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The Academy Award hooplah over "The King's Speech" calls to mind the day MAE WEST was invited to party with the King of England during his jubilee in 1935.
• • According to the Chicago Tribune: In 1935, Mae West was invited to the jubilee celebration of King George V in London, over the teacups at Paramount studio in Hollywood today by Lord Byng, British hero of Vimy Ridge. The actress entertained Lord and Lady Byng at tea on the set of her picture, and was in her usual good form saying, "Have another cup, dearie" to his lordship and "Two lumps, darling" to her ladyship. ...
• • King George V [1865 — 1936] began his reign on 6 May 1910, celebrating his Silver Jubilee on 6 May 1935. Special commemorative coins and medals were struck to honor this anniversary. No doubt many speeches were made on this occasion. Eight months later the monarch died on 20 January 1936. The reign of his son King George VI (who stuttered) began on 11 December 1936. He was the father of the current monarch Queen Elizabeth, who ascended the throne in 1952.
• • Julian Byng, 1st Viscount Byng of Vimy Ridge, died one month after the royal festivities on 6 June 1935.
• • The newspapers followed this story, announcing a few times that Mae West would definitely attend the party in London. However, it was not to be — — and the busy performer would not sail for Great Britain until after World War II when she toured in "Diamond Lil."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • The Guardian's Drama Critic Michael Billington begins his review this way: Mae West liked a guy who took his time, and Mike Leigh certainly exercises that privilege in this 2¾-hour play originally seen at Hampstead in 1979. But, although there may be occasional longueurs, Leigh gets there in the end by offering a devastating portrait of the solitude that haunts many of the inhabitants of a teeming city like London. ...
• • Source: Review "Ecstasy" written by Michael Billington — guardian.co.uk; posted on Wednesday, 16 March 2011
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • Mae-montage printed in September 1934 • •
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Mae West.
MAE WEST had a special fondness for native New Yorkers, vaudevillians, and African-Americans and Nick Stewart was all of those.
• • Born In Manhattan [birthname Horace Winfred Stewart] during the month of March — — on 15 March 1910 — — Nick Stewart took the role of Nicodemus Stewart in "Go West Young Man" [1936].
• • He wed in 1941. Nine years later, the energetic character actor, with his wife Edna, founded the Ebony Showcase Theatre on LaBrea Avenue in Los Angeles.
• • If you saw "Song of the South" [1946], that was his voice bringing Bre'r Bear alive.
• • On the early 1950s TV series "The Amos 'n Andy Show," Nick Stewart (billed as Nick O'Demus) portrayed Lightnin', the slow-moving broom pusher who worked for The Kingfish.
• • The versatile showman from vaudeville and radio was one of the first inductees in the Academy of Television Arts and Science's new Archive of American Television.
• • The last surviving cast member from "Amos 'n Andy," Nick Stewart lived to be 90 years old and died on 18 December 2000 in Los Angeles of natural causes.
• • Mae West Earning Greenbacks for GreenLight • •
• • Robert Klara writes: But most attractive of all: A dead celeb won’t pull a Tiger Woods on you. “You know what you’re getting,” says David Reeder, whose L.A. firm GreenLight Rights handles the licensing for departed stars like Mae West and Johnny Cash. “Any negativity [about their lives] has long been digested by the popular culture—and they’ve withstood the test of time.” ...
• • Source: Article "I See Dead People" written by Robert Klara for Brandweek; posted on 14 March 2011
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • Billionaire investor Warren Buffet suggested: “Why not invest your assets in the companies you really like? As Mae West said, “Too much of a good thing can be wonderful” . ...
• • Source: Article "Warren Buffett: his best quotes" — www.telegraph.co.uk; posted on Tuesday, 15 March 2011
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • 1936 by H. Sabin • •
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Mae West.
MAE WEST had tried to sue Show Magazine over this portrait taken in her white and gold boudoir. Show published it anyway [January 1965 issue].
• • ''Mae West hated the pictures,'' Allan Arbus recalled about the shoot done by his late wife, who was born on March 14th. ''Because they were truthful.'' 
• • The image might come up another time — — since there are 75 prints of this limited edition of Mae West in a Chair at Home, Santa Monica, California, 1965.
• • In 1964, Diane Arbus [14 March 1923 — 26 July 1971] flew to Los Angeles. Her buddy Robert Brown chauffeured her to Mae West's beach house on two successive days. By the 1960s, the New York City photo-journalist had adopted the Rolleiflex medium format twin-lens reflex. This format provided a square aspect ratio, higher image resolution, and a waist-level viewfinder that allowed Arbus to connect with her subjects in ways that a standard eye-level viewfinder did not. She was also experimenting with the use of flashes in daylight, allowing her to highlight and separate her subjects from the background.
• • For all of her technical savvy, Diane Arbus had enough smarts to know when to keep the camera bag out of sight. So it unfolded that, when Robert Brown came to drive his friend home on that first evening, she admitted she had not shot one frame yet. Instead she and the Brooklyn bombshell spent the time chatting.
• • Penis Pals • •
• • ''Do you know what we did most of the time?'' Diane enthusiastically told Robert. ''She's got a locked room with models in plaster of all the men she's had sex with — — of their erections.''
• • Regaling the East Coast guest with tales about her former lovers, Mae West had said: ''Each one is different: the way they sigh, the way they moan, the way they move; even the feel of them, their flesh is just a little different. . . . There's a man for every mood.''
• • Naturally, Diane Arbus wrote all of this down for the cover story she would write for Show's publisher Huntington Hartford. Then the next day, when her subject was relaxed and at ease, Diane shot several rolls. She was satisfied that she had done a good job capturing the septuagenarian sexpot — — in a negligee, backlighted by the merciless Southern California sun.
• • In her article, the 41-year-old phtographer would describe the 71-year-old screen legend as "imperious, adorable, magnanimous, genteel and girlish, almost simultaneously." She added, "There is even, forgive me, a kind of innocence about her."
• • After the session, Mae handed Diane a C-note, saying, "Thanks, honey." This was a habit dating back to the 1930s when the Paramount Pictures star would tip still photographers who snapped her on the set. [Diane returned the $100 with a gracious note.]
• • When the sharply focused black and white portraits appeared in print, however, Mae found them harsh, ugly, pitiless and directed her attorneys to sue the publisher. Her lawyers fired off a letter, calling the Mae layout "unflattering, cruel, and not at all glamourous."
• • Diane Arbus admitted there was a certain manipulativeness felt by those who click a shutter. A camera gave her access and power — — but what Diane trainer herself to notice especially was "the flaw."
• • Flaws did not interest Mae West. Not unlike Blanche DuBois, she did not want realism. She preferred magic, Hollywood's favorite home-grown product.
• • Mae West, Russeks, and Diane Arbus • •
• • Brooklyn’s Fulton Street used to offer an exhaltation of department stores; prestigious retailers lined up along the stretch once included Martin's, Abraham & Strauss, Loeser’s, and Russeks. Founded as a specialty house for furs, eventually, the Brooklyn outlet and its Manhattan counterpart on Fifth Avenue featured an upscale ladies line.
• • Founded in the early 1900s, the store's original owners were the grandparents of photographer Diane Arbus and her brother, poet Howard Nemerov. Their parents were David and Gertrude (Russek) Nemerov.
• • Russeks also supplied clothing and furs for some of Mae's Broadway shows. To thank them and give them publicity, Mae printed glossy postcards touting Russeks and distributed these in the theatre.
• • Diane Arbus: Mae West in a Chair at Home, Santa Monica, California, 1965 [Gelatin Silver Print, 20 inches X 16 inches, signed by Arbus].
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • North Carolina movie maven Ken Hanke writes: At the same time, a double feature of Mae West films — Night After Night (1932) and She Done Him Wrong (1933) — found me standing up through the screening. Miss West was a hit in turnout and in response, but the real surprise for me was that a great deal of the audience had never actually seen one of her movies. Her name, however, was known and intriguing enough to bring ‘em in. She’ll be making an encore appearance at some point. It will be interesting to see if she draws a crowd a second time. She certainly ought to. And logic tells me she should do just that, but I’m not convinced logic has very much to do with it. ...
• • Source: Article "Cranky Hanke’s Screening Room: The Continually Surprising Audience" — written by Ken Hanke for MountainExpress.com; posted on 13 March 2011
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • by Arbus 1965 • •
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Mae West.
In 1952 the Sahara Hotel opened in Las Vegas and two years later MAE WEST launched her new concept — — The Mae West Revue — — on the Strip. In its heyday, the Rat Pack rumbled and the Saharem Dancers did high kicks. When Dean Martin performed at the hotel in scenes from the original "Ocean's Eleven" movie, his piano advertised Sahara on the back.
• • On 27 June 1954, Mae West delighted the audience, and women patrons stormed the stage, when the bodybuilders filed into the Sahara's Congo Room. The Mae West Revue would remain there for almost three weeks.
• • In 1957, the long-running sold-out stage show would close in Las Vegas — — again at the Sahara.
• • Sayonara Time at the Sahara • •
• • Gary A. Warner writes: The Sahara Hotel & 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 16 May 2011.
• • Gary A. Warner adds: Hotel officials said ownership was considering its options on whether to re-brand the hotel or redevelop the aging property. ... [Source: "Sahara hotel in Las Vegas to close in May" written by Gary A. Warner, Register Travel Editor, for The Orange County Register; posted 11 March 2011].
• • Dave Williams Died on March 13th • •
• • For the 1972 audio album "Great Balls of Fire" Mae West performed the rock and roll classic "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On," which has been recorded by many vocalists including Jerry Lee Lewis.
• • Though the origins of the song are in dispute, it is a fact that Roy Hall made a recording of the song in September 1955 for Decca Records, and a Decca sample copy of Hall's recording lists Dave Williams as the sole writer.
• • The African American singer and songwriter Dave "Curlee" Williams [26 April 1920 — 13 March 1982] seems to have collaborated with the white pianist, bandleader, and songwriter James Faye "Roy" Hall [7 May 1922 — 2 March 1984].
• • Roy Hall died in the month of March and so did Dave Williams — — on 13 March 1982 — — a talented musician about whom very little is known. So we came to sing their praises today.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • debut in Vegas June 1954 • •
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Mae West.
MAE WEST worked with a large cast in "The Heat Is On" [1943] and one British character actor was born 17 years before her.
• • Born in Brighton, East Sussex, England in the month of March — — on 12 March 1880 — — Boyd Irwin appeared for 17 years on the stage in both his homeland and Australia. The bit parts player was seen briefly in 138 shorts and feature films between 1915 and 1948, including two with Alfred Hitchcock during the 1940s.
• • In "The Heat Is On," Boyd Irwin was cast as Dr. H. Snyder.
• • After a busy career, Boyd Irwin retired in California. He died on 22 January 1957 at age 76 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles.
• • Remembering Beverly West • • 
• • In the month of March, we honor Mae's younger sister Beverly.
• • In March 1924, Variety noted a new act listed on Manhattan's stagebill: "Beverly West and Co., Piano and Singing." While not mentioning that she was Mae West's sister, Variety's reviewer admitted that "she puts over her numbers acceptably." Proctor's 58th Street location had engaged Beverly and her musicians. In 1895, F.F. Proctor had built his playhouse, Proctor's Pleasure Palace Palm Gardens, on 154 East 58th Street, New York, NY in midtown on the eastside [now zipcode 10022]. During the same interval (mid-March in 1924), Mae West was trouping in vaudeville in Texas.
• • Born in Brooklyn on 8 December 1898, Beverly died two years after her older sister on 12 March 1982.
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • "It’s not what I do, but the way I do it. It’s not what I say, but the way I say it." — — Mae West
• • "Right now I think censorship is necessary; the things they’re doing and saying in films right now just shouldn’t be allowed. There’s no dignity anymore and I think that’s very important." — — Mae West
• • Source: Famous Quotations — quotedb.net; posted on 12 March 2011• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • with Timony and Beverly on 22 Feb. 1935 in Arcadia, Calif. • •
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Mae West.
MAE WEST signaled her desire for Raoul Walsh, an intrepid Irishman, to direct her forthcoming motion picture "Klondike Lou" — — via the syndicated gossip column of Louella Parsons during the summer of 1935.
• • In her well-researched and thoroughly engaging biography on the Hollywood headliner, Jill Watts writes: Mae West liked Walsh's willingness to coach rather than direct her. Sidney Skolskv reported that "no matter who is on a Mae West set and who is directing the flicker, you can tell that what Mae West says, goes."
• • Born in the month of March, native New Yorker Raoul Walsh [11 March 1887 — 31 December 1980] was an American film director, actor, founding member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), and the brother of silent screen actor George Walsh. Born Albert Edward Walsh, he began as a stage actor in New York City in 1909, quickly progressing into film acting. In 1914, he became an assistant to D.W. Griffith and made his first full-length feature film "The Life of General Villa," followed by the critically-acclaimed "Regeneration" [1915], possibly the earliest gangster film.
• • While on location for the film "In Old Arizona," the five-foot-eleven actor suffered a car accident in which he lost his right eye. He never acted again and wore an eye patch for the rest of his life.
• • Raoul Walsh also directed "The Bowery" [1933], featuring Wallace Beery, George Raft, Fay Wray, and Pert Kelton; the movie recounts the story of Steve Brodie, the first man to (supposedly) jump off the Brooklyn Bridge and live to brag about it.
• • The "rowdy touch" was Mae's aim in her upcoming project and she had seen a quality she liked in Walsh's "The Cock-Eyed World" and "What Price Glory?" — — the vehicle that made Victor McLaglen a bold-faced name, a rough hewn beaut Mae was eyeing up for the role of her leading man as she pursued her Klondike quest.
• • When Drinking Gin Was a Sin • •
• • According to Bambi Weavil, Mae West "loved" gin cocktails. How she comes by this fanciful information is not explained, however, Bambi's email is below — — if you would like to start a discussion with her about Mae West's barroom preferences or how Bambi does her research.
• • Bambi Weavil writes: “Hello, Suckers! Come on in and leave your wallet on the bar!” This is how blonde bombshell Texas Guinan greeted guests at the speakeasies she manned in New York during Prohibition. Famous for wisecracking, running the hottest clubs in town, being hauled off to the pokey on a regular basis and having her joints shut down by Feds, Texas hails from a long tradition of strong women who drink strong spirits. Re-opening after raids, she would sometimes sport a necklace of gold padlocks to show the cops there were no hard feelings.
• • Bambi Weavil adds: While women and men weren’t permitted to mingle without prejudice in the bar until Tex’s time, women like Texas Guinan have owned and operated taverns and been a part of cocktail culture for generations. Ada Coleman, for example, was the first head bartender at the esteemed Savoy Hotel in London. Mae West, Dorothy Parker, and Tallulah Bankhead all had one thing in common besides fame and beauty — — they loved their gin cocktails. ... [Source: "Celebrating Creative Women Who Drink Strong Cocktails Without Pretension" written by Bambi Weavil, Out Impact, Inc.'s CEO/ Founder-President since June 2007; posted on OutImpact.com on 10 March 2011; Email: bambi.weavil [at] gmail [dot] com]. Few have called Dorothy Parker "a beauty," and even fewer have described Mae West as a gin-lover, so this view is quite novel.
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • Similarly, Mae West consciously created her own undulating and moaning "Diamond Lil" persona in part to keep fresh the memory of her beloved Gay '90s mother and found it such a useful armor to slip into for real life that many felt they were one and the same. It was no coincidence that some observers called West, the first actress to subvert misogyny by being sexually assertive, a modern Aphrodite, the Goddess who wore a magic gold girdle and took many lovers. ... [Source: "Good Time Charlie: The Sheen of Hollywood's Restored Rogue Archetype" written by Carl Sferrazza Anthony; posted on the Huff-Post on 10 March 2011].
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • 1935 • •
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Mae West.
MAE WEST was in one motion picture with handsome Lloyd Bridges, who was 30 at the time. He was cast as Andy Walker in "The Heat's On" [aka "Tropicana" 1943] and Mae's character was Fay Lawrence.
• • Born in San Leandro, California on 15 January 1913, Lloyd Bridges died during the month of March — — on 10 March 1998 — — of natural causes at age 85.
• • Best known as Mike Nelson, the manly frogman who made a splash on TV's undersea adventure series "Sea Hunt" [1958 — 1961], Bridges had been briefly blacklisted for political activism during the Joe McCarthy era. He is also the father of the actors Beau Bridges and Jeff Bridges.
• • At age 85, Lloyd Bridges died of natural causes in Los Angeles.
• • Mae West in March 1933 • •
• • " . . . The incredible Mae West went all-out for the Red Cross in spearheading the benefit. .... 
• • Howard Bryan Bonham Jr. was editing the unpublished memoirs of his late father, Howard Bonham Sr., when he came across the following account of the Long Beach, California earthquake of 1933. The late Mr. Bonham had been a cousin of Will Rogers.
• • Drawing from his vivid first-hand source, Howard Bryan Bonham Jr. writes: In March following the earthquake, we staged a fund raiser for the victims. The incredible Mae West went all-out for the Red Cross in spearheading the benefit. She was enjoying her greatest popularity.
• • I had called on Will Rogers earlier. He was Mr. Dependable. However, he explained that of all the communities in the United States, Hollywood was undoubtedly the only one where he could not draw a crowd.
• • He explained that he was mayor of neighboring Beverly Hills and also a familiar figure on Sunset Boulevard. There he was part of the scenery and as common as an old shoe, he said.
• • I told Mae West that Will Rogers recommended her to the skies. She loved adoration, especially from such a luminary as my Cousin Will. She accepted and rounded up twenty stars as well as a band, all gratis, and the house was packed. During intermission, pretty usherettes passed the hat. Nearly $30,000 in 1933 dollars was raised or pledged.
• • Later I called to thank her. “Don’t mention it,” she said. “Call on me again sometime.”
• • By the time I got back to St. Louis, I could swear she said, “Why . . . say, big boy, come up and see me sometime.”
• • [Source: Article: "Will Rogers and Mae West Pitch In to Help Long Beach Quake Victims" written by Howard Bryan Bonham and first posted in May 2010.]
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • Actress Sally Struthers told a Kansas City reporter: "When I (played Mama Morton) last year in Maine, what came out of my mouth and what I stuck with was that I felt she was very saucy and sexy, and I started playing her like Mae West. And it seems to work. Hopefully they’ll let me continue that here.” . . . [ Source: Article: "Sally Struthers is Mama Morton at Union Station" written by Robert Trussell for The Kansas City Star; posted on 9 March 2011.]
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • 1933 • •
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Mae West.
From 1912 — 1916, MAE WEST had an ally in vaudeville: her well-connected booking agent Frank Bohm. 
• • When the Brooklyn-born tough chick was 19 years old, she described herself as "a hard-boiled, wise-cracking kid, doing anything to get a laugh."
• • Born in Hungary in 1883/4, the 29-year-old booking agent at first struck Mae as brash and rude; when first introduced, he didn't even bother to remove his hat. But he was soon exerting his influence, cautioning her against being a sidewalk cut-up and giving away her good stuff for free.
• • And not long after, Mae was influencing Bohm; she confided that the married man (with a pregnant wife) was "in trouble" over her. Soon they were sitting in a Times Square restaurant having dinner when Frank Bohm presented Mae with a diamond ring as he implored her not to encourage a rival agent: Joseph M. Schenck, the Loew circuit booking manager.
• • Mae's career took flight under Frank Bohm. In 1912, he arranged for her to appear on sheet music for "Cuddle Up and Cling to Me" with the "Girard Boys." Shortly after, he encouraged her to go out as a single in variety, promising her $350 — $500 week. And knowing she was special in his eyes, Mae took full advantage of this stepping stone.
• • Mae West claimed that her father went into real estate when she signed with Frank Bohm.
• • When Guido Deiro and Mae were hot and heavy over each other, it was Bohm who was booking them both — — "engaged jointly as headline features" for 40 weeks on the prestigious Loew circuit.
• • Under Bohm's careful grooming, Mae transformed herself into a headliner for Manhattan's American Roof Theatre in January 1915 where she performed Sheldon Brooks's "Balling the Jack" and her trademark number "I've Got a Style All My Own."
• • Unfortunately, the agent who was so "generous, vital, and adoring" to Mae was cut down by tuberculosis of the spine when he was only 33 years old. Frank Bohm died in the month of March — — on 9 March 1916.
• • By March 1916, however, Mae West had fallen off the pathway to stardom. From applauded headliner at a good theatre a few steps away from Broadway in January 1915, by March 1916 Mae was slaving away at Pittsburgh's Victoria Theatre, performing in cheap, third-rate burlesque. Drat.
• • Mae West and Grapes • •
• • The name Mae West, controversial stage and film star of the early 20th century, conjures up visions of grapes. “Beulah, peel me a grape,” she said in the 1933 movie “I’m No Angel.” ... [Source: "Who and what in food lore" written by Page H. Onorato for The Dispatch; posted on Tuesday, 8 March 2011].
• • Quote, Unquote in the United Arab Emirates • •
• • 'Too much of a good thing is wonderful," the legendary Hollywood actress Mae West once said. It is arguable, however, whether the rapier-tongued diva would still have the same opinion had she spent a few hours waiting for a taxi under the scorching mid-summer UAE sun . . . [Source: Here comes the sun: National Editorial; The National in Abu Dhabi, UAE; posted on 9 March 2011].
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • 1912 • •
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Mae West.
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. 
• • The New York Times film critic wrote: Mae West's "Klondike Annie" really does not merit the agitation it has caused. Neither as healthily rowdy nor as vulgarly suggestive as many of her earlier pictures, it emerges on the Paramount's screen as a tiresome and rather stupid combination of lavender and old japes. Though we are prepared to debate the blue noses on Miss West's right to wave, we cannot accept undulation without wit or négligée without reason.
• • Miss West does not function any too well in a moral strait-jacket. . . • •• • Frank Nugent, The Times' man on the aisle, continued: It is, of course, highly ironic that the more she attempts to please the censors the more she displeases them. In her new film she gets religion, turns evangelist of a sort and speaks generally as though she had just been spanked for saying something naughty and was trying not to offend again. Although it seems to put us on the wrong side of the fence, we must mention that Miss West does not function any too well in a moral strait-jacket. "Klondike Annie" finds her battering her ample curves against the padded walls of the clean films code on one side and her natural inclination for bawdy humor on the other. . . .
• • Mae West 75 Years Ago (March 1936) • •
• • FRANKFORT, Kentucky — — The New Majestic Theater is showing Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy in "their funniest full-length riot," "The Bohemian Girl." The Grand presents Margaret Sullivan, James Stewart, and Ray Milland in "Next Time We Love," while Loew's Victory advertises Charlie Chaplin's (soon to be classic) "Modern Times," with Mae West's "Klondike Annie" coming soon. [Source: Evansville Courier & Press, 7 March 1936]
• • Esther Howard was Fanny in "Klondike Annie" • •
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, Esther Howard appeared in more than 100 movies in her 23-year film career.
• • A heart attack claimed Ms. Howard in the month of March — — on 8 March 1965 — — in Hollywood, California.
• • John Leipold wrote background music for "Klondike Annie" • •
• • Original music was written specially for "I'm No Angel" [1933], "Belle of the Nineties" [1934], "Goin' to Town" [1935], "Klondike Annie" [1936], and "The Heat's On" [1943] starring Mae West.
• • One of several uncredited collaborators was John Leipold, who worked on more than 250 projects in Hollywood from 1929 — 1953.
• • Born in Ulster County, New York on 26 February 1888, John Max Leipold composed stock music as well as the score for many cinema stand-outs. His work amplified big screen documentaries, family entertainment, dramas, comedies, Westerns, mysteries, patriotic military-themed pictures, the "Blondie" series, and more. He also created atmospheric music for "Go West, Young Lady" [1941] released by Columbia Pictures — — a title that sounds suspiciously familiar. Leopold did not work on "Go West, Young Man," however.
• • At age 82, John Leipold died in Dallas, Texas in the month of March — — on 8 March 1970.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • with Philip Reed in 1936 • •
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Mae West.
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.
Hedda Hopper asked MAE WEST how she came to know so much about men. "Baby," Mae West replied, "I went to night school!"
• • Hedda Hopper once said: "At one time I thought he wanted to be an actor. He had certain qualifications — — including no money and a total lack of responsibility." Presumably, she was not referring to her Broadway star husband nor to her son Billy, who played a judge in "Myra Breckinridge," which starred Mae West.
• • Born in New York City, William DeWolf Hopper, Jr. [26 January 1915 — 6 March 1970] became an actor. William was the only child of singer and stage actor DeWolf Hopper [1858 — 1935] and actress turned gossip columnist Hedda Hopper [1885 — 1966). In 1924, his 39-year-old mother divorced his 66-year-old father; eventually, she and Billy moved to Hollywood. Hopper appeared in numerous films, mostly uncredited or under the name DeWolf Hopper. The handsome performer is best-remembered, however, for playing Paul Drake on television's "Perry Mason" [1957 — 1966], and then he briefly retired after the series was canceled in 1966. In his final movie appearance he was cast as a judge, Frederic D. Cannon, in Gore Vidal's "Myra Breckinridge" [1970] starring Mae West, Raquel Welch, John Huston, Farrah Fawcett, Rex Reed, and others.
• • Hopper was hospitalized on 14 February 1970, after a stroke at his home in Yucca Valley, and was transferred to a hospital in Palm Springs when pneumonia developed. The pneumonia proved fatal. Hopper was fifty-five at the time of his death in the month of March — — on 6 March 1970. "Myra Breckinridge" was released on 24 June 1970.
• • Come up sometime . . . • • 
• • Australian artist Marie Jonsson-Harrison explains: My painting “Come up and see me sometime” was inspired by one of Mae West's sayings (which I heard growing up). This artwork can also be found on the E-card page of my website (free of course), so why don’t you send it to someone you fancy! Visit Mae and Marie here: www.mariejonssonharrison.com.au/
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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• • Photo: • • Mae West • • by artist Marie Jonsson-Harrison • •
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Mae West.
In the 1935 MAE WEST comedy "Goin' to Town," there are several favorites on the soundtrack.
• • "Love Is Love" — Music by Sammy Fain; Lyrics by Irving Kahal; Sung by Mae West
• • "He's a Bad Man" — Music by Sammy Fain; Lyrics by Irving Kahal; Sung by Mae West
• • "Now I'm a Lady" — Music by Sammy Fain; Lyrics by Irving Kahal and Sam Coslow; Sung by Mae West
• • Past columns have focused on both Sammy Fain and Sam Coslow so let's get better acquainted with Mr. Kahal.
• • Born in Houtzdale, Pennsylvania in the month of March — — on 5 March 1903 — — Irving Kahal was initiated into variety and, eventually, performed with a troupe led by Gus Edwards [1879 — 1945]. During this time Kahal met vaudevillian songwriter Sammy Fain in New York City. That meeting began one of the most prolific collaborations from Tin Pan Alley and lasted until Kahal's death in 1942. In 1927 they produced their first song, "Let a Smile be Your Umbrella," a chart-topper covered by many vocalists.
• • In 1930, Paramount Pictures signed Kahal and Fain to write a song for the Maurice Chevalier movie The Big Pond. They traveled to Los Angeles, composed "You Brought a New Kind of Love To Me" (written with Pierre Norman), and adopted that California city as their new base of operations.
• • For the remainder of their partnership, Kahal and Fain worked for several movie studios, mainly focused on providing one or two numbers to be included in a variety of films. They continued to create instant classics and they also wrote for Broadway musicals.
• • Unfortunately, 38-year-old Irving Kahal died at the height of his success on 7 February 1942 in New York, New York. Kahal was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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• • Photo: • • Mae West • • 1935 • •
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In the 1978 MAE WEST motion picture "Sextette," Timothy Dalton [born 21 March 1946] covers the tune "Love Will Keep Us Together" in a jaunty disco style with his curvaceous leading lady, Marlo Manners.
• • "Love Will Keep Us Together" is a pop song written by Neil Sedaka [born 13 March 1939] and Howard Greenfield in the early months of 1973. Sedaka recorded it in England during spring 1973 for his UK LP "The Tra-La Days Are Over." This was recorded later on in the USA and won a Grammy in 1975.
• • Born in Brooklyn, New York, Howard Greenfield [15 March 1936 — 4 March 1986] was an American lyricist and songwriter, who worked out of the famous Brill Building on Broadway for several years in the 1960s. He is best known for his series of successful songwriting collaborations, including one with Neil Sedaka from the late 1950s until 1973, and a near-simultaneous (and equally successful) songwriting partnership with Jack Keller throughout most of the 1960s.
• • Openly gay, Howard Greenfield lived with his male lover, cabaret singer Tory Damon in an apartment on East 63rd Street in Manhattan before moving to California in 1966.
• • Stricken with AIDS, Howard Greenfield died, aged 49, in Los Angeles, California in the month of March — — on 4 March 1986. In 1991, Howard Greenfield was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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• • Photo: • • Mae West • • "Love Will Keep Us Together" in 1978 • •
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MAE WEST may have preferred to forget the shadows that fell across her silver screen beams in "Sextette," her last motion picture. It was released in the month of March — — on 3 March 1978. However, one of her handsome co-stars still has fond memories of being in "Myra Breckinridge" with her and also relishing her singular star turn on Oscar night.
• • Rex Reed Misses Mae West • • 
• • N.Y. Observer columnist Rex Reed writes: I can't chastise the absence of charisma and talent in today's bland, unfocused workforce. It's not their fault they aren't Barbara Stanwyck, Gary Cooper, and Bette Davis. I remember Doris Day paired with Clark Gable and Mae West crooning to Rock Hudson. Now we get Mila Kunis and Justin Timberlake. Next year, we'll probably get Justin Bieber. What we need more than anything else is some genuine humor. . . [Source: Column: "What the Hell Happened to the Oscars?" written by Rex Reed for The New York Observer on 1 March 2011].
• • "Love Goddesses" Released on March 3rd • •
• • Mae West film footage is used in the documentary "Love Goddesses," originally released in the month of March — — on 3 March 1965.
• • Alyce Ardell Died on March 3rd • •
• • When she worked with Mae West in "Go West, Young Man" [1936], Alyce Ardell portrayed Jeanette, a French maid. She retired early from the cinema — — perhaps out of boredom or frustration.
• • 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, mais oui, as a French maid from 1925 — 1939.
• • Alyce Ardell died at age 95 in Laguna Hills, California in March — — on 3 March 1996.
• • Mae West Memento Lost in New Jersey • •
• • ABC reporter Nina Pineda writes: The contents we could see was a trove of jewelry, pearls, pocket watches, antique clocks, coins, a vintage dollar from the roaring 20's, a collectible program signed by screen siren Mae West, even a century-old Derringer pistol. . . [Source: Article: "Find your unclaimed property!" written by Nina Pineda for WABC in Trenton, NJ on 1 March 2011].
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • Contemplating the cinema releases of 1933, movie maven Eric D. Snider writes: The list of 1933's most popular movies lends credence to the theory that audiences weren't in the mood for such jarring, chaotic satire. Instead they favored light musicals (State Fair, 42nd Street, escapist fantasy (King Kong), saucy Mae West comedies (I'm No Angel and She Done Him Wrong), historical dramas (Queen Christina) and serene literary adaptations (Little Women). . . [Source: Article "What's the Big Deal?: Duck Soup (1933)" written by Eric D. Snider for FILM.COM].
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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• • Photo: • • Mae West • • with Rock Hudson at the Oscars • •
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Two actors who were cast-mates with MAE WEST in "Go West Young Man" [1936] share the second day in March.
• • Born in Virginia, Randolph Scott [23 January 1898 — 2 March 1987] was a motion picture actor whose career spanned from 1928 to 1962. He played the part of meek and mild Bud Norton in this Paramount Pictures release — — based on a hit Broadway comedy — — when he was 38 years old.
• • A handsome leading man in comedies, dramas, and an occasional adventure role, Scott finally did "Go WEST" and became a screen cowboy. And when he began focusing on westerns in the late 1940s, Randolph Scott reached his greatest stardom. His screen persona altered into that of a stoic, craggy, and uncompromising figure — — a tough, hard-bitten man seemingly unconnected to the light comedy romantic lead he had been during the 1930s.
• • Randolph Scott died in Beverly Hills at age 89 in the month of March — — on March 2nd in 1987.
• • Born in Pittsburgh and raised in Nebraska, Lyle Talbot [8 February 1902 — 2 March 1996] was an actor best known for playing Joe Randolph on TV's harmless time-waster "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet" as well as his lengthy film career. Lyle Talbot began his movie career under contract to Warner Brothers in the early days of "the talkies" and went on to appear in more than 150 films, first as a young matinée idol and later as a character actor and star of assorted B movies. He was a founding member of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and later served on the board.
• • Talbot portrayed the amusing Irish Catholic politician Francis X. Harrigan who pursues blonde vixen Mavis Arden in "Go West Young Man" when he was 34 years old.
• • Lyle Talbot died in San Francisco, California at age 94 in the month of March — — on March 2nd in 1996.
• • In "Go West Young Man" — — released on 18 November 1936 — — Mae West stepped into a role created as a Broadway comedy that poked fun at "Hollywood dementia" and featured Gladys George [1900 — 1954] in the role of a sultry jezebel. The long-running stage hit told the story of a movie star and diva, Carole Arden, who is on a tour giving personal appearances to promote her latest film, "Drifting Lady." Her car breaks down, which leads to her amorous encounter with a young, handsome gas station attendant, Chester "Bud" Norton.
• • This Mae West vehicle made the East Coast playwright Lawrence Riley [1896 — 1974] an accidental screenwriter when he revised his Broadway play for Paramount Pictures. And at last he got his chance to experience "Hollywood dementia" first-hand.
• • The cast of "Go West Young Man" included:
• • Mae West — — Mavis Arden
• • Warren William — — Morgan
• • Randolph Scott — — Bud Norton
• • Alice Brady — — Mrs. Struthers
• • Elizabeth Patterson — — Aunt Kate Barnaby
• • Lyle Talbot — — Francis X. Harrigan
• • Charles Irwin — — Master of Ceremonies
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • 1936 • •
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MAE WEST used to joke, "I've been on more laps than a napkin." Visitors to a new exhibition of colorful quilts will see the movie queen on a coverlet — — but no one is permitted to touch this nor drape it across a lap.
• • Commemorating the county's 150-plus years of history by displaying several dozen superb hand-sewn vintage quilts will certainly attract attention and attendance. The exhibit began on Tuesday, 1 March 2011 at the Anoka County Historical Society, said Vickie Wendel, the society's program manager. Though most of these quilts were assembled decades ago, Ms. Wendel described one of the two modern quilts in this array as a Women's History project created by the students from Anoka High School. Each square was designed to celebrate a different inspirational woman: Mae West, artist Georgia O'Keeffe, broadcaster Barbara Walters, singer Diana Ross, and the Statue of Liberty, among other notable female icons.
• • WHERE: Anoka County Historical Society: 2135 Third Avenue, Anoka, MN 55303; T. 763-421-0600.
• • Mae West on 2 March 1913 • •
• • It was on 2 March 1913 that Mae West began a one week booking at Hammerstein's Victoria in the theatre district on West 42nd Street and Seventh Avenue.• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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• • Photo: • • Mae West • • none • •
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It was 1 March 1960 and MAE WEST was a special guest on "The Red Skelton Show" on TV.
• • "The Red Skelton Show" was an American variety show that was a television staple for almost two decades — — from the early 1950s through the early 1970s.
• • You can listen to this on "Mae West — On the Air," a CD that features several of Mae's rare recordings from 1934 — 1960 such as "The Red Skelton Show" — CBS-TV — 1 March 1960.
• • Born in Indiana, Red Skelton [1913 — 1997] was an American comedian who was best known as a top radio and TV star from 1937 to 1971. Skelton's show business career began in his teens as a circus clown and he went on to appearances that spanned from vaudeville, Broadway, films, radio, TV, night clubs, and casinos. During his career as a performer, he also pursued his interests as a serious fine arts painter.
• • Mae West biographer has a new title • •
• • Emily Wortis Leider, who did such a fine job with "Becoming Mae West," has a new actress biography in the pipeline. "Myrna Loy: The Only Good Girl in Hollywood" will be published in September 2011 by the University of California Press [384 pp] this September. We wish Emily Wortis Leider well with her new release.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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• • Photo: • • Mae West • • 1 March 1960 • •
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The Academy Award hooplah over "The King's Speech" calls to mind the day MAE WEST was invited to party with the King of England during his jubilee in 1935.
