Mae West: Whole Shebang

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 44 of 46 parts.
• • "Mirror, Mirror, on the Ceiling: How'm I Doin’?" • •
• • Not bad, Mae, for a woman of seventy-three • •
• • Mae West: Making love or ...  • •
• • Helen Lawrenson wrote: After all, she not only acted them, but she wrote them, including those in “My Little Chickadee” with W.C. Fields.  
• • Mae West likes to be the whole shebang • •
• • Helen Lawrenson wrote: (Talking to her, I got the impression that she was never deliriously happy at sharing the spotlight with him in that one. She likes to be the whole shebang.)
• • Helen Lawrenson wrote: In "Diamond Lil" [sic] she has an admirer say to her, passionately, “Your hands, your lips, your hair, your magnificent shoulders —” and she interrupts him with, “What’re you doin’, honey? Makin’ love or takin’ inventory?”  
• • Mae West: Never Subtle • • . . .
• • Helen Lawrenson's interview will be continued on the next post.
• • Source: Esquire; published on Saturday, 1 July 1967.
• • On Friday, 10 December 1937 • •
• • Mae West and Charlie McCarthy • •

• • Mae West failed to report for the first rehearsal of "The Chase and Sanborn Hour" set for Friday evening on 10 December 1937. The suits at NBC were getting nervous and the sponsor's reps were baffled.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • In December 1957, Mae West announced she was working on her autobiography "Queen of Sex." The movie queen hinted that it would be full of stories about Jayne Mansfield and Mickey Hargitay. (Spoiler alert: it was not.)
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "It was wonderful in England, in London. The men are a little reserved. And I'm not."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article was dedicated to Mae West.
• • “Mae West, Hollywood's Sex Symbol, Dies” • •
• • With her legend growing, it was off to Hollywood for Miss West, who started on screen with a bit part in "Night After Night" with George Raft and went on to appear in "She Done Him Wrong," "I'm No Angel" and "Klondike Annie."
• • "My Little Chickadee," in which she co-starred with W. C. Fields, has become something of a classic. ...
• • 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 4,623rd 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 Charlie McCarthy in 1937 • •
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