Mae West: Obscenity, Infamy

Was the heavily air-brushed memoir that MAE WEST published in 1959 “scandalous”? Vanity Fair seems to think so. See if you agree. This is Part 5 of 14 segments.
• • “When I’m Bad, I’m Better” — — Mae West’s Sensational Life in Her Own Words • •
• • PBS’s Mae West: Dirty Blonde delves into the life of a savvy sexpot—but even it is not half as scandalous as West’s 1959 autobiography.
• • Mae West: I became a writer by accident • •
• • Hadley Hall Meares wrote: Mae West said: “I became a writer by the accident of needing material and having no place to get it,” West writes in her autobiography. As playwright and star of the titillating piece of theater, she rocketed to fame — and infamy. On April 19, 1927, she was sentenced to 10 days in prison for obscenity and “corrupting the morals of youth.”
• • Hadley Hall Meares wrote: Off to jail on Roosevelt Island she went, game except for her rough, prison-issued lady’s undergarments. “I want to wear my silk underwear,” West demanded.
• • Mae West: I could make them less miserable maybe • •  ...  
• • This 14-part article will be continued tomorrow.
• • Source: Vanity Fair; published on Tuesday, 16 June 2020.  
• • On Monday, 28 August 1939 • •
• • Life Magazine's issue (dated 28 August 1939) included a half-page photo of Mae West.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •

• • Modern Screen wrote: The biggest battle of the season was the battle of the false eyelashes, staged by Mae West and Alice Brady in 1936 during the making of “Go West Young Man."
• • Modern Screen wrote: When Mae appeared with long eye adornment. Alice showed up with longer ones. It went on days, but Miss W. won out by the simple procedure of cutting Miss Brady's part here and there.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: “The best way to hold a man is in your arms.”
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • A museum mentioned Mae West.
• • Mae West’s 1959 Olympia SF (on loan from Steve Soboroff) on display in Chicago • •
• • Mae West's typewriter is now on display in the Tools of the Trade exhibit [which opened June 22, 2019] at the American Writers Museum in Chicago.
• • Learn more: American Writers Museum, 180 N. Michigan Avenue, 2nd Floor, Chicago, IL 60601.
• • Source: American Writers Museum; posted on Tuesday, 13 August 2019
• • 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 16th 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 4,500 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fifteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,550th 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 • • with Jack LaRue in "Go West Young Man" in 1936 • •
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