Mae West: Times Past

How the powerful spell of a MAE WEST classic from 1940 united the young and the old at a screening in L.A. was beautifully analyzed by Nina Young. Let’s hear more.  This is Part 4.
• • After Dark: Old-school film ‘My Little Chickadee’ unites generations under classic cinema • •
• • appreciating older films • •
• • Nina Young wrote: “I think it’s a natural fit for people who appreciate old films to want to watch them in their purest form,” Sampson said. “You feel like you’re walking into history. Why do people go to Disneyland? Everyone is interested in being transported.”
• • Nina Young wrote: The throwback atmosphere of the Old Town Music Hall began before I even turned the corner to face the theater. Light-hearted piano music transformed the music hall’s lime-green facade into a playhouse venue of times past. But stepping over the cinema’s threshold signified how much American theaters have changed; the screening room’s grandiose chandeliers and photos of Hollywood starlets quickly tipped off attendees to the fact that they hadn’t accidentally stumbled into an AMC theater instead.
• • Ragtime Songs • •  . . .
• • This delightful article will be continued on the next post.
• • Source: The Daily Bruin (a student newspaper at UCLA, Los Angeles); published on Tuesday, 20 November 2018.
• • On Tuesday, 5 December 1933 • •

• • In sunny California on Tuesday, 5 December 1933, the date Prohibition was repealed, Mae was being photographed in a Hollywood speakeasy with Gary Cooper.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • All the greats played the Lyric — Mae West, Bob Hope, Milton Berle, Buster Keaton, George Burns, Jack Benny, Fred Allen, Eddie Cantor, George Jessel, Sophie Tucker, Billie Burke, and the Marx Brothers.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "It's harder to write for the screen because of the censors. I have to ask the censors whether I could even sit on the arm of a man's chair."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • Broadway World mentioned Mae West.
• • BWW News Desk wrote: 1812 Productions kicks off 2019 with a red curtain comedy revue called “Broads,” curated by Jennifer Childs and starring Joilet Harris, MB Scallen, and Jess Conda. From Mae West to Moms Mabley, Pearl Williams, and more, “Broads” features classic and original material and celebrates the bawdiest, brashest, and funniest ladies of the 40s, 50s, and 60s. Broads will play for 10 performances from February 13 thru February 24, 2019. . . .
• • Source: Broadway World; published on Friday, 30 November 2018
• • 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 14th anniversary • •  

• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past fourteen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 4,000 blog posts. Wow!  

• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fourteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4098th 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: Gary Cooper

MAE WEST was posed with Gary Cooper in a tavern to celebrate the repeal of Prohibition.  They also were photographed together at certain Hollywood functions.

• • Hailing from Helena, Montana, film actor Gary Cooper was born in May — — on 7 May  1901.

• • On 26 August 1941, Mae sent a letter to Gary Cooper regarding San Quentin Prison. Mae wrote to him: "Warden Clinton Duffy is doing really wonderful work in prison administration. . . .  At this time Warden Duffy is preparing to award prizes to the men in prison who prove most worthy.  . . .  I am sure you will be glad to find room among your other donations for a contribution for the encouragement of the boys in the 'Big House' who have inspired such a lot of our screen material."

• • In April 1960, a 59-year-old Cooper underwent surgery for prostate cancer after it had spread to his colon and lungs.  A month later, on 13 May 1961, Cooper died.  He was 60 years old.

• • James Faye "Roy" Hall [7 May 1922 — 2 March 1984] • •

• • James Faye Hall was born in Big Stone Gap, Virginia in the month of May — — on 7 May 1922.

• • 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]. He is being remembered on his birthdate, which was ninety years ago.

• • On Monday, 7 May 1934 • •

• • On Monday, 7 May 1934 Mae West recorded "Troubled Waters."  This collaboration between New York City lyricist Sam Coslow and composer Arthur Johnson was created expressly for the motion picture "Belle of the Nineties." Backed by Duke Ellington and his Orchestra, Mae archived her performance in the recording studio.

• • On Friday, 7 May 1943 • •

• • Matrimony and mayhaps!  Mae West moved on from her marital missteps with vaudevillian Frank Wallace in 1911.  However, the final divorce decree took much longer. The marriage was legally dissolved on Friday, 7 May 1943.

• • In Her Own Words • •

• • Mae West said: "I gave up a lot. I love kids but I never had any. Never let myself eat too much. That might have been fun, once in awhile. Still I can't regret anything really."

• • Quote, Unquote • •

• • An article on Honor Blackman and the femme fatale mentioned Mae West.

• • WENN wrote:  Ex-James Bond girl Honor Blackman says that Madonna is not feminine enough to be considered a femme fatale. The 75-year-old has just finished performing in "Dishonourable Ladies," in Cardiff, Wales, which celebrates famous femme fatales, including Greta Garbo, Mae West, and Cleopatra. The list does not include the Material Girl.

• •  Honor Blackman explained, "A femme fatale has to have an air of mystery and there's no mystery to anybody these days. Everybody knows everything about all famous people, down to what type of underwear they wear. I don't find Madonna particularly attractive and don't think of her as a femme fatale. I think of a femme fatale as a more feminine woman. ...

• • Source: Article: "Honor Blackman in Dishonorable Ladies" written by WENN; published on 21 August 2001

• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started seven years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2293rd 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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