Mae West: Unignorable Mae

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 38 of 46 parts.
• • "Mirror, Mirror, on the Ceiling: How'm I Doin’?" • •
• • Not bad, Mae, for a woman of seventy-three • •
• • Mae West: Editorials Denounced Her • •
• • Helen Lawrenson wrote: By this time her name was synonymous with sex.  
• • Hollywood could no longer ignore Mae West • •
• • Helen Lawrenson wrote: Some newspapers refused advertisements of her plays [sic] and ran editorials denouncing her, but “Diamond Lil” was such an overwhelming smash that Hollywood could no longer ignore her.  

• • Helen Lawrenson wrote: After her first movie with George Raft, in which she was an immediate sensation, she made "She Done Him Wrong," the film version of Diamond Lil. For her leading man she picked a young actor out of the chorus line.  
• • Helen Lawrenson wrote: “If he can talk, I’ll take him,” she said.  
• • Helen Lawrenson wrote: The actor was Cary Grant.
• • Mae West: No one was quite like her • • . . .
• • Helen Lawrenson's interview will be continued on the next post.
• • Source: Esquire; published on Saturday, 1 July 1967.
• • On Thursday, 2 December 1943 in Hollywood • •
• • "The Heat’s On" was released on Thursday, 2 December 1943 • •
• • Critic Guy Savage summed it up: "The Heat’s On" (AKA "Tropicana") is a sly knock at censorship and how it affects the entertainment industry. Broadway legend Fay Lawrence (Mae West) is in "Indiscretions" — — a show destined to flop — — until producer Tony Ferris (William Gaxton) gets the bright idea to rustle up free publicity on an indecency issue. ...
• • The director responsible for this rum-soaked cinematic mirth-quake was Gregory Ratoff.
• • The appealing costume designs for Mae West were done by Walter Plunkett.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • We asked Mae West how she stays youthful.
• • Mae West replied, "It's no secret. I go to bed early. I meditate. I eat all the correct foods, I don't smoke or drink, and I believe with a passion in myself.'
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said:  "I won't drink Los Angeles water — — it's terrible.  I only drink bottled water."  
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article was dedicated to Mae West.
• • “Mae West, Hollywood's Sex Symbol, Dies” • •
• • Well known for writing most if not all of the stage and screen vehicles as well as lines that brought her enduring renown, Miss West answered the same question with a parody of a famed remark by Will Rogers.
• • Enjoying the image of a woman with an unending sex life, she said she could not tie herself again in marriage to any single individual because "I've never met a man I didn't like." ...
• • 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 4,617th 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 Cary Grant in 1932 • •
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