Mae West: Zip and Zest

MAE WEST never learned to type and wrote longhand. Though most of her personal correspondence was typed by a secretary, Mae wrote to a stranger in 1933, Canadian graphologist Zita Lomas. This is Part 2 of 14 segments.
• • “An Open Letter to Mae West” • •
• • Mae West’s penmanship • • 

• • Zita Lomas wrote: What we do mean is that your writing has a dashing look, an appearance of pep and zip and zest — — the qualities which characterize your own arresting personality.
• • We are going to take your handwriting and tear it apart, feature by feature.
• • We said before that it was a primarily angular script. The fact that you find this pen expression tells us that you are an active and energetic individual, with an innate aversion to ease, indolence and idleness.
• • That angularity, combined with the obvious rapidity of execution, the firm, clear tracing and ascendant base line, reveals your confident, forceful, decisive aggressiveness. It is the reflection of a naturally enterprising go-getter — — one who always looks up and ahead, never down and backwards.
• • In every line and stroke, your writing shows • •  …
• • This very long article by Zita Lomas will be continued on the next post.
• • Source: The Vancouver Sun (page 4); published on Saturday, 30 December 1933.
• • On Friday, 12 February 1943 • •
• • This is a letter Mae West wrote on Friday, 12 February 1943.
• • Dear Mr. Jackson-Craig:
• • No one could help being moved by your always beautiful letters and the fineness of the sentiment they express. The most recent of your letters presents a problem, however, that cannot, I am afraid, be solved in the way that you wish. ... A life such as mine is anything but simple. ...
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Shame! I find no fault with the nominations except they did not include that sturdiest, acting-est American, Mae West.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "Personality is the most important thing to an actress’s success."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article on Richmond Hill (Queens, NY) mentioned Mae West, who was a smoker when she lived there.
• • Jane Gross wrote: The Triangle Hofbrau is legendary.
• • Jane Gross wrote: Originally a rest stop for Long Island farmers on the way to Brooklyn, it housed Richmond Hill's first country store and post office and was the headquarters for George Bilofers, a police officer who rode a bicycle patrol from Jamaica to the Rockaways.
• • Jane Gross wrote: Mae West dined there regularly, despite the fact that Emil Four's mother would not let her smoke.  . . .
• • Note: In 1919, the place was sold to Mr. Four. His wife, formerly Ernestine Schuh, bore him sons Emil Jr., Ernest and Charles, along with daughters Caroline and Anna. Mrs. Ernestine Four was the matron who would ask Mae West to put out her cigarette. But, like most smokers, Mae resisted.  . . .
• • Source: The N.Y. Times; published on Saturday, 6 April 1985
• • 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 15th anniversary • • 
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past fifteen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 4,400 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fifteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,408th 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 • • Mae's longhand sample in 1933 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: Curvy Longhand

MAE WEST never learned to type and wrote longhand. Though most of her personal correspondence was typed by a secretary, Mae wrote to a stranger in 1933, Canadian graphologist Zita Lomas. This is Part 1 of 14 segments.
• • “An Open Letter to Mae West” • •
• • Zita Lomas wrote: Dear Mae: We are not going to address you formally as Miss West, because you are not the type of person who inspires formality. We think of you as the breezy, real pal sort — — friendly, cordial, and dripping with good humor and kindly feelings towards humanity.

Mae's handwriting in 1910

• • And now that we have seen your handwriting, we don't merely THINK you are like that. We KNOW you are.
• • Because we are a graphologist, one of our pet theories is that people's handwritings "look just like them.”
• • Now your writing is a primarily angular script, lightly traced wit, kindly rounded curves. So when we say that it looks just like you, we don't mean it in a literal sense. We know perfectly well that you are al! curves, that you have made the world curve-conscious, and that it was you who inspired the new word ''curvaceous."
• • Mae West’s penmanship • • . . .
• • This very long article by Zita Lomas will be continued on the next post.
• • Source: The Vancouver Sun (page 4); published on Saturday, 30 December 1933.
• • John Edwin West, Jr. [11 February 1900 — 12 October 1964] • •
• • Born in February — — on Sunday, 11 February 1900 — — in Brooklyn, John Edwin West died on 12 October 1964. He was 64. Mae made arrangements for the body of her beloved kid brother to be sent back to Brooklyn to the family crypt.
• • Two weeks later, Mae — — who hated to think about death — — made a Will.
• • On Friday, 11 February 1977 in Bookviews • •
• • Mae West said: "Hiring someone to write your autobiography is like hiring someone to take a bath for you." Mae's comment was quoted in Bookviews, on 11 February 1977.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • "Belle of the Nineties," the Mae West picture revamped under the strengthened Production Code Administration, has been passed by the New York censor board without a deletion, declared Paramount yesterday. It is set for a September release.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • About Owney Madden, Mae West said: "Hmmm, he was cruel but he could be sweet."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article on curves and feminine beauty in the cinema mentioned Mae West.
• • "Mae West, Tivoli Theatre" • •
• • The Courier-Mail editors wrote this: Although she has given the world of women back curves and removed some feminine angles, Mae West is not fat. She weighs but 119 1b. She believes in being nicely rounded.
• • Because of her versatility and charm in presenting comedy, Mae West became internationally famous in "She Done Him Wrong," which introduced Mae West to the world. She turned out most of the dialogue, wrote the lyrics for the original musical score, and aided the designing of the wardrobe as well. "She Done Him Wrong," which will come to the Tivoli Theatre next Friday, presents Mae West to Brisbane in her first starring picture. Her wit and originality have made it popular. ...
• • Source: The Courier-Mail (Brisbane, Queensland); published on Wednesday, 7 February 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 15th anniversary • • 
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past fifteen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 4,400 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fifteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,407th 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 • • Mae's longhand sample in 1910 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: Zita Lomas

MAE WEST never learned to type and wrote longhand. Though most of her personal correspondence was typed by a secretary, Mae wrote to a stranger in 1933, Canadian graphologist Zita Lomas.
• • Broadcast Weekly gave its readers a little of the low-down on the exotically attractive Vancouver-based columnist who had been dissecting the handwritings of radio personalities.
• • Broadcast Weekly wrote: Zita Lomas, who looks Latin or Russian, is a Canadian of Irish descent. She hates cold weather and is never seen without earrings.

• • Broadcast Weekly wrote: As a result of conducting a newspaper publicity campaign for Warner Brothers — First National Pictures, Lomas received letters from many well-known film celebrities. Among her collection are notes from such famous stars (William Powell, Kay Francis, et al). What started the cinematic ball rolling, however, was a letter from, and her article about Mae West, of the Paramount Studios.
• • On Friday, 29 December 1933, The Vancouver Sun wrote: Mae West, the celebrated movie star wrote to Zita Lomas, The Sun's graphologist, who bared Mae West's good and bad point (Ignoring the "curves") in the tabloid magazine section of this week's Sunday Sun.
• • “An Open Letter to Mae West” will begin tomorrow.
• • On Tuesday, 10 February 2009 • •
• • A book about Mae West "She Always Knew How: Mae West, A Personal Biography" by Charlotte Chandler was published in a hardcover edition (336 pages) by Simon and Schuster on 10 February 2009.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Mae West, whose nasally provocative delivery, eye-rolling, lip-pursing, and pelvic tics parody the conventional invitation of flirtation, is never out of control and is Camp, pure and simple.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "I'm still looking for the right man. My trouble is, I find so many right ones, it's hard to decide."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • The Motion Picture Daily mentioned Mae West.
• • Motion Picture wrote: Schaefer verified reports that the new title of the Mae West picture would not be "That St. Louis Woman," as indicated earlier on the coast.
• • Motion Picture wrote: Screencraft Prod, has already completed a picture using that title and will release it soon. The new Mae West picture will be re-titled and released as soon as remakes now in progress have been completed, it was stated. …
• • Source: Motion Picture Daily; published on Tuesday, 3 July 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 15th anniversary • • 
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past fifteen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 4,400 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fifteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,406th 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 • • Zita in 1933 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: Belle of Nowhere

Did the movie queen MAE WEST possess the power to alter the reputation of New Orleans? Listen to their very concerned citizens and club-women discuss their personal feelings about the controversial Brooklyn bombshell and "Belle of New Orleans," Paramount’s potential movie title.
• • “New Orleans Is Agitated” • •
• • New Orleans, July 11 — This fair home of the Sazerac, suh, is worried about its reputation. More, it's agitated.

• • Motion Picture wrote: Somebody suggested that calling Mae West's new opus "Belle of New Orleans" would — er — ah — would convey the wrong impression. The suggestion swelled into a chorus, and now everybody except Huey Long is talking — or telegramming.
• • Motion Picture wrote: First it was the Association of Commerce, then it was the Kiwanis Club, now it's the Federation of Women's Clubs and the Better Films Council. Mayor T. Semmes Walmsley has joined those who are sending telegrams to Will H. Hays.
• • Motion Picture wrote: J. K. Byrne had the Kiwanis Club pass a resolution saying the title "Belle of New Orleans" would give a "false impression" of New Orleans.
• • Motion Picture wrote: Frank Martin of Kiwanis objected and said the title would be good advertising for the city and would bring tourists to a liberal city without blue laws, but he was greeted with raised eyebrows and just a trace of pained surprise.
• • Motion Picture wrote: Mrs. Isabel Giefers, president of the women's federation; Mrs. A. S. Tucker, president of the Better Films Council, and Mrs. Bettina Gunczy, secretary of the National Board of Review, were among those who wired Will Hays about Mae West.
• • Motion Picture wrote: It's the biggest disturbance since the last time the levee broke and flooded St. Louis and Basin Streets.
• • Source: Motion Picture Daily; published on Thursday, 12 July 1934.
• • On Tuesday, 7 February 1933 • •
• • It was on Tuesday, 7 February 1933, that Mae recorded "A Guy What Takes His Time" (one of her saucy hits from "She Done Him Wrong") for Brunswick Records.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Paramount is bringing you 6 new pictures, starting with the year's greatest money attraction, Mae West in "It Ain't No Sin” and a great musical, “Shoot the Works." 
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: “I’m no model lady.  A model’s just an imitation of the real thing.”
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • The Motion Picture Daily mentioned Mae West.
• • Mae West Film Not Banned • •
• • Columbus, July 4. — Published reports emanating from here that Mae West's new picture, formerly titled "It Ain't No Sin," had been banned by the Ohio censor board have been denied by Dr. B. O. Skinner, head of the board.
• • "The Mae West picture was never presented to the censor board of Ohio," Dr. Skinner wired John Hammel at the Paramount home office. …
• • Source: Motion Picture Daily; published on Thursday, 5 July 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 15th anniversary • • 
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past fifteen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 4,400 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fifteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,405th 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 1934 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: Re-makes Delayed

Box-office draw MAE WEST was often in the headlines. Controversy was always swirling around the latest “Mae West picture.” Battling for industry dominance during the Great Depression, Paramount and 20th Century Fox were key players in this drama. Only one studio had exclusive access, however, to Mae.
• • Paramount — Capitol Pool Deal Awaits Action • •
• • Motion Picture wrote: Pooling of the Capitol and Paramount remained in status quo yesterday as representatives of both Loew's and Paramount prepared for further conferences on the proposal in the near future.
• • Motion Picture wrote: The outcome of the Loew-Warner negotiations for the Fox Metropolitan circuit and final release of Paramount's new Mae West picture are reported to have a bearing on the current delay.
• • Motion Picture wrote: Though denied, reports persist that if the Loew-Warner bid for Fox Met is consummated, all Warner Broadway houses would be turned over to Loew's, in which event the Capitol-Paramount pool probably would be abandoned.
• • The Mae West picture — — Re-makes have delayed its release • •

• • Motion Picture wrote: The Mae West picture was slated to be the first to play the Capitol under the pooling arrangement. Re-makes have delayed its release and no outstanding picture is available to take its place as the first booking on the Capitol's non-stage show policy, which would become effective with the pooling.
• • Source: Motion Picture Daily (page 1 news); published on Tuesday, 3 July 1934.
• • On Monday, 6 February 1928 • •
• • Mae West mailed her manuscript for "Diamond Lil" to the Library of Congress from the Harding Hotel, West 54th Street, New York, NY. The date of her Washington, DC copyright registration is Monday, 6 February 1928. The play opened on Broadway in April 1928.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Indicating Paramount's anticipation that the Mae West film will be dry cleaned sufficiently for release in the fall is a September date set aside for the picture at the Paramount here.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "I'm much too busy to worry about gossip and trivial matters. If they don't like me, that's their business. I gotta keep busy turning out good pictures. Now that — — that's my business."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • The Motion Picture Daily mentioned Mae West.
• • “Out on Sunday” • •
• • Kansas City, Sept. 13. — As a concession to something or other, the Kansas City Journal-Post, running a serialized feature by Mae West titled "Me and My Past," omitted the story on Sunday and carried the installment on Monday instead.
• • An editor's note said the arrangement was requested by La West. …
• • Source: Motion Picture Daily; published on Friday, 14 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 15th anniversary • • 
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past fifteen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 4,400 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fifteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,404th 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 • • news in 1933 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: Sleazy Sexuality

In case you missed a fascinating review of a book analyzing MAE WEST, here it is. This is Part 6 of 6 parts.
• • “Mae West, Diamond in the Rough” • •
• • Mae West became a camp icon • •
• • Gerald Weales wrote: After that, she turned into a camp icon and occasionally tried to rediscover her audience onstage, in nightclubs and in the final pathetic [sic] films she made in the 1970s.

• • Gerald Weales wrote: Hamilton traces this arc of West's professional life, stopping often to produce mini-essays on urban life at the turn of the century, on changing sexual mores, on sleazy and genteel vaudeville, on the economic and artistic politics of Broadway and Hollywood, on the changing image of the Bowery, on the real and the mythical Harlem, on the homosexual subculture of New York in the 1920s, on whatever social phenomenon she sees as contributing to or obstructing West's career. Much of the material is familiar and Hamilton repeats herself too often, but on the whole the book is an effective combination of social and theatrical history.
• • Note: The reviewer wrote about "She Done Him Wrong" in "Canned Good as Caviar," his book on American film comedy in the 1930s.
• • This book review by Gerald Weales has been concluded with this segment, which is Part 6. Hope you enjoyed it.
• • Source: The Washington Post; published on Thursday, 11 January 1996.
• • On Monday, 5 February 1934 in Scandinavia • •
• • "I'm No Angel" starring Mae West made its debut in Denmark on 5 February 1934.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Outstanding has been the Mae West picture. In second place, probably, was "Madame Du Barry," which Warners now anticipate releasing in a few weeks.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "I'll never do the smart thing because it is smart. For instance, I won't go to the opera. It's all right for people who honestly love it, but a certain percentage goes just to be seen. Personally, I'd rather watch prize-fights, and I do."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • The Motion Picture Daily mentioned Mae West.
• • We want our critics to see the list of enduring favorites that are to be made into films.
• • We are laying little stress on the Mae West pictures, the Gables, the Crawfords, the Rogerses because we know that the admirers of these stars will come out as usual, but we are stressing the pictures made from popular books because we know that is the best and most positive way to answer our critics, and at the same time reach that large group of folks who only rarely attend our theatres. …
• • Source: Motion Picture Daily; published on Saturday, 1 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 15th anniversary • • 
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past fifteen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 4,400 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fifteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,403rd 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 • • backstage at the Royale Theatre in 1928 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: Detached Immorality

In case you missed a fascinating review of a book analyzing MAE WEST, here it is. This is Part 5 of 6 parts.
• • “Mae West, Diamond in the Rough” • •
• • saw the insinuating walk, the knowing drawl • •
• • Gerald Weales wrote: She was embraced by the intelligentsia — — who saw the insinuating walk, the knowing drawl that could make a double-entendre out of almost any innocuous phrase and the air of detached immorality as irony or parody — — and by the mainstream audience, who came to be amused, not shocked.

• • Gerald Weales wrote: In Hollywood in 1933, she re-created Lil as Lou in "She Done Him Wrong" and placed her in a contemporary setting in "I'm No Angel," the two films that set off a nationwide craze for Westisms. Under pressure from the professional viewers-with-alarm, Joseph Breen, the new tough guy at the Hays Office, the film industry's self-regulatory body, trashed her third film, "Belle of the Nineties," which prefigured the string of inept echoes of Lil that ended with "The Heat's On" in 1943.
• • Mae West became a camp icon • • . . .
• • This book review by Gerald Weales will be concluded on the next post.
• • Source: The Washington Post; published on Thursday, 11 January 1996.
• • On Friday, 4 February 1949 on WOR • •
• • NYC broadcast journalist John Wingate interviewed Mae West backstage before the opening of a revival of "Diamond Lil" on Broadway. Their 2-minute exchange is quite funny and was heard in the NYC area over the popular radio station WOR.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Paramount and Metro have two troublesome women on their hands. At Paramount, it's a gal named Mae West. At Metro, it is a more platinum blonde named Jean Harlow.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "Those who are easily shocked should be shocked more often."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • The Motion Picture Daily mentioned Mae West.
• • Insiders Outlook • •
• • As we get the slant, the fuss on the part of various religious groups is to clean up where the broom should have been applied by the industry on its own many months back.
• • This is not to say that Clark Gable will have to do his acting while dancing around a May pole, although Mae West and Jean Harlow, it is true, may find trouble finding places to go. The movement means what this column pointed out some days back: That Hollywood will have to prove its brain superiority by finding the middle course which is the safe course.  …
• • Source: Motion Picture Daily; published on Friday, 27 July 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 15th anniversary • • 
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past fifteen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 4,400 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fifteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,402nd 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 1932 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: Sex Outlaw

In case you missed a fascinating review of a book analyzing MAE WEST, here it is. This is Part 4 of 6 parts.
• • “Mae West, Diamond in the Rough” • •
• • “The Drag” showed the seamier side of NYC’s gay subculture • •
• • Gerald Weales wrote: She threatened to follow "Sex" with "The Drag," which would presumably do for the seamier side of gay subculture what "Sex" had done for the straight underworld, but pressured by the city and the Broadway establishment, both of which feared the prospect of censorship, she never opened the show.

• • Gerald Weales wrote: With "Diamond Lil" in 1928, she found the role that let her turn the sex outlaw into a finished comic creation. Her usual preoccupation with crime, prostitution, dope — — the whole bag of realistic melodrama — — was washed into retrospective innocence by the nostalgia that had long since cleaned the image of the once notorious Bowery, and her own "tough girl" was transformed into the figure of presumably irresistible sex that no one except the reformers — — and perhaps Mae West herself — — took seriously.
• • saw the insinuating walk, the knowing drawl • • . . . 
• • This book review by Gerald Weales will be continued on the next post.
• • Source: The Washington Post; published on Thursday, 11 January 1996.
• • On Monday, 3 February 1936 in Hollywood • •
• • There must have been a good reason why Paramount Productions published a "Klondike Annie: censorship dialogue script" on Monday, 3 February 1936. This script was 146 pages long.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • New Orleans can relax. Paramount has given up that "Belle of New Orleans" title for Mae West's next opus. It will be "Belle of the Nineties."
• • Uptown Manhattan may now protest. 
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "If you need a face job, why not?"
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • The Motion Picture Daily mentioned Mae West.
• • McVickers, Shy on Pictures, Darkens • •
• • Chicago, July 22. — Unable to get product of sufficient drawing power to keep the house going as its advertised "home of big pictures," B. and K. have closed the McVickers. Officials explain that the move is only temporary and due to the product situation.
• • Expectation is that B. and K. will get the new Mae West film to reopen the house when the film is finally available. …
• • Source: Motion Picture Daily; published on Monday, 23 July 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 15th anniversary • • 
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past fifteen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 4,400 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fifteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,401st 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 • • "The Drag" is banned in Bayonne, 1927  • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: Tabloid Celebrity

In case you missed a fascinating review of a book analyzing MAE WEST, here it is. This is Part 3 of 6 parts.
• • “Mae West, Diamond in the Rough” • •
• • “Sex” was short on art and long on comically lurid brothel scenes • •
• • Gerald Weales wrote: After years of minimal success in vaudeville, in tacky road companies, in burlesque (although she always claimed she never played burlesque), Mae West retreated — — or advanced — — to the last refuge of the open mind and the open kimono: Broadway.
• • Gerald Weales wrote: In 1926, on the assumption that what the legit needed was a taste of life in the raw, she wrote and starred in "Sex," a comedy melodrama about a Montreal prostitute that was short on art and long on comically lurid brothel scenes. Dismissed by the critics but helped by the publicity of a police raid, "Sex" became a success and Mae West a tabloid celebrity.
• • “The Drag” showed the seamier side of NYC’s gay subculture • • . . . 
• • This book review by Gerald Weales will be continued on the next post.
• • Source: The Washington Post; published on Thursday, 11 January 1996.
• • On Monday, 31 January 1927 in Bridgeport • •

• • Despite the public's curiosity about the controversial vaudevillian Mae West, and her latest play "The Drag," Jim Timony could only manage to secure half a week at Poli's Park, which was then in use as a burlesque house in Bridgeport.
• • It was a dreary and wintery Monday on 31 January 1927 when the Morals Production Company hoisted a banner over the trolley cars criss-crossing Main Street. Pedestrians were intrigued by this saucy announcement: "'The Drag' by the author of SEX — — more sensational than Rain or The Captive!" It was Mae West’s intention to give gay characters a voice and a spotlight. The police were lying in wait for her.
• • These true events are dramatized in Act I, Scene 2 of the stage play "Courting Mae West" by LindaAnn LoSchiavo. Why not bring this astonishing 95-page play to your theatre?
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Renaming of Mae West's "It Ain't No Sin" as "The Belle of New Orleans" drew protests today from civic and political bodies here.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "The curve is the loveliest distance between two points."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • The Motion Picture Daily mentioned Mae West.
• • Hunt Still On • •
• • Hollywood, July 12. — Paramount is still facing the title bugaboo on the Mae West film, having been unable to clear "Belle of New Orleans," which happens to have been tacked on to a play of a decade ago.  . . .
• • Source: Motion Picture Daily; published on Friday, 13 July 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 15th anniversary • • 
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past fifteen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 4,400 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fifteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,400th 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 • • "The Drag" is raided and makes headlines in 1927 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: Ribald Wisecracks

In case you missed a fascinating review of a book analyzing MAE WEST, here it is. This is Part 2 of 6 parts.
• • “Mae West, Diamond in the Rough” • •
• • toughness and the self-assurance that precluded victimization formed the stage character that Mae West carried from the cheap theaters • •
• • Gerald Weales wrote: "Tough girls were wild and made no secret of it," Hamilton says of the young women who alarmed social workers early in the century and who "simply did not see themselves as victims."

• • Gerald Weales wrote: The toughness and the self-assurance that precluded victimization were to form the stage character that, however bowdlerized it became in later years, West carried from the cheap theaters where she began her career to Broadway and Hollywood. Her dances (the "muscle dance," the "cootch," the shimmy, borrowed from a black Chicago club), her suggestive songs, her ribald wisecracks were too blatant for the refined wing of vaudeville, although she did briefly temper her vulgarity enough to get onto the stage of the Palace, New York's premier vaudeville showplace.
• • “Sex” was short on art, long on lurid brothel scenes • • ...  
• • This book review by Gerald Weales will be continued on the next post.
• • Source: The Washington Post; published on Thursday, 11 January 1996.
• • On Monday, 30 January 2012 • •
• • "Mae West and famous faces take up temporary residence at gallery" • •
• • Images depicting the sex appeal of Mae West and Sophia Loren, comedic wit of Jack Lemmon, and the NYC neuroticism of Woody Allen have taken up space at Maitland Regional Art Gallery in Australia.
• • Emma Swain writes: Donated by new gallery patron Pat Corrigan, the exhibition features a collection of signed photographs of Hollywood stars including Mae West, Lauren Bacall, and Mickey Rooney. “This exhibition is a real 'who’s who' of old movie stars, but it’s also very interesting,” the gallery’s deputy director Kim Blunt said.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • "In the Salt Lake City territory," Mayer goes on, "the only way exhibitors can be compelled to play 'Alice in Wonderland' is by refusing to give them Mae West pictures until they do!” declares Arthur L. Mayer in the current issue of Liberty.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "My sister's husband is the kind of guy whose accent has an accent."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • The Motion Picture Daily mentioned Mae West.
• • Breen O.K.'s Mae West Film • •
• • Hollywood, Aug. 8. — Joseph I. Breen has given the new Mae West film, "Belle of the Nineties," a seal of purity after several weeks of remaking. ...
• • Source: The Motion Picture Daily; published on Thursday, 9 August 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 15th anniversary • • 
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past fifteen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 4,300 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fifteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,399th 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 • • "Sometime" in 1911 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: Rough Diamond

In case you missed a fascinating review of a book analyzing MAE WEST, here it is. This is Part 1 of 6 parts.
• • “Mae West, Diamond in the Rough” • •
• • Under review was a [then] new release: "When I'm Bad, I'm Better: Mae West, Sex, and American Entertainment" — — a book written by Marybeth Hamilton [NY: HarperCollins. 307 pp].
• • Reviewing this book, Gerald Weales wrote: Marybeth Hamilton's "When I'm Bad, I'm Better" promises "to unmask Mae West by tracing the history of her public persona" through changing attitudes toward sex and class. That may be one of the few ways of doing a Mae West book these days.
• • Mae West’s private life is obscured intentionally • •

• • Gerald Weales wrote: The actress's private life is so obscured by a fog of her own making that a celebrity scandal biography, except as a congeries of rumor and invention, is out of the question, and even an admirer of her performance in "She Done Him Wrong" is unlikely to feel the need for an in-depth study of the West oeuvre.
• • Gerald Weales wrote: As Hamilton sees it, West and her aesthetic were formed by the working-class Brooklyn neighborhood in which she grew up — — if so elegant a word as aesthetic can stand in for West's conviction that she always knew what her audiences wanted, and her frequently voiced intention of giving it to them.
• • toughness and the self-assurance that precluded victimization formed the stage character that Mae West carried from the cheap theaters • • . . . 
• • This book review by Gerald Weales will be continued on the next post.
• • Source: The Washington Post; published on Thursday, 11 January 1996.
• • On Sunday, 29 January 1978 in Sunday Express • •
• • Since "Sextette" had a British director, articles discussing what happened on the set in Hollywood popped up in the British tabloids. An article discussing a scene filmed in a mock elevator appeared in Sunday Express on 29 January 1978.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Management of the RKO Palace is being commended on its frankness in advertising.
• • In a large display frame announcing coming attractions, with a permanent line at the bottom, this appears: Mae West in "Belle of the Nineties." Carefully Cooled. 
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: “I became convinced that the public was ready to view sex frankly." 
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • The Motion Picture Daily mentioned Mae West.
• • Finish Mae West Film • •
• • Hollywood, Aug. 1. — Paramount has completed remaking of the Mae West film and it will be released Aug. 31 as "Belle of the Nineties."  . . .
• • Source: The Motion Picture Daily; published on Thursday, 2 August 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 15th anniversary • • 
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past fifteen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 4,300 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fifteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,398th 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 • • ad in 1933 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: Scripps-Howard

“Newspapers have sunk pretty low when we reach the point that, to get circulation, we are willing to glorify a tart like MAE WEST!”
• • You are invited to read the shocking contents of a private [unpublished] letter written in 1933 when “I’m No Angel” was breaking box office records and one of the largest newspaper chains in American had to decide if Mae was worthy of the ink — — or if she was a strumpet who set a bad example. 
• • “Selling Mae West is bad for Scripps-Howard” • •
• • On Wednesday, 18 October 1933, Frederic S. Ferguson wrote this personal letter to Roy W. Howard [New York Central Building, 230 Park Avenue, NYC]:
• • — — and this is not because I am getting old.

• • I think that we as newspaper have sunk pretty low when we reach the point that, to get circulation, we are willing to glorify a tart like Mae West to the extent of selling this message to young girls — — I presume we still have some among our readers — — that it's the smart thing to be tartish, and that female virtue is no longer anything more than a target for jest.
• • I quote from your first page of promotion on Mae West's "Cleverest and snappiest lines of the year” — — "When girls are good, they're very, very good — — but when they're bad, they're better."
• • — — “The girl I play in 'I'm No Angel' is the kind who is intimate only with her friends but she hasn't an enemy in the world."
• • — — "There are girls who have climbed the ladder of success wrong by wrong."
• • — — "I've heard of many a girl who could lose her reputation and never miss it.”
• • Fine for The New Yorker — — which no one buys with the idea that it is a "home paper" even in sophisticated New York.  I think it is pretty lousy stuff for papers of our sort — — with a circulation largely out where the United States are located.
• • Faithfully yours, F. S. Ferguson, Esq., NEA Service, Inc.
• • Source: “Selling Mae West is bad for Scripps-Howard” — — from Frederic S. Ferguson’s letter to Roy W. Howard.
• • Note: Roy W. Howard (1883—1964) was an American newspaperman with a long association with E. W. Scripps Company. He was president of E. W. Scripps Company and the United Press, and chairman of Scripps Howard Newspapers.
• • On Friday, 28 January 1938 • •
• • "Radio Officials, 'No Gentlemen,' Let Her Down, Says Mae West" was a page 3 article in The Washington Post. It was published on Friday, 28 January 1938.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • With shock-proof punches but with haymakers nevertheless, Mae West uncorks a flashy, melodramatic entertainment of the 1890s in "Belle of the Nineties," trippingly gay and gaudy for the most part but lingering in spots.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: “Jail life is not so bad after all. It may be the making of me." 
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • The Motion Picture Daily mentioned Mae West.
• • New Orleans Stays Calm • •
• • New Orleans, July 31 — Mae West's latest, "The Gay Nineties," has been booked into the Saenger for Aug. 3, and the city is quite calm about it.
• • About three weeks ago, when it was proposed to call the feature "Belle of New Orleans," all the women's clubs and other civic groups got all "het up," claiming aspersions were being cast on the city. …
• • Source: The Motion Picture Daily; published on Wednesday, 1 August 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 15th anniversary • • 
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past fifteen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 4,300 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fifteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,397th 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 • • portion of a letter from 1933 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest