Mae West: 22 Carat Diamond

MAE WEST enjoyed copious coverage in Time Magazine ― some of it positive such as her 1978 interview with Gerald Clarke. This is Part 11 of 15 segments.
• • "Show Business: At 84 Mae West Is Still Mae West" • •
• • Mae West: Her 22 carat diamond ring • •

• • Gerald Clarke wrote: Though two of the three huge diamond rings Mae sports are false, one is real, weighing in at 22 carats.
• • Gerald Clarke wrote: And Paul Novak never escorts her without a protective .38.
• • Gerald Clarke wrote: He seems totally devoted to her and nods agreement at whatever she says.
• • Gerald Clarke wrote: "I never argue with her," he notes, "because she is always right."
• • Gerald Clarke wrote: Like many people her age, Mae has a perfect memory for the distant past, but yesterday she can scarcely recall.
• • Mae West: Her errant memory • • …   
• • This will be continued on the next post.
• • Source: Time Magazine; issue dated for Monday, 22 May 1978.
• • On Wednesday, 5 September 1934 • •
• • The syndicated series called "Me and My Past" focused on actress Mae West.
• • This lengthy up-close look by Mae West (as told to Leicester Wagner) — — "Any Woman Can Outsmart a Man, Mae West Says" — — was reprinted in newspapers across the USA on Wednesday, 5 September 1934.  
• • Among other matters, Mae West discusses ("How Her Famous Gait Was Born with Ed Wynn and Frank Tinney") the development of her slow, studied, slouchy strut while appearing on Broadway in "Sometime" with Ed Wynn, a comedian who moved very quickly across the stage.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Mae West will abandon corsets and wear modem apparel in her new motion picture.
• • In Her Own Words • •

• • Mae West said: "I’ve developed a different way of selling my sex. I laugh them into it. I cover it with comedy. If you laugh with a sinner, you like her. You grow fond of her, feel sympathy for her."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • The Indianapolis Recorder mentioned Mae West.
• • "Myra Breckinridge" at the Regency 2. • •
• • The screen adaptation of Gore Vidal’s controversial novel of a trans-sexual, “Myra Breckinridge,” is now playing at the Lafayette Road, Shadeland, South 31, and Regency 2.
• • The satirical dissection of many of our sexual mores, manners and hang-ups marks the return of Mae West to the screen after an absence of 27 years, co-stars director John Huston (in strictly an acting chore), and Raquel Welch in the title role, and introduces the noted writer Rex Reed in his first film role.
• • The 2Oth Century-Fox attraction was produced by Robert Fryer, whose recent motion pictures were “The Boston Strangler” and “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie,” and directed by the youthful Michael Sarne, who guided last year’s hit, “Joanna.” ...
• • Source: Indianapolis Recorder; published on Saturday, 5 September 1970
• • 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 5,074th 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 • • in 1933 and 1943 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: He’s Her Harmony

MAE WEST enjoyed copious coverage in Time Magazine ― some of it positive such as her 1978 interview with Gerald Clarke. This is Part 10 of 15 segments.
• • "Show Business: At 84 Mae West Is Still Mae West" • •
• • Mae West: "If I argue, I get nasty” • •
• • Gerald Clarke wrote: "If I argue, I get nasty, so I don't have anyone around who argues with me. I also don't smoke and I don't drink. I think drinking puts spots on your hands. I always drink bottled water. Water with minerals in it clogs your arteries, and I want to keep my insides clean," says Mae West.

• • Gerald Clarke wrote: She takes care of her insides, but the harmony is provided by Paul Novak, the man she has lived with since 1954.
• • Gerald Clarke wrote: A native of Baltimore and a former muscleman in her Las Vegas act, Novak, who claims to be 45 but looks closer to 55, is friend, amanuensis, and bodyguard.
• • Note: Born Chester Rybinsky in Baltimore on 24 February 1923, Mae West's live-in lover was thirty years her junior. In May 1978, he would have been 55 years old ― not 45.
• • Mae West: Her 22 carat diamond ring • • …   
• • This will be continued on the next post.
• • Source: Time Magazine; issue dated for Monday, 22 May 1978.
• • On Tuesday, 2 September 1969 • •
• • Stanley Musgrove spoke to Mae West often as she prepared for "Myra Breckinridge" and fretted about working with Michael Sarne and a much younger actress. Musgrove's diary entries on 2 September 1969 reveal a different side of Mae than most of her fans knew.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Over the course of her career, Mae West made a name for herself as a bawdy, independent, cheekily funny sex symbol who defied any number of expectations for women and actresses.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "Whenever I see people putting it on, I know they're phonies. They aren't the real goods and they've got something to cover up."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • The BBC Radio mentioned Mae West.
• • "When I'm Bad I'm Better" • •
• • Christopher Cook talks to cinema star Kathleen Turner, TV actress Julie T. Wallace, and comedian Lily Savage about Mae West and her legacy to today's bad girls. …
• • Heard on BBC Radio 4 FM; aired on Friday, 2 September 1994
• • 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 5,073rd 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 • • in 1977 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: Stunningly Honest

Shocking and controversial in its time, a play by MAE WEST continues to be revived for open-minded audiences. This recent production was on the boards in Cape Cod. This is Part 1 of 9 segments.
• • Theatre Review: Doing the Time Warp in Mae West’s Play “The Drag" • •
• • In the 1920s, having “a gay old time” was kind of complicated. • •
• • Howard Karren wrote: “This side’s Friday,” vamp extraordinaire Mae West once quipped, pointing to her upper right thigh, then, pointing to her left thigh, “This side’s Sunday. Why don’t you come see me over the weekend?”
• • Howard Karren wrote: Well, why don’t we? Outer Cape fans of scandal and debauchery can come see a funny and stunningly honest stage play that Mae West wrote in the late 1920s, focusing on homosexuality, on any Friday through Sunday (and Thursday, too) through June 5 (Pride Weekend) at the Provincetown Theater.
• • “The Drag” by Mae West ― continued • • …  
• • Source: The Provincetown Independent; published on Wednesday, 25 May 2022.
• • On Monday, 4 July 2022 • •

• • Mae West, attired as “The Statue of Libido,” reminds us all to embrace the spirit of liberty, as she did.
• • 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. 
• • 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 • •
• • About "Myra B." Mae West said: "They didn't use enough of me or my material until the budget had been run up high."
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "If a picture of mine didn't get an X rating, I'd be insulted."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An Australian newspaper mentioned Mae West.
• • "Unable to See Mae West" • •
• • "Aborigines at Darwin — Town in Darkness Through Strike" • •
• • Darwin, Monday — The electric light supply has been cut off to-night, and the town is in darkness because the two employees of the town council of the power-house have gone on strike because their demand for increased wages has not been acceded to.
• • Residents of Darwin are unearthing hurricane lamps, petrol lamps, candles, and electric torches to light their homes. The picture theatre was unable to show its films to-night, and crowds of aborigines who came into town to see Mae West in "She Done Him Wrong" were turned away disappointed. …
• • The Argus (Melbourne, Australia); published on Tuesday, 2 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 5,029th 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 • • in 1970 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: Spends Her Money

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 9 of 16 segments.
• • “Mae West: Don't Call Her Lady” • •  
• • Mae West: Claims she earned $5,000 a week in 1932 • •

• • Ben Maddox wrote: "I got $5,000 a week for 'Night After Night.' I have a four-year contract with Paramount for two pictures a year at an increased rate. No, it doesn't seem an awful lot of money to me. When I produced my own stage plays," added Mae, "my percentage was often about $10,000."
• • Ben Maddox wrote: "What do you do with all your money?" I demanded.
• • Ben Maddox wrote: "Well, I save quite a bit. I've a place on Long Island to keep up. And I spend it" — she paused and finished vaguely — "for things. Oh, yes, I had to spend a lot on trials. Sixty thousand for one and forty for another."
• • Mae West: Hot-Cha shows • • …  
• • This will be continued on the next post.
• • Source: Picture Play; published in the issue dated for April 1933.
• • On Tuesday, 24 March 1970 in Look Magazine • •
• • "Raquel Welch, Mae West Talk about Men, Morals, and Myra Breckinridge," on page 45 in Look Magazine's weekly issue dated for Tuesday, 24 March 1970.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Hollywood columnist Walter Winchell wrote: Orchids and a bonus to the P.R. mind who thought up this amusing manner of getting the Mae West banned title into print: "It Ain't No Sin," it says, to see Mae West in "Belle of the Nineties."
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "A lotta issue over a little tissue."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • A newspaper mentioned World War II pin-up favorites such as Mae West.
• • "Mae West and Betty Grable — — Choice for Jap Pin-ups" • •
• • The United Press wrote: Movie actresses Betty Grable and Mae West rank high on the enemy's preferred list of Western beauty.
• • On Peleliu, it was curvacious Miss Grable who adorned most Japanese barracks. A photograph of the French screen beauty, Danielle Darrieux was found hanging over the bar in the Japanese officers' club. It was inscribed: "To part in World War II.  It is the caterpillar track war machine — — the tank. My Friends in Japan."
• • On another Pacific island, a reporter spotted a prominent photograph of sultry Mae West, wrapped up in a fur and lying on a silky throw and signed "come up and see me if you are ever in beautiful California." ...
• • Source: U.P. article rpt in The Neosho Daily News (Neosho, Missouri); published on Saturday, 24 March 1945
• • 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 4,957th 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 • • in 1932 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: Nearly Naked

MAE WEST is back onscreen. This assessment of her Blu-ray line-up is by Stephen Schaefer. This is Part 12 of 12 segments.
• • Mighty, Mighty Mae • •
• • Celebrate Mae West! • •  
• • Mae West: Banished from the screen • •
• • Stephen Schaefer wrote: Still there were gripes, unbelievably over an innocuous Mae West line, ‘When I’m caught between 2 evils, I generally like to take the one I never tried.’
• • Mae West: Surrounded by nearly naked bodybuilders • •

• • Stephen Schaefer wrote: Virtually banned from the screen, West continued to be Mae West – playing Las Vegas surrounded by nearly naked bodybuilders, reviving ‘Diamond Lil’ in summer stock or the West End, dueting ‘Baby It’s Cold Outside’ with Rock Hudson on the live television Oscar broadcast and starring (of course!) in movies like ‘Myra Breckinridge.’  
• • Stephen Schaefer wrote: This woman who broke age barriers by beginning her Hollywood career when she was nearly 40, died at 87 in 1980.
• • Stephen's article has now ended with this post, number 12. Let us know if you agree with this critic or disagree.
• • Source: Boston Herald; published on Tuesday, 11 May 2021.
• • On Wednesday, 23 August 1922 • •
• • On Wednesday, 23 August 1922, the New York Clipper noted: "Mae West, who was with 'The Ginger Box,' which opened and closed rather suddenly, has returned to vaudeville, and opened at Proctor's Fifth Avenue on Monday."
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Mae West is all for moral rearmament and is ready to join the Oxford Group. It would be a good thing for W.C. Fields, she told Dr. Frank Buchman, leader of the Moral Rearmament Movement, today. Miss West and Dr. Buchman had quite a tete-a-tete in her Hollywood apartment. "It's a wonderful work," she said of the movement.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "There's a rumor going around that I broke my ankle stumbling over a pile of men."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • A book review mentioned Mae West.
• • "Lunching at the Stage Deli" (NYC) • •
• • Meryle Secrest wrote: The 1950s were a great period for Al Hirschfeld, a decade of one thrilling production after another, a postwar release of vitality that brought with it the pulsing beat of “The Pajama Game” and the sad-eyed mastery of Bert Lahr in “Waiting for Godot.”  Many talents — — Mae West, Fred Allen, Mike Todd, and Milton Berle among them — — caught Hirschfeld’s eye as they lunched at the Stage Deli.  . . .
• • Source: Washington Post; published on Wednesday, 5 August 2015
• • 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 fifteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,805th 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 1970 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest