Mae West: Ever-present Chocolates

“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 10 of 19 segments.
• • Image from a Cracked Mirror • •
• • the omnipresence of the past in Mae’s apartment • •
• • Jacoba Atlas wrote: To enter her small, all-white apartment, one must pass two security checks.
• • the ever-present heart-shaped chocolate box • •
• • Jacoba Atlas wrote: Once inside the apartment, the omnipresence of the past becomes immediately evident. The only color relieving the whiteness is flaked gold and occasional touches of pale pink satin. A white piano dominates one corner of the living room, complete with a famous nude statue of Mae West and the ever-present heart-shaped chocolate box, filled with goodies.
• • Jacoba Atlas wrote: The flowers are fake, and the blinds are drawn against the sun. The furniture is covered with plastic, as if it were left over from some Molly Goldberg set.
• • Jacoba Atlas wrote: Mae West herself made an entrance, tottering on small feet, taking tiny little steps as if she were made of porcelain and one false move would send her shattering to the floor.
• • Mae West banned the tape recorder • • …
• • 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 Saturday, 5 May 1928 in The New Yorker • •

• • When John Huston [1906 — 1987] watched Mae West in the 1928 stage production of "Diamond Lil," the 22-year-old son of actor Walter Huston could not stop thinking about it. John saved his copy of The New Yorker [issue dated for 5 May 1928] because he especially admired the illustration of a corseted, glittering, winsome Mae by the Mexican artist Miguel Covarrubias. Soon after, the men collaborated on Huston's fascinating book "Frankie and Johnny."
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Mae West, in a trailing satin dress, with make-up thick on her features and a huge bunch of orchids clutched in a heavily jeweled hand, gave a mob of fans a smile and was taken off to the Ritz-Carlton.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "A dame that knows the ropes isn't likely to get tied up."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article on sassy, witty broads mentioned Mae West.
• • "Broads Don’t Blog, Especially in Haiku" • •
• • Vox Pop Columnist Meta Wagner muses: It’s amazing to me how the quips Mae West famously uttered still serve as quotable quotes today: “Is that a gun in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?” “When I’m good, I’m very good, but when I’m bad, I’m better.” “A man in the house is worth two in the street.” Now, that’s a broad! . . .
• • Meta Wagner adds: Currently back on Broadway is "South Pacific," the World War II-themed musical that immortalized a catchy number "There Is Nothing Like a Dame." Mae West was a swell dame (not to mention a triple A-all-right broad).   . . .
• • Source: PopMatters; posted on Tuesday, 29 April 2008
• • 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 4,467th 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 • • drawing in 1928 • •
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