Mae West: A Loving Birthday Toast on August 17, 2026

 

Happy Birthday to MAE WEST, Brooklyn Bombshell, Screen Siren, Empress of Sex, Queen of Comedy, a notable and quotable comedienne who maintained a long career on stage, on screen, on the guest star circuit, and who also sizzled on the nightclub circuit.
• • Delivered by a local mid-wife, this feisty newborn drew her first lusty breaths in Bushwick on Thursday, 17 August 1893 (under the proud leonine sign of Leo) in her parents' bedroom. Little Mary Jane West always said: "I was born on a cool night in a hot month so I knew I could expect anything."

• • She trumped the income of every film actress of her generation because Mae was paid as a screenwriter as well as a box office draw.
• • Each day at least one publication in the world mentions her name. [We can verify our claim, too, because we have regularly tracked this a-Mae-zing trend for the past 22 years now!]
• • No other movie queen coined so many witticisms — durable and dateless because Mae West relied on wordplay and rhetorical devices such as chiasmus.
• • Often imitated but never duplicated, the one and only Mae West endures in our hearts and memories.
• • Darling Mae, to your loyal followers, you don't look a day over twenty-sex!
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Even at the fourscore mark, she remains a remarkable figure of a woman. The well-padded frame, which inspired the Mae West life jacket in World War II, seems little changed.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Mae West  had been 40 when she made the first of 12 films and was an important influence on the early career of Cary Grant, teaching him much about the craft of comedy in the course of appearing with him in “She Done Him Wrong” and “I'm No Angel.”

• • The death of this sex goddess from Hollywood's Golden Age was front-page news in November 1980 when she was 87.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "Come up sometime and see me. I'm home every evening."
• • Mae West said: "I give 'em what they want to see."
• • Mae West said: “The curve is mightier than the sword.”
• • Mae West said: "You have to outfight everyone else to succeed."
• • Mae West said: "I'll never believe the worst about anyone without complete proof."
• • Mae West said: "Woman is capable of more trickery than man ever dreamed of. I am not defending the tricky woman, but if she is forced to battle for the place due to her, she cannot be condemned for using any ruse she can."   
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • "Mae West Turns Sixty" • •
• • The Horsham Times wrote: Mae West turned 60 recently. To reporters who went along to wish her many happy returns, Miss West made it plain that birthdays are one thing a lady just doesn't discuss.
• • Fluttering her inch-long eyelashes demurely, Mae West said: "You can see for yourself, a girl's just as old as she feels."
• • Source: The Horsham Times;  published on Friday, 12 September 1952
• • 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 5,159th 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 1935 and 1970 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: New Year 2024

MAE WEST wishes everyone an a-MAE-zing 2024. Whenever you need an uplift, just come up and see Mae.

• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Mae West simply managed to entertain Americans and make them laugh at the peak of the Great Depression.
• • As a gesture of gratitude, supposedly Paramount Pictures even named a building at their lot after Mae West.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "I'll never believe the worst about anybody without complete proof, nor will I believe it's useless to struggle against so called Fate."
• • Mae West said: "My advice to those who think they have to take off their clothes to be a star is, once you're boned, what's left to create the illusion? Let 'em wonder. I never believed in giving them too much of me."
• • Mae West said: "Is that a gun in your pocket, or are you just glad to see me?''
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • A foreign newspaper mentioned Mae West.
• • The headline was: "I've Come to Find out, Says Mae."
• • The Singapore Free Press wrote: Mae West invited goggle-eyed British reporters to "come up and see me sometime" when she ran the first gauntlet of them on her arrival at Southampton at two o'clock on Wednesday morning.  
• • Just to keep everything above board, Mae asked them all to a press reception at the Savoy Hotel, explained the Singapore-based reporter.  …
• • Source: The Singapore Free Press; published on Tuesday, 23 September 1947
• • 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 5,154th 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 1937
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest   

Mae West: 130th Birthday With Love

Happy Birthday to MAE WEST, Brooklyn Bombshell, Screen Siren, Empress of Sex, Queen of Comedy, a notable and quotable comedienne who maintained a long career on stage, on screen, on the guest star circuit, and who also sizzled on the nightclub circuit.
• • Delivered by a local mid-wife, this feisty newborn drew her first lusty breaths in Bushwick on Thursday, 17 August 1893 (under the proud leonine sign of Leo) in her parents' bedroom. Little Mary Jane West always said: "I was born on a cool night in a hot month so I knew I could expect anything."

• • She trumped the income of every film actress of her generation because Mae was paid as a screenwriter as well as a box office draw.
• • Each day at least one publication in the world mentions her name. [We can verify our claim, too, because we have tracked this a-Mae-zing trend daily for the past 18 years now!]
• • No other movie queen coined so many witticisms — durable and dateless because Mae West relied on wordplay and rhetorical devices such as chiasmus.
• • Often imitated but never duplicated, the one and only Mae West endures in our hearts and memories.
• • Darling Mae, to your loyal followers, you don't look a day over twenty-sex!
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Even at the fourscore mark, she remains a remarkable figure of a woman. The well-padded frame, which inspired the Mae West life jacket in World War II, seems little changed.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Mae West  had been 40 when she made the first of 12 films and was an important influence on the early career of Cary Grant, teaching him much about the craft of comedy in the course of appearing with him in “She Done Him Wrong” and “I'm No Angel.”
• • The death of this sex goddess from Hollywood's Golden Age was front-page news in November 1980 when she was 87.

• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "Come up sometime and see me. I'm home every evening."
• • Mae West said: "I give 'em what they want to see."
• • Mae West said: “The curve is mightier than the sword.”
• • Mae West said: "You have to outfight everyone else to succeed."
• • Mae West said: "I'll never believe the worst about anyone without complete proof."
• • Mae West said: "Woman is capable of more trickery than man ever dreamed of. I am not defending the tricky woman, but if she is forced to battle for the place due to her, she cannot be condemned for using any ruse she can."   
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • "Mae West Turns Sixty" • •
• • The Horsham Times wrote: Mae West turned 60 recently. To reporters who went along to wish her many happy returns, Miss West made it plain that birthdays are one thing a lady just doesn't discuss.
• • Fluttering her inch-long eyelashes demurely, Mae West said: "You can see for yourself, a girl's just as old as she feels."
• • Source: The Horsham Times;  published on Friday, 12 September 1952
• • 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 5,152nd 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 • • sketched in 1932 and 1970 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest   

Mae West: Why a Hiatus?

The MAE WEST Blog, started in July 2004 when there was very little content online about the Brooklyn bombshell (except for vintage film reviews and her best known witticisms), has been an abiding presence for eighteen and a half years on Blogger, now owned by Google.
• • Censorship by Google • •

• • You might think that a long-standing Mae West Blog that attracts over 100 international visitors a day would get some respect from Big Tech. Sorry but you’d be wrong.
• • As two examples of disrespect from Google, our ads have been deactivated and “sensitive content” warnings have been slapped on some posts.
• • Why, Google? Why? • •
• • There is no “objectionable” content here, in my opinion.
• • If Mae West were here, she’d probably say, “Censors again!”
• • Mae West Blog Goes on Hiatus • •
• • Therefore, the blog will go on hiatus and the focus will shift to allowing more time to complete a fascinating, heavily illustrated book: “Mae West’s New York, 1895-1970.”
• • Pictorial Biography in Progress • •
• • Filled with rare pictures of a lost New York, the fascinating city Mae West grew up in, the sights that inspired her writing, the vaudeville houses and theatres that welcomed her performances, this will be the first bio-pictorial written by a native New Yorker. 

• • Most Westian biographers have (curiously) hailed from England or from California. Unfortunately, books written by out-of-towners have had noticeable gaps in Mae’s life story — — and have lacked the perspective of a native New Yorker, someone intimately acquainted with Big Apple history and the socio-political forces unique to Mae’s birthplace.
• • A new domain? • •
• • Due to Google’s censorship, the blog may also be moved to its own domain.
• • If you wish to know more about “Mae West’s New York, 1895-1970,” feel free to leave a comment with your contact info. Personal comments will not be published; only I will see them.
• • Thank you for visiting today.
• • Please follow this blog to keep up with announcements.
• • Occasional updates on the forthcoming Mae West book will be posted — — so come up and see us sometime.
• • On Wednesday, 9 January 1889 in Brooklyn, NY • •
• • On this date, John West took his best girlfriend Tillie Decker to Brooklyn's Borough Hall to apply for a marriage license. Mae's mother's name appears as "Tillie Decker" on the form, not as "Matilda."
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •

• • Q. Did Mae West really make all those wisecracks, spontaneously, over the telephone to the thirteen editors in the nation-wide interview, or did she have rehearsals?
• • A. She did not have rehearsals. Mae's wit, both off the screen and on, is, apparently, as endless and as spectacular as her wardrobe.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "That's why I want you to see her story — — because her-story is the real lowdown."
• • Mae West said: "Sure, they are completely right when they say I make a parody of sex. That's my stock in trade. Any gal can get really sexy but it takes a smart dame to make guys and women both laugh at it."
• • Mae West said: "Every script presented to me, no matter how imaginative a story, was built around a man and a woman. Mae West pictures, as written by me, were built around a woman and men — — and the more the merrier."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • The Australian newspapers mentioned the high salary of Mae West.
• • "Big Incomes in the USA" • •
• • Among motion picture people, Mae West led the list with 339,000 dollars (£67,800).
• • Others were: Marlene Dietrich, 145,000 dollars (£29,000); W. C. Fields, 155,000 dollars (£31,000); Miriam Hopkins, 71,000 dollars (£14,200); Gary Cooper, 139,000 dollars (£27,000); Charles Chaplin, 143,000 dollars (£28,600); Claudette Colbert, 85,000 dollars (£17,000).  . . .
• • Source: The Courier-Mail (Brisbane, Qld.); published on Thursday, 9 January 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 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 5,150 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started eighteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 5,151st 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 • • colorized in 1933 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest