Mae West: Free Beer

Malcolm H. Oettinger profiled MAE WEST for Screenland. Since this interview has rarely been seen, let us enjoy it together. This is part 6 of 13.
• • “Going West” • •   
• • Mae West: "Diamond Lil" offered free beer between the acts • •
• • Malcolm H. Oettinger wrote: No one took heed of her [sic] until the night "Diamond Lil" was born, with free beer between the acts.  

• • Note: Prohibition was in force in 1927. Imagine being able to drink beer in public in 1927 — during a Broadway play.
• • Malcolm H. Oettinger wrote: "Diamond Lil" was an old-fashioned melodrama with the new freedom from inhibitions and it clicked from the start. 
• • Note: Vaudevillian Frank Wallace, who wed Mae West in April 1911, was given a minor role as a waiter in Gus Jordan's Bowery saloon. In the paperback novel version, Mae called it "Suicide Hall," although the saloon so named was by Houston Street — not off the Bowery. See Frank Wallace behind Mae West in the photo.
• • Malcolm H. Oettinger wrote: Standing room only was the rule at all performances. At every performance Mae West panicked 'em.
• • Malcolm H. Oettinger wrote: Then there was "Sex," a less than scientific approach to the subject, and later Mae West began touring the provinces as Diamond Lil.  
• • Mae West: Her movie was phenomenally successful, "She Done Him Wrong" • • …
• • This will be continued on the next post.
• • Source: Screenland; published in the issue dated for June 1933.
• • On Sunday, 2 May 1982 • •
• • In the United States the bio-pic "Mae West" was shown on TV on Sunday, 2 May 1982. Actress Ann Jillian was cast in the title role.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Mae West told a hidden chapter of her life story to buttress her repeated assertions that she was never married [sic].
• • A Hollywood reporter quoted Mae, who affirmed this: "I had obligations to my mother," Mae said. "I couldn't let anything interfere with them while she was alive, and I never discussed them. Well, she's gone now."
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: “The curve is the loveliest distance between two points.”
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article in The Orlando Sentinel mentioned Mae West.
• • "In Days Before Dolly, There Was Mae West" • •
• • "I met her, Mae West, not Catherine the Great, very briefly" • •
• • Allen Rose of The Sentinel Staff wrote: Mae West’s response was right in character. Poking an index finger into Dick Gordon's shoulder, she said: "You bet I was, buster." And went on her way. Alone, for once. ...
• • Source: The Orlando Sentinel; published on Wednesday, 20 April 1988
• • 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 4,900 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started seventeen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,984th 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/
________
Source: https://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml  
• • Be sure to bookmark or follow The Mae West Blog
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • in 1928 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest