Mae West: 2 and 2

Two books inspired by MAE WEST were released on December 18th.  Also on December 18th, two extraordinary items from her pen were auctioned off by Christie's: a personal letter to a comedian and pages linked to "Sex," her stage play in 1926.
• • "Words from the Stars: Quips and Quotes from Mae West to the Backstreet Boys" was written by Trevor Hunt. This snappy hardcover came forth over a decade ago on Tuesday, 18 December 2001 [ISBN 0517218569]. Trevor Hunt's compendium may be out of print by now.
• • A more recent title was "The Sex Goddess in American Film, 1930 —1965: Jean Harlow, Mae West, Lana Turner, and Jayne Mansfield" from the pen of Jessica Hope Jordan, who worked on the material for her dissertation. When it came time for publication, a famous image of Mae West was used for the dustjacket. What a wonderful cover. 
• • Jordan's hardback book (282 pages) has photos and was published by Cambria Press in Amherst, NY in mid-December — — on Friday, 18 December 2009 [ISBN-10: 1604976632].
• • Cliff Shirpser [4 August 1906 — 18 December 1977] • •
• • Cliff Shirpser was a camera assistant for "She Done Him Wrong" starring Mae West.
• • Born in San Francisco on 4 August 1906, he began his Tinseltown career during the silent era with the classic "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" [1921] when he was 15 years old. Always plying his trade within the confines of the studio's Camera and Electrical Department, Cliff Shirpser was attached to a diverse number of motion pictures including several Marx Brothers classics, "Destry Rides Again," and "Gone with the Wind." Eventually, he switched to children's series on TV. For six decades, from 1921 — 1981, he was behind the camera on 188 projects. He also distinguished himself as a producer.
• • Cliff Shirpser died in Los Angeles in December — — on Sunday, 18 December 1977. He was 71. 
• • On Saturday, 18 December 1937 • •
• • "Every Day's a Holiday," a Gay Nineties motion picture comedy film starring and co-written by Mae West, was released in the USA in December — — on Saturday, 18 December 1937.
• • On Saturday, 18 December 1937 • •
• • On Saturday, 18 December 1937 some industry people surely noticed an article about Mae West on page 27 in Motion Picture Herald:   "Mae West Burlesques the Bible on the Air for Coffee Merchants."
• • On Saturday, 18 December 1993 • •
• • On Wednesday, 29 September 1971 Mae West had written a letter to comedian Groucho Marx.  Mae wrote (in part), "I've always been crazy about your crazy comedy. I remember how I howled watching your rushes in the projection room at Paramount, when I was there too, waiting to watch my own. ... I have to tell you you're the greatest of all the funny men ... whenever you're in L.A. come up and see me."
• • Price realized for this rare letter by Christie's auction bidding in NYC on Saturday, 18 December 1993 was $2,530.
• • On Monday, 18 December 1995 • •
• • Christie's got their mitts on handwritten notes from Mae West's 1926 stage play "Sex" — — wrote Mae: Sex depends on certain positions. But kissing is good in any position. If a girl closes her eyes when she kisses a guy, he's gotta be nothing to look at. Even so, she should like him for what he is — — rich.
• • Stamped on the bottom of the page was this notation: "Property of Mae West."
• • Price realized by Christie's auction in NYC on Monday, 18 December 1995 was $690.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said:  "I'm here to make talkies."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • A review of a book on vaudeville in Scranton, Pennsylvania mentioned Mae West.
• • Cheryl A. Kashuba wrote: Mae West, Will Rogers, Jack Benny, George M. Cohan, Enrico Caruso, Marion Anderson. These and many more all played Scranton, and Nancy McDonald's book tells you all about it. ...
• • Source: Book Review: "Putting on the Ritz Book gives glimpse of Electric City's vaudevillian past" written by Cheryl A. Kashuba for The Times-Tribune; posted on Sunday, 18 December 2011
• • By the Numbers • • 
• • The Mae West Blog was started eight years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2519th 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: Myra in Manhattan

"Myra Breckinridge" [1970] starring MAE WEST, and directed by Michael Sarne, was a curious 94 minute adaptation of Gore Vidal's novel.
• • When they co-starred together, Mae West was 77 years old and Raquel Welch was 29. Born on 5 September 1940, the former model is 71 years old now.
• • Raquel Welch grew up as Raquel Tejada in San Diego. The retrospective of her cinema career in Manhattan will begin today and will last for an entire five days. “I had read the novel by Gore Vidal and I thought it was very, very entertaining and kind of a little ahead of the times, you know, issues of sexual duality and everything,” Raquel Welch told a reporter. “So I was anxious to be considered for the role and I told Fox, ‘I don’t know what kind of girl you’re looking for, but I know what Myra represents, about America and Hollywood, and I’d love to do it.’ But the movie they made was not the movie I thought it was going to be.” Mae West would probably agree with that last statement.
• • The film bombed. Time Magazine declared it “about as funny as a child molester.” Looking back at her involvement, Raquel Welch referred to the project as “heartbreaking.”
• • Programmer Josh Strauss noted: One of the most notorious Hollywood attempts to shake things up in the wake of the Sixties was this adaptation of Gore Vidal’s rambunctious satirical novel. Raquel stars as Myra, a brilliant whirlwind who installs herself at an eccentric acting school run by her uncle (John Huston) and proceeds to seduce an all-American student and his girlfriend (Farrah Fawcett). Myra, of course, begins life as Myron (played by New York Observer critic Rex Reed), who, after a Fellini-esque operation, continues to appear to Myra as the film goes on. Adding to the eye-popping proceedings are musical numbers starring 76-year-old Mae West as a sexpot casting agent flanked by dancers, and the fascinating interpolation of old film clips from classic 20th Century Fox productions.
• • Programmer Josh Strauss explained: For five days Film Society is delighted to bring back to the big screen a showcase of rarely screened mainstream classics all on the best projection formats available with the lady herself here to talk about them.
• • Mr. Strauss's most puzzling piece of puffery is his praise of Miss Welch's exquisite (ahem) organic beauty. If extensive plastic surgery and oversized silicone breast implants are "organic," then beware of that "organic" popcorn being sold at the concession stand at the Walter Reade Theatre this weekend.
• • WHAT: "Myra Breckinridge" [1970] shown as part of this retrospective series: "Cinematic Goddess: American Sex Symbol, The Films of Raquel Welch"
• • WHAT ELSE: Raquel Welch in person for a Q&A preceding the February 10 screening, moderated by author, fashion commentator, and window-dresser Simon Doonan, who wrote "Wacky Chicks."
• • WHEN: Screens on Friday, 10 February 2012 at 6:15 PM and again on Monday, 13 February at 4:00 PM. Raquel Welch will participate in a Q&A following the screening on the 10th.
• • WHERE: Walter Reade Theatre, 165 West 65th Street, NYC; T (212) 875-5600.
• • PHOTO: Raquel Welch as she looks today at 71 years old. This September she will be 72.
• • On Friday, 10 February 1933 in The New York Times • •
• • An article on "She Done Him Wrong" was published in The New York Times on 10 February 1933.
• • Signed with the byline A. D. S., the Times reviewer described Mae's character Lady Lou as a woman "whose heart is bigger than her sense of decorum."
• • On Monday, 10 February 1936 in Hollywood • •
• • Joseph Breen wrote to Paramount Pictures about Mae West and "Klondike Annie" several times before he agreed on Monday, 10 February 1936 to the film's release.
• • On Tuesday, 10 February 2009 • •
• • A book about Mae West "She Always Knew How: Mae West, A Personal Biography" by Charlotte Chandler was published in its hardcover edition (336 pages) by Simon & Schuster on 10 February 2009.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "Censorship made me."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article in Out discussed "Myra Breckinridge" and Mae West.
• • Out noted: Actress Raquel Welch calls her 1970 film version of "Myra Breckinridge," in which she played a transgender woman, a "stinker" and hopes someone remakes it as the "funny and erudite" movie it should be, in an interview with Out.
• • Jeremy Kinser writes: The iconic star will be the subject of a retrospective of her films at Lincoln Center in New York February 10 — 14 and says her costar Mae West, with whom she reportedly feuded while making the film adaptation of Gore Vidal's best selling novel, was unhappy on the set. Welch recalls a visit to West's home prior to filming. While West was often surrounded by a bevy of musclemen, none were present when Welch stopped by. "But a lot of white furniture," Welch says." A lot of 25-watt pink bulbs around. You could barely see! She was something…" ...
• • Source: Article: "Raquel Welch on Myra Breckinridge, Mae West, and Janis Joplin" written by Jeremy Kinser for Out; posted on 9 February 2012
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started seven years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2205th 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 • • with Raquel Welch in 1970 • •
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Mae West: Raquel Welch Is 71

MAE WEST worked with Raquel Welch in the oddball motion picture "Myra Breckinridge" [released in the USA on 24 June 1970].
• • 71 Birthday Candles Lit for Raquel Welch • •
• • Happy Birthday to Raquel Welch, whose silver screen aspirations were not furthered by "Myra Breckinridge" [1970]. Born on 5 September 1940, the former model is 71 years old today. When they co-starred together, Mae West was 77 years old. Yes, Raquel, give your long-fading Hollywood karma some thought, honey. Welch's fans may have been hoping that the pathetic TV series "Welcome to the Captain" would revive her lackluster career — — but this sit-com was canceled after merely five episodes in 2008. Raquel Welch was seen very briefly in "Legally Blonde" [2001]. Did anyone even notice?
• • Heavy-set comedienne Kathleen Freeman portrayed Bobby Dean Loner in the screen version of Gore Vidal's bestseller. Kathleen Freeman often chuckled about working with every "tough bitch" in the film industry. After this motion picture had been released in 1970, she often recalled the clash between the film's two leading ladies: "Mae West was not an actress; she was not a star; she was the most incredible phenomenon I ever encountered. Place that against the starlet Raquel Welch, who had an enormous ego, and boom — — there were fireworks. And I made darn sure that I wasn't caught up in the cross-fire."
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West wrote this for Leticia Van Allen: "Don't forget to remind me about the policeman's balls — — I mean police show!"
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • Looking after Mae's interests, veteran wardrobe director Edith Head (who had dressed Mae before at Paramount Pictures) cleverly suggested that her longtime friend should add a significant costume clause to her contract.
• • In The Great Movie Stars: The Golden Years written by David Shipman (1970), the author writes of the far-flung feud between Mae West and Raquel Welch which started on the set of "Myra Breckenridge": Raquel Welch had the title role, but Mae West had top billing. Apparently Miss Welch was no more pleased about this than about the clause in Miss West’s contract which gave her the exclusive right to wear black or white. Indeed there seems to have been dissension on all sides. ...
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • In an interview with actress-director Vera Farmiga, Mae West's name was mentioned.
• • Beantown film columnist Wesley Morris writes: When the subject turns to masculinity in the American movies and how there’s a lot less of it now than there used to be, Farmiga cites the 1930s as a good time for the males of the species. “Those were men, not boys. Men. They had gravitas,’’ curling each syllable of that last word with Mae West-caliber lasciviousness. ...
• • Source: Article: "Vera Farmiga reaches for ‘Higher Ground’ in directing debut" written by Wesley Morris, Boston Globe Staff; posted on 4 September 2011
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started seven years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2044th 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 • • 1970 • •
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Mae West: When Will Hays Won't

Will Hays did battle with MAE WEST, bleaching her scripts of fun and friskiness, and earning his title as the Hitler of Hollywood.
• • Born in Sullivan, Indiana, William Harrison Hays, Sr. [5 November 1879 — 7 March 1954], was the namesake of the Hays Code for censorship of American films, chairman of the Republican National Committee (1918–1921) and U.S. Postmaster General from 1921 to 1922.
• • He was the manager of Warren G. Harding's successful campaign for the Presidency of the United States in the 1920 election and subsequently was appointed by Harding as Postmaster General.
• • After a year in office, he resigned to become the choice of the Hollywood movie studios to become the first president of the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America (MPPDA) until he retired in 1945. Will Hays began his new job, at a $100,000 annual salary, in the month of March — — on 6 March 1922.
• • After his retirement, Will H. Hays returned to his hometown in Indiana where he died in the month of March — — on 7 March 1954.
• • Remembering a Blonde Bombshell • •
• • In this excerpt from his insightful article in New Jersey's Star-Ledger, Stephen Whitty writes: The 100th birthday of Hollywood sex symbol Jean Harlow, who died at age 26 in 1937, is being marked next month. . . . “Would you be shocked,” she asked famously in “Hell’s Angels,” “if I put on something more comfortable?” But it was sex itself that Harlow made look comfortable on screen. She didn’t present it as a joke, the way Mae West did, but she sure made it look like fun, for women as well as men. Her characters had no illusions, and few inhibitions. . . . [Source: "1930s movie queen Jean Harlow's short life left behind a long legacy" written by Stephen Whitty/ The Star-Ledger on Sunday, 6 March 2011]
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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• • Photo: • • Mae West • • Will Hays, censor, in 1933 • •
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Mae West: Seduction Instructions

MAE WEST has inspired a new release on the ancient art of flirting and seduction and "being bad" to do some good. Well, well, well — — words (and other things) can be wild in the mouth and not achieve their potential. Any many regions can brim with a fugitive bliss that is somehow not arrived at. Look to a book that promises answers.
• • It is what journalist Laura Coventry describes as a beginners' guide to releasing your inner minx — — packed with WESTian wisdom along with tips from the naughtiest girls in history.
• • Laura Coventry writes: Whether you want to learn how to flirt at work or need to ensnare a man, The Naughty Book For Girls holds the answers.
• • Author Candice Hill promises to bring readers "a little more sugar and spice in their lives." ...
• • THE ART OF FLIRTING • •
• • Sex symbol Mae West said: "It isn't what I do but how I do it. It isn't what I say but how I say it — — and how I look when I do it and say it."
• • The best way to have the world eating out of your flirtatious palm is . . . well, just check out The Naughty Book For Girls by Candace Hill [published by Michael O'Mara Books].
— — Excerpt: — —
• • Article: "New book encourages women to bring a little naughtiness into their lives"
• • BY: Laura Coventry
• • Published by: The Daily Record [UK] — — www.dailyrecord.co.uk
• • Published on: 10 February 2010
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West: Rathbone's Wrath

MAE WEST was arrested on 9 February 1927 along with the cast of "Sex," the cast of "The Virgin Man," and the cast of "The Captive."
• • Snooty Basil Rathbone, who died during the month of July — — on 21 July 1967 in New York, NY — — was cuffed and brought downtown to Jefferson Market Police Court along with Helen Menken and their co-stars.
• • Born in South Africa on 13 June 1892, Basil Rathbone was one year older than Mae West — — but in his mind, he was worlds apart even though they were both starring on Broadway in 1927.
• • During the 1920s, most of Basil Rathbone's work was in the legitimate theater. For many of his Broadway roles he portrayed a suave, sophisticated seducer of susceptible women — — quite a change from the legendary ascetic Baker Street detective he would play later in his career.
• • Making a sensation at the Empire Theatre was a drama that had been highly regarded in Paris: "The Captive." Basil Rathbone was cast in the role of Jacques Virieu, a young man engaged to be married, only to discover that his fiancée [played by Helen Menken] is in love with someone else — — a woman. Since homosexuality was such a controversial topic during the Roaring Twenties, the entire cast was charged with offending public morals, and the play was closed right after the police raid.
• • Basil Rathbone was very angry about the censorship of his work, but even more aggrieved that show people would start whispering that he was arrested and booked — — with Mae West.
• • For years, Basil Rathbone and his wife made their home at 135 Central Park West. Mae lived in several westside locations, occasionally not far from Rathbone. But there is no record of their taking tea together to reminisce over their arrest on indecency charges in 1927.
• • The Empire Theatre • •
• • Built in 1893, the Empire Theatre had been situated at 1430 Broadway (between West 40th and West 41st) in Manhattan. An impressive playhouse, it seated about 1100. J.B. McElfatrick was the architect. Producer Charles Frohman had it built "uptown" at the suggestion of Al Hayman — — "Everything theatrical is moving uptown," he advised. Al Hayman took ownership after Frohman died on the Lusitania in 1915. In 1948, the Astor estate purchased the Empire Theatre and announced, in 1953, that it would be torn down to make way for an office tower. Waves of nostalgia spread through the theatre community, and performers gathered to celebrate the venue in a restrospective farewell performance. The bulldozers arrived in 1953 and an edifice was wrecked.
• • Brush up those zippy Mae West lines right on Broadway — — Sunday afternoon August 16th — — and forge a-Mae-zing memories.
• • Walking Tour: "Gaudy Girls on The Gay White Way: Mae West & Texas Guinan in the Theatre District"
• • When: 4:00 PM on Sunday — — 16 August 2008 — — rain or shine
• • Meet: Shubert Alley, 44th Street, West of Broadway, New York, NY 10036
• • Price: $10 [this walking tour lasts about 90 minutes]
• • Subway: N or R [BMT] train to West 42nd Street; 1 [IRT] train to Times Square
• • Attire: why not wear a Mae West-inspired hat?
• • Info: T. 212-614-9683 — — or post your RSVP or tour question here
• • Online: MaeWest.blogspot.com — — TexasGuinan.blogspot.com
• • Who: Playwright LindaAnn Loschiavo makes the tour educational and entertaining.
• • LindaAnn Loschiavo's history play "Courting Mae West" was onstage in July 2008 at the Fresh Fruit Festival. She is working on a biographical travel guide "Mae West's New York, 1899—1959" and will show some of her unusual theatre memorabilia and vintage photos during the tour and reveal secret addresses tied to Mae West that have not been disclosed before. These rare pictures show the area as it looked during the 1920s when Mae West and Texas Guinan had their name on several marquees.
• • Surprises: Prizes and other nice things are part of the fun
• • Members of the press may attend on August 16th as our guest. RSVP required.
• • • • 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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• • Photo: • • Mae West's fellow offenders • • Rathbone & Menken, 1927 • •
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