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No prude, MAE WEST did not hide the fact that she had worked in Burlesque as well as in Vaudeville.
• • An interesting article by Divinity Rose discusses these forms of popular entertainment and their individual appeal. Divinity Rose writes: One of the first specific applications of "vaudeville" to describe a variety show was by "Sargeant's Great Vaudeville Company" in Louisville in 1871. The word “vaudeville” carried with it the sophistication and romance associated with Paris. We have seen one theory for the word's origin, the troubadours of the Val-de-Vire region of France. Another theory is that it comes from voix de ville, meaning “voice of the city.” Seen in this light, the phrase reminds us of vaudeville's identity as a folk form, an expression of the people's voice. The word “vaudeville” distinguished the new business from variety, which was used by some people like a curse word. Vaudeville is where Marx and Chaplin — — along with Mae West, Harry Houdini, Milton Berle, and countless others got their start.
• • Divinity Rose adds: Burlesque was a little different than Vaudeville. Burlesque had a lot of comedy, charm, and girls taking off their clothes. When it began, it was about witty and charming women and clever comedy. Although, performers in Vaudeville often looked down on Burlesque, many great comedy acts polished their performances there. Burlesque offered stable work during tougher times, and so many bigger acts performed in burlesque shows under aliases. . . .
— — Excerpt: — —
• • Article: "Vixens and Vaudeville Part 1: The history of Vaudeville, Burlesque and the Vixens"
• • Written by: Divinity Rose
• • Published on: Monday, 1 November 2010
• • Published by: Louisville.com• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
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Mae West.
MAE WEST entertained thousands of Mae-mavens at The Mapes.
• • According to sports betting expert Ross Everett, The Mapes Hotel (which opened in 1947) in Reno, Nevada was an important part of Northern Nevada history. Ushering in a new era in casino gambling, The Mapes was actually the first property in the country to combine a hotel, casino, and live entertainment under the same roof.
• • Writing for The Daily Downer, Ross Everett explains: It also became the hotel of choice for celebrities staying in Northern Nevada. Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe stayed at The Mapes during the filming of "The Misfits." During the Rat Pack era of the 1950s and 1960s it became, along with the Cal-Neva Lodge in Lake Tahoe, the place to be seen in Northern Nevada. The 11th floor, window-walled Sky Room Lounge hosted performances by a roster of entertainment legends — — including Mae West, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr., Dean Martin, Louis Prima, Keely Smith, and Milton Berle.
• • After enjoying a long bout of prosperity, The Mapes foundered and closed in 1982 and was demolished in 2000 despite attempts to preserve it.• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/________
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Mae West
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Mae West.
Some people in Alabama still remember their first visit to the Lyric, the magnificent old vaudeville and movie palace at Third Avenue and 18th Street North downtown, where MAE WEST once wowed the audience.
• • According to a local scribe Jesse Chambers: Built in 1914 when Birmingham, Alabama was a raucous young boomtown with a thriving entertainment district, the Lyric Theatre once played host to the greatest names in entertainment but is now all but forgotten — — in urgent need of both renovation and public rediscovery. . . .
• • The people of Birmingham get a rare opportunity to visit the Lyric and, perhaps, to experience the same thrill of discovery that Burrow did [i.e., Holly Burrow, Director of the new Hill Arts Center], this Sunday, December 7th, 2008, from 2 — 4 p.m., during the 2008 Christmas Open House at the Alabama, the Lyric, and the Hill Center. On hand to answer questions about the Lyric . . . will be Dan Liles, a former history instructor at Marion Institute who is now the unofficial historian of the Lyric and the Alabama. . . .
• • For event information, phone: (205) 252-2262.
• • Legendary theatrical promoter Jake Wells built the Lyric as a top-tier vaudeville house, with 1,200 great seats, magnificent acoustics and elegant decor, and it quickly became the premier venue in Birmingham. Vaudeville was the name used to describe the wildly eclectic, often bawdy variety shows that were the most popular form of entertainment in America before the coming of radio and sound films. 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.
• • The good times for the Lyric, and for vaudeville, came to an end with the stock market crash of 1929 and the ensuing Great Depression. Wells lost his theatres, including the Lyric, to the mortgage company. The Schubert organization leased the Lyric and continued to present vaudeville, but the form was dying and, by the mid 1930s, the theatre was sold to the Waters family of Birmingham and became a second-run movie house. It closed in 1958 and has been largely unused since then. . . .
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• • Article: "The voice of the theatre: Holiday open house to showcase the Alabama Theatre and the lovely Lyric"
• • Byline: Jesse Chambers
• • Published in: Birmingham Weekly — — www.bhamweekly.com/
• • Published on: 5 December 2008
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
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Mae West.
MAE WEST's gay play "Pleasure Man" had a $200,000 box office advance when it premiered at the Biltmore on 1 October 1928. The police raided the show, however, and shut it down the same night. Perhaps this was an easy target, since the theatre was on the same block as the precinct: 47th Street, west of Broadway. 
• • The infamous raid at the Biltmore is dramatized in the play "Courting Mae West," which will debut on Saturday 19 July 2008 at the Algonquin Theatre in Manhattan.• • Opened in 1925, the Biltmore also launched a number of successes, most notably "Brother Rat" (with Jose Ferrer); "See My Lawyer" (with Milton Berle); and the long-running tribal rock musical of the 1960s "Hair."
• • After years of neglect, the Biltmore was magnificently renovated and became the Tony Award-winning Manhattan Theatre Club's Broadway headquarters. It has been decided that the playhouse will be renamed the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre in recognition of the pioneering Broadway publicist.
• • According to Playbill, the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre will be dedicated prior to the start of the 2008—09 season.
• • Playbill Staffwriter Kenneth Jones had a lot to say about Mr. Friedman, who was hired to promote Mae West's Broadway revival of "Diamond Lil" in 1950.
• • Kenneth Jones writes: Born and raised in New York City, Samuel J. Friedman (1912—1974) was a pioneer in theatrical publicity, according to MTC. "Legendary for his stunts, personality and press agentry, Mr. Friedman began his career in 1937 at the Shubert Organization on a Cole Porter musical You Never Know, starring Clifton Webb, Libby Holman, and Lupe Velez. In the early 1950s he opened National Press Agents with partner Bill Doll and at various times served as Vice President of Arthur P. Jacobs Co., Inc., VP of Publicity for United Artists Motion Pictures and PR Director of Hugh Hefner's Playboy Enterprises. He was a lifetime member and officer of the Association of Theatrical Press Agents and Managers. Along the way he worked with such legendary performers as Gypsy Rose Lee (Star and Garter, 1942), Montgomery Clift (The Searching Wing, 1944), Billy Rose (Diamond Horseshoe, 1946) Josephine Baker (Paris Sings Again, 1947), Mae West (Diamond Lil, 1950), Bette Davis (Two's Company, 1952), Lotte Lenya (The Threepenny Opera, 1954), Jerry Orbach (The Threepenny Opera, 1955), Shirley Booth (Miss Isobel, 1957), Peter Ustinov (Romanoff and Juliet, 1957), Jackie Gleason (Take Me Along, 1959), Roddy McDowall (Compulsion, 1959), Jon Voight (That Summer, That Fall, 1967), Tammy Grimes (The Only Game in Town, 1968), Claire Bloom (Hedda Gabler, 1971), Victor Borge and Marcel Marceau. ...
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• • Byline: Kenneth Jones
• • Published in: Playbill
• • Published on: 18 June 2008
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • 1 October 1928 news clip • •
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Mae West.
