Mae West: Esther Howard

MAE WEST worked with several actresses who had begun bright careers on Broadway before switching to work in motion pictures during the Prohibition Era.
• • Born on 4 April 1892 in Helena, Montana, Esther Howard made her Broadway debut in 1917 at 25 years old in a play called "Eve's Daughter" — — which lasted but a few weeks on West 48th Street at the Playhouse Theatre. [Would it have occurred to Mae to portray Eve on Broadway, as she did on radio on 12 December 1937?] Esther Howard was a mainstay in Times Square productions and showy musicals for the next dozen years.
• • Switching from The Great White Way to Hollywood and Vine in 1931, the accomplished and versatile stage veteran was an expert at portraying blowsy old hags, man-hungry spinsters, and oversexed dowagers.
• • Cast in the Mae West vehicle "Klondike Annie" [1936], Esther Howard portrayed Fanny Radler.
• • Well suited for tense domestic dramas as well as farces and comedies, she appeared in more than 100 movies in her 23-year film career.
• • A heart attack claimed her in the month of March — — on 8 March 1965 — — in Hollywood, California.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West: Rock On

MAE WEST spent many hours with many men but not with Oscar. Recapturing favorite Oscar moments — — preserved for posterity thanks to footage on YouTube — — Jaime Weinman lists eight treasured classics in an article "Oscar Moments From Days Gone By" [for Macleans, Canada on 5 March 2010].
• • Jaime Weinman explains why numero uno is this: Here’s one of the most famous/ infamous good-bad Oscar-show musical numbers: at the 1957 awards, an Oscar-winning song from several years earlier was performed by one of Hollywood’s biggest young stars, Rock Hudson, and one of its most famous semi-retirees, Mae West. The weirdness of the combination made the number an instant cult hit; it was a camp classic even before the term “camp” was mainstreamed.
• • We do think that Mae West deserved an Oscar. Only one of her motion pictures was ever nominated for "Best Picture." The actress herself was never nominated and perhaps an invitation to perform that 1957 duet was Hollywood's gentle hat tip to the Brooklyn bombshell who earned so much moolah for Paramount Pictures during the Depression.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West: Mariutch March 5

Taken as a child to Coney Island amusement parks, MAE WEST was enthralled with Bostock's lions. But years before her lion-taming fantasies surfaced, the stage sensation known as "Baby May, Song and Dance" performed the famous risque song about "Mariutch (Make-a the Hootch-a Ma Kootch) Down on Coney Isle" — — about a girl who discovers you don't need feet in order to dance.
• • In 1933, the 40-year-old Brooklynite morphed into a non-Mediterranean Mariutch for the opening scene of "I'm No Angel," which merely hints at the fearsome shimmy capability of the curvy sideshow hip-swinger called Tira.
• • Starting on the 5th of March, this vintage blockbuster hit can be enjoyed this week in London, England. If they were only selling salt water taffy down at the BFI Southbank, it would all be too delightfully "Kings County" authentic.
• • WHAT: "I'm No Angel," written by and starring Mae West
• • WHEN: March 5th — 11th, 2010
• • WHERE: BFI Southbank: Belvedere Road, South Bank, London SE1 8XT; T. 02079283232.
• • 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: Oh, Oh, Ottiano

When MAE WEST watched Rafaela Ottiano portray the sinister Mrs. Lovett in "Sweeney Todd" during its 1924 Broadway run at the Frazee Theatre, she knew where to find an actress who could ably play a villainess.
• • Born in Venice in early March — — on 4 March 1888 — — of Italian parents, Rafaela Ottiano distinguished herself in Europe before relocating to New York City in 1910 when she was 22 years old. By 1912 she was winning critical praise for her performances onstage in Proctor's Fifth Avenue Theatre [31 West 28th Street].
• • By 1920, she was living in a boarding house in the theatre district — — 49 West 37th Street — — where many actresses and artists were in residence. In between bookings, the five-foot-five brunette worked as a sales lady in a department store.
• • For the acclaimed Broadway production of "Diamond Lil" [1928 — 29] Ottiano created the role of Spanish Rita. Notably, she was the only member of the Royale Theatre's cast who was retained for the filmed version, where she reprised her role — — renamed Russian Rita by cautious executives at Paramount Pictures who feared that they might possibly alienate Latino ticket-buyers.
• • Never married, and guiding her career entirely by herself, plucky Ottiano managed to stay employed in Hollywood from 1924 — 1942 in between theatre work.
• • Rafaela Ottiano died at age 54 of intestinal cancer in mid-August 1942 at the East Boston home of her late parents.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West: Alyce Ardell

MAE WEST may have preferred to forget the release date of her last fading screen beams in "Sextette," which opened in early March — — on 3 March 1978.
• • Did you know that, in her earliest years of being cast in productions, Mae often played an Irish maid? Surrounded in childhood by Irish relatives, Mae became an expert mimic and enjoyed being applauded for her ability to imitate several different shadings of Irish accents. However, to pole vault herself over the wall of that low comedienne ghetto, Mae knew she had to write her own scripts. Not every actress can convince a Hollywood studio boss, however, that she was not made to be a maid forever.
• • Born as Marie Alice Pradel in Paris on 14 November 1902, the French voice actress Alyce Ardell lent her sexy accents to several intriguing cartoons as well as shorts and many motion pictures in which she was often cast, yes, as a French maid from 1925 — 1939.
• • When she worked with Mae West in "Go West, Young Man" [1936] she portrayed Jeanette, a French maid. She retired early from the cinema, perhaps out of frustration.
• • Alyce Ardell died at age 95 in Laguna Hills, California in the month of March — — on 3 March 1996.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West: East London Auction

MAE WEST impressionist Danny LaRue [26 July 1927 – 31 May 2009] — — once called the "most glamorous woman in the world" by Bob Hope — — always dressed to thrill.
• • Here is the late stage star wearing his "Mae West" gown, which is among several costumes that are to be auctioned at Brick Lane Music Hall in east London on 12 March 2010. [Photo: Brick Lane Music Hall/ PA].
• • Born Daniel Patrick Carroll in Cork, Ireland, Danny LaRue spared no expense for his lavish live appearances, when he was often accompanied by a 12-piece orchestra. In the 1960s he was among Britain's highest-paid entertainers. Awaiting auction-goers will be sumptuously beaded and sequined dresses, miles of lame, and a royal aviary of feathered frou-frou among the 90 ensembles to go under the hammer at Brick Lane Music Hall in east London where he regularly performed. Among these treasures are pantomime costumes; outfits worn in the West End hit "Hello, Dolly!" (which will be sold with mounted and framed original design drawings); gowns worn for music hall and cabaret performances; and head-dresses. My, oh my.
• • In between impersonating Mae West and other curvy bombshells during his six-decades-long career, Danny LaRue also triumphed in seven major shows including "Come Spy With Me" at the Whitehall Theatre, the "Danny La Rue Show" at the Aladdin at the London Palladium as well as the Prince of Wales theatre where Mae West triumphed sixty years ago in "Diamond Lil."
• • Danny LaRue appears in the documentary "All You Need Is Love: The Story Of Popular Music: Rude Songs (Vaudeville And Music Hall)," which can be seen on DVD. This film about the history of popular music in America focuses on music halls taking a look back at the concert halls that spawned a large-scale industry in the world of music, as well as the creative styles that sprung from it. Artists featured in concert footage and interviews include Mae West, Edith Piaf, Judy Garland, and more.
• • The auctioneers said the Victoria and Albert Museum has bought four costumes in advance of the sale. 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: A New Portrait

MAE WEST's portrait will be unveiled — — as an eye-catching new exhibition opens today, 1 March 2010, in Northern Virginia, celebrating Women's History Month.
• • Artist Rosemary Gallick, who lives in Centreville, VA and teaches art history at Northern Virginia Community College, has titled her show "American Women: Voices of the Past & Present" and has captured on canvas notable females such as the First Ladies Jacqueline Kennedy and Michelle Obama, divas of the silver screen Mae West and Marilyn Monroe, and entertainers such as Janis Joplin, Madonna, Dolly Parton, Tina Turner, and more. Inspired also by political theatre, Gallick painted Hillary Clinton, Sarah Palin, Nancy Pelosi, and Sonia Sotomayor.
• • The heads of the singers, for instance, have been rendered mostly in acrylic with touches of mixed media for special effects. "The emotionally charged lines and dazzling colors embrace the exuberance of the individual performer," Gallick said.
• • For four weeks you can enjoy these artworks on display at Northern Virginia Community College's Woodbridge Campus [1 March — 1 April 2010]. Admission is free. The Woodbridge Campus is located at 15200 Neabsco Mills Road — — off Interstate 95 at exit 156. For information, phone 703-878-5797. And 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: Her 1931 Housecar

According to David Woodworth, this 1931 Chevrolet Housecar was owned by MAE WEST. It had been built for Paramount Studios to present to Miss West when she left vaudeville and "the legit" to make movies for the studio in 1931. Notice that, unlike the modern recreation vehicles, this is a chauffer-driven lounge car — — not designed to be a camper. Since Mae West did not like to fly, this "portable hotel" made her road trips more comfortable.
• • This photo is from the David Woodworth Collection.
• • From chauffered models such as these, the industry has evolved. In early June 2010 there will be a large gathering of attendees at the the RV/MH (Recreational Vehicle/Motor Home) Heritage Museum in Elkhart, Indiana as the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association (RVIA) is planning to celebrate its 100th anniversary.
• • As reported by The Providence Journal: “The industry is in a ready mode now,” said Al Hesselbart, being interviewed by phone by Peter C.T. Elsworth from Elkhart, where he is the museum’s historian.
• • Providence Journal Staff Writer Peter C.T. Elsworth adds: The museum, which moved into a new facility three years ago, features a collection of 48 vintage campers, including an RV once owned by movie star Mae West, an extensive library, and an industry-related Hall of Fame.
• • Mae West's 1931 Housecar was preserved, and has been displayed at road shows, thanks to Californian David Woodworth, a leading collector of early RVs and RV camping memorabilia.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West: Jack Merrill Holmes

Every Bowery queen must have her consort — — and MAE WEST's costar was J. Merrill Holmes who portrayed Gus Jordan, the saloon keeper and ward heeler who keeps Lil in diamonds for the 1928 Broadway production.
• • Born in Pennsylvania on 21 July 1889, J. Merrill Holmes was featured in a few mainstage productions during the 1920s, most especially the well-regarded "What Price Glory" [1924 — 1925]; he took the role of Lieutenant Cunningham.
• • From 1930 — 1948, he was a character actor who appeared in dozens of motion pictures in Hollywood under the name Jack Holmes or Jack Merrill Holmes.
• • During the month of February he died — — on 27 February 1950 — — in his adopted city of Los Angeles, California.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West: Waupaca Mystery

A clever library promotion deserves a mention — — especially when it has a vivid 1920s theme and features MAE WEST.
• • Aiming to raise funds for the Waupaca Area Public Library’s 2010 Book Festival in the autumn, organizers have planned for a mystery dinner that will be held at the Best Western Grand Seasons Hotel [110 Grand Seasons Drive, Waupaca, WI] on 5 March 2010.
• • The intriguing story line is this: “A group of cultured people from the 1920s have materialized in a modern apartment in London. H. G. Wells had been testing his novel’s time machine at a soiree. Now he is discovered dead in the bathroom. Who killed him? Was it Mae West, James Joyce, Isadora Duncan, T.S. Eliot, or another of the visitors? Agatha Christie herself is present to help solve this crime. The key to this puzzle may appear in a line of verse or it may not. But in any case, we must achieve justice — — poetic or not.”
• • Participants will receive a description of their chosen character and a set of clues when they buy their ticket. Spectators can attend, too, as well as those who want to be Mae West for the night or another active participant. [All spectators will still receive their own clue to the mystery with the purchase of a ticket.] All attendees will mingle and exchange information during the course of the evening.
• • Tickets, which include dinner and entertainment, are available at the Waupaca Area Public Library. While there may be tickets available for walk-ins, it’s best to purchase in advance to guarantee a spot at the event. Proceeds will help fund the Waupaca Area Public Library’s 2010 Book Festival in the fall.
• • Where to get tickets: Waupaca Area Public Library, 107 South Main Street, Waupaca, WI 54981. Info: 715-258-4414. Tell them the MAE WEST BLOG gave you a clue and a shove.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West: Helen Jerome Eddy

An actress often cast as an aristocrat or a woman from a wealthy, distinguished family was featured with MAE WEST in the motion picture "Klondike Annie" [1936].
• • Helen Jerome Eddy, who portrayed Sister Annie Alden, was (like Mae) a native New Yorker. Born in Manhattan during the month of February — — on 25 February 1897 — — she was raised on the West Coast and entered the film trade while studying at Berkeley. In her youth, Eddy had performed in productions staged at the Pasadena Playhouse.
• • The memorable scene that introduces her is when shady lady Rose Carlton [Mae West] is escaping on the ship to Seattle and spots the frail missionary Annie Alden [Helen Jerome Eddy], who will conveniently die en route to Alaska.
• • Helen Jerome Eddy had a rather patrician demeanor that enabled the five-foot-seven performer to portray young women of untold wealth throughout the silent era, first at Vitagraph and later on at several major film outfits. According to Hal Erickson: A character actress in the talkie era, Eddy essayed such roles as the beneficent society matron in Our Gang's first talking short "Small Talk" (1929) and the kindly, terminally ill missionary whom Mae West impersonates in "Klondike Annie" (1936). Helen Jerome Eddy retired in 1940 — — ever afterward remaining available for interviews concerning Hollywood's "Golden" era.
• • On 27 January 1990, Helen Jerome Eddy died of heart failure in Alhambra, California. She was 92.
• • "Klondike Annie" was released on 21 February 1936.
• • In his "All Movie Guide," Paul Brenner observed: Mae West butts heads with Victor McLaglen [1886 — 1959] in Raoul Walsh's "Klondike Annie." But the real victor was the Legion of Decency, whose censorship strictures transformed a saucy and spicy gumbo into something closer to chicken noodle soup. Mae West plays Rose Carlton, the kept woman of Chan Lo (Harold Huber), who takes her from walking the streets to pacing the floors of her high rent apartment. Rose ends up killing Chan and beats it from San Francisco to the frozen north. She boards a ship where burly sea captain Bull Brackett (Victor McLaglen) takes a shine to her. When he finds out she killed Chan, he blackmails her into coming up and seeing him sometime. Boarding the ship in Seattle is missionary Annie Alden (Helen Jerome Eddy), who dies on the way to Alaska. Rose assumes Annie's identity and, upon arrival in Alaska proceeds to preach the Good Book, saving sinners by unorthodox methods. Mountie Jack Forrest (Philip Reed) arrives in town searching for Chan's murderer and he falls in love with Rose, unaware that the woman he loves is the killer he seeks.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West: Starstruck

"Those were the years of the excitement of MAE WEST, Bogart, W.C. Fields, and the Marx Brothers," said New Yorker and cinema memorabilia collector Ira M. Resnick, explaining that those anarchic screen legends had become idols of the counterculture Woodstock generation.
• • During the past four decades, the 60-year-old movie maven has amassed some 2,000 vintage posters and some 1,500 stills and lobby cards — — and 258 vibrant and colorful posters from this treasure trove have been reproduced in his book "Starstruck," which came out in early February 2010.
• • Ira Resnick attended NYU film school for his junior and senior years. Martin Scorsese, who wrote the foreword to the book, was one of his instructors. He graduated in 1971 and recalls browsing for lobby cards on West 13th Street at a movie memorabilia store, Cinemabilia, in Greenwich Village. The items he purchased there, which formed the basis of his collection, appear in this new release printed by Abbeville. If you love silent classics and the golden age of cinema, then "Starstruck" is for you. Catch a free premiere on Ira Resnick's web site.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West: Margaret Perry

An actress from a most distinguished theatrical family was featured with MAE WEST in the motion picture "Go West, Young Man," a 1936 screen production of an original Broadway play called "Personal Appearance." Margaret Perry took the role of Joyce Struthers.
• • Born in Denver during the month of February — — on 23 February 1913 — — she was one of two daughters of Frank Frueauff, who worked in the gas and electric industry, and the illustrious Antoinette "Toni" Perry, the director and stage actress for whom the Tony Awards were named.
• • She was raised on a rugged Colorado ranch far from Times Square; her great grandparents homesteaded in South Park in 1862.
• • The 16-year-old made her stage debut in 1929; two years later she appeared on Broadway in John Van Druten's "After All" [1931]. Her mother Toni directed her in "Ceiling Zero" [1935] and "Now You've Done It" [1937]. Her very brief cinema career did not eclipse her theatre work; she was cast in only a few Hollywood movies during the 1930s.
• • By the time Margaret Perry was cast in "Go West, Young Man," she had married her second husband, actor Burgess Meredith; the newlyweds had tied the knot on 10 January 1936 and divorced two and a half years later.
• • With her third husband Paul Fanning — — scenic artist and art director/ co-producer of "The Brain That Wouldn't Die" [1962] — — she bore four children. In 1952, the divorcee retired to Colorado to raise her kids and continued to live on the family's Salt Works Ranch, in South Park, Park County, Colorado until her demise.
• • Margaret Perry died in Hartsel, Colorado on 8 April 2007, outliving her sister and her daughter Toni.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West: Lucile Gleason

Starring MAE WEST, the motion picture "Klondike Annie" was released during the month of February — — on 21 February 1936. Several cast members have February birthdates.
• • Five-foot-six Lucile Gleason took the part of Big Tess. Born in Pasadena, California on 6 February 1888, the Irish-American character actress often acted with her husband James Gleason. He wrote the script for "The Shannons of Broadway" [1929]. Originally created for the stage, this project co-starred James Gleason with his wife Lucille Webster. (In 1905, Lu wed James when she was 17.) The married couple are cast as Mickey and Emma Shannon, a vaudeville duo who are failures until a healthy real estate transaction revives their career. This musical comedy enjoyed success as a silent and a talkie.
• • Interestingly, Lucile Gleason was the first treasurer of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG). She along with Alden Gay were the two women among the 21 founding members of SAG.
• • Lucile and James Gleason had one son, Russell. Born on 6 February 1908 in Portland, Oregon, Russell kept busy as a child actor. Most unfortunately, the 37-year-old fell from a hotel window in New York City and died the day after Christmas on 26 December 1945.
• • Seventeen months after her only child died, Lucile Gleason had a heart attack. She died in Brentwood, California on 18 May 1947. Her husband survived her.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West: Jewel Heist

In reality, there really was a daring, horrifying jewel heist and on 21 February 1934 the radio program "Calling All Cars" broadcast "The MAE WEST Jewel Robbery," a production put together without Mae's participation.
• • According to J. David Goldin, "Calling All Cars" — — Program #13 — — was aired on CBS Pacific net (also known as the Don Lee network at this time). "The Mae West Jewel Robbery" was sponsored by the Rio Grande Oil Company. Goldin notes: "The story of the real robbery of Miss West's jewels and $3000 in cash is dramatized. Well done! Martha Wentworth impersonates Mae West. The program was broadcast on the day one of the robbers was caught. The script was used on "Calling All Cars" again on March 19, 1935." The run time is 28 minutes, 30 seconds.
• • Martha Wentworth • •
• • Born on 2 June 1889 in New York City, voice actress Martha Wentworth certainly had the right regional accent and attitude for her Brooklyn bombshell impressions — — and she was also the voice of Jenny Wren (based on Mae) for that Silly Symphony cartoon "Who Killed Cock Robin?" [1935] as well as the "Calling All Cars" episode. After a long, busy career as "the actress of 100 voices," Martha Wentworth died at age 84 on 8 March 1974 in Sherman Oaks, California.
• • Thanks to the web site Radio Lovers [www.radiolovers.com], several of the "Calling All Cars" episodes have been archived. Go to their site and listen to Martha Wentworth cast as Mae West in this drama based on true events. It is free to listen.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West: Without a Stitch

"I've seen MAE WEST without a stitch and she's all woman," proclaimed designer Edith Head. "No hermaphrodite could have bosoms... well, like two large melons." Head, an Oscar-winning Hollywood costumer, was debunking the rumor that Mae was actually a man.
• • Edinburgh columnist Lee Randall reminds us of this long-standing hokum and the raging misogyny behind it.
• • Lee Randall writes: My late, great, best friend had many eccentricities, among them the insistence that any man who was at all accomplished, adorable and generally worth paying attention to was obviously a member of his brethren — — that is, gay.
• • Lee Randall explains: He also insisted, right up until the day she died and was autopsied and the matter, along with her remains, was finally laid to rest, that Mae West was a man.
• • Lee Randall adds: Giggle if you must, but this was a very popular urban myth. Some people ignorantly refuse to accept that a woman can be talented, sexually predatory, pro-gay rights (her play about homosexuality was banned in New York in 1927) and decked out like a drag queen if he/she/ it isn't actually a drag queen. So when . . . .
— — Excerpt: — —
• • Article: "Elton simply picked one of the good guys for his own team…"
• • By: Lee Randall
• • Published in: The Scotsman [Edinburgh]
• • Published on: 20 February 2010
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• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West: Chester County

If you collect autographs and memorabilia linked to MAE WEST, a chance to add to your collection comes during March in Pennsylvania's Chester County.
• • Gordon S. Converse & Co. is preparing for a Discovery Antique Auction on Thursday, 25 March 2010, at 12:15 p.m. About 250 lots will be sold.
• • “Luckily for us, a small and collectible collection of posters and fine arts came in at the last minute, rounding out this next sale nicely,” said Gordon Converse of Gordon S. Converse & Co. He was referring to 30 lots of artwork by Marc Chagall, Ben Shahn, Fernand Leger, and others, all vintage lithographs and posters.
• • “My favorite is a framed photo and signed check of Mae West with a gold leaf frame and a stunning light blue satin mask,” added Gordon Converse.
• • These are part of a much broader and eclectic range of categories, which will also include ceramics, sporting prints, furniture and collectibles. . . .
• • Info: Gordon S. Converse, 758 Mancill Road, Strafford, PA 19087.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West: Access to Excess Sex

One does not think of MAE WEST as sex deprived. Mae seems to have had the confidence required for zesty conquests and enough access to willing partners to meet her needs. Nevertheless, there are many older women out there for whom the bedroom has become a battleground.
• • David Schnarch, Ph.D. takes pen in hand to remind his readers: There’s a lot of unquenched fire when one partner lacks desire. And often the more passionate person is female.
• • A Valentine to the Mae West in Every Woman • •
• • David Schnarch, Ph.D. writes: In the classic marital struggles over frequency of sex, who do you envision as the high desire partner? The man? Or the woman?
• • Usually we think of the man as the one who "can't get enough." So much so, that guy's grousing about being sexually deprived has almost become politically incorrect, instantly dismissed as the drivel of an insensitive jerk. But behind this stereotype hides some of the most heartbreaking parts of people's lives.
• • There are a large number of women secretly pining away for a good romp with the man they love. These are the "Invisible Women" who want more sex; older married women who go decades without sexual satisfaction with their partner. In almost half the couples I treat for sexual desire problems, like Anne and Bill, the man is the low desire partner.
• • Women like Anne are easily dismissed from mind. They suffer from loneliness rather than horniness, and crave a little joy rather than more genital relief. Dying to be held for more than five minutes, so they can finally relax in bed. For Anne and Bill, this never happened in the few times a year they had sex, and Anne increasingly feared they would never really connect before they die. Bill was so frightened to let someone really know him, so filled with anxiety, he fumbled through the act. No emotional contact during physical contact. Not that Anne didn't know Bill's secrets and vulnerabilities-the very fact she suffered in silence for years was proof that she knew and loved him. She lay next to Bill each night, complying with his unmarked "no trespass" zone that separated them physically by inches, and emotionally by miles.
• • Lest I paint too chaste a picture, the Annes of the world also want a good romp in the sack. They know when Mae West said, "A hard man is good to find," she wasn't talking about body building. There are lots of women with more than a trace of Mae West in them — — buried under years of trying not to want sex, and feeling bad about themselves because they still do. It's ok for men and generation X girls to declare themself sexually carnivorous, but women who were girls decades ago aren't use to doing that.
• • What's the impact of this kind of deprivation? ....
• • What would Mae West have said to this?
— — Excerpt: — —
• • Article: "A Valentine to the Mae West in Every Woman — — Does Valentine's Day give women what they really want?
• • BY: David Schnarch, Ph.D. | Columnist
• • Published by Psychology Today — — www.psychologytoday.com/
• • Published on: 17 February 2010
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• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West: Fulton J. Sheen

Quite doubtful that MAE WEST ever traded banter with a man-of-the-collar. It's certain that the screen queen sympathized with nuns she spotted waiting for (or riding on) a bus; Mae donated many of her old cars to the local convents to prevent nuns from such indignity and hardship. Nevertheless, the Empress of Sex often became a punchline. Father Joseph repeats an iffy from the fifties.
• • Father Leo M. Joseph O.S.F. takes pen in hand to remind his readers: There’s an old joke that goes: One day in February back in the 1950s, the legendary Bishop Fulton J. Sheen, the original televangelist, was at a TV studio in New York to tape one of his Lenten programs (sponsored by Progresso Soup) and it so happened that he crossed paths in the hallway with the aging iconic “bad girl” of stage, film and TV, Mae West.
• • She paused in front of him, gave him a slow once-over in all his bishop’s regalia, and cooed, “Not bad looking. Why don’t ya come up and see me sometime.”
• • Bishop Sheen reared up in righteous indignation, turned as purple as his pontifical mantle, and replied, “You wicked Jezebel! Don’t you know it’s LENT?”
• • As she sauntered off, Mae West snapped, “Well, no I didn’t. But uh, why don’t you come up and see me when you get it back ...”
• • These days, Mae West is not the only one who doesn’t know about Lent. The mass media will have plenty of footage showing the revelry in New Orleans as Mardi Gras winds up its weeks of partying in the streets, but little mention of the “morning after,” Ash Wednesday and the 40-day observance of Lent. Yet for Christians all over the world this is a time-honored tradition that dates back . . . .
• • How many think that is (or was, even for a half second back in the 1950s) hilarious?
— — Excerpt: — —
• • Article: "Mardi Gras — — the morning after"
• • BY: Fr. Leo M. Joseph O.S.F. | Columnist
• • Published by Lake County News — — lakeconews.com
• • Published on: 15 February 2010
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• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West: Rochester

Rarely did MAE WEST miss a performance. When she did, however, it made the news.
• • Exactly sixty years ago today, on 16 February 1950, Mae was starring in her popular Bowery drama "Diamond Lil" at the Auditorium Theatre in Rochester — — when she collapsed onstage. She was suffering from food poisoning.
• • The Auditorium Center was originally constructed for the Freemasons in 1928.
• • Happily, the Rochester Auditorium Theatre is still open for business and in the same location as back in 1950: 875 East Main Street, Rochester, NY 14605.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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