• • "Mae West, Nearing Her 77th Birthday, Has Her First Film Role In 27 Years" • •
• • Regally vain, Mae wouldn't answer questions while a photographer took her picture, lest he get a less than flattering shot. She kept a hand mirror close by to check the lighting on her face and worried about a full-length picture because she wasn't wearing her girdle. She sought sycophantic advice from her bodyguard, who Instructed, as she posed, "Dear, a step toward the right. That's it. Dear, a little forward now to get out of the shadow. Good."
• • "Good?" she exclaimed. "I have to look great!" . . .
• • When she stood and preened, she was La Grande Dame, Diamond Lil returned with all her vitality. When she sat and talked, she was less animated, but candid and reflective, happy to talk about her favorite subject — — Mae West. She spoke of her new-found fans, the youths who came by her via the late TV movies. "They've been waiting for me for a long time," she allowed. "The young people — — they're great. They like my style."
• • Many of these fans weren't even born when she made her last film, "The Heat's On," back in 1943. It was a movie Miss West wasn't very happy with and it influenced her return to the stage in "Diamond Lil" and "Catherine Was Great" and touring with a muscle-man act for three years. She also did a TV show and a rock 'n' roll album.
• • She said she turned down film offers during that period. "I was offered 'Dolly,' but I didn't want to be Dolly. I'm a Diamond Lil." But she accepted "Myra Breckinridge" because "I was about ready to do my own story, but it needed another month of preparation. The producer said he wouldn't do the film without me — — he figured on my name for the box office. I wrote my own dialogue. I wrote more, but it didn't get in because of the director. He didn't have enough experience. They were behind schedule and when they hit $5 million, they stopped It. They figured they had enough of me as is . . . . I think the public wanted more of me ... I wouldn't play Myra, though! It's not a role for any star."
• • The film itself, about a sex change, is barred to 17-year-olds and younger due to its X rating. ...
• • Source: Article rpt in The Morning Herald (Hagerstown, Maryland); published on Monday, 3 August 1970.
• • On Tuesday, 7 August 1934 in Variety • •
• • According to Daily Variety, "Belle of the Nineties" was given the purity seal on 6 August 1934. Variety announced this on the front cover of their issue dated for Tuesday, 7 August 1934.
• • Correspondence from Hammell to Joe Breen dated for Tuesday, 7 August 1934, however, listed half-a-dozen script revisions that would be made. These modifications were meant to scrub away any implied immorality from the Ruby Carter character or the Tiger Kid.
• • On Thursday, 7 August 1997 • •
• • A book review of "Becoming Mae West" by biographer Emily Wortis Leider "A Hollywood Legend Who Wasn't Always What She Seemed" was written by Maria Braden, Knight-Ridder Newspapers. They published it on Thursday, 7 August 1997.
• • Wednesday, 13 August 2014 will be the next Mae West Tribute in Manhattan and the event will start at 6:30 pm at 425 Sixth Avenue. The theme will be: "Mae West in Bohemia — — Gin, Sin, Censorship, and Eugene O'Neill."
• • Details: August 13th event
• • See the August 13th event announced in The New Yorker — — Above and Beyond - Mae West in Bohemia
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • "There are all different kinds of sexuality. In comparison with Mae West, I'm a soft sell," Miss Raquel Welch told reporters.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "Sex in grandma's day was always quaint."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article in a newspaper discussed Mae West.
• • "They Made Mae West a Star" • •
• • Mae West never stopped exerting herself when it came to her career. Despite the considerable energy she applied to every project, when The N.Y. Times printed an obituary for James Timony on 5 April 1954, they depicted their relationship along the lines of Pygmalion and Galatea.
• • Timony guided her to success • •
• • Calling James A. Timony the manager of Mae West for 25 years, and the person who "guided her to success," The N.Y. Times also noted that he "received major credit for her development from a relatively obscure singer and dancer into an internationally known prototype of the American siren." . . .
• • Source: Article written for U.S. News and World Report; published on Monday, 7 August 1995
• • The Mae West Blog celebrates its 10th anniversary • •
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during this past decade.
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started ten years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2974th 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 • • event on August 13th • •
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