Mae West: Tax Returns

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 4 of 46 parts.
• • "Mirror, Mirror, on the Ceiling: How'm I Doin’?" • •
• • Not bad, Mae, for a woman of seventy-three • •
• • Mae West:  Federal Tax Returns • •
• • Helen Lawrenson wrote: (In 1935, published Federal income tax reports credited her with earning $480,833, which made her the highest-salaried individual in the country, next to William Randolph Hearst, who topped her with $500,000.) 

• • Helen Lawrenson wrote: “I haven’t done too bad, honey,” she says, with a silken smile.
• • Helen Lawrenson wrote: My appointment was for two o’clock and I arrived early, but the receptionist at the desk said she wouldn’t dare call Miss West before the exact time, so I waited in the lobby, an ornate baronial hall with Moorish touches, furnished with tapestries, velvet chairs and sofas, gold-painted tables and lamps with statues for bases.  
• • Mae West:  Dot of 2 • • ...
• • Helen Lawrenson's interview will be continued on the next post.
• • Source: Esquire; published on Saturday, 1 July 1967.
• • On Thursday, 15 October 1959 • •
• • On Thursday, 15 October 1959, The Los Angeles Times printed an article by Cecil Smith: "Mae West Censored from New TV Show." CBS also cut Jack Webb from the same program.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • When her first husband Frank Wallace died on Saturday, 15 October 1966, Mae was asked to comment. Mae West told the Hollywood newsmen:  "He'll always remain in the wastebasket of my memories."  
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said:  “Frank Wallace? Never heard of 'em!”
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • A newspaper mentioned Mae West.
• • "G-Men Get a 'Come Up' Glance When Investigating Threats to Mae" • •
• • Los Angeles, October 8, AP — G-men made a vain effort today to inquire into the latest real-life drama starring Mae West, nonchalant despite the assertedly harrowing experiences of receiving dire threats from extortionists and helping capture a suspect. ...
• • Source: Cornell Daily Sun (cover price 3 cents); published on Wednesday, 9 October 1935
• • 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 4,583rd 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 • • Hollywood salaries in 1934 • •
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