Mae West: Irresistible Taste

For six months, a Canadian fan worked with MAE WEST in California as her “secretary-companion-slave” and all around general adorer. In his book ‘Outrageous Misfits,’ Brian Bradley explores their relationship. What began as an intimate friendship would go up in flames.  This is Part 7 of 9 parts.
• • Mae West: Craig's desire to explore • •
• • Brian Bradley wrote: It started quite innocently.
• • Brian Bradley wrote: Mae had rooms full of furs, gowns, outfits, wigs, and accessories at the beach house, and in his off time he couldn’t help but explore and try a few things on, privately and alone.
• • Brian Bradley wrote: No one would have to know, he thought, but that couldn’t last.

• • Brian Bradley wrote: “I was spellbound,” he would say later of that irresistible taste of transformation. “I wasn’t Craig Eadie anymore. I was Mae West. I could walk like her. I could talk like her, and I could look like her. It all seemed like a dream but it was really happening.”
• • Mae West: Craig confessed • • ...  
• • Brian Bradley's book preview will be continued on the next post.
• • Source: Toronto Star; published on Sunday, 25 October 2020.
• • On Thursday, 25 December 1919 • •
• • Cast in the successful Broadway hit "Sometime" [October 1918 — June 1919] as Mayme Dean, a vamp whose suitors always seem to decamp, Mae West was in the unusual position of putting across a few comically wistful laments in the show.
• • The 26-year-old performer was made up as a vamp, a la Theda Bara, after her appearance in Ned Wayburn's "Demitasse Revue" — — on the cover of a prestigious magazine, New York's Dramatic Mirror dated for Thursday, 25 December 1919. This was quite a front page and it has become a fabulous collector's item.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • In 1970, the Asian actress Miel Saan had the good fortune to be cast in bit part in a Mae West movie, "Myra Breckinridge." The following year, Miel Saan made her last screen appearance in "Smoke" [1971] when she was 33 years old. She died in NYC in December 2000; she was 62 years old.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "Every day's a holiday, Santa Claus, and the biggest and the best one is right around the corner."

• • Mae West said: "My left leg is Christmas. My right leg is Easter. Why don't you come up and visit me between the holidays?"
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article by UPI discussed the death of Mae West.
• • Friends of Mae West gathered today for an invitation-only funeral • •
• • UPI wrote: Miss West made her imprint with appearances, mostly starring roles, in just 10 movies in the 1930s and 1940s, including 'She Done Him Wrong' with Cary Grant and 'My Little Chickadee' with W.C. Fields.
• • UPI wrote: She also wrote and appeared in several Broadway plays, including the landmark 'Sex' and the classic 'Diamond 'Lil,' made several guest television appearances, recorded four albums and in the 1970s returned to the screen with two more movies: 'Myra Breckenridge' and 'Sextette.' ...
• • Source: UPI Archives; published on Tuesday, 25 November 1980
• • 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 4,634th 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 • • Craig portraying Mae West during a cabaret act • •
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