Mae West: Ivory and Gold

When Helen Lawrenson came up to see MAE WEST, Esquire's first female journalist was closing in on her sixtieth birthday and the Brooklyn bombshell was 73. A color photo by Diane Arbus flashed across the double-page-spread, hunched under half the title as if warding off a punch in the nose.
• • In honor of  Helen Lawrenson's October birthday, enjoy her seldom seen interview. This is Part 6 of 46 parts.
• • "Mirror, Mirror, on the Ceiling: How'm I Doin’?" • •
• • Not bad, Mae, for a woman of seventy-three • •
• • Mae West: Off-white, pale beige, touches of gold • •  

• • Helen Lawrenson wrote: Everything was off-white and pale pinkish beige, with touches of gold: sofas and chairs upholstered with cream-colored brocade and ivory satin, beige satin pillows dripping with lace, white lamps, white shades, little gold tables, mirror-topped, covered with gold-framed photographs of Mae.  
• • Helen Lawrenson wrote: A white piano, gold-trimmed, was in one corner and on it stood a bouquet of large white plastic flowers and a white marble statue of Mae in the nude.  
• • Helen Lawrenson wrote: On the wall behind a white furry sofa was a huge oil painting of a naked Mae lying on her back, looking rosily receptive. (“It’s insured for $100,000 by Lloyds of London.”)  
• • Mae West: Her collection of “woopsie dolls” • • . . .
• • Helen Lawrenson's interview will be continued on the next post.
• • Source: Esquire; published on Saturday, 1 July 1967.
• • On Saturday, 19 October 1935 • •
• • Joe Breen and John Hammel exchanged yet another letter about Mae West's latest controversial project "Klondike Annie" on Saturday, 19 October 1935.
• • On Sunday, 19 October 1969 • •
• • In their weekly weekend insert dated for Sunday, 19 October 1969, Parade Magazine printed an article on Mae West.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • During mid-October in 1932, Mae West's jewel robbery was on the front page.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said:  "Hiring someone to write your autobiography is like hiring someone to take a bath for you."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article discussed censorship and mentioned Mae West.
• • Miss Cellania wrote: By 1938, when The Hollywood Reporter published an ad from the Independent Theatre Owners Association labeling her “box office poison,” Mae West got caught up in a campaign to rid Hollywood of its most expensive screen stars along with Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford, and Katharine Hepburn.  ...
• • Source: Mental Floss;  published on Wednesday, 2 March 2016
• • 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 4,585th 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 • • at home, The Ravenswood on Rossmore in 1933 • •
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