Mae West: Joseff, Judy, Mae

MAE WEST wore it first.
• • For her 1943 musical comedy, “The Heat's On” [Columbia, 1943), Mae West had a onscreen finale that showed her adorned with a boatload of jewelry including a simulated diamond crossover necklace suspending large Art Deco style dress clip brooches.

• • The pendants were originally mounted by Joseff to a shorter chain for Mae’s costume.
• • Three years later, Joseff retooled this piece. The pendants were re-mounted to a much longer crossover chain and worn by Judy Garland in “Ziegfeld Follies” [MGM, 1946].
• • In November 2017, the necklace was sold in an auction called “Joseff of Hollywood: Treasures from the Vault” and a lucky buyer paid $18,750.

• • Curiously, despite significant alterations, this jewelry was billed “Judy Garland and Mae West Worn Necklace.”
• • On Saturday, 12 August 1944 • •
• • According to an article in Billboard Magazine [The Billboard, Saturday, 12 August 1944], Mike Todd and Mae West shared the financial burden of mounting this costume drama — — $150,000, not an inconsiderable sum during the World War II era. And though she often hired inexperienced actors and actresses for the minor roles, Mae West sought out the best costume people and best set designers.
• • Despite the savage reviews that would greet the star's own efforts, the critics heaped praise on the production itself, calling the scenery "as beautiful as Howard Bay's best" and rhapsodizing over lavish details such as the fireplace set in Count Mirovich's apartment and the decor of the ghoulish "secret room" of Ivan VI where a murder occurs.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Hush-Hush Magazine (Vol. 2, No. 8, August 1956 issue) contained the article "Show Biz Buzzer: Mae West versus Marilyn Monroe."
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "My advice for Marilyn Monroe was:  Forget about the men; win over the ladies. The men won't forget you, anyway — — not the way you walk."  
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • A memoir mentioned Mae West.
• • Scott Thorson wrote: He [Liberace] had no trouble getting all the dates he wanted and he gloried in escorting well-known entertainers to parties, getting his picture taken with Susan Hayward, Gale Storm, Rosemary Clooney, Mae West, and Judy Garland. Mae was the only one of his so-called lady friends I actually met.
• • Scott Thorson wrote: As they say in Texas, Mae was a hoot! She and Lee were an unpredictable twosome who enjoyed trying to outdo each other’s outrageousness.” …
• • Source: “Behind the Candelabra: My Life with Liberace” by Scott Thorson [USA: Tantor Media, Incorporated; 1st edition; 10 May 2013]
• • 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 5,058th 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: Les Poupees & Lee

During an interview in 1973, Liberace discussed some of those hazy gossip tips (dreamed up by his industrious press agents) that depicted the musician as a fellow who was “romantically linked” to MAE WEST. Surely his fans know by now that those two were never physically involved but, when asked about each other, both stars used to respond with old-school tactfulness and mink-glove diplomacy.
• • On 23 May 1962, the pair attended a premiere at P.J.'s, a 200 seat dinner theatre in Los Angeles. Their entrance together stole the show. Mae was adorned with a great number of diamonds and Liberace wore a dinner jacket made, he said, of spun glass. Puppets representing both of them were the wooden stars of the lavishly appointed stage show "Les poupees de Paris." Puppeteer Sid Krofft designed these figures.
• • Here's Mae West with Diamond Lil's swan bed designed as a puppet by Mr. Krofft. Her topless gown created a stir after it was denounced by Rev. Bill Graham.
• • While the flamboyant, diamond-loving entertainer pursued male lovers in private, Liberace's record company would churn out press release pap describing him as "the perfect all-around man any woman would be thrilled to be with" — — and his cookbooks featured recipes for "Liberace lasagna" (showing off his Betty Crocker side).
• • In case you need a refresher course about this theatrical showman who was born Wladziu Valentino Liberace [16 May 1919 — 4 February 1987], but was better known by only his last name Liberace, he was a famous American entertainer and pianist of Polish and Italian descent. Liberace, known as "Lee" to his friends and "Walter" to family, was born in Wisconsin to Frances Zuchowska, a Polish American, and Salvatore ("Sam") Liberace, an immigrant from Formia, Italy.
• • Writing for The Los Angeles Times in November 1987, Ruth Ryon noted: Liberace was having lunch with Mae West in the late 1950s when the actress told him about a property she sold for several million dollars. "That was when he saw gold in real estate," said Jamie James, who handled Liberace's public relations for 20 years before the musician-showman died last February.
• • Las Vegas was an excellent platform for Mae West in the 1950s. And those casino audiences in the Nevada desert made Liberace a huge star during the 1970s and 1980s.
• • Militant about his myth-making, Liberace always denied he was gay, successfully suing the Daily Mirror in 1957 over a Cassandra column that described him as “fruit-flavored." However, his death revealed the long hushed-up homosexual affairs of the over-the-top keyboard king, along with the fact that he succumbed to AIDS at his winter house in Palm Springs in the month of February — — on 4 February 1987. He was 67.
• • Liberace was buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Beverly Hills, California on 7 February 1987.
• • On Saturday, 3 February 1934 in The Daily News • •
• • On 3 February 1934, after the jurors deliberated for three days, Edward Friedman was pronounced guilty for robbing Mae West of cash and jewelry. The judge and a number of influential individuals praised Mae for her courage and her determination to fight in the open against thugs and blackmailers who attempted to prey on movie stars. Trial coverage was published in The N.Y. Daily News and other dailies on Saturday, 3 February 1934 and the following day.
• • On Monday, 3 February 1936 in Hollywood • •
• • There must have been a good reason why Paramount Productions published a "Klondike Annie: censorship dialogue script" on Monday, 3 February 1936. This script was 146 pages long.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said this about Liberace in 1954: "The guy's got a lot of charm. I could go for someone that charming. I see good in every man. That's why I'm not married."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article on Cary Grant mentioned Mae West.
• • John Stanley writes: From the moment he arrived in Hollywood in 1932, after a brief fling as a British vaudevillian, Cockney-accented Archibald Alexander Leach was destined to be a leading man with a classic sense of comedy and virility. Soon to become Cary Grant, he landed a Paramount contract and was cast by Mae West in "She Done Him Wrong," with that famous "Come up and see me" line. This three-disc set features five of Grant's earliest and rarest Paramount features . . . .
• • Source: CD review: "Cary Grant: Screen Legend Collection" written by John Stanley for the San Francisco Chronicle; posted on Sunday, 29 January 2012
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started seven years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2197th 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 • • her likeness in Les Poupees de Paris, 1962 • •
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Mae West: Beloved Brother

MAE WEST cherished immutability.
• • Charles Darwin may have challenged the fixity of species, however, Mae made up her mind that she would only play characters who were in their twenties — — women who were sexy, ambitious, sought after, in control, and decorated with diamonds.
• • The autumn of 1964 brought Mae face to face with her fears: mortality and mutability.
• • Though Mae had taken good care of her health, shortly after her 71st birthday she was hospitalized and her ailments were scrutinized. The diagnosis was diabetes.
• • As Mae was quietly convalescing at home, with Paul Novak at her side, she received the worst news. Her beloved brother John Edwin West, 64, had a massive heart attack.
• • As he matured, her kid brother's career had stalled. More than once, he had turned to his movie-queen sister for assistance. But Mae also remembered how much she had counted on John's unfailing loyalty during her court trials. In 1930, for instance, when the Pleasure Man court trial had bankrupted her, and she was too upset to seek work, John supported his two unemployed sisters and set up a nice household for the three of them in an apartment building on West 57th Street (across the street from Carnegie Hall).
• • Born on 11 February 1900, John Edwin West died during mid-October — — on 12 October 1964. Mae made arrangements for his body to be sent back to Brooklyn to the family crypt.
• • Two weeks later, Mae — — who hated to think about death — — made a Will.
• • Leon Errol [1881 — 1951] • •
• • Unfortunately, Mae West did not last too long when "A Winsome Widow" opened in April 1912. But during the rehearsals, she got to work with vaudeville mainstay Leon Errol, who was cast in the role of Ben Gay.
• • Born in Sydney, Australia on 3 July 1881, Leon Errol had a busy career as a variety artist, on Broadway, and in the cinema. He died in Hollywood, California in the month of October — — on 12 October 1951. On another occasion, Leon Errol will be discussed more fully.
• • On 12 October 1997 • •
• • On 12 October 1997, readers of the Orlando Sentinel read this intriguing news item [under the title "Author Uncovers The Real Diehl"]: You probably know that William Diehl is a successful suspense author, known for such best-selling novels as Primal Fear, wrote Sentinel Staffwriter Leslie Doolittle.  But did you know he saw the Hindenburg explode, had Mae West for a baby sitter, served as Martin Luther King's personal photographer, had his throat slashed by three Mississippi racists, didn't start writing books until his 50th birthday, played a pimp in the Burt Reynolds movie based on his first best-seller and dedicated his latest novel, Reign in Hell, to his late dog? Mae West was his babysitter, eh?
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "Considering what Sex got me, a few days in the pen 'n' a $500 fine ain't too bad a deal."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article about a Liberace biopic for HBO also mentioned Mae West.
• • Corinne Heller writes: Liberace, known for his flashy outfits as much as his music, never revealed his sexual orientation and successfully sued the UK tabloid The Mirror for implying he was gay in a 1956 article. When asked if he "indulged in homosexual practices," he said in court: "No, sir, never in my life. I am against the practice because it offends convention and it offends society."
• • Scott Thorson served as the entertainer's bodyguard, chauffeur, and confidant. Liberace was also linked romantically to women, including actress Mae West. ...
• • Source: Article: "Matt Damon, Michael Douglas to play lovers in Liberace biopic for HBO" written by Corinne Heller for On The Red Carpet; posted on 11 October 2011• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started seven years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2081st 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: Kooky Criswell

MAE WEST appeared in a successful long-running engagement on Broadway in "Sometime," a musical comedy.
• • It was on Saturday, 4 October 1918 that "Sometime," the "musical comedy of commerce" designed to showcase the talents of laughmeister Ed Wynn, had opened at the Shubert Theatre (establishing a nice healthy wartime run that continued for eight months at the Shubert brothers' flagship: 225 West 44th Street, New York, NY).
• • At 25 years old, Mae West was still much more accustomed to appearing in vaudeville than in the legit. In "Sometime," it was Mae's character Mayme Dean who appeared onstage first. At that point in her career, Mae had often been cast as an Irish maid — — although Mayme Dean is a frisky flapper who cannot land a man.
• • In October, Let's Remember Criswell • •
• • Born in Princeton, Indiana on 18 August 1907, Jeron Criswell King wrote several books of (erroneous) predictions, including 1968's "Criswell Predicts: From Now to the Year 2000." In it, he offered very strange predictions about Mae West. For instance, he foretold her rise to President of the United States, whereupon she, Criswell, and George Liberace (the brother of showman Liberace) would take a rocket to the moon. According to Criswell, he and Mae West were "great friends" and he claimed that she would lavish him with home-cooked food she had delivered to the studio that he shared with Maila Nurmi ("Vampira").
• • Mae, who used Criswell as her personal psychic, sang a song called "Criswell Predicts" on the album "The Fabulous Mae West" [1955].
• • Criswell died of cardiac arrest in Burbank, California in the month of October — — on 4 October 1982. He was 75 years old..
• • On Monday, 4 October 2010 • •
• • In Granada, Spain on Monday, 4 October 2010, it was the fifth anniversary of the Mae West nightclub there, a popular hotspot. The venue planned for a lavish celebration "at a truly gigantic level," according to their announcement last year.
• • The Mae West Blog featured the Mae West nightclub when it first opened its doors. Happy Sixth Anniversary to Spain's Mae West Club.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: “I’ve been things and seen places.”
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An essay about women's sexuality mentioned Mae West.
• • Linda Jaivin writes: The two concepts, the alleged virtue of women and their lack thereof are intimately related. Ever since Eve copped the rap for getting her and Addie thrown out of Paradise, women have been forced to protest 'I'm not Eve! I'm not Eve! I'm a good girl.' The ladies doth protest too much, methinks. Give me Mae West any day. She's no lady, and I much prefer her attitude: 'A hard man is good to find.' 'I was Snow White ... but I drifted.' . . .
• • Source: Essay: "Women Love Sex” written by Linda Jaivin for Random House; posted in 1997
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started seven years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2073rd 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: Adam Lambert

A conservative news outlet, founded by that barrel of brass Sun Myung Moon of the Unification Church, mentioned MAE WEST.
• • According to columnist James Kirchick: Though Adam Lambert's gayness was a mystery only to the sort of person who assumed Liberace was really serious about Mae West, he waited until the season was over to publicly acknowledge it in an interview with Rolling Stone. So it must have come as a surprise to his gay critics when Mr. Lambert delivered his over-the-top performance at the AMAs, pseudo-fellatio and all, which earned ABC about 1,500 complaints. (Perhaps unintentionally, Mr. Lambert's antics have successfully diverted critical attention from his abysmal new single, "For Your Entertainment," which he performed in the style of a shrieking banshee.) Now . . . .
• • The Washington Times, a daily broadsheet newspaper published in Washington, D.C., was established during 1982 by Unification Church founder Sun Myung Moon. The Times, subsidized by that cult, is known for its conservative stance on political and social issues.
— — Excerpt: — —
• • Article: "Adam Lambert offends equally"
• • BY: James Kirchick
• • Published by: The Washington Times — — washingtontimes.com
• • Published on: 1 December 2009
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West: Dissed

MAE WEST, Kylie Minogue, Judy Garland, Liza Minnelli, and Barbra Streisand may be adored by gays around the globe — — but they will not be part of a major summer exhibition announced by London's National Portrait Gallery titled "Gay Icons." Instead, a 10-strong panel [comprised of Elton John, Jackie Kay, Ian McKellen, Billie Jean King, etc.] has cast its net beyond the bygones and has gone in search of other names.
• • Intentionally, we have dropped the "sir" honorific from those blimps who would deny the Empress of Sex a place on the wall of fame.
• • And with all due respect to Judy Garland and La Streisand, it is not in the history books that those beloved songbirds went to prison fighting for gay rights as Mae did during the Prohibition Era. There is a great deal more that the Brooklyn bombshell did to advance the agenda for homosexuals, female impersonators, and drag queens. And many people have not forgotten that.
• • And though the British gallery bigwigs are being coy about which faces made it into the final round of five dozen, these individuals have been picked: painters Francis Bacon and David Hockney; civil rights martyr Harvey Milk; writers Quentin Crisp, Joe Orton, Dame Daphne Du Maurier, Patricia Highsmith, and Walt Whitman; music makers Tchaikovsky, k.d. lang, Rostropovich, Will Young, and the Village People; entertainers Ellen DeGeneres, Kenneth Williams, and Lily Savage; also Nelson Mandela and Diana, Princess of Wales. Their stories will be illustrated by 60 photographic portraits including works by Andy Warhol, Linda McCartney, Lord Snowdon, Polly Borland, Fergus Greer, Terry O'Neill, and Cecil Beaton.
• • The National Portrait Gallery revealed several other "expected names" that will not be on display in London. Noticeably absent from this collection are: Mae West, Joan Crawford, Kylie Minogue, Dame Shirley Bassey, Oscar Wilde, Bette Midler, Marlene Dietrich, Joan Collins, Bette Davis, and Barbra Streisand. And no Liberace nor David Beckham neither.
• • The exhibition "Gay Icons" is set to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall riots in New York City.
• • Opened to the public in 1856, the National Portrait Gallery is situated in St Martin's Place, WC2H 0HE, London, England.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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• • Photo: • • Mae West • • by Larry Salk • •
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Mae West: M & M

MAE WEST was Madonna's role model when she was still a wanna-be entertainer. Born in mid-August one day before her idol, the material girl was famously chided by her British husband for trying to stay youthful and sexy after her 50th birthday. Canadian Guy Barbineau meditated about this connection between M and M.
• • But before we line up his paragraphs for a moment in the spotlight, one correction must be made. Liberace's perceptive quote was: I cried all the way to the bank. "Laughed all the way to the bank" makes no sense, you know. You do know, Guy, we hope.
• • Writing for Xtra West, Vancouver resident Guy Barbineau observed: The one thing Madonna [born on 16 August 1958] has done that really offends people is being successful.
• • It's not religion. It isn't sex. It's all about who has power.
• • Society always did and still does get its knickers in a twist when smart, opinionated, and outspoken women and gay men come into power — — and have a public voice. To think otherwise is naive.
• • Now Madonna's being criticized for daring to be sexual at 50. Like Mae West, another gay icon, she's laughing all the way to the bank.
• • There are plenty of similarities between the two. West learned her walk, talk, and shtick from New York drag queens in the 1920s. She pushed buttons, landing herself in jail by writing and performing in plays like Sex and the homosexually themed The Drag — — thus drastically increasing their ticket sales — — before becoming the world's biggest movie star for several years in the 1930s.
• • "I believe in censorship. It made me a fortune," Mae West said. Madonna could say the same thing. ...
— — Excerpt: — —
• • Article: "Why we love Madonna — — As Sticky & Sweet rolls into town, Xtra West pays tribute to one of the world's biggest gay icons"
• • Byline: Guy Babineau in Vancouver, Canada
• • Published in: Xtra West — — www.xtra.ca
• • Published on: Thursday, 23 October 2008
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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• • Photo: • • Mae West • • none • •
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Mae West: Liberace

MAE WEST had a close friend for awhile in Liberace, who also forged a public relationship with actress Joanne Rio.
• • While the flamboyant, diamond-loving entertainer pursued male lovers in private, Liberace's record company churned out press releases describing him as "the perfect all-around man any woman would be thrilled to be with" — — and his cookbooks featured recipes for "Liberace lasagna" (showing off his Betty Crocker side).
• • In case you need a refresher course, Wladziu Valentino Liberace [16 May 1919 — 4 February 1987], better known by only his last name Liberace, was a famous American entertainer and pianist of Polish and Italian descent. Liberace, known as "Lee" to his friends and "Walter" to family, was born in Wisconsin to Frances Zuchowska, a Polish American, and Salvatore ("Sam") Liberace, an immigrant from Formia, Italy.
• • Las Vegas was an excellent platform for Mae West and those casino audiences in the Nevada desert made Liberace a huge star during the 1970s and 1980s.
• • Now two Hollywood heavyweights — — Michael Douglas and Matt Damon — — are set to star in a no-holds barred bio-pic that will depict the long hushed-up homosexual affairs of the over-the-top keyboard king, who succumbed to AIDS at age 67 in 1987.
• • Militant about his myth-making, Liberace always denied he was gay, successfully suing the Daily Mirror in 1957 over a Cassandra column that described him as “fruit-flavored."
• • However, Scott Thorson, who claimed to have been Liberace's lover for five years, sued the pianist in 1982 for $60 million alimony after a bitter break-up. Actor Matt Damon will portray Mr. Thorsen.
• • Helming the motion picture is director Steven Soderbergh.
• • Get ready for the "Brokeback Mountain" of the piano sphere.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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• • Photo: • • Mae West • • 1950s • •
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Mae West: August 1962

During the 1930s, MAE WEST's motion pictures had exclusive engagements at both the New York Paramount and the Brooklyn Paramount [385 Flatbush Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11201] near DeKalb Avenue.
• • The Brooklyn Eagle reminds us of this: During its heyday, up to 4,000 patrons at a time sat to watch movies accompanied by “colossal” stage shows at the Brooklyn Paramount Theatre.
• • The last show on August 22,1962 attracted around 300 patrons to see a John Wayne feature.
• • Gracing its ornate stage during its reign as the mecca of Brooklyn entertainment were such celebrities as Mae West, Frank Sinatra, Liberace, Rudy Vallee, Ginger Rogers, Bing Crosby, Eddie Cantor, George Jessel, and most of the big band era orchestras.
• • Basketball fans now sit to watch Long Island University games in the former movie palace auditorium.
— — Excerpt: — —
• • Article: On This Day in History: August 22 — — Paramount’s Last Picture Show
• • By Brooklyn Eagle — — www.brooklyneagle.com/
• • Published online: 22 August 2008
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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• • Photo: • • Mae West • • Brooklyn Paramount • • circa 1932 • •
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