Saturday, August 27, 2011

Mae West: Arthur H. Gutman

In the summer of 1922, MAE WEST was starring in "The Ginger Box Revue" and it was a musical designed to showcase her special talents.
• • Since Larry Ceballos had collaborated before with the Austrian composer Arthur H. Gutman [1891 — 1945], the shifty Paul Dupont managed to drag both of these worthy gentlemen onboard for his ill-starred maiden voyage.
• • The libretto credit for "The Ginger Box Review" [1922] went to Paul Dupont, and the music credit went to Arthur H. Gutman. Promotional material printed by Jerome H. Remick & Co. indicated the first number was to be Mae's introductory song "Come Over" followed by "Canoodle-Ooodle-Oo," then "Eugene O'Neill, You've Put a Curse on Broadway" — — also meant for Mae. Four more songs were prepared for either a soloist or the ensemble; these were: "California Poppy," "Sister Teams," "Big Chief Hooch," and "Cottage for Two."
• • Born in Vienna in the month of August — — on 27 August 1891 — — Gutman worked his way to the West Coast and was hired in Tinseltown for the MGM Studios, serving as musical director and composer for a few dozen films during the 1930s and 1940s, often with a German theme. How popular were those during the WW2 era?
• • Gutman was only 54 when he died in Los Angeles on 3 September 1945 and was laid to rest in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.
• • Mae West on the Bookshelf • •
• • Published in June 1997 (in hardcover) by Farrar, Straus & Giroux is the wonderful biography Becoming Mae West by Emily Wortis Leider. Masterfully written by this California poet.
• • Library Journal's reviewer said: Exhaustive research, fine writing, and a keen appreciation of Mae West's own bawdy wit inform this energetic and erudite biography of the flamboyant vaudeville, theater and film star. Brooklyn-born West (1893
1980) made her own way in show business at a very early age, taking charge of her career, taking whomever she wanted into her bed (she never spent the night in someone else's if she could avoid it) and, through sheer willpower, working her way up to become a film star and sex symbol in her 40s. ...
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West wrote this: "There are no good girls gone wrong — — just bad girls found out."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • Veteran designer Vicky Tiel, now 67, knows how to make women look good and she studied the style of iconic actresses like Mae West.
• • Vicky Tiel told a N.Y. Post reporter: Use white to create the goddess look. “The leading lady wears white,” Tiel says. “It’s a power dress to catch the eye. Raquel Welch knew that secret. And Mae West knew the power of white. If you’re going to a party, and you wear a white drape dress, not only will the guy like you, but you’ll be the star of the room." . . .
• • Source: Article: "Iconic Iconic style arbiter Vicky Tiel tells you what to put on before you take it all off" written by Mandy Stadtmiller for The N.Y. Post; posted on 21 August 2011
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started seven years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2035th 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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• • Photo: • • Mae West • • Mae's opening number in 1922 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest
Mae West.

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