Mae West: Won’t Allow it!

“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 11 of 19 segments.
• • Image from a Cracked Mirror • •
• • Mae West banned the tape recorder • •
• • Jacoba Atlas wrote: Margaret Mitchell’s description of Aunt Pittypat in “Gone with The Wind” could not have been more appropriate. She was, however, smiling and friendly, gracious within the limited sphere of an interview and eager to talk, although not to be taped.
• • Jacoba Atlas wrote: “I won’t allow those things," Mae West said pointing to the small tape recorder. “In the old days reporters took notes!”
• • Jacoba Atlas wrote: To be sure, there is nothing senile about West. Alert and interested, before I left she had discussed what kind of soap I should use on my face and admitted her beauty secrets. “I never smoke or drink,” she warned.
• • Mae West sat ramrod straight • • …
• • 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, 6 May 1944 • •

• • Syndicated columnist Earl Wilson reviewed "Catherine Was Great" and his comments were printed in the Los Angeles Daily News on Saturday, 6 May 1944.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • On the album "Hollywood Actors Sing," Mae West sang "My Man Friday."
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "This is Timothy Dalton, my new discovery. He is an actor as good as Sir Larry Olivier, and maybe even better. When he plays with me in 'Sextette,' he will become one of the most known actors in the world."  
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences archives mentioned Mae West.
• • Claude Shull, San Francisco Motion Picture Council, wrote to Paramount Pictures and sent a copy of his dissatisfaction to Mae West [Shull to Paramount, 1 May 1936].
• • Claude Shull explained his viewpoint: "Any picture that presents its heroine as a mistress to an Oriental, then as a murderess, then as a cheap imitator of a missionary — — jazzing up religion — — is not in harmony with the other educational forces of our social set-up. And these elements are particularly objectionable when they are interspersed with smutty wise-cracks." …
• • Source: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; dated on Friday, 1 May 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 4,400 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fifteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,468th 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 1944 • •
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