Mae West: Unusual Child

MAE WEST dictated a fanciful retelling of her life to her secretary Larry Lee. The material was reshaped by ghostwriter Stephen Longstreet and published as "Goodness Had Nothing to Do With It" in 1959. For Mae mavens interested in a factual, insightful account, The Mae West Blog recommends the riveting biographies written by Jill Watts and Emily Wortis Leider. Meanwhile, enjoy these (uncorrected) excerpts below from the pen of Mae West.
• • "Goodness Had Nothing to Do With It" by Mae West • •
• • Chapter 1: Take the Spotlight — — Part H • •
• • A rather unusual child • •
• • Mae West wrote: When Father got a new carriage, Mother and I were the first test riders. Father made a living for us — but Mama added the color and style.
• • Mae West wrote: Mother said I was a rather unusual child: "A child that has to be humored and can't be forced or ordered. She resents even an unfavorable tone of voice."
• • Mae West wrote:  "I know that," Papa would say. "I'll watch my tones."
• • Mae West wrote:  Mama was wary of my observation of all the relatives, friends, or folks who came to the house. After they left, I commented about them, criticizing or praising them, depending on how they impressed me.
• • Mae West wrote:  My father would say, "Well, I wish I could know as much about the people who hire my rigs."
• • Portrait taken with a dog • •  . . .
• • To be continued on the next post.
• • Source: The Autobiography of Mae West [N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1959].
• • On Monday, 6 February 1928 • •
• • Mae West mailed her manuscript for "Diamond Lil" to the Library of Congress from the Harding Hotel, West 54th Street, New York, NY. The date of her Washington, DC copyright registration is Monday, 6 February 1928. The play opened on Broadway in April 1928.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •

• • After performing with Mae West, Steve Cochran [1917 — 1965] signed with Warner Bros. in 1949 and returned to Hollywood. He died at 48 years old on his yacht.
• • In Her Own Words • •  
• • Mae West said: "Friends stay sometimes, but mostly at my beach house. It's got 22 rooms, eight bedrooms with bathrooms."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • The Film Daily mentioned Mae West. But was she ill or was she acting? At this time Mae was arguing with Paramount about making a personal appearance in New York City. Coincidence?
• • "Mae West, Flu Victim" • •
• • West Coast Bureau of The Film Daily Hollywood — Mae West was in bed today, not to write a new script, but to receive treatment for the flu. The attending physician, Dr. P. G. White, saw some possibility of pneumonia developing. ...
• • Source: News printed in The Film Daily; published on Wednesday, 28 October 1936

• • The Mae West Blog celebrates its 14th anniversary • •  

• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past fourteen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 4,100 blog posts. Wow!  

• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fourteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4143rd 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
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • in 1949 • •
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Mae West: Regional Romeo

Steve Cochran appeared on Broadway with MAE WEST.
• • Born in Eureka, California in the month of May — — on 25 May 1917 — — he moved during the 1920s to Laramie, Wyoming thanks to his lumberjack father. Perhaps used to a lonely landscape where he often saw things tumbling down and falling, his spirit may have yearned to be hemmed in by a fixed construction such as an auditorium. In any case, upon his 1939 commencement from the University of Wyoming, Cochran began working in regional theatre and summer stock. After honing his craft at the Barter Theatre and the Carmel (California) Shakespeare Festival, he worked at Detroit's Federal Theatre, and was co-starred in the touring companies of "Without Love" and "My Sister Eileen" before his Broadway debut in the eight-performance flop "Hickory Stick."
• • In 1948, upon being released from his Hollywood contract, Cochran went back to The Gay White Way. Mae West cast him in the shady, hot-blooded role of Juarez in her "Diamond Lil" revival from February 5—26, 1949 at the Coronet Theatre on West 49th Street.
• • Then 36, the thrice married lady-killer is reputed to have had a heavy breathing "after-hours" relationship with his 50-something diamond-draped leading lady. So generously endowed was Cochran that Mae West once reminisced about his well-equipped manhood, "Cochran. Talk about an appropriate last name. ... "
• • Sex symbol Mamie Van Doren recalled Steve Cochran most fondly on her web site. According to Miss Van Doren: Steve and I had dated for a short time when I found out that he was also seeing Mae West on a regular basis. Steve had been a young actor in one of Mae's Broadway shows when she "discovered" him. (Mae always had a yen for younger men. Of course, I did too.) At first he told me that they were working on a script together, but as time went on, it became clear to me that there was a good bit of other work going on too. Steve finally admitted that he and Mae had been lovers for some time. It has never been my style to share a lover. If someone isn't willing to be with me exclusively, I feel they should move on. But I made an exception in this case. It was, after all, Mae West... . [Leading ladies Cochran led to bed also included busty Jayne Mansfield and Merle Oberon.]
• • After performing with Mae West, Steve Cochran signed with Warner Bros. in 1949 and returned to Hollywood.
• • May 1985 • •
• • Madonna discusses what an enormous influence Mae West was for her. She explained the development of her flamboyant stage persona and her "Mae Westian secret smile" to Rolling Stone Magazine reporter Fred Schruers in an article titled "Lucky Stars."
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • "I coulda made it on the writin' alone. I always took it serious. .... You gotta think to write," Mae West told N.Y. Times reporter Tom Burke in July 1976. His article ran with this headline: "Mae West to Star Opposite Six Leading Men." Three years earlier, in July 1973, Mae had expressed the same viewpoint in Family Weekly: "I'm not just a star — — I'm a writer as well. And a thinker! I always keep busy."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • Here's a short section from a post called "The Mae West Approach to RPLA" — — Florida novelist Chris Coward writes: Whenever someone wins a Royal Palm Literary Award (RPLA), I think about how it can change that person’s life. An RPLA award can make an unpublished writer more publishable and a published writer more marketable. Who wouldn’t want that? But what about those folks who don’t win? What do they get from the competition? Mae West probably phrased it best: “When I’m good, I’m very good. When I’m bad, I’m better.” Mae was talking about … oh, never mind … but she could have been talking about RPLA. ...
• • Source: Article: "The Mae West Approach to RPLA" written by Chris Coward for Florida Writers Association Blog; 22 May 2011
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started seven years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 1941st 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
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • Coronet Theatre, 1949 • •
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Mae West: Steve Cochran

Steve Cochran appeared on Broadway with MAE WEST.
• • Born in Eureka, California in the month of May — — on 25 May 1917 — — he moved during the 1920s to Laramie, Wyoming thanks to his lumberjack father. Perhaps used to a lonely landscape where he often saw things tumbling down and falling, his spirit may have yearned to be hemmed in by a fixed construction such as an auditorium. In any case, upon his 1939 commencement from the University of Wyoming, Cochran began working in regional theatre and summer stock. After honing his craft at the Barter Theatre and the Carmel (California) Shakespeare Festival, he worked at Detroit's Federal Theatre, and was co-starred in the touring companies of "Without Love" and "My Sister Eileen" before his Broadway debut in the eight-performance flop "Hickory Stick."
• • During the war, Cochran [physically unfit for combat] directed Army camp shows.
• • In 1945, the Samuel Goldwyn Company had Cochran under contract. His film debut was the Danny Kaye vehicle "Wonder Man" [1945], produced by Goldwyn and released by RKO. For Goldwyn's projects, the handsome six-footer was cast in supporting roles — — often portraying a boxer or a gangster.
• • Steve Cochran said: "The big secret in playing a criminal in movies is to really believe that the character you are playing is doing no wrong."
• • Upon being released from his contract with Goldwyn in 1948, Cochran went back to The Gay White Way. Mae West cast him in the shady, hot-blooded role of Juarez in her "Diamond Lil" revival from February 5—26, 1949 at the Coronet Theatre on West 49th Street.
• • Then 36, the thrice married lady-killer is reputed to have had a heavy breathing "after-hours" relationship with his 50-something diamond-draped leading lady. [Leading ladies Cochran led to bed included Jayne Mansfield and Merle Oberon.]
• • After performing with Mae West, Cochran signed with Warner Bros. in 1949 and returned to Hollywood.
• • In 1965 Steve Cochran sailed off to Guatemala on his yacht to look for exotic filming locations. The 48-year-old perished onboard of a lung infection during the month of June.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • co-star Steve Cochran • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest
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Mae West.