Mae West: Acted in the “Olio”

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 30 of 32.
• • "The Real Mae West" • •
• • Mae West: Took part in the “olio” • •

• • Aileen St. John Brenon wrote: As a member of the stock company, when there were no child parts in the plays, she was called upon to take part in what are known in old-fashioned plays as "olios," or vaudeville acts in between the scenes of the plays.
• • Aileen St. John Brenon wrote: She sang popular songs and gave her imitations, being what was known on the billboards as a "coon shouter."  
• • Aileen St. John Brenon wrote: It was at this stage of the game, she avers, that she learned to roll her eyes, a propensity, however, that had to be curbed when she became, for the sake of drama, "Little Eva" or "Little Red Riding Hood."
• • Mae West: Discovered she liked being around boys • • ...   
• • This will be continued on the next post.
• • Source: The New Movie Magazine; issue dated for June 1934.
• • On Sunday, 27 June 1954 • •

• • On Sunday night, 27 June 1954, Mae West delighted the Las Vegas club goers — — and the female patrons stormed the stage — — when the bodybuilders in "The Mae West Revue" filed into the Sahara's Congo Room.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Mae West was all about breaking rules. Mae made her film debut at age 40 in the 1932 “Night After Night,” in a supporting role for which she wrote her own dialogue.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "Sex is emotion in motion."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • A trade magazine mentioned Mae West and Mike Todd.
• • Mike Todd has penciled in "Catherine Was Great," the Mae West opus for late June. …
• • Source: Billboard Magazine; published on Saturday, 3 June 1944
• • 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 5,024th 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 • • at The Sahara in 1954 • •
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Mae West: John Daniel Hertz

Movie Classic wrote about a welcome party for John D. Hertz, who was born in the month of April, and how the temperature in the room and sense of decorum changed when MAE WEST turned up in 1932.
• • John Daniel Hertz, Sr. [10 April  1879 — 8 October 1961] was an American businessman, thoroughbred racehorse owner and breeder, and philanthropist. When his friend Robert  Lehman put together the start-up financing for Paramount Pictures, millionaire John D. Hertz would be their connection on Paramount's board.  Mr. Hertz got involved in November 1931. It was short-lived. Unfortunately, "the kingpin" clashed with his colleagues over "the question of authority," and resigned as chairman of the Paramount Publix finance committee in January 1933.   Adolph Zukor then took over.
• • "The startling arrival of Mae West" • •
• • Mae West was the piece de resistance of the Emanuel Cohen "welcome to Hollywood" tea for Paramount's kingpin, Mr. Hertz, of Chicago and New York.  Naturally, all the Paramount stars turned out in their best clothes and best behavior for this formal event and, as one stellar femme reported, the broad "a's" were ankle-deep.  In fact, the entire affair was long on etiquette and ten-dollar words until the startling arrival of Mae West.
• • Evidently, Mae felt the party needed pepping up for she headed for the piano almost immediately after the formalities were over, and started in on some swell, snappy songs.  At first the "dignifieds" didn't know just how to take it, but when the guest of honor and his wife seemed amused and entertained, the ice was broken.
• • As a climax, Mae invited a chosen few into an adjoining room to hear some extra verses of "Frankie and Johnnie."
• • Source: Item in Movie Classic Magazine; issue dated for January 1933.
• • On Friday, 12 April 1929 • •
• • In her popular column "Texas Guinan Says" for The New York Daily News, Texas had playfully mentioned her friend: "Mae's a good girl at heart — — but she's got a bad heart." During the "Pleasure Man" trial readers heard about the Brooklyn bombshell on Friday, 12 April 1929 and other times.
• • On Saturday, 12 April 1930 • •
• • The Wall Street crash in 1929 destroyed the financial security of many families in the entertainment industry. Broadway star Mae West entertained in New York City at the Give-a-Job Benefit on Saturday, 12 April 1930 with many other well-known performers.
• • On Tuesday, 12 April 1949 • •
• • Mae West was at the Park Central Hotel on Seventh Avenue (between West 55th — 56th Streets) in Manhattan on Tuesday, 12 April 1949. News reporters interviewed the actress in her suite.
• • On Sunday, 12 April 1959 • •
• • In April 1959, Mae West told a Hollywood columnist that her autobiography would be published in the autumn — — and its title was going to be Empress of Sex.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • The high-average bowlers  in Los Angeles are having more difficulty than Harpo Marx in a bedroom scene with Mae West.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said:   ”I heard the applause — — applause just for me, and I knew they really liked me, and I knew then there wasn’t any other place I ever wanted to be.”
• • Quote, Unquote • •

• • A syndicated columnist mentioned Mae West.
• • Louis Sobol wrote: Later to Mae West's debut at the Latin Quarter — — a hilarious evening, for this lady in her sixties is still one of our top comediennes — — anyone who takes her bawdy routines seriously is out of his mind. Among those who remained to cheer were ex-President Miguel Aleman of Mexico, Shirley Booth, Hope Hampton with Bill Hamilton, Eleanor Holm with Tommy Whelan, Imogene Coca, Georgia Gibbs with Johnnie Ray, Eileen Barton, Benny Fields and Blossom Seeley, Molly and Cholly Berns, LaRae Brown and Joe Eckhouse, Toni and Jan Murray. ...
• • Source: Item in "New York Cavalcade" by Louis Sobol rpt in Desert Sun; published on Monday, 25 October 1954
• • The Mae West Blog celebrates its 11th anniversary • •
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past eleven years. The other day we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 3,400 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • • 
• • The Mae West Blog was started ten years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 3418th 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 • • in 1954 • •
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Mae West: Black Eye

It was early June in 1956 and MAE WEST, then 62 years old, was heating up the headlines.  The handsome young gladiator known as "Mr. Universe" was taking a beating from "Mr. America," thanks to the Brooklyn bombshell.  Let's go back in time and investigate this slug-fest.
• • "Mr. Universe Slugged in Mae West's Room" • •
• • "Tempest in Dressing Room and One Black Eye" • •
• • Long Beach Press Telegram wrote: Washington, D.C. — Mr. Universe, sporting a shiner and limping, today filed assault charges against a fellow muscle man who knocked him out Wednesday night in Mae West's dressing room.  Mickey Hargitay, a weight-lifter who came to the United States eight years ago, filed the charges against Chuck Krauser. Both are members of the Mae West troupe which is making a night club appearance in Washington. Krauser pleaded self-defense.
• • Long Beach Press Telegram continued: Mae West, garbed in a pink duster over full black slacks, sat in demure silence throughout a hearing.  Before the charges were filed she also kept silent even as another muscle man in the act George Eiferman suggested that Krauser planted a tremendous hay-maker on Mickey's head because he is in love with Miss West and was defending her against abusive language by Hargitay.

• • Long Beach Press Telegram explained: Hargitay, 26, is a weight-lifter with a build that won him the Mr. Universe label in a competition at London last year.  He recently has been seen often with Jayne Mansfield, the New York stage actress with quite a physique of her own.  Miss Mansfield has said she's "that way" about muscular Mickey because he's a sincere, sweet, lovable guy and not because he has such an outstanding physique.  Mr. Hargitay is married but his wife Mary Hargitay has filed a suit for divorce. ...
• • Source: Article: "Mr. Universe Slugged in Mae West's Room" reprinted on page 1 of the Long Beach Press Telegram; published on Thursday, 7  June 1956.
• • On Friday, 8 June 1979 in The N.Y. Times • •
• • The date was 8 June 1979. Vincent Canby, then the film critic of The New York Times, pursed his lips and gave "Sextette" starring Mae West a sound spanking. Another article in the paper was "Mae West, 87, Does an Encore:Trying for 6th Marriage."
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • The narrative in her latest motion picture is a plot that Miss West has often favored, and it freely reprises a lot of lines from earlier pictures. 
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said:  "This was not the first time two men had fought over me.  No.  But not in public like this. I prefer doing things behind closed doors."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • A scholarly article on motion pictures mentioned Mae West.
• • Glenda Riley wrote:  In media, motion pictures spread a similar message.  Jean Harlow bleached her hair and became the screen's first blond seductress. Marlene Dietrich, Bette Davis, Greta Garbo, and Mae West paraded women's sensuality with their "bedroom eyes" and painted lips.   . . .
• • Source: Article printed in Great Plains Quarterly; published in January 1996 
• • The Mae West Blog celebrates its 10th anniversary • •    
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during this past decade. The other day we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 3,100 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • • 
• • The Mae West Blog was started ten years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 3195th 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 • • with Chuck Krauser (Paul Novak) in 1954 • •
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Mae West: Steamy Scenes

"How MAE WEST Changed How Sex Is Shown on the Big Screen" was aired on ABC News on Thursday, 19 February 2015. A similar article appeared on their web site recently.
• • ABC News wrote:  The sultry Mae West was considered a sex symbol in Hollywood for her steamy scenes with male actors. But the blonde bombshell's 1933 film “I’m No Angel” with Cary Grant set off a firestorm that changed how sex was portrayed in movies for decades.
• • ABC News wrote:  The year after “I’m No Angel” was a box office smash, the production code, which included “do’s and don’ts” and “be careful’s” for actors and filmmakers, became mandatory in Hollywood as a way to censor films.
• • Paul Novak [24 February 1923 — 14 July 1999] • •

• • Born Chester Rybinsky in Baltimore on 24 February 1923, Mae West's live-in lover was thirty years her junior.
• • They met and became acquainted when Charles Krauser, George Eiferman, Irvin "Zabo" Koszewski, Dick DuBois, Dominic Juliano, Joe Gold, Armand Tanny, Gordon Mitchell, and Mickey Hargitay were among the star bodybuilders in West's chorus for all — — or part — — of the show's three-year run.
• • Chuck Krauser changed his name again, becoming Paul Novak — — Mae's main man for the next 24 years. In a rare statement to the press, he once said: "How did she ever pick me — — just a wrestler and roustabout?"
• • Enjoying Novak's companionship and constant concern for her diet and welfare, Mae West survived until the age of 87, when she had a series of strokes. On 22 November 1980 she died in her sleep, with Novak, age 57, at her bedside.
• • Afterwards, Paul Novak quietly married. He lived in Santa Monica, California with his wife and died at 76 years old.
• • On Saturday, 24 February 1912 at the Winter Garden • •
• • Ambitious, bold, and 18 years old, Mae West, unfortunately, got on the wrong side of Gaby Deslys by trying to upstage her. Uh-oh! The 30-year-old diva got the teenage upstart fired before opening night in Manhattan..
• • "Vera Violetta" opened on 20 November 1911 at the Winter Garden Theatre.
• • Offered in repertory with "Undine," the musical remained on Broadway through the Christmas holidays, closing on the last weekend in February on 24 February 1912.
• • On Saturday, 24 February 1934 in Calgary Daily Herald • •
• • The legal battles Mae West fought made headlines all over.
• • After facing down the man who robbed her in Hollywood on 18 September 1932 in a courtroom, Mae was shocked and horrified to learn that stick-up-artist Harry Voiler [1891 — 1974] was released on bail in Miami during February 1934.
• • There was indignation in the interviews she gave. Mae told the news media: "It's time someone in Hollywood — — speaking very frankly — — showed what is known as intestinal fortitude. They threaten us in the picture colony under penalty of having acid thrown in our face. And they don't stop at acid threats either. They threaten to kill. It's time someone called their hand. And if it has to be me, I'll do it."
• • Source: Article in the Calgary Daily Herald; published on Saturday, 24 February 1934.
• • On Saturday, 24 February 1945 • •
• • Archives of the National Theatre in D.C. mentioned that Mae West performed there.
• • From Monday, 19 February 1945 through Saturday, 24 February 1945 "Catherine Was Great" was onstage there. This comedy by and starring Mae West had billed the star in their Program as "Diamond Lil of all Russia.” Mae brought "Come On Up" to this venue on 23 September 1946 for a week-long engagement.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Oscar winner Hattie McDaniel starred in dozens of films, appearing alongside Marlene Dietrich and Mae West, and was also the first black woman to sing on the radio.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said:  "Keep a diary and one day it'll keep you."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • The New Jersey Morning Telegraph discussed Mae West.
• • "Show Girl Heard Smacks in Newark, N.J." • •
• • A New Jersey reporter wrote: May (sic) West, a former show girl, now a detective, figured prominently as a witness in the hearing today before Vice-Chancellor Stevens in the cross-suits for divorce brought by George M. Rusling and Nettie R. Rusling. The husband alleges infidelity and the wife charges abandonment. Rusling names A.D. Tooley, a Brooklyn restaurant keeper, as correspondent.
• • According to Miss West's testimony last March, she was called upon to don her gum-shoes and solve a deep mystery. She was employed in the Rusling home (58 South 13th St.), as a maid. Mrs. Rusling, according to the testimony, did not know that Miss West was a sleuth or she would have fired her in a minute.
• • Well, Miss West kept her ears open and, she said, heard loud smacks on several occasions. ...
• • Source: New Jersey Morning Telegraph; published on Saturday, 24 February 1912
• • The Mae West Blog celebrates its 10th anniversary • •    
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during this past decade. The other day we entertained 1,430 visitors. We reached a milestone this week: 3,100 posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • • 
• • The Mae West Blog was started ten years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 3121st 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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Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • in 1954 with a bodybuilder she renamed Paul Novak • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest
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