Mae West: So Scandalous

Lawyers for MAE WEST once sent Bette Midler a “cease and desist” letter, an artifact the 75-year-old performer still has in her archives.
• • KPBS explained: “Mae West: Dirty Blonde” was a documentary film  made for TV that explored Mae West’s life and career.
• • This quote is from Bette Midler: "I've loved Mae West since the moment I saw her sashay across the screen in ‘Night After Night,’ a movie in which she stole everything but the cameras. She created a persona she completely believed in, and never wavered from publicly or privately. One of the funniest women who ever lived, she made fun of sex at a time when the word was never uttered in polite society, and wrote plays that were so scandalous, she was arrested and sent to jail. A breath of fresh air on the Broadway stage, she single-handedly saved Paramount Studios from bankruptcy [sic], had legions of fans, and still does. A woman who believed she was the equal of any man, if not their superior, she continues to inspire with her humor, her glamour, and her brassy, sassy ways,” said executive producer Bette Midler.  
• • Source:  KPBS; posted on Wednesday, 24 March 2021.
• • On Sunday, 5 July 1970 • •
• • While the motion picture "Myra Breckinridge" was not a hit, the media exposure engendered a "Mae West revival," explained The New York Post.
• • On Sunday, 5 July 1970 The New York Times ran an interview with Mae West. It was a good chance to tell her fans what she thought of Gore Vidal's novel and the screenplay.
• • July 2004: Mae West Blog launches • •

• • What are we up to, writing about the Brooklyn-born bombshell for 17 years now?
• • We’re here to keep Mae mavens up to date, correct errors, celebrate each revival of a play she wrote, post the latest Westian stage and book reviews. And answer our fan mail!
• • The light’s still on. Come up and see Mae every day.
• • Photo caption: "Take a look at this, Gus, and learn something," says Diamond Lil. Seen in this 1928 photo: Mae West as Lil and Jack LaRue as Juarez, the sex trafficker from South America.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Mae West has been the subject of at least one bio-pic through the years. However, her wry, tough talent has not been brought to life in a project with such a high profile before: Bette Midler is aboard to star as the Broadway / Hollywood legend in a new film for HBO that William Friedkin will direct.
• • Harvey Fierstein is writing the script, working from Mae West’s autobiography Goodness Had Nothing To Do With It. It’ll chronicle West’s rise through scandalous Broadway shows (many of which she wrote) such as Sex and Diamond Lil, and how she battled with authorities, including a spell in jail for “corrupting the morals of youth.”
• • 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 about Blu-Ray releases of 1930s films mentioned Mae West.
• • Rachel Bellwoar wrote: Kino Lorber’s release comes with an intro by TCM host, Robert Osborne, a Pooch the Pup cartoon called ‘She Done Him Right,’ and two commentaries. In the first, film historian, David del Valle, talks about meeting West when she was filming Sextette and compares her career to Marlene Dietrich’s.
• • Rachel Bellwoar wrote: In the second, film historian, Kat Ellinger, talks about West’s costumes (which were not designed for sitting) and some of the specific ways the Hays code affected the production. ...
• • Night After Night, I’m No Angel, and She Done Him Wrong are available on Blu-Ray starting June 29th from Kino Lorber.
• • Source: Comicon; posted on Thursday, 24 June 2021
• • 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 17th anniversary • • 
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past seventeen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 4,700 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fifteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,770th 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 • • onstage on Broadway in 1928 • •
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