Mae West: Never Forgives

Like MAE WEST, Diane Arbus was a native New Yorker. An Australian stage play, inspired by their Los Angeles meeting and photo session, was widely reviewed. To commemorate Arbus’s untimely death, age 48, in the month of July, let’s ponder some of those critiques.
• • Let’s hear from another Australian drama critic now. This is Part 2 of of 10 segments.
• • In Stephen Sewell’s charming “Arbus and West,” feminism boils to the surface • •
• • The biographies are compelling fare • •
• • Sandra D’Urso wrote:  The biographies of both Arbus and West are compelling fare. West is lauded as a trailblazing Hollywood performer, an activist and emblem of female sexual agency. Arbus is known for redefining the photographic gaze, focusing on human subjects who were considered pariahs and shunned by American society during the 1960s. In 1971, Arbus committed suicide.
• • Sewell’s play never forgives Mae West for that • •
• • Sandra D’Urso wrote:  West felt Arbus’s portrait of her was unflattering and in Sewell’s play never forgives her for it. But the play doesn’t rest entirely on fact. The women are at once real historical figures but also emblems of different artistic genres, political sensibilities, and strands of feminism.
• • Each woman has a compelling life story • • . . .
• • Sandra D’Urso’s review will be continued on the next post.
• • Source: The Conversation; published on Wednesday, 6 March 2019.
• • On Thursday, 24 July 1997 • •
• • The book "Three Plays by Mae West: Sex, The Drag, The Pleasure Man" was published on Thursday, 24 July 1997.  The book's editor was Lillian Schlissel.
• • July 2004: Mae West Blog launches • •

• • What are we up to, writing about the Brooklyn-born bombshell for fifteen years now?
• • We’re here to keep Mae mavens up to date, correct errors, celebrate each revival of a play she wrote, post the latest Westian stage and book reviews. And answer our fan mail!
• • The light’s still on. Come up and see Mae every day.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Embraced by the public the moment Mae West hit Hollywood’s silver screen in 1933, at the amazingly advanced age of 40, she still has not lost her grip on the American consciousness.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said:  “I don't like traveling. It's just work for me.”
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • Motion Picture Herald mentioned Mae West.
• • Mae West Leads in the Talent Income List • •
• • Mae West, Paramount contract player, appears to lead the list of Hollywood's professionals, with an income of $339,166. Bing Crosby, also a Paramount player, was one of the highest paid actors with an income of $191,000 for the year. …
• • Source: Motion Picture Herald; published on Saturday, 18 January 1936 
• • 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 4,200 blog posts. Wow!  

• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fifteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4263rd 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 • • in 1935 • •
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