Mae West: Powers and Lyons

MAE WEST made an impression on John Robert Powers, who introduced her to Lyons Wickland, a fashion model who co-starred in “Sex.” This first-hand account appeared in Picture Play's January 1934 issue and reveals a new side of Mae's financial struggles during 1926 — 1928 when she self-produced her plays on Broadway.
• • "Up From Smiling Ads" • •    
• • Picture Play staffwriter Evelyn Williams wrote: The telephone rang in the office of the John Robert Powers model agency in New York City. "Before I let you ask a lot of questions about the players I knew," Mr. Powers said, "I want to tell you an interesting story about one star I never met — Mae West."

• • Evelyn Williams wrote: "When Mae West first started to produce her own plays she was pretty broke, but she kept it hidden from Broadway. She knew that she had to put up a bluff or better learn to put up a front that looked like she had dollars.”
• • Evelyn Williams wrote: "When she was picking the cast for her play she needed a society type of man. I had a model who looked more Park Avenue than the scions of most aristocratic families.”  
• • Mae West casts Lyons Wickland • • …
• • Note: Leopold Lyons Wickland [20 August 1894 ― 4 December 1980].  
• • This interview will continue on the next post.
• • Note: Picture Play's cover price was ten cents in 1934.
• • Source: Picture Play; published in the issue dated for January 1934.
• • On Tuesday, 3 January 1933 • •
• • The Hollywood Reporter mentioned Mae West on Tuesday, 3 January 1933.
• • Mae West in Paramount's "She Done Him Wrong" — Now Shooting.
• • On Friday, 3 January 1936 • •
• • "Mae West Proves 'Lucky Star' to Those Who Work with Her" • •
• • They all like to work on a Mae West set — — extras, technicians, odd-jobbers. Maybe it isn't only the "lucky star" idea, at that. But Mae says: "Sure, I bring 'em luck. It's the way you think. I never worry about anything and the people around me don't. And if you don't worry, things generally turn out pretty well for you. It's always been that way."
• • Source: United Press; published on Friday, 3 January 1936.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • John Kobal's interest was first in the photographs, then in the photographers themselves. He was on the set of "Myra Breckenridge," the notorious 1970 vehicle for an older Mae West.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said:  "Give a man a free hand and he'll try to put it all over you."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • Picture Play Magazine mentioned Mae West.
• • Marlene Dietrich, returning from Europe, made history when she said she did not know Mae West. …  
• • Source: Picture Play Magazine; published in the issue dated for January 1934
• • 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 4,800 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started seventeen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,900th 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 • • legal trouble in New York in 1927 • •
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