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It was August 1944 and MAE WEST was back on Broadway at the Shubert Theatre wearing furs, jewelry, a tiara, and a rather chilly and serious expression.
• • Czarina Catherine, who was born on 2 May 1729 and died on 17 November 1796, reigned as Empress of Russia for 34 years, from 28 June 1762 until her death — — which was not caused by post-dramatic stress disorder.
• • Though the play was neither hilarious nor a big box-office draw, it did eke out 191 performances.
• • Time Magazine's drama critic made this assessment.
• • "Catherine Was Great" (by Mae West; produced by Michael Todd) is an opulent and incredible fancy-undress affair in which the queen of all the sirens essays the Empress of All the Russias. "Catherine," said Mae West in a first-night curtain speech, "had 300 lovers. I did the best I could in two hours." For a while her best was reasonably good: she seemed to make Lords of the Bedchamber of the whole Russian court and boud-warriors of half the Russian army. As she followed her hips about the stage in a solemn slink, as she languidly drew shameless innuendos from her husky throat, Actress West caught some of the aplomb, humor and matchless vulgarity of her "Come up and see me some time." But pretty soon her unvaried role began to pull and so, soon after, did her unvarying way of playing it.
• • Worse yet, the man-eater in Catherine was not enough for Actress West; she insisted on encompassing the Empress as well, and far from spoofing the imperial manner, tried to outdo it. When a courtier reminded her that "They also serve who only stand and wait," she replied "Quoting Milton's 'prome,' I presume!" She had sponged up enough history to soak her play with wars, uprisings and palace intrigues. But the excitement was conveyed in dialogue that had the specific gravity of lead, and the results, when not merely sedative, were often crushing.
— — Source: — —
• • "The Theatre" Column: "Catherine Was Great"
• • Published in: Time Magazine — — printed edition
• • Published on: Monday, 14 August 1944
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
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An amusing article appeared about Rae Bourbon, who performed on Broadway with MAE WEST.
• • "Eventually Rae Bourbon had his own club on Sunset Strip in L.A., where he hobnobbed with Hollywood elite such as Mae West and Bob Hope. He released dozens of comedy and bawdy-song records on several labels, including his own, UTC (Under The Counter, where one often found the risqué records in a shop)," writes Nick DiFonzo [Houston Press, "Cutout Bin: Rae Bourbon — — Let Me Tell You About My Operation," Friday, 31 July 2009].
• • Born in Texas as Hal Wadell, the vaudeville comedian and female impersonator called himself either Ray or Rae Bourbon [11 August 1892 — 20 July 1971] onstage. Not unlike that other not-very-beautiful entertainer born during August — — Madonna — — Bourbon kept his bookings going by navigating a shifting terrain of social attitudes about gender, censorship, bisexuality, transgression, transvestism, bawdiness, and sheer snark.
• • A memorable date for Rae Bourbon took place 65 years ago — — the Broadway debut of "Catherine Was Great," when Mae West portrayed the Empress of Russia and Bourbon had a minor role as Florian.
• • Let's imagine the crowds that gathered on 2 August 1944 in front of the Shubert Theatre [225 West 44th Street] to celebrate this grand premiere.
• • An enthusiastic group will gather in the same spot on 16 August 2009 for a walking tour — — "Gaudy Girls on The Gay White Way: Mae West & Texas Guinan in the Theatre District" — — and we hope to see you, too, at 4 o'clock that Sunday.• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
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MAE WEST was accompanied in 1930 by Rudy Vallée, whose birthday and death date fall during the month of July.
• • Born in Island Pond, Vermont, Rudy Vallée [28 July 1901 — 3 July 1986] was an actor as well as a singer, bandleader, and popular entertainer. His parents had ancestors who were of French Canadian origin and some who had emigrated from Ireland. [Similarly, Mae West's father's side was from Ireland and Canada and her maternal grandmother was French.]
• • Rudy Vallée grew up in Westbrook, Maine. In high school, he took up the saxophone. Supposedly, he acquired the nickname "Rudy" after a then famous saxophonist Rudy Wiedoeft. 
• • In the spring of 1930, Texas Guinan, who was covering "The Pleasure Man" trial for a newspaper, invited Mae to perform at a fundraiser she was co-hosting at the Imperial Theatre [249 West 45th Street]. This playhouse had 1443 seats. Texas Guinan had tapped entertainers such as Helen Morgan, Ruth Etting, Charles Butterworth, Lily Damita, De Wolf Hopper, Paul Ash, and Harry Richman.
• • Jobless herself, Mae agreed to sing a few numbers to raise money at the "Give a Job Benefit" taking place on 12 April 1930.
• • Rudy Vallée and his orchestra backed Mae as she sang "Frankie and Johnny" and a few other favorites on the wide proscenium stage of the Imperial. For awhile, Vallée's trademark was a raccoon coat and megaphone. Other co-hosts helping this worthy cause were Walter Winchell, Mark Hellinger, Jack Donahue, and the event's organizer Heywood Broun.
• • Rudy Vallée died on 3 July 1986 at the age of 84 in Hollywood.
• • Harmony and stage stars still find their way to the Imperial. If you have seen the current crowd-pleasing musical at this West 45th venue, then you know this playhouse looks rather different now.
• • 2009 TOUR: On Sunday afternoon 16 August 2009, the Annual Mae West Walk, will briefly visit West 45th. This August the entertaining, informative birthday celebration of the actress-writer, which will begin at Shubert Alley and proceed uptown to Mae's WESTside apartment, is called "Gaudy Girls on The Gay White Way: Mae West and Texas Guinan in the Theatre District." These tours are always accompanied by vintage illustrations, memorabilia, and rare photos that show how the buildings, vaudeville houses, billboards, Playbills, and blockfronts looked when Mae West was there. Surprises are in store.
• • • • Mae West Walking Tours You Might Have Enjoyed • • • • • • 2006 TOUR: Our regular Mae-mavens will recall seeing the historical exhibition "Onstage Outlaws: Mae West and Texas Guinan in a Lawless Era,” which opened to the public after a Gala Roaring-20s theme Press Preview on Mae’s birthday 17 August 2006. And on Sunday afternoon 20 August 2006, more than two dozen beautiful people gathered on West Ninth Street to enjoy a special treat — — "Washington Square Women: Mae West and Texas Guinan in Greenwich Village" — — followed by a Jazz Era brunch served with champagne and the Cos-MAE-Politan cocktail, garnished with two strategically placed plump raspberries.
• • 2007 TOUR: On Friday evening 17 August 2007, a fascinating guided adventure — — "The Mae West Side Story" — — escorted numerous intrepid walk-abouts to three of Mae's former residences along with other sites linked to the Brooklyn bombshell.
• • 2008 TOUR: On Sunday afternoon 17 August 2008, the captivating Diamond Divas led a group of over two dozen Mae-mavens to several locations in Greenwich Village linked to her stage career, gay themes, courtroom woes, and the work of individuals she admired such as Lillian Russell, Tony Pastor, Texas Guinan, Eugene O'Neill, and Rae Bourbon. The 2008 walking tour — — "Mae West's Walk on the Wild Side" — — celebrated the 115th birthday of the Empress of Sex with an extravagant musical program, performed live by Met Opera soprano Marlena de la Mora and Sharon Weinman, which included these numbers: "Everything's Coming up Mae West"; "Mon Coeur S' Ouvre a Ta Voix"; "The Prisoner's Song"; "Frankie and Johnny"; "Come Down Ma Evening Star"; "I Could Have Danced All Night"; "Gentleman Jimmy"; and a grand finale taken from the score of "Diamond Lil."
• • Tour photos can be seen on the Mae West Blog.
• • For more details, do read this blog and/ or post your email. [Your info will not be posted nor available so that miscreants and rascals can access it.]• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • Imperial Theatre during the 1920s• •
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Born like MAE WEST in Brooklyn, New York, Sylvia Syms [2 December 2, 1917 — 10 May 1992] was a jazz singer whose birthname was Sylvia Blagman. 
• • When she was a child, Sylvia contracted polio — — a disease that also afflicted Mae's sister Beverly and causes some sufferers to put on weight.
• • As a curious 15-year-old, Sylvia found her way to jazz joints on New York's "Prohibition Row" [West 52nd Street]. In 1941, the 24-year-old debuted at a club called Billy's Stable.
• • During 1948, Mae West went to performances at the Cinderella Club in Greenwich Village to see Rae Bourbon and listen to keyboard king Willie "The Lion" Smith. Fortunately for Sylvia Sims, Mae caught her act onstage there, too. Mae West gave her the part of Flo the Shoplifter in a Broadway revival of Diamond Lil.
• • Thanks to this big break and the exposure Mae West afforded her, Sylvia Syms appeared on the stage as Bloody Mary in South Pacific and as Dolly Levi in Hello, Dolly! — — and also acted in straight roles.
• • Among others who observed her in night spots was Frank Sinatra who considered her the "world's greatest saloon singer." Sinatra conducted her album "Syms by Sinatra" [1982].
• • Signed to Decca Records, she had a million-selling record in 1956 with an up-tempo version of "I Could Have Danced All Night" from the soundtrack of My Fair Lady. It was her one mega hit.
• • In a nightclub career that spanned 51 years, the New York rooms in which she performed included Bon Soir [on West 8th Street], Ruban Bleu, The Living Room, Village Vanguard [on Seventh Avenue], Cafe Carlyle, Freddy's, Michael's Pub, The Cookery [on East 8th Street], Marty's, and Eighty-Eight's [on West 10th Street].• • She died on stage at age 74 in New York City from a heart attack.
• • Her New York Times obituary said: "With her deep, grainy contralto, I've-been-through-it-all air of sophistication, and sinuous phrasing that echoed her idol, Billie Holiday, Miss Syms was a quintessential saloon singer, a term she said she preferred to cabaret singer. In the saloon tradition of Mr. Sinatra, she treated everything she sang as an intimate personal communication."
• • Times staffer Stephen Holden wrote: "When you perform it's a one-to-one love affair with the people out there," she once said. "That's how it has to be."• • On Sunday 17 August 2008, during the "Mae West's Walk on the Wild Side" walking tour, the group will visit the Cinderella Club and "I Could Have Danced All Night" will be sung live by a vivacious actress, a native New Yorker who has performed in many musicals.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West's protege • • Sylvia Syms • •
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Mae West.
