Mae West: Outsmarting Men

In September 1934, MAE WEST sat down for a series of "Me and My Past" talks with the United Press syndicated reporter Leicester Wagner.  We will post excerpts from Chapter #4 in several installments.  This is Chapter 4, excerpt b-b.
• • "Me and My Past" by Mae West • •
• • As Told to Leicester Wagner United Press Staff Correspondent • •
• • Men Her Weakness • • 
• • Not that I don't like men, and admire all that they stand for — — strength, courage, alertness and appeal.
• • Men, in fact, are generally regarded as my weakness.
• • It Is instinctive for a woman to want a man to protect her.  Yet I have no time for weak women. I pity the weak ones, good or bad, but I can't like them.
• • Personally, I have had to buck one of the hardest professions in the world — — the theater. There is no quarter asked and none given.
• • I never enter a room either on social or business duties without letting the man across from me know that he Is talking to a woman. And I have had to do my share of outsmarting men through necessity.
• • The Difference Between the Sexes • •      . . .
• • This has been excerpt b-b.  Tomorrow's post will be c-c — —  the continuation of Chapter #4.
• • NOTE: This is the 4th chapter of Mae West's life story as told to Leicester Wagner, United Press.  This syndicated series was reprinted in American newspapers during September 1934.
• • On Thursday, 16 November 1916 • •
• • On Thursday, 16 November 1916, Mae West announced in Variety that, in her next appearance in vaudeville, she would appear in male drag and her material would be scripted by songwriter Blanche Merrill. She hinted at using a new name, too. Sounds like a cover-up for something, eh?  Maybe she was hiding from the actors union or her husband Guido Deiro.
• • On Wednesday, 16 November 1927 • •

• • Box office blues burdened Mae West during the very brief and benighted Broadway run of "The Wicked Age." In its issue dated for Wednesday, 16 November 1927, Variety offered an explanation of why. Previously, Mae had taken the blame, apologizing that she had a case of bad indigestion and could not perform. But the sleuths at Variety explained: "failure to pay salaries appears to have been the problem."  
• • Oh, my!
• • Miss Augusta Perry was in the cast of "The Wicked Age" in 1927.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Miss West is a beautiful blonde, pleasantly plump and unfortunately misunderstood.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said:   "I usually found that one night a week you would get a top society crowd, and another night you'd get mostly working class people."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • A campus newspaper mentioned Mae West.
• • See Mae West ask Cary Grant "Why don't you come up sometime and see me?" ...
• • Source: Item in The Columbia Daily Spectator; published on Thursday, 16 November 1972
• • The Mae West Blog celebrates its 12th anniversary • •  
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past eleven years. The other day we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 3,500 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started ten years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 3575th 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 • • cast member in 1927 • •
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