Mae West: Don Ruffin

Arizona artist Don Ruffin did a portrait of MAE WEST. Some of his artwork will be displayed on Saturday 2 May 2009.
• • Born in 1928 (according to AskArt.com), Don Ruffin became a nationally recognized painter during the 1970s. Among the portraits he did was that of Senator Barry Goldwater. The artist died at age 49 in 1977.
• • Don Ruffin was introduced to Mae West by a mutual acquaintance — —.psychic Richard Ireland. According to Mark Ireland, some of Don's canvases were "inspired by psychic experiences."

• • Anthony DeFrange also painted Mae West (1971) • •
• • The painter, who enjoyed giving psychic readings at parties, told his neighbor Tony DePrima that he would soon be a pallbearer for a close friend, remembered Mark Ireland. Curiously, a week later, Don Ruffin passed away and Tony DePrima carried his casket during the funeral.
• • The organizer of the Cinco de Mayo celebration coming up at West Valley Art Museum, Ms. Sheny Ruiz Milligan will bring along her private collection of paintings by the Phoenix artist. Sheny fondly recalled Don Ruffin's extraordinary portraits of actress Mae West, Barry Goldwater, and other notables. He also specialized in Southwestern scenes with a spiritual element.
• • Here's where the fun takes place this weekend: West Valley Art Museum, 17420 North Avenue of the Arts, Surprise, Arizona 85374.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/ ________ Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml Mae West
• • Photo:  Mae West, oil painting in 1971 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest 

Mae West: Copper Door

MAE WEST stayed at the Hotel San Carlos in Phoenix, Arizona during the 1930s — — and the owners never forgot the honor.
• • Currently, Shirley Peterson, a vivacious 80 year-old songstress is helping to reinvigorate the Hotel San Carlos by entertaining the guests.
• • There the porcelain-skinned blonde sits under a black and white portrait of Mae West [costumed for her role in "She Done Him Wrong"] and plays the grand piano in the Copper Door on Saturdays, commanding the attention of the cocktail crowd in the charmingly historic room.
• • Just before the hotel celebrated its 80th anniversary in March 2008, general manager Corrin Green contacted Shirley Peterson, asking her to play in the first-floor space that — — even with such a long history — — felt oddly empty, soulless even.
• • "And as soon as we got Shirley in here, there was no question. She owned the room," said Green.
• • How could the Copper Door feel "empty" or "soulless" with the Brooklyn bombshell presiding over the salon? Well, no doubt, Peterson and Mae West are making beautiful music on Saturdays in Arizona. We can only hope that Shirley plays a mean version of "Frankie and Johnny."
• • Did you know that the Grand Canyon State has its very own copy of Hollywood's star-studded sidewalk? The sidewalk outside Phoenix's historic Hotel San Carlos — — which opened in 1928 as the first air-conditioned hotel in the state — — has its own walk of fame.
• • Celebrities such as MAE WEST, Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, Carole Lombard, and Marilyn Monroe stayed at the hotel when visiting the desert. To commemorate the hotel's 65th anniversary in 1993, the walk of stars was added outside, on both Central Avenue and Monroe Street.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
• • Photo: Mae West • • 1933 • •
NYC
Mae West.

Mae West: Phoenix, Arizona

MAE WEST slept here.
• • Mae, Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe, and Spencer Tracy are just a few of the Hollywood stars who have called the Hotel San Carlos (in downtown Phoenix) home – – at least for a night. Rumor has it that the landmark houses more than a few ghouls.
• • Completed in 1928, the Italian Renaissance-designed hotel was built on the site of Phoenix's first school, a one-room, adobe building built in 1874.
• • In May 2006, a ghost visited one female guest who was spending a night in the Marilyn Monroe Suite. Monroe always requested a certain third floor room because of its proximity to the rooftop pool. The guest told the manager that she and her boyfriend noticed that the lights would dim and then brighten. And a ghostly foot rubbed against hers.
• • Whichever hotel suite Mae West used, she would not have been rattled by spooks. It is possible that she stayed at the Hotel San Carlos in 1933 while she was promoting "I'm No Angel" at the Orpheum Theatre in downtown Phoenix.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml
Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • 1933 • •
NYC
Mae West.