Mae West: 1936 Hold-Up

It was Monday, 19 October 1936, and  MAE WEST narrowly missed a hold-up at her apartment building, The Ravenswood. Associated Press sent this news over the wire.  This is Part 1 of 2.
• • Associated Press — HOLLYWOOD, Oct. IS. Police arrested two men today in connection with the hold-up Friday night of nine persons in the basement garage of the fashionable apartment house where Mae West, film actress, and other notables live.
• • Detective Lieut. J. R. Stephens said one of the men, William H. Randolf, 21, also known as William Johnson, confessed to the robbery and implicated the other suspect, Robert B. Wilson, 27. A chain of circumstantial evidence resulted in the men's arrest, reported Stevens, who also said both had served terms in San Quentin penitentiary. A woman, Mrs. Penelope Nordwall, who was with Wilson when he was seized, was held for questioning, officers stated.
• • Mae West returned from the prize fights in her car • •  . . .
• • Source:  Associated Press Item; published on Monday, 19 October 1936.
• • On Thursday, 19 October 1899 • •

• • Mae West was a little slip of a girl when the St. Louis Post-Dispatch published their edition on Thursday, 19 October 1899. This paper reported a local crime: beautiful Frankie Baker, a 27-year-old mulatto prostitute [residing at 212 Targee Street, St. Louis, Missouri], who kept an expensively decked-out 17-year-old mack, stabbed him on October 15th.
• • The stabbing and the trial inspired the folksong "Frankie and Johnny."
• • In 1928 — 1929, Mae West sang "Frankie and Johnny" on Broadway in her melodrama "Diamond Lil," giving the song a glamour glow, enhancing its prominence.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • During the thirties and forties, actresses like Joan Crawford, Mae West, and Claudette Colbert graced the silver screen dripping in diamonds.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said:   "I won't drink Los Angeles water — — it's terrible.  I only drink bottled water."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • A travel guide to Spain mentioned Mae West.
• • Vincci Mae is a 4-star hotel in the heart of Barcelona's Avinguda Diagonal, one of the city's most important avenues. The hotel opened in December 2016 and features a modern, sophisticated style inspired by 1930s New York, and is named after the actress and screenwriter Mae West.  . . .
• • Source: A travel guide; publishing date (unknown)
• • The Mae West Blog celebrates its 13th anniversary • •  
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past thirteen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 3,800 blog posts. Wow!   
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started thirteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 3813th 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 • • as Diamond Lil in 1928 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest
NYC  Mae West