Mae West: Lack of Coyness

“I first went to interview MAE WEST after the collapse of ‘Myra Breckinridge’ [1970]. Like almost everyone else, I was in awe of the woman,” wrote Jacoba Atlas. Let’s read her fascinating first-hand account from 1974. This is Part 7 of 19 segments.
• • Image from a Cracked Mirror • •
• • nothing traditionally feminine about Mae West • •
• • Jacoba Atlas wrote: Also, despite the satin and lace clothing, the soft flowing hair and the painted nails, there is nothing traditionally feminine about Mae West.
• • Jacoba Atlas wrote: To be sure, it’s that very lack of helplessness and coyness that has made her a heroine to women’s liberation and sent women’s groups scurrying back to her films for an expression of open female sexual needs. But her films lead directly to a quandary: she’s no Norma Shearer, thank God, but just who and what is she?
• • Jacoba Atlas wrote: Close friend and associate Stan Musgrove calls Mae West “the screen’s first leading man” and further credits her with opening the way for other “leading men” like Rosalind Russell and Katherine Hepburn; but one wonders.
• • Mae’s affinity to "gay boys" • • …
• • This long profile by Jacoba Atlas will be continued on the next post.  
• • Source: Los Angeles Free Press, Volume 11, issue 517; published on Friday, 14 June 1974.
• • On Monday, 30 April 1956 in N.Y. World-Telegram Sun • •
• • It was on Monday, 30 April 1956 that Robert W. Dana's felicitous coverage of "The Mae West Review" appeared.
• • His column "Mae West's Show Grows" [dated April 30th] indicated Mr. Dana had seen the routine previously.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •

• • Mae West carnival statues are becoming more popular. Occasionally, these are available at a local sale.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "Suddenly there was a great uproar.  Someone had passed the word along that I was coming through. Faces appeared at the barred doors and they shouted wildly in greeting. 'Here comes Mae!' they yelled. And 'How do you like the dress, Mae?' . . .”
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article Mae West was asked to write appeared in 1927.
• • Mae West continued: They were most courteous; they didn't want anything to happen to me before I got to Welfare Island, I guess. I was ushered into a waiting-room. There was a colored woman, with a gold badge, in charge.  . . .
• • Source: "How I Was Jailed for Sex" written by Mae West for Liberty Magazine; published on Saturday, 20 August 1927
• • 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 4,464th 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 • • carnival chalkware figure (from a private collection) • •
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