Mae West: J.P. McEvoy, a Fan

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 13 of 32.
• • "The Real Mae West" • •
• • Mae West: One fan is famous humorist J.P. McEvoy [1897—1958] • •
• • Aileen St. John Brenon wrote: A Hudson River houseboat plies the river bearing her name.
• • Aileen St. John Brenon wrote: J.P. McEvoy, the famous author and humorist, gives public thanks on behalf of writers, for her initiating the new era — an era of wide skirts, full bosoms, ostrich feather boas, large hips, trains, and the ample curve of the 1890's — the Diamond Lil of the stage, Diamond Lou of the screen, Lady Lou to the boulevardiers of Paris.

• • Aileen St. John Brenon wrote: She abolished the modish repression known as the boyish form, and making sex funny instead of lachrymose, murdered one screen convention after another — and has thrived.
• • Mae West: Advocate of curves • • ...   
• • Note: Joseph Patrick McEvoy [December 21, 1894 – August 8, 1958] was an American writer whose stories were published during the 1920s and 1930s in popular magazines such as Liberty, The Saturday Evening Post, and Cosmopolitan. McEvoy, who also had a hit play, “The Potters” (1923), contributed to the Ziegfeld Follies, and wrote a number of novels, is best known for his comic strip Dixie Dugan.
• • This will be continued on the next post.
• • Source: The New Movie Magazine; issue dated for June 1934.
• • On Friday, 2 June 1916 in Variety • •
• • On 2 June 1916, Variety printed a list of names who had volunteered to go to jail — — as guests of the Mutual Welfare League — — to entertain the inmates of Sing-Sing on Decoration Day. Mae West, age 22, was in that number.
• • Sources have said this is the occasion when she met Owney Madden.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Mae West doted on sailors — — and several actors portrayed men in military garb in her motion pictures.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "A man has more character in his face at 40 than at 20 — — he has suffered longer." 
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article about being a fearless female mentioned Mae West.
• • "Difficult Woman or Fearless?" • •
• • Linda Durnell wrote: There are many women who have overcome fear and here are a few of those remarkable women:  ... Mae West chose to be an independent woman who was comfortable with her sexuality. The political climate of the times, however, saw her open sexuality as pornographic.  ...
• • Source: Huff Post Women; published on Thursday, 31 May 2012
• • 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 5,007th 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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• • Be sure to bookmark or follow The Mae West Blog
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • sketch done in 1933  by Jaro Fabry • •
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Mae West: Can Take It!

Depending on the person who wielded the pen, the fan magazine Picture Play could worship MAE WEST in fragrant ink or scold her. A year before publishing Dorothy Herzog’s skeptical sourness [May 1934], the zine printed a much more enthusiastic feature by Ben Maddox [April 1933] emphasizing Mae’s work ethic and down-to-earth side. This is Part 3 of 16 segments.
• • “Mae West: Don't Call Her Lady” • •  
• • Mae West: Rumors and gossip • •
• • Ben Maddox wrote: Greta Garbo, as you know, flees from gossip. Joan Crawford suffers agonies from whispers. And Lupe Velez protests violently against rumors. They can't take it.  

• • Ben Maddox wrote: Mae West can take it, and how!
• • Ben Maddox wrote: As Diamond Lil, she starred as a bold Bowery vamp in her own play of the same name.  
• • Ben Maddox wrote: Mae West has established herself as the most sensational star of the American stage.  
• • Ben Maddox wrote: High-brow drama lovers fairly quaked with rage at her forwardness, while her out-and-out voluptuousness made her a box-office bonanza.
• • Note: The infamous "box office poison" ad that ran in The Hollywood Reporter on Sunday, 1 May 1938 included these stars: Mae West, Edward Arnold, Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford, Katherine Hepburn, and Kay Francis.
• • Mae West: A brand-new kind of red-hot mama personality • • …  
• • This will be continued on the next post.
• • Source: Picture Play; published in the issue dated for April 1933.
• • On Sunday, 16 March 1930 • •
• • It has been reported by multiple sources that Mae West's "Pleasure Man" trial began on 16 March 1930. But since March 16th was actually a Sunday, that date is imprecise. Postponed from its scheduled start on 4 February 1930, the battling finally did get under way on Monday, 17 March in New York, NY.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • During his time in Los Angeles, one of Derek Taylor's clients in his public relations company was Mae West.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "My pianist — — I never could remember his name. I always introduced him as Harry Rikeman, or Reekman, or Rachman, so we decided to give him a name I couldn't forget: Richman. He's known everywhere now — — Harry Richman, King of the Vagabond Songsters."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • A Connecticut newspaper mentioned Mae West.
• • “Sex” by Mae West • •
• •  … In contrast to this attitude is that of Mae West, buxom blonde author and leading woman of another of the raided plays, “Sex.”
• • Mae West has flung down the gauntlet for an open stage — any kind of play that will bring in the cash customers. She accuses other playwrights and producers of bringing about the police raid, through a jealousy of her success. ...
• • Source: Manchester Evening News (Manchester, Conn.); published on Tuesday, 1 March 1927
• • 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 4,951st 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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• • Be sure to bookmark or follow The Mae West Blog
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • trade magazine ad in 1938 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: Attainable Appeal

MAE WEST’s plump, curvaceous body was a vital element in her comedy. Academics have emphasized that “excessive body is one of the qualities of female unruliness, suggesting that she is unwilling or unable to control her physical appetites.” Japanese film historian Mio Hatokai discusses how Hollywood publicists and fan zines responded to this “fatness” in 1933. This is Part 23 of a lengthy piece.
• • Laughing off the “Fatness” ― Mae West’s Body Image and Female Spectators in the Early 1930s • •
• • Mae West: Mae's appeal was “attainable” — — unlike Garbo’s • •

• • Mio Hatokai wrote: On the other hand, the letter introduces Mae West as “an‘inviting’(c’m up‘n see me some time), sexy, curvy lady, who is no angel and done him wrong.”
• • Mae West fan letter from Kay Newton • •
• • Mio Hatokai wrote: As it continues: “A little more fat here, a few more curves there, hips to the right of us, busts to the left  of us, every mother’s daughter trying to develop. A million ‘inviting’ little Maes, acting like no angel ever acted, are all about us. We now have the Mae West habit.”
• • Mio Hatokai wrote: This letter written by film fan Kay Newton is interesting in that it shows West had become so popular as to be juxtaposed with one of the biggest stars at the time: Greta Garbo.
• • Mio Hatokai wrote: However, what is more important is how the letter by Kay Newton treats Garbo and West differently.
• • Mae West: Garbo’s a goddess but Mae is “all about us” • • ...
• • Mio Hatokai’s lengthy article will continue on the next post.
• • Source: Academic anthology on film stars released by Waseda University, 2015.
• • On Wednesday, 18 November 1936 • •
• • It was a busy time for the screen queen when "Go West Young Man" was released on Wednesday, 18 November 1936 in the USA.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Mae West, Bing Crosby, Gary Cooper will appear in one picture each per year.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "The reason I don't read fiction is because I can do my own dreaming. I want to know things that are real."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article in The N.Y. Observer discussed Mae West.
• • "Come Up and Signify Me: Mae West Meets Academia" • •
• • Robert Gottlieb explained: But lucky Mae West, too ― the slow but sure progress until she had kootchy-kootched and shimmied her way up the showbiz ladder and was starring in her own plays on Broadway; overnight stardom in Hollywood in 1932, when she was 39; tremendous box office, huge salary, almost unparalleled control over her movies-writing her own dialogue, overseeing casting, slipping and sliding around the dread Production Code until even she couldn’t get away with her innuendoes and provocations; enjoying as many comebacks as Judy Garland (though unlike Garland, she remained in strict control of her work, her image and her money). ...
• • Source: The New York Observer; posted on Sunday, 4 November 2001
• • 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 4,868th 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 an animated cartoon, in 1933 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: Not Scrawny

MAE WEST’s plump, curvaceous body was a vital element in her comedy. Academics have emphasized that “excessive body is one of the qualities of female unruliness, suggesting that she is unwilling or unable to control her physical appetites.” Japanese film historian Mio Hatokai discusses how Hollywood publicists and fan zines responded to this “fatness” in 1933. This is Part 22 of a lengthy piece.
• • Laughing off the “Fatness” ― Mae West’s Body Image and Female Spectators in the Early 1930s • •
• • Mae West fan Ethel Hitchcock praised her “healthy looking” figure • •

• • Mio Hatokai wrote: Ethel Hitchcock’s letter said: May I say a few words in praise of Mae West in “She Done Him Wrong”? [...] Three cheers for Mae West! She’s about the only healthy-looking female on the screen. I don’t care for stout people especially, but I do like to see healthy-looking actresses. When Mae West slims down to screen slimness ― ― well, I’m off her.  
• • Mio Hatokai wrote: Both letters express admiration for Mae West’s body, comparing her ­figure with those of other “scrawny” or “slim” actresses.
• • Mio Hatokai wrote: Then, we find a letter befittingly entitled “Which? The Garbo Influence vs. The West Habit” in January 1934­'s New Movie Magazine. The letter describes Greta Garbo as “a glamorous, glittering, slender and appealing lady, illusive and with the mysteries of the universe in her fathomless eyes,” and declares, “we all want Greta Garbos to be on the silver screen henceforth.”
• • Mae West: Mae's appeal was “attainable” — — unlike Garbo’s • • ...
• • Mio Hatokai’s lengthy article will continue on the next post.
• • Source: Academic anthology on film stars released by Waseda University, 2015.
• • On Friday, 17 November 1916 • •
• • On Friday, 17 November 1916, Mae West announced in the trade papers (such as Variety) that she had exciting new plans.
• • "Mae West's New Name and Act" • •
• • An act written by Blanche Merrill will return Mae West to vaudeville under another name and as a male impersonator.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • According to Emily Wortis Leider's biography "Becoming Mae West," the actress would not even admit to having once been a brunette.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "Honey, I've always got a new trick. Come up and see me sometime, and bring an old dog with you."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article on the favorite dishes of movie stars in the 1930s mentioned Mae West.
• • "Spaghetti Astaire and Mae West Salad" • •
• • The Sydney Morning Herald commented: Mae West always has a salad, which has been named after her. Sydney Morning Herald added: The chefs of the Brown Derbies have supplied the following recipes for the dishes favoured by well-known film people ...
• • Source: The Sydney Morning Herald [Australia]; published on Tuesday, 17 November 1936
• • 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 4,867th 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 • • showing off her curves in 1933 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: Horowhenua Taste

On Monday, 13 July 1936, MAE WEST was talked about in New Zealand. Let’s investigate.
• • Don’t Like Mae West and Greta Garbo • •
• • Here Are Children’s Film Preferences • •
• • (By Telegraph-press Assn. Copyright)
• • Received on Sunday, 10.20 p.m. LONDON, July 12.
• • Mr. William Farr, acting manager of the British Film Institute, has compiled an analysis of juvenile taste in films. He discovered that children prefer those featuring G-men and dislike Mae West and Greta Garbo because they have never met anyone in the least like them — — and are unable to imagine that such people really exist. They hate horrific films or the Frankenstein type, fighting, sudden noise and close-ups of killings and kissings.
• • Children like to be excited, not frightened.
• • Adventure stories built around air pilots and sailors greatly interest children. They dislike dialogue, intricate plots and musical films interrupting the action with songs and dances, and stories falsifying well-known history.
• • The headmaster of Battersea School after a similar investigation reached the same conclusion. He found that children liked adventure with happy endings and right triumphing over wrong, but love scenes made them laugh and scenic beauty left them cold.
• • Source: article (p. 7) in Horowhenua Chronicle [New Zealand]; published on Monday, 13 July 1936.    
• • Note: Mae West was excited about doing a circus theme film, “I’m No Angel,” because she thought children would be interested in the circus animals and the “Big Top” atmosphere.
• • On Friday, 13 July 1934 • •

• • The Advocate (in Tasmania) printed an article on 13 July 1934 about Mae West's newest motion picture.  "She Done Him Wrong" is a story of a section of New York during the "gay nineties," with its collection of cabarets, "tough" men and frivolous women.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Martin Itjen, undertaker, automobile and tire agent and operator of the only street car at Skagway, Alaska, Is on his way home after a visit In Hollywood, where he met Mae West.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: “Women like a man with a past, but they prefer a man with a present.”
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • The Biloxi Daily Herald mentioned Mae West.
• • By Walter B. Clausen (Associated Press Staff Writer)
• • Hollywood, Calif., July 17.— (A.P.) — John Barrymore is virtually down to his last yacht. Joan Crawford has more jewels than "Diamond Lil" Mae West. Charles Chaplin is the wealthiest movie star. Harold Lloyd is the screen's largest landholder. These are some of the facts written into the records of the county tax collector, now that the time approaches again for collecting taxes, many of the stars own property outside Los Angeles County, of course. . . .
• • Source: Item rpt on page 1 in Biloxi Daily Herald; published on Wednesday, 17 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 13th anniversary • •  

• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past thirteen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 4,000 blog posts. Wow!  

• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fourteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4001st 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:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml   
Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • in Collier's in 1933 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest
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