Mae West: Confidential Chats

For six months, a Canadian fan worked with MAE WEST in California as her “secretary-companion-slave” and all around general adorer. In his book ‘Outrageous Misfits,’ Brian Bradley explores their relationship. What began as an intimate friendship would go up in flames.  This is Part 6 of 9 parts.
• • Mae West: Craig knew so much about Matilda West • •  
• • Brian Bradley wrote: Craig knew so much about Tillie West that he once considered writing his own book about her.
• • Brian Bradley wrote: He equally shared with Mae. He told her of his upbringing, including his adoption; the uncertainty of his parentage; and the rejection by his father. He shared his sensitive and emotional feelings more than he had with anyone.

• • Brian Bradley wrote: Mae was a good listener and came to see the real Craig, a kid in need of love and confidence, a displaced boy who yearned to belong.
• • Brian Bradley wrote: It was in that closeness that Craig admitted his interest in further exploring femininity.
• • Mae West: Craig's desire to explore • • ...
• • Brian Bradley's book preview will be continued on the next post.
• • Source: Toronto Star; published on Sunday, 25 October 2020.
• • On Friday, 24 December 1937 • •
• • "NBC Bans the Name of Mae West from the Airwaves" • •
• • "Joking References to Adam-Eve Skit are Barred" • •
• • New York, Dec. 23. [AP]  Word went out from the National Broadcasting Company today to keep the name of Mae West out of all programs over which it has control.  Issued privately to 16 stations, in 12 cities, the order was designed to forestall any joking references that might be made to the widely discussed Adam and Eve sketch broadcast from Hollywood on December 12th.  
• • Although not made public, it was understood the inter-station communique said in effect:  Please watch scripts for any mention of Mae West's name and make certain that you keep it out. . . .
• • Source: Associated Press coverage rpt in The Daily Illini, published on Friday, 24 December 1937
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •

• • “Mae West and Owney Had a Hot Romance" was a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the ex-convict bootlegger and Cotton Club owner Owney Madden, who was Mae's lover and who even escorted her to her mother's funeral in January 1930 in Queens, New York.
• • This article was written by their long-time film critic Kevin Thomas and published in The Los Angeles Times.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "Give a man a free hand and he'll try to put it all over you."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article by UPI discussed the death of Mae West.
• • Friends of Mae West gathered today for an invitation-only funeral • •
• • UPI wrote: Paul Novak and Dolly Dempsey, the president of her fan club, were with her when she died. A priest administered the last rites.
• • UPI wrote: Among those paying her tribute were Lucille Ball, who described the actress as 'a one-time-only character' and Anthony Quinn, who said she would 'go down in history as a special and unique woman.' ...
• • Source: UPI Archives; published on Tuesday, 25 November 1980
• • 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 16th anniversary • • 
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past fifteen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 4,600 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fifteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,633rd 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 • • Craig as Mae West on a 1987 film poster • •
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Mae West: Veteran Racketeer

Reporters who met MAE WEST during the 1920s and early 1930s — — before stardom cloaked her utterly — — have a refreshingly different take than those who met her as a bonafide movie queen.
• • New York Herald Tribune reporter Stanley Walker came up to see Mae West often in New York.
• • A section in Stanley Walker’s 1935 memoir discussed Mae West. This is Part 10 of 19 segments.
• • “Sex Comes to America” • •
• • the principal financial backer of “Sex” was Owney Madden • •
• • Stanley Walker wrote: From time to time somebody starts the rumor that Timony and Miss West are married, but there has never been any proof of a wedding. Timony, a Broadway lawyer with theatrical interests, organized the Morals Production Company, which produced the play "Sex.”
• • Naturally, Owney Madden remained in the background • •

• • Stanley Walker wrote: It was pretty well known at the time that the principal financial backer of “Sex” was Owney Madden, New York's veteran racketeer, but he naturally remained in the background.
• • Stanley Walker wrote: Owney Madden was a great admirer of Miss West's playwriting ability and, with his friends, regarded her as an authentic artist.
• • Stanley Walker wrote: In 1927 Mae West, Jim Timony and Charles W. Morganstern, associated with the production, were Indicted for staging an indecent performance, “Sex.”
• • Timony took a rosary from his pocket • • ... 
• • This long chapter by Stanley Walker will be continued on the next post.
• • Source: Chapter “Sex Comes to America” from "Mrs. Astor's Horse" written by Stanley Walker [NY: Frederick A. Stokes, 28 October 1935, 320 pages].
• • Tuesday, 25 March 1924 in San Antonio History • •
• • On Tuesday, 25 March 1924 Mae West appeared on a vaudeville program at the Majestic Theatre in San Antonio, Texas. It’s likely she took a room at the Menger Hotel during that trip. [See below.]
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • The headline was "Mae West Could Be Star of Her Own Situation Comedy." Critic Rick Du Brow was favorably impressed. Papers in the U.K. and the USA reviewed the TV episode as well. 
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: “Saving love doesn’t bring any interest.”
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article on a haunted hotel in San Antonio, Texas mentioned Mae West.
• • My San Antonio wrote: Any San Antonio ghost tour worth its salt will stop at the Menger Hotel for a spell of spectacular, spooky tales that give this spot the unofficial title of "Most Haunted Hotel in Texas."
• • My San Antonio wrote: Less than 25 years after the Battle of the Alamo, the Menger Hotel opened its doors to a motley bunch of travelers in San Antonio. And through the years, the hotel has hosted infamous characters from Sam Houston, Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt, Oscar Wilde, Babe Ruth, Mae West, and Bill Clinton.
• • My San Antonio wrote: But perhaps the Menger Hotel's most legendary visitors of all are the dozens of spirits that guests and hotel staff have reported encountering. …
• • Source: My San Antonio; 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 15th anniversary • • 
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past fifteen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 4,400 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fifteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,438th 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 • • with Owney Madden in 1930 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest

Mae West: Venus Envy

In 1964, after dodging reporter Lewis Lapham for months, MAE WEST granted an interview. Ten years ago, he fondly recalled the experience in his piece “Transits of Venus.” Then a 31-year-old freelancer, Lapham discovered this: “At the age of 71, Miss West still possesses overwhelming sexual force.” Let’s join his in his journey. This is Part 1.
• • “Transits of Venus” written by Lewis H. Lapham [born on 8 January 1935]
• • “I used to be Snow White, but I drifted.”  — — Mae West
• • Lewis H. Lapham wrote: On assignment for The Saturday Evening Post in the summer of 1964, I accepted one of Mae West’s invitations “to come up and see me sometime,” and on the stage set that was her house in Malibu I found her in what both Giacomo Casanova and Cecil B. DeMille would have recognized as a “boudoir” — white fur rug, gilded mirrors, satin hangings on the walls; Miss West arranged on the bed wearing a lace negligee, a feather boa, and a pink silk nightgown. She was seventy-one years old, and if she had drifted a long way from the cottage in the forest with the seven dwarves, she had lost nothing of her power to cue the saxophones and stand to attention the members of a cavalry regiment.
• • After 10 minutes, imperfections in Mae’s appearance were no longer visible • • . . .
• • To be continued on the next post.
• • Source: Lapham’s Quarterly; published in the Winter 2009 issue.
• • On Tuesday, 14 January 1930 • •

• • As the Los Angeles engagement of "Diamond Lil" was winding down, a nerve-wracking telegram arrived. The condition of Matilda West was worsening; the cancer had spread to her liver. Mae West hired a private train. On 14 January 1930 — — after their last performance in California — — Mae and the cast left for Brooklyn, New York.
• • The death of 59-year-old Matilda West in January 1930 "was a staggering blow," admitted Mae, who was inconsolable and quite devastated by the loss of her beloved mother.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • It was his work opposite Mae West that showed actor Cary Grant was the ideal choice to be co-starred with Loretta Young in “Born to be Bad.”
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said:  “A woman like me needs to be an event.”
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • The Jewish Post mentioned Mae West.
• • “Entertainments” • •
• • Indiana Theatre — Mae West returns to a role similar to the one in which she won international fame, in her new comedy, “Every Day’s a Holiday,” an original story by her. La West is a buxome belle of the nineties with an accent on the wisecracks. Charles Butterworth is in the big supporting cast. Usual shorts and Paramount news. . . .
• • Source: The Jewish Post [Indianapolis]; published on Friday, 14 January 1938

• • The Mae West Blog celebrates its 14th anniversary • •  

• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past fourteen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 4,100 blog posts. Wow!  

• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fourteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4126th 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 • • driving to the funeral in 1930 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest
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