Mae West: Sex in 1926

Since MAE WEST’s hit play “Sex” was just reprised at the Hudson Mainstage in Los Angeles, it’s fun to look back at a review of "Sex" that was published in Chicago in 1926.
• • “Tough, and Boldly Played” • •
• • Mae West is the heroine of this affair and the authoress of the play. She is one of those who contests, I believe, Gilda Gray’s right to be considered the shakiest of the shimmying sisters. Some years ago she was in Mr. Ziegfeld’s "Follies." [sic]
• • In her own play, Miss West is a loose lady in whose apartment Clara, a wealthy New York woman is drugged. Mae, finding her there. brings her to, and the lady, to save her own reputation, seeks to send her benefactress to prison. Just for that, Miss West swears to be even, and when later, in the South Seas, she meets the curly-headed and adventurous son of the "respectable" New Yorker, she loves and lures him to his seduction and then self-sacrificingly leaves him. She goes back to one of the lieutenants she met when she was following the fleet.

• • Source: Review of “Sex” in the Chicago Tribune; published on Monday, 6 September 1926.
• • On Monday, 27 June 1949 • •
• • Richard Coogan was still appearing on Broadway in the role of Captain Cummings opposite Mae West in "Diamond Lil" when he auditioned for a TV series. Coogan was cast as Captain Video on the DuMont Television Network on Monday, 27 June 1949. 
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Mae West learned to strum a guitar so that she could accompany herself on the songs she sings in Paramount’s latest motion picture "Klondike Annie."
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "I have to do my work, and I've got a lot of that to do. You ought to know that it isn't easy to write and act, too. You can't call me high hat because I'm busy."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • A Singapore newspaper mentioned Mae West. 
• • How to succeed with men — — Mae West tells you how • • 
• • New York City — — Mae West, now 76, was Hollywood’s sex symbol, admired by millions of men. She is now giving advice to women who want to succeed with the opposite sex.
• • “Don’t smoke, drink or curse, and your sex appeal will take care of you,” Mae West told a roomful of reporters and cameramen. . . .
• • Source: Article in The Straits Times (Singapore); published on Friday, 26 June 1970
• • The evolution of 2 Mae West plays that keep her memory alive • • 
• • A discussion with Mae West playwright LindaAnn LoSchiavo — — 
• • http://lideamagazine.com/renaissance-woman-new-york-city-interview-lindaann-loschiavo/

• • The Mae West Blog celebrates its 13th anniversary • •  

• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past thirteen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 3,900 blog posts. Wow!  

• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started thirteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 3989th 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
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • onstage in April 1926 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest
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Mae West: Beyond Bounds

Since MAE WEST’s play “The Drag” will be reprised at the National Theatre in London in early July of 2018 [next month], let’s reread an old review of her doomed play from December 5, 1926 — — before it went into rehearsal.
• • Miss Mae West Will Not Star • •
• • Mae West, who wrote "Sex," and who Is starring in that vehicle, has turned out another batch of dirt for consumption by theatrical audiences.
• • far beyond the bounds of stage decency • •
• • This time it Is "The Drag," said to be fouler than "The Captive" and "Sin of Sins." James A. Timothy is the producer and the piece is scheduled to go into rehearsal soon. The cast is a large one, numbering 40, made necessary by the theme of the play, reported to be far beyond the bounds of stage decency. Miss West will not leave the cast of "Sex" for a part in her new work.
• • Source: Review of “The Drag” in The Pittsburgh Press; published on Sunday, 5 December 1926.
• • On Wednesday, 26 June 1935 • •
• • The 8-minute cartoon "Who Killed Cock Robin?" was released on 26 June 1935 in the USA. Loverboy Robin is crooning to a Mae West-like Jenny Wren when he is shot with an arrow.
• • Actress Martha Wentworth [2 June 1889 — 8 March 1974] was the voice of Jenny Wren.  Wentworth also did Mae's voice in "The Mae West Jewel Robbery," which made its radio debut on 21 February 1934.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •

• • In Joe Anton’s speakeasy, Mae West looked like the gangster's moll to top them all.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.”
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • A trade paper mentioned Mae West.
• • Mae West Blonde Ale has earned a gold medal • •
• • 6 Bears and a Goat Brewing Co.’s Mae West Blonde Ale has earned a gold medal in the 2018 Virginia Craft Beer Cup competition. The Virginia Craft Brewers Guild (VCBG) announced the award for the  Fredericksburg-area brewery Monday during the group’s annual meeting in Richmond.
• • More than 100 breweries from across Virginia competed in the contest put on by the VCBG, which advocates for the Commonwealth’s burgeoning craft beer industry.  . . .
• • All we to know is: would they have ordered this ale at Suicide Hall on the Bowery?
• • Source: Item in Potomac Local News; published on Friday, 15 June 2018
• • The evolution of 2 Mae West plays that keep her memory alive • • 
• • A discussion with Mae West playwright LindaAnn LoSchiavo — — 
• • http://lideamagazine.com/renaissance-woman-new-york-city-interview-lindaann-loschiavo/

• • The Mae West Blog celebrates its 13th anniversary • •  

• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past thirteen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 3,900 blog posts. Wow!  

• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started thirteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 3988th 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
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • in 1932 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest
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