Mae West: Mahlon Hamilton

MAE WEST was in an amusing scene with Mahlon Hamilton. He was cast as a sideshow spectator in the opening scene of "I'm No Angel" [1933], one of the men pressing closer to ogle Tira in her hilariously over-the-top "Little Egypt" costume.
• • Born in Virginia on 15 June 1880, Mahlon Hamilton launched his movie career in 1914 and was seen in numerous featured roles for the next two decades. In 1929, he took part in "Honky Tonk," starring Sophie Tucker. After 1934, however, he often got work but mostly as an extra. Increasingly, he was patched into the background as a party guest, doorman, pedestrian, musician, doorman, businessman, etc. He worked in Hollywood films until 1950 when he was 70 years old; he has 98 big-screen titles to his credit. Stricken by cancer, the busy bit part player also died in the month of June — — on 20 June 1960 — — in Woodland Hills, California shortly after his 80th birthday.
• • "I'm No Angel" Blooper • •
• • During a close-up when Tira looks through a pile of phonograph records with different titles ("That Dallas Man," "That Frisco Man," etc.), all of the labels have same serial number.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Tira: What do you do for a living?
• • Ernest Brown: Oh, uh, sort of a politician.
• • Tira: I don't like work either.
• • [Source: Mae West wrote her own lines for "I'm No Angel," 1933.]
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • Is that Mae West disguised on a pack of Camels?
• • A recent article draws awareness to a few ‘hidden secrets’ on the Camel cigarettes pack. One is the mysterious ‘man/ woman in the Camel leg.’ According to urban legend, the front leg of the Camel on the packet in fact contains a woman standing with her hands on her hips (highlighted and labeled for your convenience). That’s what some people think. Others see a man, the Belgian ‘peeing boy’ and even Mae West! . ..
• • Source: Article: "Conspiracy: Smoke and mirrors" written by staff for The Express Tribune, Sunday Magazine; posted on 19 June 2011
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started seven years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 1967th 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 • • 1933 • •
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Mae West: Tucked in with Sophie

At the end of 1919, MAE WEST was very busy — — and maybe a bit awestruck knowing that she was on the same stagebill with Sophie Tucker.
• • The 26-year-old "firefly of vaudeville" was featured at the 44th Street Theatre [near Broadway]. On the program was the top-billed act — — Sophie Tucker and Her Kings of Syncopation — — along with Ames & Winthrop, Mae West, Riggs & Witchie, and "8 other favorite acts."
• • Sophie Tucker • •
• • Sophie Tucker [13 January 1884 — 9 February 1966] was one of the most popular entertainers in America during the first third of the 20th century. Almost ten years older than Mae and not as controversial when she launched her career, Sophie Tucker had an ethnic appeal which upped her forward momentum and she was, in fact, a much bigger draw in vaudeville than the Brooklyn bombshell.
• • Mae West: Bombshell & Atom Bomb • •
• • The latest Marilyn Monroe "controversy" is out now, thanks to Remo's new video and painting on YouTube entitled "Persistence of Marlyn Monroe's Memory — — A Tribute by Remo." Marilyn Monroe stars with strange bedfellows Salvador Dali, Mae West, Mick Jagger, Adolph Hitler, Mona Lisa, and the Atomic Bomb in the painting and also in the quasi documentary video. "Persistence of . . ." is an updated interpretation (created by 36-year-old Argentine metaphysical artist Remo) of the Salvador Dali surreal masterpiece "Persistence of Memory," painted by Dali in 1931.
• • Mae West Arrested on 9 February 1927 • •
• • It was on 9 February 1927 that Mae — — along with the cast of "Sex," and the cast of "The Captive," and the cast of "The Virgin Man" — — was cuffed and dragged in to Night Court.
• • Broadway ingenue Dorothy Hall [1906 — 1953] was the youngest actress to face the judge after the raid; Hall was 21 years old. Helen Menken was 26 and Mae was 33 at the time of this arrest.
• • One-Woman Skit on Mae West for 9 February 2011 • •
• • The Hilltoppers senior citizens group of Scott will hold their monthly meeting on 9 February 2011 at Covenant-Community Presbyterian Church, 1630 Greentree Road, Pittsburgh, PA. After lunch and a brief meeting, actress Karen Durham will present her one-woman skit on Mae West. RSVP: 412-341-8640.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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• • Photo: • • Mae West • • by Remo, 2011 • •
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Mae West: Chester Conklin

The Grand Prospect Hall was built in 1892 in Brooklyn — — and visiting luminaries included MAE WEST, according to the venue's website.
• • Lately, this stately structure [at 263 Prospect Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11215] — — which rents ballrooms and salons for meetings and catered affairs, but has not much in the way of overnight accommodations — — plans to expand.
• • A strategy will be needed in order to stare down the local community leaders, therefore, the owners are currently reminding everyone about its storied past when Sophie Tucker graced one of the 1910 programs, when gangster mobster Al Capone used to frequent their cellar speakeasy, and when presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan attended a gathering.
• • No dates and no specific details are given about Mae West's purpose in being there. But the owners are telling the news media she was there — — and lazy reporters do not bother to check.
• • January 11th • •
• • The motion picture "Every Day's a Holiday" [1938] starred Mae West and featured Edmund Lowe, Charles Butterworth, Charles Winninger, Lloyd Nolan, Walter Catlett, Chester Conklin, and Louis Armstrong.
• • Born in Oskaloosa, Iowa, Chester Cooper Conklin [11 January 1886 — 11 October 1971] was an American comedian and actor. He appeared in over 280 films, about half of them in the silent era when his name really resonated. Gradually, he became a bit parts player and was cast as a cabby in "Every Day's a Holiday" — — in a memorable scene when Mae West's shady character has to cross the Brooklyn Bridge. On his birthday we reminisce about his decades long career.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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• • Photo: • • Mae West • • 1938 • •
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Mae West: Max C. Freedman

MAE WEST recorded an LP "Great Balls of Fire" in 1972 — — and one track was "Rock Around the Clock," that great rock and roll standard.
• • Written in 1953 and first recorded by the Italian-American band Sonny Dae and His Knights [Arcade label], it became a phenomenal hit instead for a country music performer Bill Haley [1925 — 1981]. When Bill Haley & His Comets recorded it [Decca label] on 12 April 1954, the front man was pushing 30 and looked older.
• • Covered by 79-year-old Mae West in 1972, the hit was still so associated with Bill Haley that it will surprise people to learn that the songwriter was actually born the same year as Mae — — but in the month of January.
• • Hailing from Philadelphia, Max C. Freedman [8 January 1893 — 8 October 1962] was a veteran Tin Pan Alley songwriter who was best known for his novelty number "Sioux City Sue." But when he teamed up with James E. Myers (aka. Jimmy DeKnight) in 1953 to write a fast and furious rock and roll tune called "Rock Around the Clock," both men became known as chart-toppers. By then song-man Max was 60 years old.
• • Keeping up with the times, Mae offered her own sassy version on this album produced 18 years later.
• • Mae West's songs featured in "Brassy Broads" • •
• • This sassy and brassy revue "Brassy Broads" is a tribute to the divas of the American stage and screen. Three vivacious ladies take the lead to perform iconic numbers like “In the Mood,” etc. Featuring songs old and new from those great dames Mae West, Sophie Tucker, Ethel Merman, Carol Channing, Bernadette Peters, and Bette Midler.
• • The premiere is tonight — — on 8 January 2011 at 7:30 PM at Florida Studio Theatre, 1241 North Palm Avenue, Sarasota, FL 34236.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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• • Photo: • • Mae West • • 1972 • •
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Mae West: Empress, Meet the King

After assuming the ermine mantle of Russian ruler Catherine the Great in 1944, MAE WEST acquired a new nickname on Broadway — — The Empress of Sex.
• • It was wonderful to see so many news articles about this broad-minded broad, and her annual birthday festivities, printed before her birthday. And it was sensational to have so many reporters sitting in the press box on the 14th of August. What Mae herself would have found truly exceptional, however, was that a king was in the audience — — yes, the incomparable actor, singer, voice-over artist Elli the King of Broadway came up to see Mae. Here is his review for Nite Life Exchange.
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• • Mae West’s Birthday Tribute The Actor’s Temple • •
• • Elli writes: In the 1933 film "I’m No Angel," Mae West says, "When I’m good I’m very, very, good — — and when I’m bad, I’m better.” This past Saturday night [14 August 2010], Anne Marie Finnie, as Mae West, showed us just how very good she is at bringing Mae back to life.
• • The delightful evening at The Actor's Temple began with event organizer LindaAnn Loschiavo, author of the play, Courting Mae West: Sex, Censorship & Secrets, welcoming the audience and providing a brief history of the neighborhood. She then introduced Miss Sophie Tucker (played by Maggie Worsdale). Miss Tucker was a member of, and headlined an annual benefit for The Actor's Temple at a Broadway theatre every year.
• • After delighting the audience with some funny songs and jokes, we got to meet the bawdy, flamboyant, and way ahead of her time Mae West. Ms. Finnie captured not only the look, with her flamboyant gown and signature platinum blonde hair and makeup, but also embodied the voice, mannerisms and spirit of the great Miss West, who died in 1980 at the age of 87.
• • Ms. Tucker was excellent as the "straight man" to Ms. West, providing the setup for many of the great Mae West lines, and jokes from her illustrious career on stage, screen and in the nightclubs and speakeasies of New York. The audience was treated to a variety of songs, duets and stories which all ended way too soon.
• • Shimmy Contest & 10 Prizes • •
• • The party ended with a "Shimmy" contest (which thankfully I did not enter) and a raffle for 10 outstanding prizes such as a Parol designer shawl scarf with the words, "When I’m good I’m very, very, good – and when I’m bad, I’m better!" knitted into the 25x200cm scarf, and an A-MAE-ZING teddy bear dressed to the nines, as Mae herself always did.
• • Of course there was time allotted after the finale and the well-earned encore for people to pose for a keepsake photo with two of the original divas of the stage.
• • Sadly, this was a one-night-only celebration, but the ladies do perform together quite often.
• • For more information on future events, check out http://www.thegaudygirls.com and http://www.maewest.blogspot.com
• • For complete info about the reviewer, please go to http://www.thekingofbroadway.com — — and you can also click on the link below to see Elli's fab photos from August 14th.
— — Source: — —
• • Article: " Mae West’s Birthday Tribute The Actor’s Temple"
• • By: Elli – The King Of Broadway
• • Published in: Nite Life Exchange — — http://NiteLifeExchange.com/
• • Published on: Saturday, 21 August 2010
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• • The raffle is part of the tradition at the Annual Mae West Birthday Tribute. Since Mae herself was a generous woman, it's fitting that she continues to give gifts to her loyal fans. Three of the most sought-after prizes on August 14th were donated by the German company Parol. The three scarf/ shawl winners were: (a) Mario Fratti, the Tony Award winner of the musical "Nine," who lives in Manhattan; (b) Linda Amiel Burns, The Singing Experience, of Manhattan, and (c) Garrett Ferguson of Mastic, NY. Thank you to the new Shimmy Queen Ella Smith, all the attendees, our ten prize winners, our media guests, and to Parol and also the other very gracious prize sponsors.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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• • Photo: • • Mae West • • Mae West scarf by PAROL • •
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Mae West: Rambunctious Celebration

On 17 August 2010 MAE WEST was saluted on a typical tropical night — — in Hollywood — — at The House of Ram.
• • Ramfis "Ram" Diaz, who hosted the very first Mae West Birthday Tribute back in 1984 as a simple spaghetti supper, is a Westiana preservationist of epic proportions. Indeed many Angelenos would say that Ram's acquisitions of the movie queen's rarities would equal the passionate commitment of Thomas Bruce, the Seventh Earl of Elgin, who seized upon the Parthenon Marbles and brought these artifacts to Britain.
• • Devotee Damon Devine, who was photographed at the party, arrived late — — since he was being pursued all night by autograph seekers.
• • California transplant David Pekrol, a New Jersey native, invited an East Coast performer to the festivities — — and the very talented Sharon McNight delighted the attendees with her Mae West impersonation.
• • Sharon McNight portrayed Mae West at the party • •
• • Sharon McNight, who made her Broadway debut in 1989, is the recipient of the coveted Theatre World Award for "Outstanding Broadway Debut" which was presented to her by Carol Channing. McNight's current project is "Betty, Betty, Bette," created to celebrate the screen legends Grable, Hutton, and Davis. She has six solo recordings to her credit. One of these is "The Sophie Tucker Songbook," which contains the music of her one-woman show based the show business legend. "The Sophie Tucker Songbook" debuted at New York's Rainbow & Stars as part of an ASCAP Sunday night showcase March 1996. Since then, she developed it into a one-woman musical, Red Hot Mama.
• • Canadian guest R. Mark Desjardins, who has been researching the private life of Mae West for the past ten years, has a full report on this annual jubilation in Southern California. His commentary will appear soon, punctuated by more photographs.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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• • Photo: • • Mae West • • Los Angeles party guests 17 August 2010 • •
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Mae West: Annual Tribute

MAE WEST is one of many pop-culture references in “Shine: A Burlesque Musical,” now being staged at La MaMa Etc. as part of the New York International Fringe Festival. The cast's lines will call to mind Sally Rand, Marlene Dietrich, the Pussycat Dolls — — and also the down-and-dirty burlesque movement of The Big Apple's juicy pre-Giuliani past. Critics are saying the show needs work. Let us know what you think.
• • Noticing this article on 13 August 2010 was quite sad: "Mae West ate here: Brooklyn Arby's shuts, landmark building stays." Writing for Examiner.com about the storied destination eatery of long-ago Gage & Tollner, Jane Lasky noted: "Yesterday, after just seven months on its landmark building, a beautiful Brooklyn Arby's shut down. . . . The former showplace where Mae West ate (Jimmy Durante, too) at 372 Fulton Street will rise again as it has before. ..."
• • Spiritual Uplift (Gone Gaudy) at Actors Temple • •
• • But here in Gotham yesterday, the weather was ideal as gentlefolk along The Great White Way looked agog as the gilded hoofbeats grew louder, and then a gorgeous ivory brougham turned onto West 47th Street, halting in front of Actors Temple at 9:30 PM on Saturday, 14 August 2010 — — and a caped footman gallantly escorted The Gaudy Girls into the ancient tiled foyer.
• • Portraying Mae West and Sophie Tucker at the Annual Mae West Birthday Tribute were the beautiful cabaret stars Anne Marie Finnie and Maggie Worsdale, respectively, garbed in seductive glitter, couture millinery, and sequined gowns.
• • There shall be more to tell on a future post.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West: Harry Tickled the Keys

"MAE WEST, author, loses her pianist," noted Variety on 8 September 1922.
• • Born like Mae during the month of August — — on 10 August 1895 — — Harry Richman was an unknown talent in 1922 when Mae West gave him a break and hired the tall piano man with a pronounced lisp. Featured together on the big-time B.F. Keith vaudeville circuit, they were a good team. Wherever their act was booked, the pair got excellent reviews.
• • 1568 Broadway at West 47th: Doubletree Guest Suites Times Square Hotel, built in 1991 as the Embassy Suites to a Fox & Fowle design, envelopes the old Palace Theater, built in 1913 by Kirchoff & Rose. During its heyday it was every vaudevillian's dream to play The Palace. Among those who made it were Sophie Tucker, W.C. Fields, Fanny Brice, Will Rogers, Eddie Cantor, Bob Hope, the Marx Brothers — — and Mae West (accompanied by pianist Harry Richman), who starred here in 1922.
• • Ungrateful for the mega media exposure Mae had afforded him, Harry split with her and joined Texas Guinan's friend, singer Nora Bayes, in her act. However, Mae and Harry did manage to reunite (briefly) when they appeared together in April 1923 at the Colonial Theatre [Broadway and West 62nd Street].
• • Entertainer Harry Richman [10 August 1895 — — 3 November 1972] was an actor, a singer, dancer, comedian, pianist, songwriter, bandleader, and cabaret performer. He was born Harold Reichman in Cincinnati, Ohio.
• • A flamboyant personality, Richman joined the George White's Scandals in the 1920s and appeared in the 1931 Ziegfeld Follies. In 1930, he made a splash in Hollywood with this crowd-pleaser: Puttin' on the Ritz. This film featured the Irving Berlin song of the same title, which gave Richman a phonograph record hit that year. His film career was hampered by his limited acting skills. [Writing about Puttin' on the Ritz, Leonard Maltin remarked: "A songwriter drinks and goes blind — — after seeing this you'll want to do the same".]
• • Okay. Maybe the silver screen was not his best medium. Nevertheless, Harry Richman remained a popular nightclub host and stage performer.
• • In 1966, his autobiography A Hell of a Life was published. In it he recounts his private and public relationship with Mae West.
• • Harry Richman married three times. All three marriages ended in divorce. He lived it up until age 77 and died in Hollywood, California in 1972.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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• • Photo: • • Mae West's accompanist • • Harry Richman • •
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Mae West: August at The Corner

It was 1912 when MAE WEST got her first major vaudeville break: a spot on the bill at Hammerstein's Victoria in mid-May. At last the scintillating singing comedienne could demonstrate that she was in a league with top-tiered headliners such as Eva Tanguay, Sophie Tucker, Fanny Brice, and Nora Bayes.
• • Later that year, close to her 19th birthday, Mae had been invited back to "The Corner" for a weeklong booking that began on 6 August 1912. She shared the stagebill with several acts — — including Fields and Carroll.
• • Half of the team was Arthur Fields [1888 — 1953] who was born as Abe Finkelstein in Philadelphia in the month of August — — on 6 August 1888 — — and who toured for years with Harry Carroll. Fields was just 11 years old when he turned pro, accepting singing engagements in Utica, New York and then branching out to Coney Island. Around 1908 the ambitious baritone toured with Guy Brother's Minstrel Show, and helped assemble a vaudeville novelty "Weston, Fields, and Carroll." Four years later, the partnership had been paired down to Fields and Carroll. Arthur Fields had his first hit as a songwriter with "On the Mississippi" (1912); he had composed this ragtime music with Harry Carroll, but Ballard MacDonald supplied the lyrics.
• • Mae West heard Fields and Carroll perform their jaunty rag "On the Mississippi" — — 98 years ago today on the corner of Seventh Avenue and 42nd Street. Then "Mae West and Her Boys" sang a few rags and played the bones, minstrel style. Variety slammed their routine, suggesting she return to burlesque since she lacked the refinement necessary for top-drawer vaudeville. Instead Mae once again became a solo act, purchased new material, and kept on trouping.
• • "It's better to be looked over than overlooked," Mae would often say, refusing to hear the nay-saying, and steeling herself to press ever onward. Bravo.
• • Proust said that truth is only a point of view about things. Romain, who is a fairly new toastmaster at the Mae West banquet table, shares his personal tastes with our readers.
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• • In commemoration of the thirtieth anniversary of Mae's burial, French follower Romain Tutak shares his journey into the heartland of Mae West country.
• • Part 2 • •
• • Romain writes: Since the Internet helped me acquire Mae West books and keepsakes, I was often trolling online for more Westiana.
• • The Mae West Color Site • •
• • Since I enjoyed the Color Site so much, I left a guestbook comment back in April 2007. Not long after, a response arrived from the webmaster Martin. He explained that he had developed the web site in collaboration with Ian, another fan, and he'd be happy to answer any questions.
• • Well, the conversation has not yet ended. I am often asking Martin's advice about items to buy. Martin told me about his experiences — — his meeting at Ian’s place filled with mountains of Mae-morablia. He clued me into other motion picture classics such as "Sunset Boulevard" and acquainted me with actresses like Bankhead, or Gloria Swanson. And, playfully, Martin called me a freak because I am so young but have old-fashioned tastes.
• • In 2007, I decided to leave Paris for Toulouse (Southern France) to study Fashion Design in a more affordable school.
• • SURPRISINGLY, this was where I stumbled across many fascinaing Mae West collectibles. No longer did I need to buy online when there were the most curious little shops — — unfortunately, some have since closed — — where I found her LPs and posters. One proprietor, a very kind man in his forties, sold me records at a discount. He'd say, "Because you seem to really like her, and that’s my only chance to sell it…!"
• • It seems to me that my modest collection is not impressive at all. I do not own anything that was hers, for instance. It's quite funny that, even when I was in Toulouse, burdened with tuition and living expenses, I always managed to have some euros to spend on Miss West, for a book, or another LP or a DVD.
• • • • The Lack of a Mae West Fan Club • • • •
• • I think it’s too bad there is no one who cares to maintain an official Mae West Fan Club or even an on-going forum on the Internet dedicated to her. A newcomer such as myself always needs a guide to check things out about Mae West. Despite the Internet, it is still difficult to get RELIABLE information. Internet information isn’t really trustworthy nor are some of the books.
• • Recently, I bought a new Mae West biography, only to discover it was filled with stupid errors; the writer made many careless mistakes, saying she died in 1978 and was buried in California, for example, and he furnished mostly the wrong dates for her films, songs, and shows. With disappointing biographies like this floating around, it becomes even more valuable to be able to check details with longtime fans, people who can answer my questions or verify details — — such as which perfume did Mae wear. Without an official fan club, where reliable information might come from, Mae's fan base is the only source. And I really want to thank these Mae experts. They know who they are and I feel blessed to "know" them.
• • Lack of Legacy Management • •
• • But it is a shame that there is no formal fan club for other reasons, too. These days my main concern is what her legal claimants are doing to keep her legacy, her memory, and her work alive. It does seem like she’s still very vivid as a character in people’s mind in the USA. With the right legacy management, Mae West could be like Marilyn Monroe or James Dean or Audrey Hepburn … though, of course, this was not half of what Miss West was!!! A fan club could help attract new FANS!!! I just don’t understand why they don’t try harder to make that happen.
• • There are plenty of things to do, to spread the word about Mae West, which would bring them loads of money. Let me ask these questions! Where are the unpublished plays?! Where is the Complete Collection of Miss West Movies? LPs? Writtings? Where is the tour operator who could design the ultimate Miss West Hollywood/ New York trip? The Mae West Official Youtube Channel, Facebook page, website (which is not a joke), forum, myspace…?!
• • Despite my being a tyro who still does not know much about her, Miss West has become part of my life. And she will stay a part of it for a long time, and I hope more people of my generation will be attracted to her… so that we’ll keep her work, her image, and her message of tolerance, acceptance, and humor still alive!! Though she is dead, this is not over. Her fascination and her impact will continue. I know this.
Written by: Romain Tutak, Paris, France
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• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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• • Photo: • • Mae West • • 1933 • •
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Mae West: Virgins Get In Free

Once again, MAE WEST will be honored on her birthday in her own hometown, NYC, and this year there is a special twist. Though tickets to see an exciting live performance by The Gaudy Girls will be $15 per person, a certain type of individual will be admitted at no charge — — virgins.
• • Garside the Great, the mesmerizing mind reader, will be imported direct from Coney Island (where Mae's father used to walk the beat 100 years ago). Stationed at the door, this imposing turbaned titan will demonstrate his skills as a purity detective. Are you chaste enough to withstand the mental penetration of Garside the Great on August 14th? Read on . . . .
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• • Empress of Sex Offers Free Admission For VIRGINS in August
• • Mae West and Sophie Tucker Sizzle at the Annual Mae West Birthday Tribute in NYC
• • New York, NY: The general public will pay $15 each to enjoy the Annual Mae West Birthday Tribute — — but virgins (who are over 21 years of age) will be admitted free — — when The Empress of Sex and The Last of the Red Hot Mamas entertain on Saturday night, August 14th, 2010.
• • Mental Penetration by Garside the Great • •
• • There will be a mind reader — — a purity detective imported from Coney Island — — at the door to determine who is naughty and who is snow white. Mae West once said, “I was snow white but I drifted.”
• • In honor of Mae’s upcoming birthday, both the pure and the (ahem) experienced are welcome to enjoy the music once performed by Mae West, Empress of Sex, and Sophie Tucker, the Last of The Red Hot Mamas. Join us for a shimmy-long night of good songs, swell jokes, jaw-dropping raffle prizes, and more.
• • And the live entertainment will ignite you and delight you on Saturday August 14, 2010 when two broads head back to Broadway — — Sophie Tucker along with Mae West.

• • Continuing her custom of commemorating the birthday of Mae West, playwright LindaAnn Loschiavo has a most exciting late-night treat in store this year: The Gaudy Girls, two talented beauties who perform the best-loved songs made famous by Sophie Tucker and Mae West. As part of their repertoire, the ladies will offer a tribute to New York-based composers and lyricists who created the hits “Frankie & Johnny,” “My Old Flame,” "Red Hot Mama,” “My Yiddishe Momme," "Everybody Shimmies Now," and more.
• • It's one night only so plan to come up and see Mae — — and Sophie. Details below.
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• • WHERE: ACTORS TEMPLE, 339 West 47th Street, New York, NY 10036 [where SOPHIE TUCKER was one of their first vaudeville members in 1923]
• • WHO: MAE WEST [Anne Marie Finnie], SOPHIE TUCKER [Maggie Worsdale], presented and introduced by playwright LindaAnn Loschiavo — — and, of course, Garside the Great
• • WHAT ELSE: Shimmy lessons, raffle prizes, goodies, and a chance to win deluxe European scarves featuring MAE WEST’s quotes, a rare Mae West caricature, a Mae West teddy bear, and other keepsakes.
• • SUBWAYS: IND: C, E to West 50th Street station; BMT: N, R, W to West 49th Street station — — exit on the West 47th Street side.
• • GENERAL ADMISSION: $15. VIP service and Group Sales available.
• • URL: TheGaudyGirls.com and MaeWest.blogspot.com
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• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West: Positive Interventions

Just when you thought you saw every trifle or doo-dad linked to MAE WEST, there is one novelty that might be amusing and useful, and it costs less than $5.
• • Cards with Sound, the seller, imperfectly describes it exactly like this: "Birthday Hollywood Musical Greeting Card — — Mae West As Tina [sic] in "I'm No Angel" Movie — — Song: "I'm No Angel" . . . and, yoo-hoo!, someone should tell them Mae's character was TIRA (not Tina).
• • Take this as an observation — — not as a recommendation. We have not seen it in person.
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • Mae West said: "I’ll try anything once, twice if I like it, three times to make sure."
• • Pennsylvania-based Denise Clegg used Mae's one-liner as a trampoline, jumping off that observation to suggest: "We should all take Ms. West to heart when choosing positive interventions — for ourselves or others — — according to two studies recently described by Stephen Schueller in The Journal of Positive Psychology."
• • Denise Clegg added: "Positive interventions are exercises designed to increase well-being. A 2009 meta-analysis by researchers Nancy Sin and Sonja Lyubormirsky shows that several positive interventions reliably and significantly achieve that goal and also reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety."
• • Then Denise Clegg waxed rhetorical: So the question becomes, you can boost your happiness, but can you sustain it? Yes. By doing what you like and liking what you do. ... [Source: "Netflix and Mae West on Positive Interventions" by Denise Clegg for Positive Psychology News Daily on 21 July 2010].
• • That pop culture title paired with Mae's sweet still as Maude Triplett, curvy in a slinky gown, ought to draw in a few insomniacs to read Clegg's "come on get happy" pro-active column referencing Schueller's studies.
• • Certainly, the Brooklyn blonde is the poster girl for upbeat. The comedienne claimed that she carefully channeled her thoughts to keep dark clouds away. Not for Mae a day nettled and grey, her head hanging on its pole of wistful dreams. Better to have devoted the daylight to rehearsing, planning, and writing a few pages loud with possibility.
• • Speaking of smile potential — — and aiming higher than a musical greeting card with Mae mechanically crooning "I'm No Angel" — — there is a chance to come up and see Mae on Saturday evening, 14 August 2010, thereby doing what you like and liking what you do.
• • It's one night only so plan to come up and see Mae — — and Sophie Tucker. Details below.
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— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
• • WHERE: ACTORS TEMPLE, 339 West 47th Street, New York, NY 10036 [where SOPHIE TUCKER was one of their first vaudeville members in 1923]
• • WHO: MAE WEST [Anne Marie Finnie], SOPHIE TUCKER [Maggie Worsdale], presented and introduced by playwright LindaAnn Loschiavo
• • WHAT ELSE: Shimmy lessons, raffle prizes, goodies, and a chance to win deluxe European scarves featuring MAE WEST’s quotes.
• • SUBWAYS: IND: C, E to West 50th Street station; BMT: N, R, W to West 49th Street station — — exit on the West 47th Street side.
• • GENERAL ADMISSION: $15. VIP service and Group Sales available.
• • URL: TheGaudyGirls.com
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— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
• • Tell them you heard about it on the MAE WEST BLOG.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West: George E. Carey

In 1978, George E. Carey was cast in "Sextette" as Dockweiler, an anxious State Department official who needs a favor from Marlo Manners played by MAE WEST. Born in Detroit during the month of July — — on 13 July 1924 — — the bit part player was surrounded by marquee names who were navigating a nettlesome plot.
• • In "Sextette," conjugal bliss is being interminably delayed for the busy bride. Installed at the same hotel is the Sussex Court, occupied with an international conference led by the avuncular American diplomat Chambers (Walter Pidgeon, in his last performance) — — and, wouldn't you know it? One of their delegates is stubborn Soviet ‘Sexy’ Alexei Karansky (Tony Curtis), a former lover of Marlo’s who has refused to vote ‘da’ on a resolution of tremendous importance to world peace.
• • Dockweiler approaches Marlo’s manager Turner (Dom DeLuise) with an urgent plea from Uncle Sam: can his client somehow entice Alexei Karansky into, mmmm, changing his vote? In between trading yearning glances with her handsome groom and fending off former husbands, Marlo now has to consider her duty to The White House and the Secretary of State, for heaven's sake. It's enough to make a lady's bridal lace go limp.
• • According to All Movie Guide writer Sandra Brennan: Supporting actor and producer George Edward Carey appeared on television and in feature films. Fans of the ABC soap opera General Hospital may know him for having played Lamont Corbin. Carey's 30-plus film credits include The Gallant Hours (1960), Sex and the Single Girl (1964), and The Thing With Two Heads (1972). He has produced and written screenplays for two films, Weekend With the Babysitter (1970) and Chrome and Hot Leather (1971). Carey often guest starred on TV and also worked in commercials.
• • On 21 November 1994, George E. Carey died in Palm Springs, California at the age of 70.
• • Wednesday 14 July 2010 at 11:00 AM on WBAI-FM • •
• • Live from New York City, dramatist-journalist LindaAnn Loschiavo will be interviewed by the WBAI Women's Collective along with actress-singer Maggie Worsdale, who performs as Sophie Tucker with The Gaudy Girls. This monthly radio segment, airing on WBAI Radio In NYC every second Wednesday of the month at 11:00 AM, 99.5FM, and streaming live worldwide at wbai.org, can be heard online at the station's web site.
• • Ms. Loschiavo and Ms. Worsdale will discuss the trailblazing careers of Mae West and Sophie Tucker as well as the importance of the Annual Mae West Birthday Tribute every August, now in its sixth year, with veteran broadcast journalist and producer Prairie Miller.
• • Taking Feminist Radio to the next level... The Women's Collective covers the entire spectrum of political, cultural, and intellectual issues crucial to women's lives, from feminism and revolutionary global sisterhood to critical aspects of movement building, the mind, body and yes, men! In the belief that debating and dialogue-ing with men, including our He Said, She Said... online column at Criticalwomen.net, is an essential component of Feminist Radio.
• • BIO: Prairie Miller is a multimedia film journalist. Over the past decade, she has been a producer at WBAI for Talk In The Morning, Soundtrack, Wakeup Call and Reel Women. She is currently film reporter for the Tuesday Afternoon Arts Magazine, and a producer and co-host of the WBAI Women's Collective Show. Prairie has written articles and poems here and internationally, and aspires always to the excavation of the lyrical muse in journalism and the poetry in history. She is also the recipient of the International Writers And Artists Association's Excellence in Journalism Award for her WBAI coverage of Javier Corcuera's film, Back Of The World (La Espalda Del Mundo). The Award is bestowed for "distinguished literary, intellectual, artistic and humanistic contributions." Prairie has two published poetry collections, Legends [John Brown Press], and Arguments With America [Pemmican Press]. She is a member of The Women Film Critics Circle, The Broadcast Film Critics Association and The James Agee Cinema Circle of political film critics worldwide.
• • Come up and tune in to WBAI (at wbai.org) on Bastille Day, when fireworks are always expected.
• • Tell them you heard about it on the MAE WEST BLOG.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West: 47th Street

There's so much MAE WEST history on certain blocks in her hometown that there ought to be a signpost or two.
• • What is it, for instance, about West 47th Street? Not only does this block have numerous sites with an intriguing back-story, it is also notable for its links to Mae West and Sophie Tucker. In honor of Mae’s upcoming birthday, here is a self-guided tour of West 47th in midtown Manhattan.
• • 412 West 47th: Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant launched The New Yorker here in 1925, a weekly that often reviewed the shows Mae West and Sophie Tucker were in.
• • 345 West 47th: The New York City Police Department's 16th Precinct sent a Black Maria to haul in Mae West after undercover officers raided her play "Sex" in February 1927. This scene was repeated after the cops raided Mae's gay play "Pleasure Man" in October 1928. Mae West had to arrange bail from West 47th Street.
• • 339 West 47th: Actors Temple [Congregation Ezrath Israel] was founded in 1917 and became a spiritual home for Jews working on Broadway such as Sophie Tucker, Jack Benny, Edgar G. Robinson, Red Buttons, Shelley Winters, The Three Stooges, and other vaudevillians who were also colleagues of Mae West.
• • 261 — 265 West 47th: The Biltmore Theatre was raided when Mae's gay play "Pleasure Man" had its opening night here in October 1928.
• • 1580 Broadway at West 47th: In the 1920s it was the Palais Royale, with the Moulin Rouge in the basement. Then from 1936 to 1940 it was the Cotton Club's post-Harlem home, featuring stars like Cab Calloway, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, all of whom worked with Mae West. From 1942 to 1969, it was the Latin Quarter nightclub (run by Lou Walters, Barbara Walters' father). During the 1950s, both Sophie Tucker and Mae West were booked here.
• • 1568 Broadway at West 47th: Doubletree Guest Suites Times Square Hotel, built in 1991 as the Embassy Suites to a Fox & Fowle design, envelopes the old Palace Theater, built in 1913 by Kirchoff & Rose. During its heyday it was every vaudevillian's dream to play The Palace. Among those who made it were Sophie Tucker, W.C. Fields, Fanny Brice, Will Rogers, Eddie Cantor, Bob Hope, the Marx Brothers, and Mae West (accompanied by pianist Harry Richman), who starred here in 1922.
• • 707 Seventh Avenue at West 47th: "Introduced with great success by Mae West" announced the song sheet for "Cuddle Up and Cling to Me," with lyrics by Stanley Murphy [1875 — 1919] and music by Henry I. Marshall, which was newly distributed in 1912 by Charles K. Harris. The celebrated composer and music publisher from Chicago was now running his Manhattan operation from the Columbia Theatre Building at 707 Seventh Avenue.
• • West 47th Street's Diamond District: This block ranks with Antwerp, Belgium, and Ramat Gan, Israel, as one of world’s major diamond trading centers. Sophie Tucker's success as an entertainment headliner financed a personal treasure chest of gems at a time when performers wore their own jewelry onstage. Mae West's love of sparklers inspired her most successful stage play "Diamond Lil." Pick any scene in the 1933 motion picture "She Done Him Wrong" (based on the play) and watch those solitaires and brilliants flash onscreen.
• • • • West 47th Street on 14 August 2010 • • • •
• • And the live entertainment will flash and sparkle also on Saturday August 14, 2010 when two swell broads head back to Broadway — — Sophie Tucker along with Mae West.
• • Continuing her custom of commemorating the birthday of Mae West, playwright LindaAnn Loschiavo has a most exciting late-night treat in store this year: The Gaudy Girls, two talented beauties who perform the best-loved songs made famous by Sophie Tucker and Mae West. As part of their repertoire, the ladies will spotlight a tribute to the NYC-based composers and lyricists who created popular numbers such as "My Yiddishe Momme," "Red Hot Mama," "Everybody Shimmies Now," "My Old Flame," "Baby, It's Cold Outside," and more.
• • It's one night only so plan to come up and see Mae — — and Sophie. Details below.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
• • WHERE: ACTORS TEMPLE, 339 West 47th Street, New York, NY 10036 [where SOPHIE TUCKER was one of their first vaudeville members in 1923]
• • WHO: MAE WEST [Anne Marie Finnie], SOPHIE TUCKER [Maggie Worsdale], presented and introduced by playwright LindaAnn Loschiavo
• • WHAT ELSE: Shimmy lessons, raffle prizes, goodies, and a chance to win deluxe European scarves featuring MAE WEST’s quotes.
• • SUBWAYS: IND: C, E to West 50th Street station; BMT: N, R, W to West 49th Street station — — exit on the West 47th Street side.
• • GENERAL ADMISSION: $15. VIP service and Group Sales available.
• • URL: TheGaudyGirls.com
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
• • Tell them you heard about it on the MAE WEST BLOG.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West: Jack's Hula Lou

MAE WEST sang several songs by Jack Yellen and Milton Ager.
• • Born in Poland during the month of July — — on 6 July 1892 — — Jack Selig Yellen was a year older than Mae. At five years old, little Jackie emigrated with his parents to the United States; he was raised in Buffalo, New York and started to write songs in high school.
• • Jack Yellen [6 July 1892 — 17 April 1991] is best remembered for his collaboration with composer Milton Ager. He and Ager entered the music publishing industry with ownership in the Ager-Yellen-Bernstein Music Company. Yellen also worked with composers Sammy Fain and Harold Arlen.
• • Jack Yellen's collaboration with the rising vaudeville star Sophie Tucker — — for whom he was retained to write special material — — produced one of Tucker's most beloved numbers, "My Yiddishe Momme," a song in English with some Yiddish text. Yellen wrote the lyrics which were set to music by Lew Pollack.
• • Yellin' for Jack on 14 August 2010 in NYC • •
• • You can hear songs by Jack Yellen next month on Saturday, 14 August 2010 when The Gaudy Girls take to the stage for a gaudy, bawdy night of live entertainment at Actors Temple (339 West 47th Street, New York, NY). Reservations are recommended. Join Sophie Tucker and Mae West for a hot time in the big city six weeks from now.
• • Mae West's Hawaiian Eyes • •
• • During her marriage to handsome Guido Deiro — — a popular accordionist also in demand as a recording artist — — Mae became aware of the financial rainbows that brightened the lives of the top singers and musicians. But as her own career prospects continued to sink during 1923 and 1924, and since no record companies pursued her, Mae gamely trouped on and continued to entertain the southwestern wheel of the vaudeville circuit — — trying to sell sheet music with her picture on the front cover. Which swings the conversation around to "Hula Lou."
• • Holy Honolulu! Not for Mae the gooey romantic yearning numbers such as "My Hawaiian Melody" nor "Honolulu Eyes." Nor would she have ever chosen a lightweight love ballad such as "Honolulu Honey" nor a harmless hula tempo such as "Hawaiian Sandman." The girl had gumption and looked for lyrics suitable for a flirt, a self-confident seductress who could put across a sultry kootch onstage. Could any chart-topper be as suitable for the singing comedienne as this come-hither bragging and posing? Here's an excerpt.
• • • • • "HULA LOU" • • • • •
• • Lyrics: Jack Yellen; Music: Milton Charles & Wayne King
• • Copyright 1924 by Ager, Yellen, & Bornstein, Inc., 1595 Broadway, New York City
• • • You can talk all you want about women
• • • Said a sailor known as Dan McCan
• • • And if you really want to know about women
• • • You've got to talk to a sailor man.
• • • Now I don't know how many woman the sailor met
• • • And I hope there isn't that any he'll regret
• • • For if he'd only met me I'd a given him some trimmin'
• • • I'm one gal he'd never forget.
• • • (Band): Well, who are you?
• • • Who am I? I'm Hula Lou.
• • • I'm the gal that can't be true.
• • • I do my nestin' in the evenin' breeze
• • • 'Neath the trees
• • • You oughta see me shake my BVDs.
• • • I never knew
• • • A man who wouldn't hula dance or woo
• • • And sail across the briny blue to who
• • • The lady known as Hula Lou. That's me.
• • • (Rap):
• • • Now you ask any sailor and he'll tell you
• • • That this lady is the greatest dancer he ever knew.
• • • There isn't a ship in the Navy
• • • That I haven't got a friend in the crew.
• • • There's not a cruiser on the waves
• • • Without someone who is my devoted slave
• • • And I don't care how nasty I may be
• • • I'm the one gal the sailors all crave. ...
• • In January 1924 Sophie Tucker discovered this gem and recorded it with Miff Mole on Okeh Records. By herself, Sophie appeared on the sheet music version.
• • On 13 February 1924 The Varsity Eight recorded their version of "Hula Lou."
• • While many vocalists posed on this song sheet, the lyrics are so well-suited to Mae West that it's a shame she didn't sing it in a motion picture so we'd have a record of it in her voice.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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