Mae West: Garden State Gets Gaudy

MAE WEST comes to life in the hands of actress Anne Marie Finnie, who is the bawdy half of the wonderful team called the Gaudy Girls. Today they will perform their engaging act in The Garden State. The Vernon "Marlo-Mod Hatters" Chapter of the Red Hat Society will be sponsoring a buffet luncheon featuring the Gaudy Girls — — that is, "Mae West" along with vivacious Maggie Worsdale in the role of "Sophie Tucker." The event will be held today on Saturday, 16 April 2011 at Casa Bianca in Oak Ridge, New Jersey at 12 noon.
• • The enchanting Gaudy Girls entertained at the Annual Mae West Tribute in August 2010 at Actors Temple on West 47th. Yow-zaaah.
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • Birmingham, Alabama reviewer Ed Reynolds has just covered a self-published book by a successful hometown musician who died earlier this year at age 96. Hooked on amphetamines for a hectic decade, composer Hugh Martin introduced singer Eddie Fisher to the drug during the time he was his pianist.
• • Halfway through his critique, Ed Reynolds mentioned Hugh Martin's encounter with Mae West. Mr. Reynolds wrote: Born in Birmingham in 1914, Hugh Martin headed to New York City in 1934 for his first attempt at breaking into the entertainment world. Making the rounds of radio and other entertainment venues earned the singing piano player numerous rejections, but apparently he got someone's attention because the still-unknown Hugh Martin soon got a phone call from Mae West. She became agitated when Martin assumed the call was a friend impersonating the starlet to play a prank on him. The embarrassed Martin apologized profusely but Mae West simply let him off the hook with: "Never mind. Skip the apologies. I have a hard time sometimes convincing people that I am who I am." She had called looking for a pianist and vocal arranger to tour with her for six months. When Martin turned her down (because he didn't want to leave New York City), West got mad, shouting, "How dare you turn down Mae West . . . you're insane!" ...
• • Source: Book Review: "Hugh Martin: The Boy Next Door By Hugh Martin." written by Ed Reynolds for Black and White City Paper [Alabama]; posted on 14 April 2011
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started seven years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 1901st 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: Empress, Meet the King

After assuming the ermine mantle of Russian ruler Catherine the Great in 1944, MAE WEST acquired a new nickname on Broadway — — The Empress of Sex.
• • It was wonderful to see so many news articles about this broad-minded broad, and her annual birthday festivities, printed before her birthday. And it was sensational to have so many reporters sitting in the press box on the 14th of August. What Mae herself would have found truly exceptional, however, was that a king was in the audience — — yes, the incomparable actor, singer, voice-over artist Elli the King of Broadway came up to see Mae. Here is his review for Nite Life Exchange.
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• • Mae West’s Birthday Tribute The Actor’s Temple • •
• • Elli writes: In the 1933 film "I’m No Angel," Mae West says, "When I’m good I’m very, very, good — — and when I’m bad, I’m better.” This past Saturday night [14 August 2010], Anne Marie Finnie, as Mae West, showed us just how very good she is at bringing Mae back to life.
• • The delightful evening at The Actor's Temple began with event organizer LindaAnn Loschiavo, author of the play, Courting Mae West: Sex, Censorship & Secrets, welcoming the audience and providing a brief history of the neighborhood. She then introduced Miss Sophie Tucker (played by Maggie Worsdale). Miss Tucker was a member of, and headlined an annual benefit for The Actor's Temple at a Broadway theatre every year.
• • After delighting the audience with some funny songs and jokes, we got to meet the bawdy, flamboyant, and way ahead of her time Mae West. Ms. Finnie captured not only the look, with her flamboyant gown and signature platinum blonde hair and makeup, but also embodied the voice, mannerisms and spirit of the great Miss West, who died in 1980 at the age of 87.
• • Ms. Tucker was excellent as the "straight man" to Ms. West, providing the setup for many of the great Mae West lines, and jokes from her illustrious career on stage, screen and in the nightclubs and speakeasies of New York. The audience was treated to a variety of songs, duets and stories which all ended way too soon.
• • Shimmy Contest & 10 Prizes • •
• • The party ended with a "Shimmy" contest (which thankfully I did not enter) and a raffle for 10 outstanding prizes such as a Parol designer shawl scarf with the words, "When I’m good I’m very, very, good – and when I’m bad, I’m better!" knitted into the 25x200cm scarf, and an A-MAE-ZING teddy bear dressed to the nines, as Mae herself always did.
• • Of course there was time allotted after the finale and the well-earned encore for people to pose for a keepsake photo with two of the original divas of the stage.
• • Sadly, this was a one-night-only celebration, but the ladies do perform together quite often.
• • For more information on future events, check out http://www.thegaudygirls.com and http://www.maewest.blogspot.com
• • For complete info about the reviewer, please go to http://www.thekingofbroadway.com — — and you can also click on the link below to see Elli's fab photos from August 14th.
— — Source: — —
• • Article: " Mae West’s Birthday Tribute The Actor’s Temple"
• • By: Elli – The King Of Broadway
• • Published in: Nite Life Exchange — — http://NiteLifeExchange.com/
• • Published on: Saturday, 21 August 2010
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• • The raffle is part of the tradition at the Annual Mae West Birthday Tribute. Since Mae herself was a generous woman, it's fitting that she continues to give gifts to her loyal fans. Three of the most sought-after prizes on August 14th were donated by the German company Parol. The three scarf/ shawl winners were: (a) Mario Fratti, the Tony Award winner of the musical "Nine," who lives in Manhattan; (b) Linda Amiel Burns, The Singing Experience, of Manhattan, and (c) Garrett Ferguson of Mastic, NY. Thank you to the new Shimmy Queen Ella Smith, all the attendees, our ten prize winners, our media guests, and to Parol and also the other very gracious prize sponsors.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West: 47th Street

There's so much MAE WEST history on certain blocks in her hometown that there ought to be a signpost or two.
• • What is it, for instance, about West 47th Street? Not only does this block have numerous sites with an intriguing back-story, it is also notable for its links to Mae West and Sophie Tucker. In honor of Mae’s upcoming birthday, here is a self-guided tour of West 47th in midtown Manhattan.
• • 412 West 47th: Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant launched The New Yorker here in 1925, a weekly that often reviewed the shows Mae West and Sophie Tucker were in.
• • 345 West 47th: The New York City Police Department's 16th Precinct sent a Black Maria to haul in Mae West after undercover officers raided her play "Sex" in February 1927. This scene was repeated after the cops raided Mae's gay play "Pleasure Man" in October 1928. Mae West had to arrange bail from West 47th Street.
• • 339 West 47th: Actors Temple [Congregation Ezrath Israel] was founded in 1917 and became a spiritual home for Jews working on Broadway such as Sophie Tucker, Jack Benny, Edgar G. Robinson, Red Buttons, Shelley Winters, The Three Stooges, and other vaudevillians who were also colleagues of Mae West.
• • 261 — 265 West 47th: The Biltmore Theatre was raided when Mae's gay play "Pleasure Man" had its opening night here in October 1928.
• • 1580 Broadway at West 47th: In the 1920s it was the Palais Royale, with the Moulin Rouge in the basement. Then from 1936 to 1940 it was the Cotton Club's post-Harlem home, featuring stars like Cab Calloway, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, all of whom worked with Mae West. From 1942 to 1969, it was the Latin Quarter nightclub (run by Lou Walters, Barbara Walters' father). During the 1950s, both Sophie Tucker and Mae West were booked here.
• • 1568 Broadway at West 47th: Doubletree Guest Suites Times Square Hotel, built in 1991 as the Embassy Suites to a Fox & Fowle design, envelopes the old Palace Theater, built in 1913 by Kirchoff & Rose. During its heyday it was every vaudevillian's dream to play The Palace. Among those who made it were Sophie Tucker, W.C. Fields, Fanny Brice, Will Rogers, Eddie Cantor, Bob Hope, the Marx Brothers, and Mae West (accompanied by pianist Harry Richman), who starred here in 1922.
• • 707 Seventh Avenue at West 47th: "Introduced with great success by Mae West" announced the song sheet for "Cuddle Up and Cling to Me," with lyrics by Stanley Murphy [1875 — 1919] and music by Henry I. Marshall, which was newly distributed in 1912 by Charles K. Harris. The celebrated composer and music publisher from Chicago was now running his Manhattan operation from the Columbia Theatre Building at 707 Seventh Avenue.
• • West 47th Street's Diamond District: This block ranks with Antwerp, Belgium, and Ramat Gan, Israel, as one of world’s major diamond trading centers. Sophie Tucker's success as an entertainment headliner financed a personal treasure chest of gems at a time when performers wore their own jewelry onstage. Mae West's love of sparklers inspired her most successful stage play "Diamond Lil." Pick any scene in the 1933 motion picture "She Done Him Wrong" (based on the play) and watch those solitaires and brilliants flash onscreen.
• • • • West 47th Street on 14 August 2010 • • • •
• • And the live entertainment will flash and sparkle also on Saturday August 14, 2010 when two swell broads head back to Broadway — — Sophie Tucker along with Mae West.
• • Continuing her custom of commemorating the birthday of Mae West, playwright LindaAnn Loschiavo has a most exciting late-night treat in store this year: The Gaudy Girls, two talented beauties who perform the best-loved songs made famous by Sophie Tucker and Mae West. As part of their repertoire, the ladies will spotlight a tribute to the NYC-based composers and lyricists who created popular numbers such as "My Yiddishe Momme," "Red Hot Mama," "Everybody Shimmies Now," "My Old Flame," "Baby, It's Cold Outside," and more.
• • It's one night only so plan to come up and see Mae — — and Sophie. Details below.
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• • WHERE: ACTORS TEMPLE, 339 West 47th Street, New York, NY 10036 [where SOPHIE TUCKER was one of their first vaudeville members in 1923]
• • WHO: MAE WEST [Anne Marie Finnie], SOPHIE TUCKER [Maggie Worsdale], presented and introduced by playwright LindaAnn Loschiavo
• • WHAT ELSE: Shimmy lessons, raffle prizes, goodies, and a chance to win deluxe European scarves featuring MAE WEST’s quotes.
• • SUBWAYS: IND: C, E to West 50th Street station; BMT: N, R, W to West 49th Street station — — exit on the West 47th Street side.
• • GENERAL ADMISSION: $15. VIP service and Group Sales available.
• • URL: TheGaudyGirls.com
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• • Tell them you heard about it on the MAE WEST BLOG.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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