MAE WEST spent the summer of 1931 in rehearsals with her upcoming large scale play “The Constant Sinner.” Set in Harlem, the heroine Babe Gordon calls herself “a prizefighter’s tart.”
• • William Russell Hardie played the role of the boxer Bearcat Delaney, who fell madly in love with Babe Gordon and threw away his career, in “The Constant Sinner.”
• • William Russell Hardie [20 May 1904 ― 21 July 1973] • •
• • Born in Buffalo, NY, actor William Russell Hardie portrayed the besotted boxer Bearcat Delaney in “The Constant Sinner” ― written by and starring Mae West.
• • Middleweight champ Bearcat Delaney (Russell Hardie) cannot satisfy the ravenous sexual appetite of his wife Babe Gordon (Mae West) so she takes on the handsome and very wealthy department store heir Wayne Baldwin.
• • Starting in 1929, the handsome hunk was cast in 25 Broadway dramas including “A Streetcar Named Desire” and “The Andersonville Trial.” His last stage role was in 1961.• • The Hollywood film industry also embraced Hardie. In 1930, he had a supporting role in “The Costello Case,” an early-sound crime, mystery, suspense thriller about a murdered mortician. In the cast was Roscoe Karns, who has scenes with Mae West in “Night After Night” (1932); another cast mate of Russell Hardie's was William B. Davidson, who plays the chump in Mae West starrer “I’m No Angel.”
• • Russell Hardie was also kept busy with appearances in Broadway to Hollywood, Stage Mother, Christopher Bean, As the Earth Turns, Men in White, Operator 13, Murder in the Private Car, Pursued, Hell in the Heavens, The Band Plays On, Sequoia, West Point of the Air, Speed Devils, In Old Kentucky, The Harvester, Down to the Sea, Meet Nero Wolfe, Killer at Large, Camille, The Frogmen, The Whistle at Eaton Falls, Cop Hater, Fail Safe, and The Group, his farewell film.
• • Hardie died on Saturday, 21 July 1973 in Clarence, New York. He was age 69.
• • Burns Mantle wrote: As the prizefighter, Russell Hardie has to indulge in several love scenes with the husky Mae. Although there are many colored actors, George Givot, white, plays the dark-skinned policy king. Arthur R. Vinton is authentic as a fight manager, and Donald Kirke, Walter Glass, and Walter Petrie help things along.
• • Source: Drama Review, The N.Y. Daily News; published on Wednesday, 16 September 1931.
• • On Saturday, 1 July 1933 • •
• • A Mickey Mouse cartoon, "Mickey's Gala Premiere," was released on Saturday, 1 July 1933. Mae West is one of the celebrities who makes an appearance.
• • July 2004: Mae West Blog launches • •
• • What are we up to, writing about the Brooklyn-born bombshell for eighteen 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.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • In past years, Steel Pier showcased some of the biggest names in show business, including Mae West, Guy Lombardo, and Benny Goodman.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "You learn to get along in life by studying life."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • A fan magazine mentioned Mae West.
• • "Goin' to Town" — Paramount — Mae West, pursuing the man instead of being pursued, in a fast-moving, wise-cracking film, that will keep you laughing. (May)
• • Note: The script was originally written for James Cagney, a jockey who tries to break into society.
• • Note: In her syndicated column, Louella Parsons wrote: Gene Markey and Kathryn Scola have written an original for James Cagney called "Goin' to Town" and, although Jimmy Cagney plays a race track Jockey, he tries no rough tactics. In fact, he breaks into society and becomes the idol of the tony Four Hundred. "Goin' to Town" follows "The Heir Chaser" and it's one to a million he will have Joan Blondell with him on account of popular demand. …
• • Source: Photoplay Magazine; published in the issue dated for July 1935
• • 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 18th anniversary • •
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past eighteen 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 eighteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 5,028th 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 in 1931 • •
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