Mae West: Quit School at 13

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.
• • Enjoy her seldom seen interview. This is Part 17 of 46 parts.
• • "Mirror, Mirror, on the Ceiling: How'm I Doin’?" • •
• • Not bad, Mae, for a woman of seventy-three • •
• • Mae West: Child parts • •
• • Helen Lawrenson wrote: She proceeded to knock off all the amateur nights in Brooklyn, usually copping the $10 first prize, and then joined a stock company where she played child parts for several years. At thirteen she quit school and by the time she was fifteen she had begun her personal romantic saga, to which, according to rumor, she is still adding chapters.  

• • Helen Lawrenson wrote: Her book is plummy with descriptions of love affairs, couched in prose that can only be her own.
• • PHOTO: Mae West, who "always had a good eye for men," chose Reg Lewis as "Mr. Hercules" in a contest held at Bert Goodrich Gym in Hollywood. Reg Lewis won his "Mr. Universe" title on Sunday, 25 May 1958.
• • Helen Lawrenson wrote: Of one lover she says, he “had bedroom eyes, the body of a duelist and the charm of a French ambassador,” and describes their first encounter: We “had no time for the usual romantic preliminaries. . . . I said, ‘You know?’ He said, ‘Oh, yes.’ I said, ‘L’amour.’” And so to bed.
• • Mae West: Was not in love with Frank Wallace • • . . .
• • Helen Lawrenson's interview will be continued on the next post.
• • Source: Esquire; published on Saturday, 1 July 1967.
• • On Friday, 3 November 1933 • •
• • "Mae West — — The world's most publicized woman" • •
• • Lent's Music Store (116 N. Aurora St., Ithaca, NY) was excited about Mae West on November 3rd.
• • Mae West's new Brunswick Phonograph Records — — "I'm No Angel," "I Found a New Way to Go to Town," "I Want You, I Need You," "They Call Me Sister Honky-Tonk" all sung by Mae West!
• • Source: The Cornell Daily Sun; published on Friday, 3 November 1933.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Allison Skipworth resented Mae's directions on how to deliver a line to her. When Allison retorted, "You forget that I have been an actress for 40 years!" the sassy answer she got from Mae West was, "Don't worry! I'll keep your secret."
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "Back in the 18th century, when everybody had long white hair, great ladies used to receive callers in the bedroom. It was considered class."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • The Reading Times discussed Mae West.
• • Mae West Costumes in the Gibson girl mode • •
• • The costumes Mae West will wear, many of which are adaptions of the Gibson girl mode, are among the most beautiful ever seen on the screen.  Under the expert hand of director Leo McCarey, the original story, by Miss West herself, has been woven into an entrancing, eye-filling, laugh-and-drama packed spectacle, which goes even beyond the blonde charmer's recent smash successes. ...
• • Source: Reading Times (Reading, PA); published on Monday, 29 October 1934
• • 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 4,595th 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 Reg Lewis in 1958 • •
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