Mae West: 20 Room Mansion

MAE WEST had a successful return to the nighteries, thanks to her sold-out show tour with "The Mae West Revue."  James Timony had died and her new steady companion was Paul Novak. Mae decided it was time to buy a stunning beach house in Santa Monica to entertain her friends in and this new development was announced n May 1955.
• • Hedda Hopper wrote:  Mae West is back in Hollywood for her night club act at Ciro's beginning Thursday.  She's bought herself a new home in Santa Monica — — 20 rooms, eight bedrooms and eight baths.  
• • Hedda Hopper's syndicated Hollywood column rpt in Chicago Tribune; published on Tuesday, 10 May 1955.
• • On Saturday, 5 May 1928 in The New Yorker • •

• • When John Huston [1906 — 1987] watched Mae West in the 1928 stage production of "Diamond Lil," the 22-year-old son of actor Walter Huston could not stop thinking about it. John saved his copy of The New Yorker [issue dated 5 May 1928] because he especially admired the illustration of a corseted, glittering, winsome Mae by the Mexican artist Miguel Covarrubias. 
• • Soon after, the two men collaborated on Huston's fascinating book "Frankie and Johnny." Huston traced the origins of this American folk song — — even the versions that follow Frankie to the gallows — — and he wrote a new play about it. The Covarrubias sketches add a lot of charm.
• • On Saturday, 5 May 1934 • •
• • "Mae West Arrives" was the headline on page 11 in Queensland's Morning Bulletin on Saturday, 5 May 1934.  A host of compliments ran, like a elegant train, behind her.
• • Morning Bulletin wrote: Mae West makes you greedy. When you see "She Done Him Wrong" you want more and more of Mae. She is like the most thrilling serial story in the world.  ...
• • On Saturday, 5 May 1934 in Iowa • •
• • The Mason City Globe-Gazette (Iowa) readers saw this enticing headline on Saturday, 5  May 1934: "Mae West says: 'Hail to all Mason City!'"
• • "I'm coming Back to Show at a Local Theater in My First Starring Picture." 3 BIG DAYS — — TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY "Come up and see me sometime! Hear me sing "Frankie and Johnny" and other songs. See me strut my stuff.  ...
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Mae West, upon finishing her starring role in Paramount's "She Done Him Wrong," leaves for personal appearances in New York, Brooklyn, Chicago, and other eastern spots.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said:  "The prison doors closed behind me. That's my story."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article on a British painter mentioned Mae West.
• • I seem to remember a vintage Mae West movie in which the redoubtable old send-up sways up a staircase, in her usual dignified and derisive manner, behind a genuinely stately butler. 'What are these?' she mutters, rolling those cunning eyes at a series of dark oil paintings.
 • • 'These, madam, are the old masters,' says the butler. 'They look like a bunch of old mistresses to me,' says Miss West, the facial muscles scarcely moving.   . . .
• • Source: Article (P. 19) in the London Spectator; published on Thursday,  5 May 1966 
• • The Mae West Blog celebrates its 10th anniversary • •    
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during this past decade. The other day we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 3,100 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • • 
• • The Mae West Blog was started ten years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 3171st 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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• • Photo: • • Mae West • • in May 1928 • •
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Mae West: Pre-Sex

When he was 22 years old, John Huston [1906 — 1987] saw MAE WEST on Broadway in "Diamond Lil." He was mesmerized by her performance and the folk song she sang: "Frankie and Johnny." The song inspired him to write his own play "Frankie and Johnny" and also to research the origins of the song across the USA. His fascinating hardcover book was published in New York by the Boni brothers in 1930. It's not clear if Mae ever received a copy.
• • Fast forward from 1930 to 1970.
• • When it came to casting Buck Loner [Myra Breckinridge's uncle], Fox decided upon John Huston, against the wishes of Michael Sarne, the long-haired hippie British director.
• • The acrimony on the set is as legendary as its costly over-runs. After filming his final scene, John Huston departed with these words: "Goodbye, everybody. You'll never cut it together."
• • On Saturday, 17 July 1993 • •

• • An article was printed in London on Saturday, 17 July 1993 revealing backstage bickering on the set of "Myra Breckinridge" and re-hashing how Mae West made Raquel Welch cry because she couldn't wear white.  (You'd think this was the wedding of a virgin queen, Raquel dear.)
• • British reporter John Lyttle wrote: Michael Sarne's line on Raquel Welch is legendary, a thing for movie buffs to quote: 'She is useful only as a joke.' The critic Rex Reed, cast as the pre-sex change Myra, was merely 'dreadful.' True, Mae West was praised, but John Huston was dismissed as an 'old hack.'
• • John Lyttle added: 'John (not Huston, not even John Huston, but John) called me worse. We all called each other names. The only reason the producer wanted John Huston around was, if they sacked me, they had a director around. He was a threat. I didn't want him on my set. Besides, I always wanted Mickey Rooney.'
• • John Lyttle continued: Mike Sarne claims he wouldn't have minded being sacked. He only did it for the money. He was down to his last 20 cents when he sold David Brown on the idea that the book's pivotal moment occurred when the male Myra comes to after a car accident and shouts: 'Where are my tits? Where are my tits?' As in the best Hollywood fables, Zanuck agreed and immediately flew him out to the coast, where the production's original blueprint — — 'Gore's two unfilmmable scripts' — — hit the wastepaper bin, along with his casting suggestions.  ...  And I can remember Raquel Welch bursting into the office crying because Mae West wouldn't let her wear white costumes. Raquel thought she was the star and then Mae, a bigger star, arrived. Raquel sat there sobbing, 'I want to wear white, I want to wear white.'  I told her Mae was an old trouper and it was probably going to be her last film and to leave it alone. Poor Mae used to come to me and ask, 'Why does that girl hate me?' It was a catty female thing.' ...
• • Source: Article: "Mike Sarne? Mike Sarne? Why?" written by John Lyttle for The Independent; published on Saturday, 17 July 1993.
• • On Sunday, 17 July 1932 in The L.A. Times • •
• • Interviewed for The L.A. Times by California reporter Muriel Babcock,  Mae West told her, "The screen doesn't require as much acting of a certain type. The camera catches the slightest facial movements, the slightest twitch of an eye." The complete interview appeared in the weekend edition on Sunday, 17 July 1932.
• • On Sunday, 17 July 1949 • •
• • In 1949, when Mae West was starring in "Diamond Lil" on Broadway, she stayed in the Chatham Hotel — — where she was floored (alas, not in a good way).  On Sunday, 17 July 1949, her fans learned about the lawsuit on page 1.
• • "Mae West Fell In Hotel, Claims Dollars" • •
• • New York, July 16 (A.A.P.) — Actress Mae West to-day sued New York's Hotel Chatham for 250,000 dollars, damages for injuries received in a fall in her bathroom there. She alleged that a defective floormat caused the fall, which made her "sick, sore, lame, and disabled."
• • Miss West said she was prevented from continuing to earn 3,000 dollars weekly as the star of the play "Diamond Lil " The fall, she said, broke bones in her left ankle.
• • Source: The Sunday Herald (Sydney, NSW), page 1, Sunday, 17 July 1949.
• • Save the Dates: August 12th and August 17th and 18th • •  
• • What: 2 events timed to celebrate the 120th birthday of Mae West, born in Brooklyn, NY on August 17, 1893
• • When: (A.) Monday, August 12, 2013 from 4:00pm — 5:45pm [Seating from 3:45pm]
• • Where: (A.) Hudson Branch Library, 66 Leroy St., New York, NY 10014; NOT accessible to wheelchairs  
• • Who: (A.) Reader's Theatre Cast: Costumed in 1890s Bowery style, actress Darlene Violette and actor Sidney Myer present the 1932 novel "Diamond Lil" written by Mae West in Mae's words and period songs with live music by Brian McInnis.  At intervals, historian and playwright LindaAnn Loschiavo leads an "Armchair Tour" through the boisterous Bowery and Chinatown of the 1890s.  
• • What else: The ever-popular Mae West Raffle.  
• • August 12th Admission and Raffle Tickets: FREE.  
• • RSVP: 212-243-6876 [Hudson Branch Library's phone]
• • Closest MTA subway stations: Christopher St. or West Fourth St.; or the M7 bus.  
• • Closest PATH station: Christopher St.  
• • The public is invited (suitable for age 18 and over)
• • All of the sex and none of the censorship . . . • •  
• • Two stagings of "Diamond Lil" on August 17th and August 18th.
• • When: (B.) Saturday, August 17, 2013 — in the evening  
• • Where: (B.) John Strasberg Studios, 555 8th Avenue, Suite 2310, New York, NY 10018;  accessible to wheelchairs  
• • When: (C.) Sunday, August 18, 2013 — 7:00 pm  
• • Where: (C.) Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, NYC
• • Who: (B. and C.) A new staged version of the 1932 novel "Diamond Lil" written by Mae West starring Darlene Violette, Sidney Myer, and TBA. Live music by Brian McInnis.  The novel, which closely follows the 3-hour production Mae performed onstage from 1928 — 1951, is more exciting than the family-friendly screen version. Playwright LindaAnn Loschiavo massaged Mae's classic opus into an 85-minute adaptation featuring all of the sex and none of the censorship. No intermission.  
• • What else: The ever-popular Mae West Raffle and birthday festivities.  
• • August 17th and 18th Admission: reserved seating only (payment info will follow)  
• • Closest MTA subway stations: 42nd St./ Times Sq. via A, C, E, 1, 2, 3   
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "It's got so that if a man opens a door for a lady to go through first, he's the doorman."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • The Star-Ledger discussed Mae West.
• • "Mae West on home video" • •
• • Mark Voger wrote: "The Heat's On" [1943] is historically significant as Mae West's final film for 27 years. (The screen sex goddess finally returned from the desert to make ... "Myra Breckinridge.")
• • Mark Voger noted: West looks fine at 50 — that is, considering she's Mae West. Dressed like a drag queen in feathers and gigantic hats, with her affected jiggly walk, West seems like a creature from another time, even in the 1940s. But she delivers a mean zinger — West's one-liners in "The Heat's On" are more put-down than double entendre — and she plays hilarious bedroom farce with Victor Moore as a smitten investor in her show...
• • Source: Review by Mark Voger for The Star-Ledger; published on Friday, 8 February 2013 
• • By the Numbers • • 
• • The Mae West Blog was started nine years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2695th 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: Regrets Only

Did MAE WEST regret starring in "Myra Breckinridge''? This motion picture was screened on the final night of the yearly Cinema Q Film Festival — — on Sunday, 27 June 2010 — — in Denver, Colorado.
• • Lou Lumenick, The New York Post's chief film critic, made some amusing remarks about 20th Century Fox's unloved, half-forgotten child of the 1970s. See if you agree.
• • Happy 40th birthday, 'Myra Breckinridge' — — by Lou Lumenick • •
• • Michael Sarne's "Myra Breckinridge'' arrived in theaters on June 24, 1970 — — 40 years ago today — — to a critical hailstorm that has not yet let up. Cults have sprung up around many other bad movies, but "Myra'' remains in a special, almost entirely unloved class by itself — — the last entry on the film's Facebook page is from nearly three months ago.
• • A rep from Fox Home Video recently told me there were no plans to include this legendary flop among the dozens of the films being reissued on DVD and upgraded to Blu-ray to mark the 75th anniversary of 20th Century Fox this year. (Russ Meyer and Roger Ebert's far less entertaining "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls'' — — which also originally carried an X rating — — did make the cut, improbably sharing a set with the religious epic "Inn of the Sixth Happiness.'')
• • Fox did put "Myra'' out on DVD in a fine special edition six years ago that includes hilarious dueling commentary tracks by Raquel Welch (who shared the title role — — a male film critic who has a sex change operation — — with real-life film critic Rex Reed) and director Sarne. There was also a half-hour "AMC Backstory'' episode on the film's scandalous history and colorful cast, which also included top-billed Mae West, John Huston, Farrah Fawcett (who died on June 25th last year), Tom Selleck, John Carradine, and Grady Sutton.
• • The film originally carried an X rating for the notorious scene where our heroine rapes a fellow drama student played by Roger Herren. Running through this scene, and much of the movie, are clips from old movies. Loretta Young threatened to sue and Fox removed footage of her and other stars who were still alive from a somewhat toned-down R-rated version of the film, which is the one on DVD.
• • "Myra Breckinridge'' has the rare distinction of being disowned by its stars, its director — — and Gore Vidal, on whose novel the movie was based (though he has repeatedly claimed he's never seen it). Hollywood did not film Vidal's forgotten sequel, "Myron,'' where the critic is trapped in a Maria Montez movie. . . .
— — Excerpt: — —
• • Article: Happy 40th birthday, 'Myra Breckinridge'
• • By Lou Lumenick, The New York Post's chief film critic
• • Published on: 24 June 2010
• • Published in: The New York Post
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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