Mae West: A Lasting Legacy

MAE WEST had her share of coverage from Variety, whose publisher Sime Silverman was invariably scornful, condescending, and critical. In 2021, Variety’s editorial viewpoint turned tail, deciding they’d come this time “not to bury Caesar but to praise him.” The task fell to Tim Gray, who had this to say. This is Part 10 of 10 segments, the finale.
• • Mae West: The Sex-Positive Old Hollywood Icon Who Was Far Ahead of Her Time • •
• • Mae West: Lasting Legacy • •  
• • Tim Gray wrote: Her 1959 autobiography used one of her most well-known lines as a title, “Goodness Had Nothing to Do With It.”

• • Tim Gray wrote: Mae West died on Nov. 22, 1980, three months after suffering a stroke and falling at the Ravenswood, where she lived for half a century.
• • Tim Gray wrote: Her best films include “I’m No Angel” (in which she plays a lion tamer) and the 1940 “My Little Chickadee” with W.C. Fields. But her legacy lasts beyond those films.
• • Tim Gray wrote: During World War II, her name was given to inflatable life jackets, which are still called “Mae Wests.”
• • Tim Gray wrote: Her most lasting contribution was creating an unlikely but effective role model for future generations, in terms of sex, humor, and independence.
• • Tim Gray’s article has now concluded with this post. Did you agree with him or disagree? Write and tell us.
• • Source: Variety; published on Tuesday, 17 August 2021.
• • Starting on Monday, 24 September 1928 • •
• • "Pleasure Man" written by Mae West was shown at the Bronx Opera House from 17 September until 22 September 1928.  Then the play moved to the Boulevard Theatre in Queens for a single week starting on Monday, 24 September 1928. Then Mae's provocative piece opened at the Biltmore Theatre on Broadway on 1 October 1928, at which point the police padlocked it, despite its heavy advance sale.
• • The stage play "Courting Mae West" dramatizes the police raid and the aftermath.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Newspapers coast to coast covered the trial in 1934 when Mae West took the witness stand.
• • Unable to get through crowded courthouse corridors until the Los Angeles police pushed her through, Mae West "stole the show" from Defendant Edward Friedman, on trial charged with robbing her, today. It was her third successive day as a witness.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "Mae West is my real name. A name for lights."
• • Mae West said: "I'd rather be looked over than overlooked."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • A fan magazine discussed Mae West.
• • "She Done Him Wrong” (Paramount) • •
• • Mae West (Diamond Lil) sure dishes out plenty of that risque business in this one (that's putting it delicately), but in spite of that, or on account of it, depending on yourself, it is downright funny.
• • Loaded with diamonds, Lil starts out as a saloon keeper's sweetie. She has men by the score and finally winds up by gettin' her man . . . who was darn tough to land. The cast is great, including Cary Grant, Gilbert Roland, Noah Beery and Rochelle Hudson.
• • If you're not too highbrow, you'll go for this one! But leave the kids at home! …
• • Source: Modern Screen; published in the issue dated for March 1933
• • 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 17th anniversary • • 
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past seventeen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 4,800 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fifteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,829th 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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• • Be sure to bookmark or follow The Mae West Blog
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • painted by Knox in 1974 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: Work Was Sex

MAE WEST had her share of coverage from Variety, whose publisher Sime Silverman was invariably scornful, condescending, and critical. In 2021, Variety’s editorial viewpoint turned tail, deciding they’d come this time “not to bury Caesar but to praise him.” The task fell to Tim Gray, who had this to say. This is Part 9 of 10 segments.
• • Mae West: The Sex-Positive Old Hollywood Icon Who Was Far Ahead of Her Time • •
• • Mae West: Federico Fellini tried to work with her • •  
• • Tim Gray wrote: Her exaggerated impersonation of feminine behavior has made her a favorite of drag performers including Alaska on “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars.”

• • Tim Gray wrote: Starting in the 1940s, she turned down many film roles, including Norma Desmond in the 1950 “Sunset Blvd.”
• • Tim Gray wrote: Federico Fellini wanted to work with Mae West.
• • Fellini said, “Work was really her sex.” • •
• • Tim Gray wrote: In Charlotte Chandler’s book of interviews, “I, Fellini,” the filmmaker said of West: “I admired her enormously. She was wonderful. She always seemed to be anti-sex because she made a joke of sex and made you laugh, and that is anti-erotic. I think work was really her sex. It seems to me that her career was everything.”
• • Mae West: Lasting legacy • •  …  
• • Tim Gray’s article will conclude on the next post, which is Part 10.
• • Source: Variety; published on Tuesday, 17 August 2021.
• • On Sunday, 23 September 1934 in The L.A. Times • •
• • An article argued for censorship of the type of motion picture made by Mae West and other bombshells. "Films Should Be Fit for Children to See" was printed in The Los Angeles Times on Sunday, 23 September 1934.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Variety wrote: "Belle of the Nineties" is a little of everything. Even "St. Louis Blues" and "Memphis Blues" are in it — — Mae West sang did "Frankie and Johnny" in "Diamond Lil."  
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "Hollywood needs more men."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • A review of "Belle of the Nineties" mentioned Mae West and the music.
• • Abel wrote: "Troubled Waters" introduces a little of the Elder Michaux revival meeting. That's in the offing, but within seeming earshot, and thus Mae West does a semi-spiritual against the heated colored revival meeting background which productionally is rather well worked in. ...
• • Source: Variety; published on Tuesday, 25 September 1934
• • 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 17th anniversary • • 
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past seventeen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 4,800 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fifteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,828th 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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• • Be sure to bookmark or follow The Mae West Blog
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • in 1938 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: Trademarked Vulgarity

MAE WEST had her share of coverage from Variety, whose publisher Sime Silverman was invariably scornful, condescending, and critical. In 2021, Variety’s editorial viewpoint turned tail, deciding they’d come this time “not to bury Caesar but to praise him.” The task fell to Tim Gray, who had this to say. This is Part 8 of 10 segments.
• • Mae West: The Sex-Positive Old Hollywood Icon Who Was Far Ahead of Her Time • •
• • Mae West: Trademarked vulgarity • •  
• • Tim Gray wrote: In a June 24, 1970 review, Variety’s A.D. Murphy found the film artless and uninteresting, but said Mae West was “excellent,” noting that she wrote her own lines with her trademark “easy and inoffensive vulgarity.”

• • Tim Gray wrote: In 1977, she starred in her 12th and final film, “Sextette,” when she was about 85, still surrounded by leading men including Timothy Dalton (aged 31), Tony Curtis, and Ringo Starr.
• • Tim Gray wrote: Tony Curtis said her distinctive walk was born due to wearing platform shoes early in her career, since Mae West was barely even five feet tall.
• • Tim Gray wrote: Rumors tended to swirl around her, including the myth that she was actually a man, a far-fetched idea that may sprung from her boldness both in business and onscreen.
• • Mae West: Federico Fellini tried • •  …  
• • Tim Gray’s article will continue on the next post.
• • Source: Variety; published on Tuesday, 17 August 2021.
• • On Saturday, 22 September 1934 • •
• • In September 1934, Mae was involved in promoting her fourth feature for Paramount Pictures: "Belle of the Nineties." This motion picture was released on September 21st. The title of the movie review published in The New York Times on Saturday, 22 September 1934 was "Mae West and Her Gaudy Retinue in 'Belle of the Nineties'." Here is the first sentence — — "Of course, Miss West is her own plot," wrote Times critic Andre Sennwald.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • In Paramount Pictures' "Night After Night" some swell comedy develops through Alison Skipworth and Mae West. There are some dramatic moments — — but for the most part this speakeasy yarn starring George Raft is a thin one.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "Even with a real story (i.e., a bio-pic), the star is what the public pays to see."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • The Ashland Daily Tidings announced a new show about Mae West.
• • "Spotlight on Mae West" • •
• • Teresa Thomas wrote: The brassy and flamboyant Mae West was once quoted saying, "If I asked for a cup of coffee, someone would search for the double meaning."
• • Teresa Thomas wrote: An actress, singer and sex symbol of the early 20th century, West was recognized for her clever humor and bawdy double entendres, as well as for her strong personality as a liberated female. "She never showed any skin, used swear words or mentioned any body parts," says Gwen Overland, who stars as West in Camelot Theatre's "Spotlight on Mae West." "She knew how to not say anything and get the full message across." …
• • Source: Ashland Daily Tidings; published on Thursday, 9 September 2010
• • 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 17th anniversary • • 
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past seventeen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 4,800 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fifteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,827th 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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• • Be sure to bookmark or follow The Mae West Blog
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • in 1978 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: Tension on the Set

MAE WEST had her share of coverage from Variety, whose publisher Sime Silverman was invariably scornful, condescending, and critical. In 2021, Variety’s editorial viewpoint turned tail, deciding they’d come this time “not to bury Caesar but to praise him.” The task fell to Tim Gray, who had this to say. This is Part 7 of 10 segments.
• • Mae West: The Sex-Positive Old Hollywood Icon Who Was Far Ahead of Her Time • •
• • Mae West: TV appearance then a comeback to the screen • •  
• • Tim Gray wrote: After a 1964 TV appearance in an episode of “Mr. Ed,” of all things, she returned to the big screen in the 1970 “Myra Breckinridge.”

• • Tim Gray wrote: Though she was in her late 70s, her screen persona had not changed: She was still the sexually voracious, in-control woman surrounded by hunky young men.
• • Tim Gray wrote: When the film was being made, there were stories of tension between Mae West and Raquel Welch, a sex siren from a different era.
• • Tim Gray wrote: But Hollywood insiders were more interested in the battles among studio execs, the producers, author Gore Vidal and director Michael Sarne (who had complete artistic control over this, his second film).
• • Mae West: Trademarked vulgarity • •  …  
• • Tim Gray’s article will continue on the next post.
• • Source: Variety; published on Tuesday, 17 August 2021.
• • On Friday, 21 September 1934 • •
• • On Friday, 21 September 1934, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette published this tidbit under "Hollywood Gossip": Mae West is planning to back a stock company on the coast. Her sister, Beverly, and her manager, James Timony, will head the enterprise.  
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Walter Winchell wrote: Mae West's sumptuous home has a mirror wherever you look. Every time Mae turns her head, she gets a new view of her frame.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "I am opposed to nudity, crudity, and vulgarity in all forms. I provide healthy entertainment to the movies because I have never taken sex seriously. I 'kidded' it."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • The Daily Illini, a campus paper, mentioned Mae West.
• • Rialto Bills Mae West's Latest Production, "Belle of the Nineties." …
• • Source: The Daily Illini; published on Sunday, 16 September 1934
• • 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 17th anniversary • • 
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past seventeen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 4,800 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fifteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,826th 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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• • Be sure to bookmark or follow The Mae West Blog
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • in Vogue in 1970 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: Crackdown on Morals

MAE WEST had her share of coverage from Variety, whose publisher Sime Silverman was invariably scornful, condescending, and critical. In 2021, Variety’s editorial viewpoint turned tail, deciding they’d come this time “not to bury Caesar but to praise him.” The task fell to Tim Gray, who had this to say. This is Part 6 of 10 segments.
• • Mae West: The Sex-Positive Old Hollywood Icon Who Was Far Ahead of Her Time • •
• • Mae West: Hollywood began cracking down on morals • •  
• • Tim Gray wrote: But as Hollywood began cracking down on morals, with the introduction of the Hays Code, her scripts were increasingly cut and the studio insisted she needed to add moralizing lines about the dangers of wicked living.
• • Tim Gray wrote: Tired of battling the censors, she stopped making films in 1943, moving to stage and nightclubs and smartly investing in Los Angeles real estate.

• • Tim Gray wrote: Among her purchases: the Ravenswood Apartments on Rossmore Avenue in Hancock Park, south of Hollywood, which she bought [sic] when her boyfriend William Jones, who was a Black boxer, was forbidden by the then-owners from entering the building.
• • Note: False. Mae West never owned the building. In fact, we'll print an article soon on how the landlord tried to evict Mae because she owned a dog and pets were against the rules at The Ravenswood.
• • Mae West: TV appearance then a comeback to the screen • •  …  
• • Tim Gray’s article will continue on the next post.
• • Source: Variety; published on Tuesday, 17 August 2021.
• • On Monday, 20 September  2010 • •
• • Performing Arts: Mae West Reborn • •
• • In this refreshing production, Mae West herself returns from the beyond to salvage an impersonator’s act and her own legacy.
• • Written by local playwright Kathryn O’Sullivan and directed by Paul Awad, “Mae” will be playing onstage at Flashpoint’s Mead Theatre Lab through October 2.
• • Source: Washington Life; posted on Monday, 20 September 2010.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Brave women have carved this trail of emancipation from ageism for my generation — — for instance, Mae West did her best in the USA nearly a century ago.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "If I can’t have my own way, if I’m crossed, something happens inside me. Why, I simply get sick. Sick to my stomach, that’s all.”
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • A Cape Cod newspaper mentioned Mae West.
• • Tennessee Williams fest explores Is censorship ever appropriate? • •
• • Kathi Scrizzi Driscoll wrote: The Provincetown Tennessee Williams Theater Festival is on for its 16th season, running Sept. 23-26, 2021 and following the same theme as its smaller, distanced event last year: “Tennessee Williams and Censorship.”
• • Kathi Scrizzi Driscoll wrote: The event will include four Williams plays; the “Longing Lasts Longer” rock manifesto by Penny Arcade (with a connected interactive workshop); a “Sex” play from 1926 that got Mae West thrown in jail; and a satire in which women from the Mayflower re-create a witch story from 1616. Featured artists will be from the Cape, but also from Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, New Orleans and Illinois.
• • For festival or day passes or info: T. 866-789-8366.  …
• • Source: Cape Cod Times; posted on Friday, 6 August 2021
• • 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 17th anniversary • • 
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past seventeen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 4,800 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fifteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,825th 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: https://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml  
• • Be sure to bookmark or follow The Mae West Blog
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • in 1933 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: Wildly Successful

MAE WEST had her share of coverage from Variety, whose publisher Sime Silverman was invariably scornful, condescending, and critical. In 2021, Variety’s editorial viewpoint turned tail, deciding they’d come this time “not to bury Caesar but to praise him.” The task fell to Tim Gray, who had this to say. This is Part 5 of 10 segments.
• • Mae West: The Sex-Positive Old Hollywood Icon Who Was Far Ahead of Her Time • •
• • Mae West: Continuing to break rules • •  
• • Tim Gray wrote: Continuing to break rules, she made her film debut at age 40 in the 1932 “Night After Night,” in a supporting role for which she wrote her own dialog.

• • Tim Gray wrote: When a hat check girl exclaims “Goodness, what beautiful diamonds,” Mae West dryly responds, “Goodness had nothing to do with it, dearie.”
• • Note: Mae had borrowed a well-worn line from her witty friend Texas Guinan.
• • Tim Gray wrote: She became a lead in 1933 with “She Done Him Wrong,” co-starring the new actor Cary Grant; it received a best-picture Oscar nomination.
• • Tim Gray wrote: Her films were wildly successful, saving Paramount from bankruptcy and she became one of the highest paid individuals in the U.S., male or female.
• • Mae West: Hollywood's crack-down on morals • • …  
• • Tim Gray’s article will continue on the next post.
• • Source: Variety; published on Tuesday, 17 August 2021.
• • On Wednesday, 17 September 1947 • •
• • Mae West attended a Press Reception at The Savoy Hotel in London on Wednesday, 17 September 1947.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • "It Ain't No Sin," the new Mae West picture which was to go into the Capitol as the first Paramount picture under the “pooling deal” arrangement, will not be ready for release as originally scheduled owing to the necessity of retakes.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "I had to come in like a streak of lightning."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An American newsman interviewed Mae West.
• • Willis Thornton wrote: One thing, in justice, ought to be made clear at the outset. Mae West is none of your "big-horse women of the spear-carrying era. Though Mae is no frail flower, she's really rather small. Buxom, yes, but well under the average height.
• • Willis Thornton wrote: Mae says 119 lbs. is her best fighting weight.
• • Willis Thornton wrote: Mae has a most amazing pair of true violet eyes, slightly slanted. Her skin is soft and fair, nostrils wide and eager, and her mouth is just a little voluptuous, and very insolent.  …
• • Source: "Go West Young Woman, Go West," a syndicated feature, appeared in various newspapers starting around Sunday, 10 September 1933
• • 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 17th anniversary • • 
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past seventeen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 4,800 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fifteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,824th 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: https://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml  
• • Be sure to bookmark or follow The Mae West Blog
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • onscreen in 1932 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest