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MAE WEST may have preferred to forget the shadows that fell across her silver screen beams in "Sextette," her last motion picture. It was released in the month of March — — on 3 March 1978. However, one of her handsome co-stars still has fond memories of being in "Myra Breckinridge" with her and also relishing her singular star turn on Oscar night.
• • Rex Reed Misses Mae West • • 
• • N.Y. Observer columnist Rex Reed writes: I can't chastise the absence of charisma and talent in today's bland, unfocused workforce. It's not their fault they aren't Barbara Stanwyck, Gary Cooper, and Bette Davis. I remember Doris Day paired with Clark Gable and Mae West crooning to Rock Hudson. Now we get Mila Kunis and Justin Timberlake. Next year, we'll probably get Justin Bieber. What we need more than anything else is some genuine humor. . . [Source: Column: "What the Hell Happened to the Oscars?" written by Rex Reed for The New York Observer on 1 March 2011].
• • "Love Goddesses" Released on March 3rd • •
• • Mae West film footage is used in the documentary "Love Goddesses," originally released in the month of March — — on 3 March 1965.
• • Alyce Ardell Died on March 3rd • •
• • When she worked with Mae West in "Go West, Young Man" [1936], Alyce Ardell portrayed Jeanette, a French maid. She retired early from the cinema — — perhaps out of boredom or frustration.
• • Born as Marie Alice Pradel in Paris on 14 November 1902, the French voice actress Alyce Ardell lent her sexy accents to several intriguing cartoons as well as shorts and many motion pictures in which she was often cast, mais oui, as a French maid from 1925 — 1939.
• • Alyce Ardell died at age 95 in Laguna Hills, California in March — — on 3 March 1996.
• • Mae West Memento Lost in New Jersey • •
• • ABC reporter Nina Pineda writes: The contents we could see was a trove of jewelry, pearls, pocket watches, antique clocks, coins, a vintage dollar from the roaring 20's, a collectible program signed by screen siren Mae West, even a century-old Derringer pistol. . . [Source: Article: "Find your unclaimed property!" written by Nina Pineda for WABC in Trenton, NJ on 1 March 2011].
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • Contemplating the cinema releases of 1933, movie maven Eric D. Snider writes: The list of 1933's most popular movies lends credence to the theory that audiences weren't in the mood for such jarring, chaotic satire. Instead they favored light musicals (State Fair, 42nd Street, escapist fantasy (King Kong), saucy Mae West comedies (I'm No Angel and She Done Him Wrong), historical dramas (Queen Christina) and serene literary adaptations (Little Women). . . [Source: Article "What's the Big Deal?: Duck Soup (1933)" written by Eric D. Snider for FILM.COM].
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • with Rock Hudson at the Oscars • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest
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Mae West.
"Pleasure Man" written by MAE WEST had its opening night on 1 October 1928 padlocked by the police. Alan Brooks who portrayed Rodney Terrill died at the end of September — — on 29 September 1936 — — in Saranac Lake, NY, at age 48. The actor was treated at Will Rogers Hospital for TB, the disease that contributed to his early demise. 
• • Actor Alan Brooks, who played the title role, swore on the witness stand that he was astonished to discover that his character in "Pleasure Man" had died from being castrated. The debonair 42-year-old leading man testified in smart-looking spats and a gorgeous suit.
• • In January 1917, the performer also had to sue The Palace over a salary dispute. The court ruled in his favor and the determined vaudevillian walked away with his weekly wages of $665.
• • Born in New York City as Irving Hayward in the month of January — — on 25 January 1888 — — Alan Brooks was active on The Gay White Way from 1909 — 1932. During that interval, Brooks was cast opposite Lionel Barrymore in "The Piker" [1925] and helmed his own Broadway trifecta when he wrote, directed, and starred in the comedy "Merchants of Venus" [1920].
• • The life of an actor has never been an easy one whether onstage or during the drama of the witness stand.
• • The legal battles fought by Mae West and Alan Brooks are dramatized in the play "Courting Mae West: Sex, Censorship, and Secrets," set during the Prohibition Era. Watch a scene on YouTube.
• • Rex Reed: Oh, Myra • •
• • On Sunday evening, 30 January 2011, Rex Reed will air his viewpoints as part of the Annenberg Theater Council Speaker Series. You can gather the gist of his remarks by this title: "Rex Reed: My Life in Movies" — — which promises to share details about “how he started in the movie business, crashed into big-time journalism, becoming a movie star and critic." Rex Reed will also reminisce about bold-faced names he has encountered including Mae West, Truman Capote, Joan Crawford, Bette Davis, and Tennessee Williams, etc. Surely, Rex Reed must have interesting things to say as well about the author Gore Vidal whose bestseller "Myra Breckinridge" was adapted for the cinema in 1970 co-starring Mae West, Raquel Welch, Mr. Reed, and others. Though Gore Vidal's plot does not involve castration, a surgical operation is part of this messy story. You might say Gore put a lot of gore on the page.
• • WHERE: Annenberg Theater, 101 Museum Drive, Palm Springs, CA 92262
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • with her lawyer, Alan Brooks, and Texas Guinan, 1930 • •• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest
NYCMae West.
Rex Reed once co-starred with MAE WEST. Here's an excerpt from his column on the rise and fall of Oscar.
• • Rex Reed writes: Call me yesterday’s child, but after the thrill of Doris Day arm in arm with Clark Gable, or Mae West’s carnal gibes at Rock Hudson on a raunchy duet of “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” that almost knocked the show off the air in 1958, the sight of Charlie Kaufman and a coven of assorted Desperate Housewives just doesn’t quite make it.
• • I still think Judy Garland should have won for the achievement of a lifetime in A Star Is Born (1954), instead of dreary Grace Kelly. I remain unconvinced that Judy Holliday should have won in 1951 for Born Yesterday over Bette Davis in All About Eve.
• • How can a sane mind explain how The Greatest Show on Earth beat out The Bad and the Beautiful in 1953? Orson Welles never really won anything; neither did Alfred Hitchcock. James Dean changed the face of movie acting forever, but Oscar gave him the middle finger twice — posthumously, too. Kim Stanley, my favorite actress of all time, wasn’t even nominated for The Goddess.
• • Already disheartened, I pretty much stopped covering the Oscars on a regular basis after Titanic swept the awards in 1998, and for no logical reason, a silly, spastic fop named Roberto Benigni beat Tom Hanks in Saving Private Ryan the following year. When it comes to grousing, I’m just scratching the surface. It all reminds me of what Hunter Thompson once said about the music business: “A dark, plastic hallway where pimps and thieves run free, and good men die like dogs. … There is also a negative side.”
• • The winds of change have now reached gale force, but here we go again. The songs have been a joke since real songwriters stopped writing them. The last great song with any legs written for the screen was “New York, New York” in 1977. It wasn’t even nominated. In the old days you got musical numbers by Kern, Berlin, and the Gershwins. Now you get X-rated rap about pimps. Aware of the negative impact this trash has provoked, the Academy this year is limiting the category to three songs instead of five, and the performance time to one chorus each. No cigar, but it’s a start. . . .
— — Excerpt: — —
• • Article: "Oscar and Me"
• • Byline: Rex Reed
• • Published in: The New York Observer
• • Published on: 17 February 2009
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • Critic Rex Reed was born on 2 October 1938 in Fort Worth, Texas to Jimmie M. Reed and Jewell Smith.• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • none • •
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Mae West.
October 2nd is a special day on the MAE WEST calendar of memories.
• • On 2 October 1938, Rex Reed — — Mae's good-looking co-star in "Myra Breckinridge" 
— — was born in Fort Worth, Texas. Currently, the 69-year-old Reed pens a column "On the Town with Rex Reed" for a rarely-read newspaper — — The New York Observer. The late great Spy Magazine used to poke fun at the fey Dakota resident. Labeling him as one of the ten most embarrassing New Yorkers, Spy's staff was fond of saying that Rex Reed's positive film reviews "sound like the overblown testimonials of an unctuous Judy Garland fan after hoisting one too many kir royales at the piano bar."
• • On 2 October 1985, Rock Hudson died of AIDS. The tall, dark, and handsome actor sang a memorable duet with MAE WEST — — "Baby, It's Cold Outside" — — during an Academy Awards Show in 1958. This was a rare invitation extended to Mae to perform during the annual Hollywood awards ceremony. As they concluded the number, Rock offered Mae a cigarette, noting that it was "king-sized" — — and Mae replied, "Mmmm, it's not the men in your life, it's the life in your men!" They ended with a long, slow, passionate kiss.• • It would never be cold inside — — if Mae West was there. • • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • 1958 • •
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Mae West.
There's never been another movie like MAE WEST's "Myra Breckinridge."
• • But, writes Susan Dunne, that kind of legacy is what camp classics are made of.
• • Susan Dunne adds: Rex Reed, the film critic, stars as Myron Breckinridge, who wants a sex change. He gets one courtesy of a whacked-out doctor, and becomes Myra (Raquel Welch). Myra heads to Hollywood, to go into the biz, to claim an inheritance from her uncle (John Huston), and to teach university classes. Her uncle's friend is a horny seventy-something talent scout, played by Mae West. ("I can't wait till I get back to bed. If that don't work, I'll try to sleep.")
• • Others in the cast are Andy Devine, Farrah Fawcett, and Jim Backus.
• • Michael Sarne's film was based on a novel by Gore Vidal, who washed his hands of the entire thing. It's full of cringe-inducing dialogue and generally smarmy atmosphere. In short, a perfect movie to watch while you're having a few drinks.
• • The 1970 film is 94 minutes and is rated R. It will be shown Sunday [18 May 2008] at 11 a.m. at Criterion Cinemas in New Haven.
• • Criterion Cinemas: 86 Temple St. (at George St.), New Haven, CT 06510. Showtimes: (203) 498-2500.
— — Source: — —
• • Camp Classic "Myra Breckinridge" Good For Laughs
• • Written by: Susan Dunne
• • Published in: Courant.com — — www.courant.com
• • Published on: 15 May 2008
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • 1970 • •
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Mae West.
Risk-takers in Hollywood include MAE WEST and, apparently, Tom Selleck, who was featured opposite the actress in 1970.
• • Chicago Tribune reporter Louis R. Carlozo interviewed the Detroit native recently, since the 62-year-old senior citizen [born in January 1945] is busy flogging some DVDs that he stars in. Carlozo's column is called "On the Small Screen."
• • "On The Small Screen" spoke with Selleck about his latest project, which has him wearing multiple creative hats, and how it fits into an entertainment career built around taking risks.
• • • • Q. Let's go back to the very start. One of the most bizarre films you ever appeared in was 1970's "Myra Breckinridge," which included Mae West, Raquel Welch, Farah [sic] Fawcett, Jim "Mr. Magoo" Backus, and film critic Rex Reed. What on earth was that like?
• • • • A. That was in the day when I didn't take risks, I took jobs. I was under contract with Fox; I think that was the second job I ever had. I think I was Stud No. 6, and at one point, Mae West walks in and says to one of the studs, "I don't care that you're 6 feet and 7 inches, let's talk about the 7 inches." I was not the recipient of that laugh. I don't know who was taking what substances, but it was a great experience. Raquel Welch was writing her own stuff, and Mae West was writing her own stuff, the director [Michael Sarne, who would photograph cakes for eight hours while the cast waited] was on Pluto ... and all I did was sit around for two weeks and fantasize about Farah [sic] Fawcett. ...
— excerpt —• • Source: Chicago Tribune
• • Byline: Louis R. Carlozo, Chicago Tribune staff reporter• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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• • Photo: • • Mae West • • none • •
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In a recent interview with TV's Biography Channel, Rex Reed admitted that MAE WEST was the only reason to watch the flop that he co-starred in: "Myra Breckinridge." Not considered one of Mae's best films, this step-child is often ranked as low (or lower) than "Sextette."
• • Ken Hughes, who was the director of "Sextette," based on Mae West's play ["Sextet"], died in April and is being remembered.
• • Kenneth Graham Hughes was born in Liverpool, England on 19 January 1922.
• • The Hollywood director developed Alzheimer's disease and died on 28 April 2001 in Los Angeles.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xmlMae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • none • •NYC
Mae West.
"Mae took herself very seriously!"
• • Journalist Rex Reed and other men who worked with MAE WEST offer insight into the Mae mystique in this video. It's online at The Biography Channel. See link [below].
• • http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biography_video_highlights/421/Mae_West.htm
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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• • Photo: • • Mae West • • none • •NYC
Mae West.
