Mae West: Room Change

MAE WEST inspired Dali.  And his surreal room-size sculpture of Mae's face tempted West Coast artist Joan Vaupen to take another approach.  Her version of Mae West was on view from 22 May — 16 June 2012.  The gallery announcement explained this piece: "Joan Vaupen translates Salvador Dalí’s Face of Mae West As a Room, which was built by Dali, into her own interpretation as a mixed media collage. Her transposition of the past breathes new life into previous Surrealist works, evoking a sense of renewal and regeneration."  Irresistible, eh?

• • This recent group show took place at TAG Gallery in Santa Monica, California.

• • Now based in Los Angeles, Joan Vaupen grew up drawing and experimenting with art materials in Seattle, Washington. 

• • Wiard Boppo Ihnen [5 August 1897 — 20 January 2003] • •

• • "Go West Young Man" [1936] starred Mae West and the Art Direction credit went to Wiard Ihnen.

• • Born on the East Coast (either in Jersey City or New York City, depending on the source), Wiard Boppo Ihnen came into this world on 5 August 1897. His father was an architect and he trained for his father's profession at Columbia University. Nicknamed Bill, the college student was undecided and left for Paris to devote himself to painting.

• • Eventually, Ihnen was hired by Paramount and a number of major studios, working with some of the world's greatest filmmakers.

• • In 1940, 43-year-old Bill Ihnen wed the notable costume designer Edith Head. He won two Oscars during the 1940s for Art Direction and retired from the screen trade in 1960, after working on 49 productions. Still married to Edith Head at the time of his death, he died in Los Angeles in the month of June — — on Friday, 22 June 1979.  He was 81.

• • On Saturday, 22 June 1935 in Picturegoer • •

• • The British film magazine Picturegoer, issue dated for 22 June 1935, offered an article "Previews of the Latest Films" and the first one was "Goin’ to Town" starring Mae West.

• • On Tuesday, 22 June 1937 • •

• • Asked how she used her influence to give Joe Louis the biggest break he ever had, Mae West explained the situation to Jet Magazine's editor.

• • Joe Louis was scheduled to fight Slapsie Maxie Rosenbloom, a native of New York City's Harlem who was born on 6 September 1903. In 1932, Slapsie Maxie had earned the title of "Light Heavyweight Champ of the World."

• • Mae West grew concerned after Julian Black, Joe's manager, revealed that he had agreed to the match only one one condition — — that Rosenbloom "would agree not to do any slapping" [and make Louis look bad, thereby damaging his box-office appeal].

• • Smelling trouble, Mae West phoned her former lover, Owney Madden, who was in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Madden said, "I don't think Joe Louis should fight Maxie. Tell Joe's manager to get in touch with me. I'll give Joe a chance to go a few rounds with the champ — — Jimmy Braddock."

• • The match was set for Tuesday, 22 June 1937 — — and Joe Louis would become the new champ.

• • On Tuesday, 22 June 1982 in Los Angeles • •

• • Mae West's name was in the news again on Tuesday, 22 June 1982 when her former partner Paul Novak sued to have her Will overturned.  The case was listed as Charles Krauser v. Estate of Mae West, Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles on 22 June 1982.

• • On Tuesday, 22 June 2010 • •

• • It was on Tuesday, 22 June 2010 when it was announced "Espace Dali Lends Mae West Sofa to the Pompidou Centre in Paris."

• • In Her Own Words • •

• • Mae West said: "Sex is emotion in motion."

• • Quote, Unquote • •

• • An article about an actress mentioned Mae West.

• • Karina Longworth wrote: The Finland-born, Oregon-bred actress Maila Nurmi's resume reads like the stuff of Hollywood legend. A New York showgirl, she was "discovered" in a Mae West revue (sic) and put under contract by Howard Hawks, not long after the director turned a fitting model named Betty Perske into Lauren Bacall.  ...

• • Source: Article: "Vampira and Me: L.A. Film Festival Premieres R. H. Greene's New Documentary" written by Karina Longworth for L.A. Weekly; posted on Thursday, 14 June 2012

• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started seven years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2339th 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: Artists and Models

Laid off from an iron foundry in 1932, Harry George "Ben" Hartman started thinking about how nice it would be to have MAE WEST in his garden at 1905 Russell Avenue in Springfield, Ohio. Disinclined to be idle, the self-taught artisan bought his first bag of cement for fifty cents and browsed in the library for pictures of Mae in the newspaper.
• • By the time he had sculpted and painted his delicately scaled tribute to the screen goddess, Hartman was also busily adding complex elements like The White House (and other famous landmarks in miniature), religious scenes, and 1930s pop culture figures — — such as boxer Joe Louis and the Dionne Quintuplets — — all made from cement embedded with small stones. By 1939, when he finally rejoined the work force, Ben had created a full tableau he named "Hartman's Historical Garden," as promoted on an antique postcard. Though Hartman died in 1944, this one-of-a-kind garden has been maintained by his widow and then youngest son, until he, too, passed away in 2007. Recently, a foundation has raised funds to catalogue and restore the figurines so that visitors can enjoy this amazing site once again.
• • Even today Mae West continues to inspire artists. An article in The Times of India, discussing a renewed passion for collecting decorative objects, quoted artist Baba Anand, who held a local exhibition recently [April — May 2010] inspired by Dali and Mae West. Anand's garishly colored Tarot card "The World" prominently featured Anand's own spin on Dali's Mae West face and lips.
• • Mae West's Saliva Sofa • •
• • Tomorrow (or the day after) we just might share the latest dish on Dali's close buddy, Oscar Tusquets Blanca, the man who helped to design the plump red “saliva sofa” in the shape of Mae West’s lips that is one of Dali’s best-known and most provocative works of art. Tusquets has been dragged into an ugly censorship tussle that Mae would certainly sympathize with. Should we even get into this? Well, tune in to find out.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West: Gorilla Jones

William Landon Jones enjoyed a close friendship with MAE WEST for 50 years.
• • Born in Memphis, Tennessee on 12 May 1906, he was known in boxing by the moniker "Gorilla" Jones. This weekend, the five-foot-nine fighter will be inducted posthumously into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, N.Y. He died at age 75 on 4 January 1982. After Mae's death, it's said he lost the will to live.
• • The 22-year-old Jones met Mae West in a New York night club during 1928. He had enjoyed a long career in the ring and was about to come into the big time in 1929, when he would earn a $100,000 purse — — about $1.2 million in today's money — — for winning a bout in Madison Square Garden.
• • Often photographed in a ringsize seat, the daughter of "Battling Jack" also befriended other black pugilists such as Chalky Wright and Joe Louis.
• • In a colorful feature for the Beacon Journal in Akron, Ohio, reporter Mark J. Price covers the career of Gorilla Jones as well as his private life with Mae West. Many pleasures await you.
• • Mark J. Price writes: Outside the boxing ring, Gorilla Jones was an unforgettable personality. He wore impeccable suits, flashed diamond rings, drove a Lincoln coupe, consorted with a Hollywood vixen — — Mae West — — and walked a lion cub on a leash.
• • Inside the ring, stripped of all excess, he was equally memorable — — except perhaps to the dozens of fighters he knocked out. They were excused for not recalling a thing after Jones' right glove cratered their faces.
• • One of the greatest boxers in Akron's history, Jones won the world middleweight title twice in the 1930s. He will be inducted posthumously this weekend into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, N.Y.
• • Jones fought in 138 professional bouts, winning 101, losing 24 and drawing 13. He KO'd 52 opponents, but never suffered a knockout or serious injury.
• • ''I have been blessed with a mind that works rapidly in the ring and hands that work as rapidly as my mind tells them,'' Jones told the Beacon Journal early in his career. ''I think I can figure fight moves a bit faster than can the fellows I am fighting, and once figured out, my hands move as they should to carry me to victory.''
• • Why did they call him "Gorilla"? • •
• • The nickname ''Gorilla,'' politically incorrect in today's world, was attributed to Jones' long reach — 75 inches — in the ring. In 1932, Beacon Journal sports scribe Jim Schlemmer said the Gorilla moniker didn't fit ''in looks or actions,'' and called Jones ''as classy a piece of fighting machinery as the game has known.''
• • ''He is an unusual type of fighter,'' Schlemmer wrote. ''He doesn't like to hurt anybody. He wishes every fellow he fights could be as good or nearly as good as himself.''
• • William Landon Jones was born in 1906 in Memphis, Tenn. He confessed to doing a lot of things wrong in his youth, such as giving up on education after grammar school. He worked for a bootlegger, ran with a tough crowd and learned to fight.
• • The ring was his way out. At age 18, Jones started boxing for $7.50 a bout. He stood 5 feet 9 inches and tipped the scales at 145 pounds.
• • Jones' first fight outside Memphis was at the Akron Armory in 1927. He beat welterweight K.O. Kelly and won $100. Unfortunately, Jones tried to add to his earnings in a late-night dice game and lost everything.
• • He begged Akron boxing promoter Suey Welch for another fight so he could buy a train ticket to Memphis.
• • Jones won the rematch, but stayed in Akron after the promoter offered to be his manager and train him at the Welch Athletic Club at 219 S. Main St.
• • Welch called Jones ''the greatest fighter in the world, pound for pound.'' The two made a fortune together.
• • Jones pummeled his way through a long line of foes: Sailor Maxwell, Mickey Fedor, Tommy Freeman, Bucky Lawless, Al Mello, Izzy Grove, Jackie Horner, Nick Testo, Meyer Grace, Jock Malone. The purses grew larger, and soon he was fighting as a middleweight at Madison Square Garden in New York.
• • In 1929, Jones earned $100,000 — about $1.2 million in today's money — and went on a spending spree. He bought his parents a Ford sedan and $10,000 home in Memphis, then rewarded himself with a $5,400 Lincoln. He bought three suits after each bout, giving away older outfits to pals. He added a diamond-collared lion to his act, walking the cub on a leash to matches and personal appearances.
• • ''In 1929 when I was in the so-called 'big' money, I spent too much,'' he later recalled. ''I liked fast horses, fast autos, fast airplanes. I had too many friends who helped me spend.''
• • Jones hit the big time in January 1932 with a sixth-round knockout of Italian boxer Oddone Piazza in Milwaukee for the National Boxing Association middleweight crown. A cheering crowd greeted him at Union Depot as he returned to Akron.
• • Five months later, he lost the title to Marcel Thil before 70,000 spectators in Paris, but regained it in 1933 by knocking out Sammy Slaughter at Cleveland Public Hall. He declined to defend the title after that.
• • Jones boxed for seven more years, but his right punch lost its sting. His final fight at the Akron Armory was a 1938 loss to Babe Risko. Jones retired in 1940 after losing a bout in Idaho. ''Gorilla Jones will never stay in the fight game until he's ready to cut paper dolls,'' Jones vowed.
• • Mae West met Gorilla Jones in a nightspot in 1928 • •
• • In many respects, the next chapter of his life was flashier than boxing. He went to work as Hollywood legend Mae West's chauffeur and bodyguard.
• • He first met the wise-cracking actress at a New York nightclub in 1928. Mae West's father had been a prizefighter, and she enjoyed bankrolling boxers.
• • ''The boxers had a hard time, even some of them who were pretty good,'' West told biographer Charlotte Chandler in 1979. ''There was one I backed named Gorilla Jones. I don't know why he was called 'Gorilla.' He wasn't that kind of fighter. I saw he was getting pounded too much, and he really didn't like fighting anymore, but he didn't know what else to do.''
• • She asked him if he could drive a car. Sure, he could. Even with a lion cub in the back seat.
• • ''So I hired him as my chauffeur,'' West said. ''He turned out to be a very good driver — — and he was also protection.''
• • Mae West also employed Jones' mother, Daisy, as a wardrobe assistant when the actress traveled. She bought homes for the boxer and his mother in Los Angeles, and served as Jones' financial manager and personal manager.
• • Biographers agree that the relationship wasn't all business. West and Jones remained close companions for 40 years. In public, he referred to her as ''The Lady,'' never by her name.
• • One time, a heckler made a bawdy remark to the actress, and the boxer threatened to rearrange the man's face.
• • ''Let 'em talk,'' Mae West told him. ''It's good for business.''
• • According to Hollywood lore, West got aggravated when house managers tried to block Jones from visiting her sixth-floor suite in the Ravenswood apartment complex. She bought the building and hired new staff.
• • ''A motion picture company offered me a quarter-million to film my story, but they wanted to make me say I was her lover,'' Jones told Jet magazine in 1974. ''That would be a lie because she was my manager and my friend. All the money in the world would be no good without a friend who has done everything to keep me on top and let me live the life I wanted to live.''
• • When Jones began to suffer from diabetes and lose his eyesight, West kept him on the payroll and handled his bills.
• • Jones was devastated in 1980 when West died in Ravenswood at age 87. She left him two apartment buildings and three houses.
• • Acquaintances said Jones gave up the will to live after ''The Lady'' passed away.
• • As his health deteriorated, his weight plunged to 102 pounds. In 1982, William ''Gorilla'' Jones died of arteriosclerosis at age 75.
• • The final bell sounded for an Akron boxing legend.
• • Mark J. Price is a Beacon Journal copy editor. He can be reached at 330-996-3850 or send e-mail to mjprice@thebeaconjournal.com.
— — Source: — —
• • Article: Akron's king of rings: Boxer Gorilla Jones conquers the world and lives the high life
• • Byline: Mark J. Price | Beacon Journal staff writer
• • Published in: Ohio.com
• • Published on: 8 June 2009
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West: Joe Louis

The daughter of "Battling Jack," a boxer, MAE WEST became a fight fan. Often photographed in a ringsize seat, Mae also befriended certain black pugilists such as Chalky Wright, William "Gorilla" Jones, and Joe Louis.
• • Born in Detroit, Michigan, Joseph Louis Barrow [13 May 1914 – 12 April 1981], best known as Joe Louis — — and nicknamed The Brown Bomber — — is considered to be one of the greatest heavyweight boxing champions that ever lived. Joe Louis held the title for over 11 years, recording 25 successful defenses of the title. But the former sparring partner probably wouldn't have gotten a chance to BE champ if it weren't for the Brooklyn bombshell.
• • Asked how she used her influence to give Joe Louis the biggest break he ever had, Mae West explained the situation to Jet Magazine's editor.
• • Joe Louis was scheduled to fight Slapsie Maxie Rosenbloom, a native of New York City's Harlem who was born on 6 September 1903. In 1932, Slapsie Maxie had earned the title of "Light Heavyweight Champ of the World."
• • Mae West grew concerned after Julian Black, Joe's manager, revealed that he had agreed to the match only one one condition — — that Rosenbloom "would agree not to do any slapping" [and make Louis look bad, thereby damaging his box-office appeal].
• • Smelling trouble, Mae West phoned her former lover, Owney Madden, who was in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Madden said, "I don't think Joe Louis should fight Maxie. Tell Joe's manager to get in touch with me. I'll give Joe a chance to go a few rounds with the champ — — Jimmy Braddock."
• • The match was set for 22 June 1937 — — and Joe Louis would become the new champ.
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• • Seventy years ago, in Chicago, Joe Louis, the "Brown Bomber from Detroit," captured the heavyweight boxing crown by knocking out James Braddock in eight rounds.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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• • Photo: • • Mae West's lover Joe Louis • • 1937 • •
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