Mae West: Never Vulgar

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 46 of 46 parts.
• • "Mirror, Mirror, on the Ceiling: How'm I Doin’?" • •
• • Not bad, Mae, for a woman of seventy-three • •
• • Mae West: Always interesting but never vulgar • •
• • Helen Lawrenson wrote: “Now I hear everybody’s doin’ nude scenes,” said Mae West. “That don’t mean a thing. In my films I was always interesting but never vulgar.” 

• • Helen Lawrenson wrote: She takes her guitar lessons, plans her future albums, and reads her fan mail from the teen-age boys who think she’s still so pretty. . . .  
• • Helen Lawrenson wrote: As Mae saw me to the door she said, “Good-bye, dear. Just tell ’em my fans won’t let me stop. You know what I mean?” She sighed faintly and patted her long yellow hair.  
• • Helen Lawrenson wrote: Then she closed the door and I walked away from the legend.
• • Helen Lawrenson's interview has now been concluded with its final post. We hope you enjoyed it.
• • Source: Esquire; published on Saturday, 1 July 1967.
• • On Tuesday, 14 December 1937 • •
• • Conservative Catholic Martin Quigley's hand-wringing article, "Radio Begs Trouble," found its way into Motion Picture Daily. The issue, centered around the controversial NBC broadcast starring Mae West as Eve, was dated for Tuesday, 14 December 1937.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Will Hays wrote to remind Adolph Zukor that he must not register the titles "Diamonds" or "Diamond Lady" for any Hollywood film project with Mae West.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "My advice to those who think they have to take off their clothes to be a star is, once you're boned, what's left to create the illusion? Let em wonder. I never believed in giving them too much of me."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article was dedicated to Mae West.
• • “Mae West, Hollywood's Sex Symbol, Dies” • •
• • Although long absent from the screen, the famed actress toured for years in such shows as "Catherine the Great," in which she was the only woman, and in revivals of "Diamond Lil," determinedly maintaining an agelessly youthful appearance.
• • She played nightclubs, bedecked in feathers and satin, singing whispery voiced renditions of such numbers as "I Want to Do All Day What I Do All Night." ...
• • Source: Washington Post; published on Sunday, 23 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 4,625th 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 Timothy Dalton • •
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