Mae West: Darryl F. Zanuck

Darryl F. Zanuck tried to give the female lead in "My Gal Sal" to MAE WEST. He also approached Alice Faye, Irene Dunne, and Betty Grable. Studio mogul Darryl F. Zanuck did eventually work with Mae when he produced "Myra Breckinridge" in 1970. 

• • When Raquel Welch heard that Anne Bancroft had turned down the role of Myra, then she tried to snag it. She told producer Richard Zanuck, “I don’t know exactly what kind of actress you’re looking for in this role, but I was thinking if a guy was going to change his sex and wanted to be like a movie star-type of girl, don’t you think he might want to look like me?"  She did get the role but without seeing the script first.  Hmmm, how interesting.

• • Born in Nebraska on 5 September 1902, Darryl Francis Zanuck started out as an actor. He transitioned into a producer, director, writer, and studio executive who played a major part in the Hollywood studio system. During his tenure, Zanuck earned three Academy Awards. In his later years, he suffered with jaw cancer and died in Palm Springs, California on 22 December 1979.  He was 77.

• • Mona Rico [15 July 1907 — 15 July 1994] • •

• • In the motion picture "Goin' to Town" starring Mae West [1935], Mona Rico was cast in a bit part as Dolores Lopez. The comely five-foot-two brunette was born and died during the month of July.

• • Starting out in life in Mexico City as Enriqueta Valenzuela on 15 July 1907, she arrived in Hollywood during 1928 as an eager, ambitious 19-year-old and quickly secured a five-year acting contract. By the next year she was co-starring opposite the great John Barrymore in "Eternal Love" [United Artists, 1929].

• • Though she did score some big screen success, Mona Rico remained poised and preoccupied on the edge of marquee recognition like a lovely, dainty moth — — attracted to the bright lights but not securely netted by Lady Luck.

• • Mona Rico died in Los Angeles on 15 July 1994.  She was 87.

• • In the 15 July 1974 issue of The New Yorker • • 

• • Edward Field's poem “Mae West” was published on page 30 in The New Yorker's issue dated for the week of 15 July 1974.

• • Mae West Flotation Device • •

• • In the month of July 1927, Peter Markus, an inventor, applied for a patent for an inflatable life vest, which in press accounts was also called the "Mae West Vest" [back on 15 July 1927], and Markus was granted a patent by the U.S. Patent Office on 11 December 1928.

• • Mae West on the Bookshelf • •

• • "Worms in the Winecup" [Scarecrow Press, 2002] is the autobiography of John Bright, a screenplay writer who gained a major reputation with his first Hollywood script, "Public Enemy," the classic gangster drama starring James Cagney.  According to his publisher, Bright's memoir provides a vivid, often savage, commentary on Hollywood and the motion picture industry, with uncompromising portraits of Darryl F. Zanuck, Mae West, Errol Flynn, John Barrymore, B. P. Schulberg, Walter Wanger, John Howard Lawson, Elia Kazan, and countless others, including his writing partners, Kubec Glasmon and Robert Tasker. Bright writes of the Communist Party in Hollywood, the Hollywood Anti-Nazi League, and the House Committee on Un-American activities.

• • Among the major Hollywood films with which John Bright was involved are "Taxi" (1932), "The Crowd Roars" (1932), "If I Had A Million" (1932), "She Done Him Wrong" starring Mae West (1933), "Our Daily Bread" (1934), "Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror" (1942), "The Brave Bulls" (1951), and "Johnny Got His Gun" (1971).

• • Save the Date: Thursday, August 16th • •

• • Thursday, 16 August 2012 will be the next Mae West Tribute in Manhattan and the evening affair will start at 6:30 pm at 155 Mulberry Street.  This year Mae-mavens will enjoy an indoor event (ahhh, air conditioning), music written by Mae West's Italian husband will be played, and attendees will be seated.
• • At the Reception, Italian wine and light refreshments will be served. The ever-popular Mae West Raffle will offer rare prizes once again to a number of lucky attendees. The public is invited.
• • Mae West was born in Brooklyn, NY on Thursday, 17 August 1893.
• • Closest MTA subway stations: Grand St. or Canal St.

• • In Her Own Words • •

• • Mae West said: "I'd rather be looked over than overlooked."

• • Quote, Unquote • •

• • An article about Santa Monica mentioned Mae West.

• • Jodi Summers wrote:  The road under the bluffs has always been one of the most desirable streets in town. Hollywood legend Harold Lloyd was at 443 Beach Road, Mae West at 514, Darryl Zanuck at 546, Samuel Goldwyn at 602, Harry Warner at 605/607, Louis B. Mayer and Peter Lawford at 625, Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford at 705 and Norma Shearer at 707. ...

• • Source: Article: "Santa Monica Is a Favorite Spot for Hollywood's Elite" written by Jodi Summers for Santa Monica Landmarks; published on date unknown

• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started eight years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2363rd 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: Hot and Happy

The Mae West Blog wishes all our visitors a hot and happy Fourth of July — and take a moment to note on your calendar that the next MAE WEST Birthday Gala in New York City will be on Thursday evening, 16 August 2012 in lower Manhattan.  Save the date and don't be late to the party where wine, women, and song await.

• • On Saturday, 4 July 1970 • •

• • While the motion picture "Myra Breckinridge" was not a hit, the media exposure engendered a "Mae West revival," explained The New York Post on Saturday, 4 July 1970.  Guess they must have attended the premiere and watched as 10,000 fans swarmed the streets outside the theatre, screaming for Mae West (and ignoring Raquel what's-her-name).

• • On Tuesday, 4 July 2006 in Great Britain • •

• • Released in the United Kingdom on the Sepia label on Tuesday, 4 July 2006 was "The Fabulous Mae West And Other Wonderful Girls" and the artists were: Mae West, Diana Dors, April Stevens, Georgia Carr, Connie Russell, Damita Jo, Betty Reilly, Gloria Woods, etc.  Sepia noted: "No entertainer was more colourful than the fabulous Mae West, stylish interpreter of double entendre, who headlines this collection of mischievously risqué vocal offerings by a variety of popular female songbirds from the 1950s."

• • In Her Own Words • •

• • About "Myra B." Mae West said: "They didn't use enough of me or my material until the budget had been run up high."

• • Quote, Unquote • •

• • An article on summer vacations mentioned Mae West.

• • Jim Ross wrote:  Mae West once said that too much of a good thing can be wonderful. She was talking about ... well, you can guess.  Her logic, though seemingly unassailable, does not apply to every aspect of human experience. ...

• • Source: Article: "Enough Is Enough" written by Jim Ross for Ocala.com; published on Saturday, 30 June 2012 

• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started eight years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2352nd 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: Myra in Manhattan

"Myra Breckinridge" [1970] starring MAE WEST, and directed by Michael Sarne, was a curious 94 minute adaptation of Gore Vidal's novel.
• • When they co-starred together, Mae West was 77 years old and Raquel Welch was 29. Born on 5 September 1940, the former model is 71 years old now.
• • Raquel Welch grew up as Raquel Tejada in San Diego. The retrospective of her cinema career in Manhattan will begin today and will last for an entire five days. “I had read the novel by Gore Vidal and I thought it was very, very entertaining and kind of a little ahead of the times, you know, issues of sexual duality and everything,” Raquel Welch told a reporter. “So I was anxious to be considered for the role and I told Fox, ‘I don’t know what kind of girl you’re looking for, but I know what Myra represents, about America and Hollywood, and I’d love to do it.’ But the movie they made was not the movie I thought it was going to be.” Mae West would probably agree with that last statement.
• • The film bombed. Time Magazine declared it “about as funny as a child molester.” Looking back at her involvement, Raquel Welch referred to the project as “heartbreaking.”
• • Programmer Josh Strauss noted: One of the most notorious Hollywood attempts to shake things up in the wake of the Sixties was this adaptation of Gore Vidal’s rambunctious satirical novel. Raquel stars as Myra, a brilliant whirlwind who installs herself at an eccentric acting school run by her uncle (John Huston) and proceeds to seduce an all-American student and his girlfriend (Farrah Fawcett). Myra, of course, begins life as Myron (played by New York Observer critic Rex Reed), who, after a Fellini-esque operation, continues to appear to Myra as the film goes on. Adding to the eye-popping proceedings are musical numbers starring 76-year-old Mae West as a sexpot casting agent flanked by dancers, and the fascinating interpolation of old film clips from classic 20th Century Fox productions.
• • Programmer Josh Strauss explained: For five days Film Society is delighted to bring back to the big screen a showcase of rarely screened mainstream classics all on the best projection formats available with the lady herself here to talk about them.
• • Mr. Strauss's most puzzling piece of puffery is his praise of Miss Welch's exquisite (ahem) organic beauty. If extensive plastic surgery and oversized silicone breast implants are "organic," then beware of that "organic" popcorn being sold at the concession stand at the Walter Reade Theatre this weekend.
• • WHAT: "Myra Breckinridge" [1970] shown as part of this retrospective series: "Cinematic Goddess: American Sex Symbol, The Films of Raquel Welch"
• • WHAT ELSE: Raquel Welch in person for a Q&A preceding the February 10 screening, moderated by author, fashion commentator, and window-dresser Simon Doonan, who wrote "Wacky Chicks."
• • WHEN: Screens on Friday, 10 February 2012 at 6:15 PM and again on Monday, 13 February at 4:00 PM. Raquel Welch will participate in a Q&A following the screening on the 10th.
• • WHERE: Walter Reade Theatre, 165 West 65th Street, NYC; T (212) 875-5600.
• • PHOTO: Raquel Welch as she looks today at 71 years old. This September she will be 72.
• • On Friday, 10 February 1933 in The New York Times • •
• • An article on "She Done Him Wrong" was published in The New York Times on 10 February 1933.
• • Signed with the byline A. D. S., the Times reviewer described Mae's character Lady Lou as a woman "whose heart is bigger than her sense of decorum."
• • On Monday, 10 February 1936 in Hollywood • •
• • Joseph Breen wrote to Paramount Pictures about Mae West and "Klondike Annie" several times before he agreed on Monday, 10 February 1936 to the film's release.
• • On Tuesday, 10 February 2009 • •
• • A book about Mae West "She Always Knew How: Mae West, A Personal Biography" by Charlotte Chandler was published in its hardcover edition (336 pages) by Simon & Schuster on 10 February 2009.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "Censorship made me."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article in Out discussed "Myra Breckinridge" and Mae West.
• • Out noted: Actress Raquel Welch calls her 1970 film version of "Myra Breckinridge," in which she played a transgender woman, a "stinker" and hopes someone remakes it as the "funny and erudite" movie it should be, in an interview with Out.
• • Jeremy Kinser writes: The iconic star will be the subject of a retrospective of her films at Lincoln Center in New York February 10 — 14 and says her costar Mae West, with whom she reportedly feuded while making the film adaptation of Gore Vidal's best selling novel, was unhappy on the set. Welch recalls a visit to West's home prior to filming. While West was often surrounded by a bevy of musclemen, none were present when Welch stopped by. "But a lot of white furniture," Welch says." A lot of 25-watt pink bulbs around. You could barely see! She was something…" ...
• • Source: Article: "Raquel Welch on Myra Breckinridge, Mae West, and Janis Joplin" written by Jeremy Kinser for Out; posted on 9 February 2012
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started seven years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2205th 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 Raquel Welch in 1970 • •
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