Mae West: Sex in the Open

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 23 of 46 parts.
• • "Mirror, Mirror, on the Ceiling: How'm I Doin’?" • •
• • Not bad, Mae, for a woman of seventy-three • •
• • Mae West: I am very conservative • •

• • Helen Lawrenson wrote: At one point during our discussion of her past, she interrupted her reminiscences to remark, “I’ve always been very conservative,” patting her hair with her celebrated gesture.  
• • Helen Lawrenson wrote: “I’ve never used obscenity,” Mae West added, “but I was the first one to bring sex into the open.”
• • Helen Lawrenson wrote: She left me to ponder this and went to look for some photographs she wanted to show me.  
• • Helen Lawrenson wrote: A husky fellow in an open-neck shirt and slacks appeared from some other room and sauntered through the living room to the kitchen. The butler? A secretary? Housecarl? Visiting friend?  
• • Mae West: The husky fellow • • . . .
• • Helen Lawrenson's interview will be continued on the next post.
• • Source: Esquire; published on Saturday, 1 July 1967.
• • On Tuesday, 11 November 1913 • •
• • Mae West's vaudeville routine was noticed by an entertainment critic for the Philadelphia Times, where some quotes appeared on Tuesday, 11 November 1913.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Renaming of Mae West's "It Ain't No Sin" as "The Belle of New Orleans" drew protests today from civic and political bodies here.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "If young girls knew more about love — — and didn't take it so seriously — — it would be better for them."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article on movie-going in Ithaca, NY mentioned Mae West.
• • Cinema Round-Up • •
• • As for the second half, all that really needs to be said is that “She Done Him Wrong” is Mae West at her very best. At the Ithaca. Recommended. — R. G. B. ...
• • Source: Cornell Daily Sun; published on Friday, 28 April 1967
• • 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 4,600 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fifteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,601st 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 • • in 1923 • •
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