Mae West: Swan Ashtrays

Reporters who met MAE WEST during the 1920s and early 1930s — — before stardom cloaked her utterly — — have a refreshingly different take than those who met her as a bonafide movie queen.
• • New York Herald Tribune reporter Stanley Walker came up to see Mae West often in New York.
• • A section in Stanley Walker’s 1935 memoir discussed Mae West. This is Part 4 of 19 segments.
• • “Sex Comes to America” • •
• • Mae’s specially constructed front door is of the speakeasy type • •
• • Stanley Walker wrote: Her Hollywood apartment is typical of her character. Her specially constructed front door is of the speakeasy type; visitors are carefully squinted at through a grilled slit by a butler. The color scheme of the apartment is white and gold. All the furniture, including a large grand piano, is white.
• • Numerous ash trays in the form of golden swans • •

• • Stanley Walker wrote: The drawing room contains several white sofas upholstered in cloth of gold. Thick bearskin rugs cover the floors. Numerous ash trays in the form of golden swans are scattered about on little tables. Dozens of mirrors are used as wall decorations.
• • Stanley Walker wrote: She has a gold dinner set from which she and her brother Jack, who lives with her, dine often, served by a Negro butler and maid.
• • a monkey named Junior and a Chihuahua dog • •  . . .
• • This long chapter by Stanley Walker will be continued on the next post.
• • Source: Chapter “Sex Comes to America” from "Mrs. Astor's Horse" written by Stanley Walker [NY: Frederick A. Stokes, 28 October 1935, 320 pages].
• • On Monday, 17 March 1930 • •
• • It was on Monday, 17 March 1930 when Mae West's "Pleasure Man" trial before Judge Amadeo Bertini began, and the New York District Attorney charged that Mae violated Section 1140-a by writing another gay play and he also charged her with the crime of maintaining a public nuisance — — an insulting charge typically levied at speakeasies and skidrow saloons not playwrights.
• • On Thursday, 17 March 1966 • •
• • On 17 March 1966 caricaturist Al Hirschfeld wrote on one page: "John P. Sullivan has purchased a drawing of mine of Mae West for $250.00."
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Actress Rose McGowan said, "There's definitely a little Mae West in me."
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "Saving love doesn't bring any interest."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • A North Carolina newspaper mentioned Mae West.
• • W. C. Fields coyly kisses Mae West's hand in one of the uproarious scenes from the comedy "My Little Chickadee," which plays Friday at the Playhouse. ...
• • Source: Statesville Record and Landmark (Statesville, N.C.); published on Saturday, 11 March 1950
• • 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 4,432nd 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 1933 • •
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