started seventeen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,984th 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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• • Be sure to bookmark or follow The Mae West Blog
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • in 1928 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: Sump'in Silly

In 1942, when MAE WEST was feeling her Hollywood halo slipping, she decided to reinvent herself. The place to tell the entertainment world her intentions was the famous "Harrison in Hollywood" column, started by Paul Harrison, and now penned by Erskine Johnson [14 December 1910 — 14 June  1984]. This popular feature was syndicated by N.E.A. (Newspaper Enterprise Association). This is Part 1 of 5.
• • Erskine Johnson wrote: Mae West, the gal who parlayed a sex drama, a free-wheeling walk, and an invitation to "come up and see me some time" into a million bucks, wants to forget the whole thing. Everything, that is, except the million-dollar bank account, and maybe just a little bit of Sex.
• • Erskine Johnson wrote: But no more hip swinging, no more invitations to “come up,” and no more Diamond Lil characters.
• • Erskine Johnson wrote: Mae West told me, "I've led the way ever since I started in show business. The others always followed me. They have run this Diamond Lil sump'in silly. I'll never go hack to it. I'm going to do the leading again. And I'm the gal who can do it."
• • Mae West: Two nude statues • • . . .    
• • To be continued until the fifth segment.
• • Source: Harrison in Hollywood column written by Erskine Johnson, Syndicated Columnist;  published on Thursday, 5 November 1942.
• • On Friday, 30 April 1926 • •
• • Mae's hometown paper, New York Daily Mirror, printed a diatribe about her Broadway play "Sex" on Friday, 30 April 1926 under the headline "SEX: an Offensive Play. Monstrosity Plucked From Garbage Can, Destined to Sewer."
• • Clearly all riled up, the New York based critic explained: "This production is not for the police. It comes rather in the province of our Health Department. It is a sore spot in the midst of our fair city that needs disinfecting."  . . .
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • What'll the club-women do about this lady who wrote and acted in the decade's naughtiest plays? When her jewels were stolen the other week Mae West said it could never have happened in N'Yawk. Mae knows all the boys there!
• • Strangely enough, Mae seems old-fashioned in today's Hollywood. It's glamour, not sex, that's the rage at the moment.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "As to the hippies, we've always had 'em. We used to call them hoboes.”
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • The United Press mentioned Mae West.
• • "Frank Wallace Tells of Mae West Marriage" • •

• • New York, April 24 [United Press] — Frank Wallace, a bald, middle-aged “hoofer,” admitted today that he was the original husband of Mae West. He married her in Milwaukee back in 1911.
• • “Mae wasn’t a blonde in those days,” he said. “The Mae I married in Milwaukee was a classy brunette, and as for those curves, she was more on the lean style.” ...
• • Note: In 1911, variety artists Mae and Frank were touring together on the Columbia burlesque circuit in a show, "A Florida Enchantment." The New York Clipper wrote: "Mae West and Fred Wallace [sic] sang several coon songs, with Miss West making several changes down to full tights, with good effect. ..."
• • Source: Page 1 Item by United Press (syndicated); published on Wednesday, 24 April 1935
• • The evolution of 2 Mae West plays that keep her memory alive • •
• • A discussion with Mae West playwright LindaAnn LoSchiavo — —
• • http://lideamagazine.com/renaissance-woman-new-york-city-interview-lindaann-loschiavo/
• • The Mae West Blog celebrates its 16th anniversary • • 
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past fifteen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 4,700 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fifteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,724th 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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• • Be sure to bookmark or follow The Mae West Blog
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • Frank Wallace in 1935 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: Minute Men

Reporters who met MAE WEST during the 1920s and early 1930s — — before stardom cloaked her utterly — — have a refreshingly different take than those who met her as a bonafide movie queen.
• • New York Herald Tribune reporter Stanley Walker came up to see Mae West often in New York.
• • A section in Stanley Walker’s 1935 memoir discussed Mae West. This is Part 12 of 19 segments.
• • “Sex Comes to America” • •
• • Mae West steadfastly denied it • •
• • Stanley Walker wrote: Miss West, although confronted with the evidence, steadfastly denied that she had ever been married to Frank Wallace.

• • Stanley Walker wrote: When pressed about her private life, she takes one of Jimmy Walker's phrases and says, “I’ll match my private life with any woman's."
• • Stanley Walker wrote: She is known for flip remarks. It is said that once, when refusing an Invitation to attend a luncheon given by the Los Angeles Minute Men, she said: “I like a man who takes his time.”
• • Stanley Walker wrote: Once she became irritated by the gossip about her and wrote a letter to the New York Times. And this is what Mae West said — —
• • "Because my book 'The Constant Sinner' [1931] is but another in a string of hits [sic] I have turned out — — my batting average being 1,000 In this respect — — and because my plays have dealt with sex and the dregs of humanity, some persons see fit to assume that I write vividly about such subjects because I know them by experience. . . .”
• • Mae West’s letter to The N.Y. Times (continued) • • . . .
• • This long chapter by Stanley Walker will be continued on the next post.
• • Source: Chapter “Sex Comes to America” from "Mrs. Astor's Horse" written by Stanley Walker [NY: Frederick A. Stokes, 28 October 1935, 320 pages].
• • On Monday, 27 March 1989 • •
• • Published on Monday, 27 March 1989 was Carol Ward's fascinating book "Mae West: A Bio-bibliography" [Greenwood Press, 241 pages]. Ward's chapters include a biography, an examination of the art of Mae West, and a bibliographical checklist of key Mae West sources. One of her helpful sections summarizes and partially reprints several early interviews, spanning many years and quoting liberally — — including the full texts of interviews by Ruth Biery and George Christy.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • The Mae West picture, "Go West Young Man," was completed right on schedule. Emanuel Cohen, president of Major Pictures, celebrated with a party at the studio upon the completion of the picture, which was directed by Henry Hathaway.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: “I had often thought of things, but I was usually too lazy to write them down.”
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article on film actresses and vamps mentioned Mae West.
• • Times Union staff writes: NOT EVIL: Mae West in "She Done Him Wrong" (1933). Only in a period of mental health with regard to sex could a character like Mae West arrive — — a vision of female strength and good humor, who, in her films, bragged of having many lovers. In 1915, she would have been presented as an evil vamp — — in 1933, she was a comic heroine. ...
• • Source: Pictorial: "The Evil Beauties of Cinema" in Albany Times Union; posted on 21 March 2012
• • The evolution of 2 Mae West plays that keep her memory alive • •
• • A discussion with Mae West playwright LindaAnn LoSchiavo — —
• • http://lideamagazine.com/renaissance-woman-new-york-city-interview-lindaann-loschiavo/
• • The Mae West Blog celebrates its 15th anniversary • • 
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past fifteen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 4,400 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fifteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,440th 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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• • Be sure to bookmark or follow The Mae West Blog
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • with Frank Wallace in 1911 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: Peace, Quietude

On Friday, 9 July 1937, MAE WEST was in the news. This would be her least favorite topic. The “F” word was Frank as in “former husband Frank Wallace.”  This is Part 4 of 4 parts, the finale.
• • Mae West’s Spouse Invites Himself to Her Fireside; “Or Else” Half Her Fortune • •
• • Loves Her as Wife • •
• • “I still love you as my wife,” the letter said, and suggested that they spend “the last years of our lives together in peace, happiness and quietude.”
• • Miss West, meanwhile, is reportedly planning to sue for annulment of the marriage which she admitted took place in Milwaukee on April 11, 1911. The admission followed two years of spirited denials from Mae, who insisted she never heard of Wallace — whom she referred to only as “that man”— until he popped up claiming to be her husband.
• • The admission also entailed acknowledgement that she was 44 years old.
• • Source: U.P. coverage rpt in Healdsburg Tribune (California); published on Friday, 9 July 1937.
• • On Wednesday, 22 July 1942 • •
• • The dateline was Los Angeles, the headline was "Come Up and Sue Me Sometime." This was a news item suitable for the lachrymose intolerant.
• • lachrymose intolerant • •
• • The Argus wrote: Mae West, the film star, has asked for a divorce from her one-time vaudeville partner, Frank Wallace, charging him with cruelty.
• • July 2004: Mae West Blog launches • •

• • What are we up to, writing about the Brooklyn-born bombshell for fifteen years now?
• • We’re here to keep Mae mavens up to date, correct errors, celebrate each revival of a play she wrote, post the latest Westian stage and book reviews. And answer our fan mail!
• • The light’s still on. Come up and see Mae every day.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Paul Novak was certainly always glad to see her, and Mae West performed fellatio upon him daily because she thought it good for her skin. Mae West and Paul Novak never married.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: “I do all my writing in bed; everybody knows I do my best work there.”
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • The Sunday Times mentioned Mae West.
• • "Mae West Achieves Fame with Her Books" • •
• • Sunday Times wrote: "Mae West is as great a favorite with a section of the world's reading public as she is with motion picture audiences," it was revealed recently on the arrival in Hollywood of the president of the company acting as her publishers. . . .
• • Source: The Sunday Times (Perth, Australia); published on Sunday, 22 July 1934
• • The evolution of 2 Mae West plays that keep her memory alive • • 
• • A discussion with Mae West playwright LindaAnn LoSchiavo — — 
• • http://lideamagazine.com/renaissance-woman-new-york-city-interview-lindaann-loschiavo/

• • The Mae West Blog celebrates its 15th anniversary • •  

• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past fifteen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 4,200 blog posts. Wow!  

• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fifteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4261st 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 • • in 1934 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest
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