Mae West: Showing Off

“Cultivate your curves. They may be dangerous but they won't be avoided,” said MAE WEST. Magazine writers are still finding new angles on that famous figure. Let’s take a look. This is Part 2 of 4 excerpts.
• • Mae West’s Secret to Keeping Her Signature Curves • •   
• • Mae West believed in regular exercise • •
• • Jess Catcher wrote: The actress was known for her dedication to light weight-lifting and regularly working out on an exercise bike. In fact, even at 83, West made a point of showing off her stationary bike in a Guardian interview. But she wasn’t afraid of changing her famous figure for a role, either.

A scene from "Diamond Lil"

• • Jess Catcher wrote: Back in 1933, she spoke with the San Jose News about “fattening up” for Diamond Lil, a play that she wrote. This included a diet of creamed chicken on buttered toast, lobster Newburg, and chocolate cream cake.
• • Mae West bought customized corsets from Madame Binner • •
• • Jess Catcher wrote: West also relied on custom corsets from Madame Binner, a renowned New York corsetiere, to put everything in its place.
• • Mae West and the curves • •  . . .
• • This four part series will be continued tomorrow.
• • Note: Madame Binner was the first to attach garters to the corset to hold up stockings. Her successful shop was on Fifth Avenue and East 58th Street in Manhattan.
• • Source: Woman’s World; published on Monday, 22 July 2019.
• • On Saturday, 16 June 1934 • •
• • A featured article "Come Up and Meet Mae West" by Frank Condon appeared in Collier's Magazine, in their issue dated for 16 June 1934.  Mae's recent robbery was described. And the actress explained why she did not like "Belle of the Nineties": "Too much of me in it. The story just didn't turn out right."
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • In 1974 and 1975, Mae was more reclusive though she did see some interviewers, such as the young Anjelica Huston and Peter Lester.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "We women have been kept down for a long time. And I guess equality will come. That's progress."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • Variety mentioned Mae West.
• • Prince and Princess Selandia of 'Scandanavia,' although their royal heritage is never made quite clear, make a hit with their dance imitations of Hollywood stars.
• • Their best turn is in a takeoff on Chaplin and Paulette Goddard in "The Great Dictator," and other impersonations include Mae West and Harold Lloyd, Garbo and Stokowski, Snow White and Dopey. The Princess is impressive with her vivacious impersonations. . . .
• • Source: Variety; New York edition; published on Wednesday, 28 May 1941
• • The evolution of 2 Mae West plays that keep her memory alive • •
• • A discussion with Mae West playwright LindaAnn LoSchiavo — —
• • http://lideamagazine.com/renaissance-woman-new-york-city-interview-lindaann-loschiavo/
• • The Mae West Blog celebrates its 15th anniversary • • 
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past fifteen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 4,400 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fifteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,497th 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 • • onstage in 1928 • •
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Mae West: Juel Park

MAE WEST was photographed many times wearing exquisite lacewear created by bespoke lingerie designer Juel Park, a Pennsylvania born aspiring actress of Viennese ancestry.
• • Juel Park, who designed Liz Taylor's full slip for "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" also created marvelous items for Mae West such as Lady Lou's 1890-ish underpinnings in "She Done Him Wrong." Hired by many actresses to do their ultra-feminine nighties and special attire for their trousseau, Juel Park built up an increasingly solid reputation as one of the world’s most outstanding designer of fine haute couture lingerie.
• • Kevin Thomas wrote:  "Mae West wore surprisingly little makeup, which she expertly applied herself.  . . .   Her negligees and peignoirs, with their exquisite lace inserts, were all made by Beverly Hills' legendary Juel Park.
• • Founded during the famed Roaring Twenties, Juel Park Lingerie was officially born on 4 November 1929 when an energetic twenty-two year old brunette named Juel Park traded in the glitz and fame of Hollywood for the more “behind the seams” world of couture lingerie designing. 
• • Next time you notice Mae West in a scene wearing eye-catching nightgowns, robes, or a startling garment with peek-a-boo lace, look again.  It's probably a custom-made fantasy by Juel Park.  If they are intact, those vintage items from the 1930s and 1940s will fetch $500,000. 

• • Image: Mae West corset (circa 1945) made by Juel Park. Kevin Thomas donated about 30 pieces of Juel Park's lingerie (Mae West owned well over 200) to the Museum of the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in California. When you visit, ask to see the Mae West collection. Prepare to be awed.
• • On Wednesday, 11 March 1936 in NYC • •
• • The reviews of "Klondike Annie" starring Mae West — — as The Frisco Doll, Rose Carlton, Sister Annie Alden — — began appearing in the month of March. In Manhattan, there was an exclusive engagement at the Paramount Theatre, 1501 Broadway, N.Y., for the week of 11 March 1936.
• • On Saturday, 11 March 2000 in Alaska • •
• • A midnight showing of "The Drag" by Mae West was held at Goldtown Nickelodeon Theater on Saturday, 11 March 2000 in Alaska. The director was Heather Paige.
• • On Thursday, 11 March 2011 in Las Vegas • •
• • Gary A. Warner writes: The Sahara Hotel and Casino, which dates to the days of Frank Sinatra's "Rat Pack" and has featured the likes of Mae West and Marlene Dietrich in its showrooms, will close on 16 May 2011.
• • Source: "Sahara hotel in Las Vegas to close in May" written by Gary A. Warner, Register Travel Editor, for The Orange County Register; posted on Thursday, 11 March 2011.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Mae West, the gal who has done so much to brighten the Great White Way, has discovered that in Hollywood all is sweetness and light. New York, she says, is a city of constant wrangling, intense and unceasing in its effort to take away a living from others.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said:  "Do I love Jim Timony? Yes. We love each other like Potash loved Perlmutter or like Montgomery must love Ward. Like two old business cronies."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • A Boston seminar going on right now will discuss Mae West.
• • "Banned, Burned, and Shut Down: Censorship in the Theatre" • •
• • June Guertin wrote:  Mae West’s Sex (1926), about a “woman with a past,” played to packed houses for almost a year before the NYPD shut down the “wicked” play and arrested the cast and playwright. West was fined   . . .
• • Source: June Guertin's class description; given this month on Thursdays in Boston, Mass. 
• • The Mae West Blog celebrates its 11th anniversary • •
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past eleven years. The other day we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 3,300 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • • 
• • The Mae West Blog was started ten years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 3396th 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: Jack Cheatham

MAE WEST starred in her show "Diamond Lil" — — and both the original Broadway cast in 1928 and the first West Coast touring company included actor Jack Cheatham.
• • Reviewing the Bowery melodrama of the 1890s for The New York Sun, man-on-the-aisle Richard Lockridge offered a lengthy commentary to his theatre-going readers. 
• • Critic Richard Lockridge wrote: The big seduction scene, acted with some of the finest trembling the dramatic art has yet produced, reduced an altogether friendly audience to quaking chuckles. And, since the scene is set in what everybody likes to try to think of as the Bowery thirty years ago, the extreme of undress shows Miss West in an amply protective and very, funny corset. The corset was one of the high comedy points. Another was the quite excruciating stampede of everyone to the street on the report that a horse-less carriage was passing.  ... Miss West is vibrant and enlivening through it all, ...
• • Source: Review: "The Return of a Native in 'Diamond Lil'" written by Richard Lockridge for The New York Sun (page 22); published on Tuesday, 10 April 1928.
• • Jack Cheatham [28 December 1894 — 30 March 1971] • •
• • Born in Jackson, Mississippi on Friday, 28 December 1894 was a baby boy called John Preston Cheatham. He must have had some stage training before Mae West, in 1928, cast the 34-year-old as Spider Kane, a bouncer in Gus Jordan's saloon. After Mae's Broadway blitz ended, Jack Cheatham was attached to the comedy-mystery "Straight Thru the Door" written by William Hodge, which had a brief production at the 49th Street Theatre [October — November 1928]. After Hodge's play closed ended, Jack Cheatham was available to rejoin Mae West and the cast for their West Coast engagement in San Francisco and Los Angeles.
• • No doubt his credits in the legit, and his California exposure, led to his new career as a screen actor, which began with the motion picture "Arizona" [1931], where he was seen as an Army football coach. Despite a handful of supporting roles that held out hope, casting agents seem to have decided the newcomer was no more than a bit parts player. His serious look and substantial build opened the door to enforcer roles that required the presence of a gent who wore a uniform well. Jack Cheatham often portrayed a constable, cop, police dispatcher, police guard,  Homicide Squad Member, and Police Officer Kennedy. He also got to play a rum runner, racing official, telegrapher, and reporter onscreen.
• • From 1931 — 1949, he was in 181 feature films. Armed with his Broadway resume and stage training, Jack Cheatham perhaps expected he'd do better in Tinseltown. Yet he would gradually discover his destiny was one brief and uncredited tidbit after another. A limited Hollywood horizon.
• • He died of heart failure in La Mirada, California on 30 March 1971. He was 76.
• • On Sunday, 28 December 1919 on Broadway • •
• • It was Sunday, 28 December 1919 and Mae West was very busy in Manhattan — — double-booked, in fact.
• • The 26-year-old "firefly of vaudeville" was appearing that night at the Lyric Theatre [on 42nd Street, west of Broadway]. Sharing the Lyric bill with her were these entertainers: Eugene and Willie, the Howard Brothers; Carl McCullough; the 4 Haley Sisters; and "8 other favorite acts."
• • On the same night, Mae West performed 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 and Winthrop, Mae West, Riggs and Witchie, and "8 other favorite acts."
• • On Sunday, 28 December 1969 • •
• • John Kobal wrote an article "Mae Queen" about movie star Mae West. The piece was published in Britain in the Sunday Times Magazine [UK] on Sunday, 28 December 1969.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "I am a showman. I know that the public wants sex in their entertainment and I give it to them." 
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article about New Year's Eve in 1934 mentioned Mae West.
• • It was on Friday, 28 December 1934 that the good folks in The Yellowhammer State were anticipating another visit from Mae West.
• • The announcement in the local paper The Star read: The glamorous Mae West returns to the Ritz Theater screen Monday night [31 December 1934] as the star of the featured attraction being shown at the New Year's Eva gala which begins at 11:30 pm. Hats, horns, serpentine, and balloons will add to the enjoyment of the party. ...
• • Source: The Star used to be published in Anniston, Alabama — — the heart of Dixie.
• • By the Numbers • • 
• • The Mae West Blog was started eight years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2529th 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: April 1974

MAE WEST was prominently featured in the April 1974 issue of Ms Magazine. Their cover story — — "What Movies Have Done to Women" — — featured Hollywood blondes such as Mae, Jean Harlow, Carole Lombard, Ginger Rogers, Marion Davies, Alice Faye, Doris Day, along with non-blondes such as Clara Bow, Joan Crawford, Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich, etc.
• • Of all the blondes, Ms decided that Jean Harlow and Mae West were the most interesting — — and the Art Director filled three-quarters of a page with Mae's photo.
• • Ms noted that Mae West "swaggered from one artificial costume epic to another, writing her own scripts, and emanating her brand of vulgarity and ribald comedy. ..." Her nine films were "enough to convulse the censors."
• • Calling Mae a "self-styled drag queen," Ms concluded that it was not the actress's appearance that riled the censors but rather that Mae West "as author and star, controlled plots and manipulated males with the deftness of a puppeteer. ..."
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • in vaudeville • • circa 1916
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Mae West: Keep Abreast

MAE WEST, who did more for corsets than Alexander Graham Bell did for gossip, wore foundations made by the Spirella Corset Company — — upside down. Mae custom-tailored the restrictive undergarment to give her a certain look for her starring role as "Diamond Lil."
• • A Bushwick neighbor, interviewed in 1928, commented that, when onstage at Broadway's Royale Theatre, Mae padded her bust to balance out her curvy hips. "She looked like an upholstered egg cup up-ended," recalled this Brooklynite.
• • A belle at the turn-of-the-century, such as Lillian Russell, would not have been wearing Spirella's labels, of course. It was not until 1904 that Spirella started making their made-to-measure corsets. Spirella’s first corsets were produced that year in America — — and by 1910 in Great Britain. In those days, bustiers were made by experienced specialty seamstresses who could operate the heavy-duty "industrial strength" sewing machines necessary to tackle the heavy brocades and coutils.
• • For her stage play "The Constant Sinner," Mae wanted a more modern look and she was outfitted by the Mayo Undergarment Company in 1929. The setting for Mae's character Babe Gordon was Harlem during the Prohibition Era.
• • This week, an article in The Comet asks readers: Can you tie up a corset company’s loose ends? Here is some information for the studious breast-historians out there.
• • Question: Did you work for the Spirella Corset Company in Letchworth [Great Britain]?
• • If you did, then a company supplying foundations and underwear for films, television, and theatre would like to speak to you.
• • Button-Boot and Spatterdash of Humberside is appealing for anyone with memories of the company, people who worked for Spirella Corset Company or used its service, in order to make a record of the information.
• • Dr. Geoffrey Duffield, senior partner at the company, said any information is welcomed, no matter how trivial, and stressed the importance of retaining the information while it was still in living memory.
• • His company can be contacted by letter, Freepost, Brigg, DN20 9BR; email corsetiere@corset.ndo.co.uk; phone 07973 222 767 or fax 01652 650651.
• • Spirella - - formed in England in 1910 by William Wallace Kincaid - - moved into the Spirella Building in 1920 and continued production of bespoke corsets until the 1970s when demand slowed and eventually the company closed.
• • The building was also known as Castle Corset or the Factory of Beauty.
• • The SCC was extremely important to the town's economy as one of the biggest and most influential employers, particularly during the 1920s to 1940s, said Terry Gray, public relations manager of Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation.
• • Around 2,000 people are said to have been employed there.
• • Among its customers, the company provided underwear for such film stars as MAE WEST and the Marx Brothers' staple Margaret Dumont. . . . [Spirella's claims that they outfitted Marilyn Monroe for the film "The Prince and the Showgirl" are inaccurate. Monroe did not wear this brand.]
• • As well as supplying corsets, Spirella manufactured parachutes and decoding machinery during World War II.
• • Send comments to Dr. Geoffrey Duffield: corsetiere@corset.ndo.co.uk
• • Source for portions of this text: The Comet, UK — — www.thecomet.net/
• • Published: 28 December 2006
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
• • Photo: Mae West • • • • 1928 • •
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