MAE WEST met her fans on the silver screen and between the pages of the day’s popular fan magazines, all of whom skated dizzily on the surface of facts and never did any fact-checking. This is the first section, Part 1, segment 10 of 32.
• • "The Real Mae West" • •
• • Mae West: Remarkable and fascinating • •
• • Aileen St. John Brenon wrote: Mae West, the woman, is just as remarkable, and just as fascinating a human being as Mae West the celebrity.
• • Aileen St. John Brenon wrote: But totally different and at opposite poles are Mae West the star, and Mae West the woman.
• • Aileen St. John Brenon wrote: And it is the woman as I have seen her that I want to introduce to you.
• • Aileen St. John Brenon wrote: You all know, Mae West the star, whether you live in Hyde Park, London, Charlottenberg, Berlin, or Chillicothe, Ohio.
• • Mae West: Her philosophy • • ...
• • This will be continued on the next post.
• • Source: The New Movie Magazine; issue dated for June 1934.
• • On Tuesday 30 May 1950 • •
• • On Tuesday 30 May 1950, Mae West made the front page in Australia. This tantalizing tidbit was featured in The Argus and elsewhere.
• • Note: The "Mae West Revue" was not assembled until a few years later. However, it's clear Mae was mulling over her prospects with her manager and her lawyer. Aware that there were opportunities for live entertainment in Nevada's big rooms, the performer was already putting out feelers in 1950.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • The Legion of Decency has had its effect. Mae West will finally come forth in "I'm a Lady," leaving behind her "I'm No Angel," "She Done Him Wrong" and the like.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "Harry Richman was one of my pianists. And so was Whispering Jack Smith."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • Motion Picture Herald mentioned Mae West.
• • Did the Hays Office See It? • •
• • Balaban and Katz's theatre advertising copy announcing the opening of Mae West's "Belle of the Nineties" in Chicago said that it is "Paramount's Picture Presented Exactly as Produced."
• • If this advertising is truthful, then we are all wrong in our recollections of Paramount having returned the original version to its studio in Hollywood for a scrubbing and toning down that necessitated more than a few retakes. …
• • Source: Motion Picture Herald; published on Saturday, 29 September 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 5,000 blog posts. Wow!
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started seventeen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 5,004th 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 with Louise Beavers in July 1954 • •
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Hello Ms. LoSchiavo. I had reached out on Twitter and you suggested I send you my inquiry via a comment here on the blog. I'm not some genealogy research and while working on my family tree, I had heard that a distant relative of mine named Thelma Mildred Merillat (1898-1975) may have worked for Mae West in the past. The family didn't exactly know what she did for Ms. West; they thought maybe secretarial work, but I understand that she had a secretary named Larry Lee for many years, so perhaps that's not right. I was wondering if you had heard of Thelma or knew anything about her from your research and knowledge of Mae West.
ReplyDeleteIn case it's at all helpful, Thelme was born in Kankakee, Illinois (though she later lived in Hollywood and was likely there when/if she worked for Mae West) to Louis Oliver "Lou" Merillat (1866-1941) and Louise L. "Lula" Little (1874-1940). They were a family of artists; Lou and his sister Ida May Merillat were photographers and photo artists who ran a studio, and Thelma's sister Louise Merillat was a vaudeville actress who sent by the stage names Fay Tempest and Fay Mack.
If you happen to know anything about Thelma and/or her possible connection to Mae West, it would be very much appreciated. I can be reached on Twitter or via email at colinmcev at gmail, or I will continue to pay attention to the comments here. :) Thanks!