Mae West: Whitehead Bond

On Friday, 3 August 2012, come up and see MAE WEST in "I'm No Angel" in Brooklyn. There will be a screening tomorrow evening at sundown in the tranquil setting of the Narrows Botanical Gardens in the Bay Ridge area.  

• • WHERE: Shore Road between Bay Ridge Avenue and 72nd Street.

• • Max Whitehead [2 August 1922 — 26 March 2010] • •

• • An Australian gent (born on 2 August 1922) formed a secret boudoir bond with Mae West, a trophy encounter he treasured but did not publicize for several decades. Here are the juicy details about a Chesty Bond original.

• • Chesty Bond is a long-lived fictional cartoon character and trademark for the Australian clothing company Bonds. Originally created in 1938 as part of a merchandising campaign to sell men's underwear (and the singlet — — a type of vest — — in particular), Chesty Bond is recognized by many Australians as a popular national icon.

• • According to James Jeffrey at The Australian: "Not only was Max Whitehead the original Chesty Bond model, he was also the first captain of the Manly Sea Eagles and even had a long stint traveling the world as a professional wrestler. But journalist Steve Warnock, who interviewed Max Whitehead in the late 1980s, says there was another achievement Whitehead quietly claimed to have notched up: bedding — — or indeed, being bedded by — — Mae West. "He told me he'd kill me if I let on about it while he was still alive," Warnock told Strewth yesterday. Max Whitehead was in his early thirties at the time and his wrestling partner happened to be Mae West's lover; West was by then in her 60s, aging extremely well and entertaining a predilection for musclemen.

• • On Wednesday, 2 August 1944 • •

• • It was Wednesday, August 2nd and the applause rang out from the Shubert Theatre [225 West 44th Street], signaling the gala Broadway debut of "Catherine Was Great," when Mae West portrayed the Empress of Russia. Produced by Mike Todd, the show starred Mae as the Empress of Love who handled her men as skillfully as she handled affairs of state.

• • Save the Date: Thursday, August 16th • •

• • Thursday, 16 August 2012 will be the next Mae West Tribute in Manhattan and the evening affair will start at 6:30 pm at 155 Mulberry Street.  This year Mae-mavens will enjoy an indoor event (ahhh, air conditioning), music written by Mae West's Italian husband will be played, and attendees will be seated.
• • At the Reception, Italian wine and light refreshments will be served. The ever-popular Mae West Raffle will offer rare prizes once again to a number of lucky attendees. The public is invited.
• • Mae West was born in Brooklyn, NY on Thursday, 17 August 1893.

• • Closest MTA subway stations: Grand St. or Canal St.

• • In Her Own Words • •

• • Mae West said:  "Let 'em wonder. I never believed in givin' them too much of me."

• • Quote, Unquote • •

• • An article about Shakespeare mentioned Mae West.

• • The Australian Women's Weekly wrote:  Imagine Shakespeare with horn-rimmed glasses, smoking a cigar, wearing plus fours, sitting back in a canvas chair with a megaphone in one hand, directing the film production of his latest play, "As You Like It," featuring Mae West.  ...

• • Source: Article: "If Shakespeare Lived Today — Would He Make Films and Feature Mae West?" written for The Australian Women's Weekly (page 3); published on Saturday, 28 July 1934

• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started eight years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2382nd 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/
________
Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml
Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • secret lover • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest
NYC  Mae West.

Mae West: Pearl Eaton

In 1936, MAE WEST starred in "Klondike Annie" and Pearl Eaton had a minor turn as a dance hall girl. Pearl was also seen in "Goin' to Town" [1935] with Mae; she was an extra in one scene and labelled "girl" in the credits, though she was 37. 

• • Pearl Eaton [1 August 1898 — 10 September 1958] • •

• • Born in Norfolk, Virginia on 1 August 1898, Pearl was raised in a theatrical family. One of her Broadway-bound siblings was Doris Eaton Travis [1904 — 2010], a former Ziegfeld Follies star (and last surviving Ziegfeld girl).

• • From 1916 — 1928, Pearl Eaton was on The Great White Way, performing in musicals, revues, and shows by Ziegfeld and Earl Carroll.

• • In Hollywood, RKO Pictures hired her as a dance director, though they soon parted company. Tinseltown, that rocky terrain where screen dreams rise, settle, surge, and slide, was an unsteady employer.  Pearl tip-toed through from 1929 — 1936, offered merely the shallowest breathing space inside ten films. "Klondike Annie" was the last of these.

• • According to sources, showbiz was rough country for the Eaton brothers and sisters, who packed plenty of alcohol and drugs along for the ride. After her husband died, Pearl Eaton became a recluse in her Manhattan Beach, California home. On 10 September 1958, she was murdered there.  She was 60.  The crime has not been solved.

• • Dom DeLuise [1 August 1933 — 4 May 2009] • •

• • Brooklyn native Dominick "Dom" DeLuise was born on 1 August 1933 to Italian American parents Vicenza and John DeLuise.

• • Like Mae, Dom DeLuise hailed from Brooklyn, New York. During the 1960s, the moon-faced entertainer was often seen on TV variety shows and also boosted the comic quotient in motion pictures featuring Mel Brooks and Burt Reynolds. DeLuise was featured in "Sextette," Mae's final film.

• • Dom DeLuise also played host in the documentary film "Mae West and the Men Who Knew Her."  In the USA, this TV bio-pic was released on 9 August 1994.

• • The 75-year-old funnyman passed away on Monday evening, 4 May 2009 — — at St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica, according to his agent Robert Malcolm. DeLuise's wife Carol and three sons were at his bedside when he took his final breaths. He was

• • On Tuesday, 31 July 2012 • •

• • Author Gore Vidal [3 October 1925 — 31 July 2012], a man of unconventional wisdom, died yesterday in Los Angeles. He was 86. His nephew Burr Steers issued a statement that his uncle drew his last breaths at his home in the Hollywood Hills (at approximately 6:45 pm) due to complications from pneumonia. Steers said that Vidal had been living alone in the home and had been sick for "quite a while."

• • During the 1960s, Gore Vidal wrote a satirical transsexual comedy "Myra Breckinridge" [Little, Brown and Co., 1968].  A cinema version starring Mae West was released two years later.  Somehow it's doubtful these two kept in touch.

• • In August 1935 • •

• • An article "Mae West Talks about Her Marriage," written by Kirtley Baskette, was published in Photoplay's issue dated for August 1935. The article starts on page 39 and continues with Mae's fervent denials of any relationship with Frank Wallace.

• • Save the Date: Thursday, August 16th • •

• • Thursday, 16 August 2012 will be the next Mae West Tribute in Manhattan and the evening affair will start at 6:30 pm at 155 Mulberry Street.  This year Mae-mavens will enjoy an indoor event (ahhh, air conditioning), music written by Mae West's Italian husband will be played, and attendees will be seated.
• • At the Reception, Italian wine and light refreshments will be served. The ever-popular Mae West Raffle will offer rare prizes once again to a number of lucky attendees. The public is invited.
• • Mae West was born in Brooklyn, NY on Thursday, 17 August 1893.

• • Closest MTA subway stations: Grand St. or Canal St.

• • In Her Own Words • •

• • Mae West said: “I've always been two people. Most stars are just told what to think, But I told the director what to think."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article about a new book mentioned Mae West.
• • MovieLine staff wrote: Director George Cukor's home high above the Sunset Strip was the epicenter of entertaining in the heyday of Hollywood. Behind the enormous wall Cukor erected on Cordell Drive to ensure privacy for himself and his guests, Katharine Hepburn trysted with Spencer Tracy, Greta Garbo rubbed elbows with Mae West, and the likes of Vivien Leigh, Tallulah Bankhead and Cole Porter enjoyed Cukor's unparalleled hospitality. The recently published book "Hollywood Life" from Greybull Press presents lavish photographs by Eliot Elisofon of vintage homes owned by icons ...
• • Source: Article: "George Cukor: Cukor's Nest"  written by MovieLine staff for MovieLine; published on 1 August 2004

• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started eight years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2381st 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/
________
Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml
Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West's castmate • • 1936 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest
NYC  Mae West.