Mae West: Maria Jeritza

Unafraid of a challenge, a culture clash, an outlandish costume, nor an opportunity for showmanship, MAE WEST sang an abbreviated opera aria in her motion picture "Goin' to Town" [released on 25 April 1935] decked out, quite hilariously, as the Biblical temptress Delilah.

• • Portraying the star-crossed strongman Samson whom Delilah serenades was none other than Mae's pesky in-law Vladimir Baikoff [billed as "the Tenor"].
• • At a time when Paramount and other studios were weighing the advantages of signing comely opera divas such as Grace Moore and Lily Pons, an item appeared in Modern Screen comparing one soprano to Mae West.
• • Modern Screen wrote: Madame Jeritza (now the wife of the film chief, Winfield Sheehan), who is by no means a slight woman, looms upon the Hollywood horizon as the next great opera star to cast her lot with the cinema.
• • Modern Screen wrote: Strangely enough, Madame Jeritza's chances for success in the new medium are more than favorable. It may be sacrilege and almost impudent to suggest, but the blonde Viennese songbird could easily be ballyhooed into a grand opera version of our own Mae West!
• • "Floradora" figure • •
• • Modern Screen wrote: She has the same type of "Floradora" figure, the identical buxom lustiness, and a corresponding flair for buoyant portrayal.
• • Modern Screen wrote: Even in coloring, they are enough alike to be unmistakably related to the same species of feminine beauty.  

• • Modern Screen wrote: Can you think of any other prima donna who could successfully suggest "Diamond Lil" if that infamous lady were suddenly made the chief heroine of a Grand Opera?  
• • Modern Screen wrote: Her success might be as phenomenal as Mae West's.  
• • Modern Screen wrote: There would be no question of competition, because in such characterizations, set to music, Maria Jeritza would rule in a realm of her own, the undisputed queen of a new kind of operatic treatment.
• • Note: Maria Jeritza [6 October 1887 — 10 July 1982] was a celebrated Moravian soprano singer, long associated with the Vienna State Opera and the Metropolitan Opera.
• • Note: Born in Odessa, Ukraine, Vladimir Eugene Baikoff [1 May 1902 ― 7 April 1956] became an actor; he was known for "Goin' to Town" [1935] and "Klondike Annie" [1936]. He married Mae's sister Beverly on Wednesday, 3 January 1934 in Chicago. He died in Los Angeles at age 53.
• • Source: Modern Screen; published in the issue dated for December 1935.
• • On Thursday, 3 March 1927 • •
• • No, Mae did not take the stand on 3 March 1927 • •
• • A familiar image of a smiling Mae West at her "Sex" trial in New York City on Thursday, 3 March 1927, has the incorrect caption that she was "on the witness stand." However, Mae did not take the stand in March nor in April 1927.
• • Why not? Mae's motivations are dramatized in the play "Courting Mae West" during the chaotic New York City courtroom scene [Act I, Scene 5] that ends the first act with a bang.
• • On Tuesday, 3 March 1936 • •
• • On Tuesday, 3 March 1936, The Hollywood Reporter announced that the opening week of "Klondike Annie" was record-breaking. "The Gold Rush Is On," the editors wrote.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • In "I'm No Angel" Mae West plays the part of a lion tamer which gives her a chance for plenty of hip-tossing.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: “It’s not the men in my life. It’s the life in my men that counts, dearie.”
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • Film Daily mentioned Mae West, whose support a Massachusetts congressman sought.
• • Bids Stars to Hearing on Mass. True Name Bill • •
• • Boston — Claudette Colbert, Myrna Loy, and Mae West have been invited by Rep. Francis X. Coyne of the State Legislature to appear at a public hearing within the next three weeks to lend support to the "True Name" bill. The bill would compel screen and stage stars to use their legal names.
• • "Won't you come up to the State House, Boston, and lend support to my true name bill?" wrote Congressman Coyne to Mae West. "You seem to be getting by on your own name and curves." …
• • Note: In 1938, Rep. Francis X. Coyne was a Congressman from Massachusetts. He was born in Whitman, Massachusetts in the month of March ― ― on Sunday, 15 March 1891.
• • Note: In 1947, after accepting a bribe, Coyne was arrested. “Former State Rep. Francis X. Coyne, 55, author of a "true name" bill for film stars rejected by the legislature several years ago, today branded as "a lot of nonsense" charges that he obtained $1,100 on a promise to get a war veteran a city job. …
• • Source: Film Daily; published on Thursday, 3 March 1938
• • 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 4,942nd 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 • • in 1935 • •
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Mae West: Prohibited & Immoral

A charming article on MAE WEST appeared in Vintage News in 2017. Let’s enjoy it together.
• • Mae West did not begin her film career until she was almost 40 years old • •
• • uncommon for women her age • •
• • Brad Smithfield wrote: Despite it being uncommon for women her age to get any good roles in Hollywood, she was quick to land her first contract with Paramount Pictures.
• • Brad Smithfield wrote: One of those contracts also meant adapting “Diamond Lil” for the big screen, the film adaptation entitled “She Done Him Wrong.” The film was produced despite the fact that several of West’s plays, “Diamond Lil” included, were actually prohibited from being adapted as films by the Hays Offices; the reason being that they were immoral [i.e., according to The Code].
• • Brad Smithfield wrote: However, as it turned out, doing the movie was a decision that Paramount would never regret.
• • After the Wall Street crash, Tinseltown took a tumble • •  . . .
• • This delightful article will be continued on the next post.
• • Source: Article by Brad Smithfield for The Vintage News; published on Saturday, 27 May 2017.
• • On Tuesday, 2 January 1934 in Chicago • •

Newlyweds Beverly and Vlad Baikoff

• • On 2 January 1934, when Mae's sister Beverly applied for a marriage license in Chicago, it was hoped that her second Russian-born husband would be a better companion than her ex-husband Sergei Treshatny. The groom Vladimir Baikoff made Beverly's acquaintance when both were booked on a radio program. Beverly was doing her famous Mae West impersonation for a broadcast — — and Vlad was eager to conjugate some sultry Slavic verbs with her in private, after the show.
• • On her marriage license, Beverly gave her age as 27, meaning that she had been born in 1907. This was consistent with Mae's calculations; in 1934, Mae was giving her birth year as 1900 and the siblings were seven years apart.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Mae West and George Raft both knew Larry Fay, who was the business partner of the night club czarina Texas Guinan.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "Good women are no fun. The only good woman I can recall in history is Betsy Ross. And all she ever made was a flag."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An Australian arts critic discussed a biography of Mae West.
• • Australian critic Simon Caterson wrote: Few things in popular culture can date as fast as humour but Mae West, the brassy, man-eating comedienne whose heyday was the 1930s, remains a figure of surprising relevance and enduring appeal. The girls of "Sex and the City" are among her descendents, even though they lack the character of their spiritual great-grandmother. ...
• • Source: Article: "Mae West: It Ain't No Sin" reviewed by Simon Caterson for The Sydney Morning Herald; published on Monday, 2 January 2006
• • 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 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 4118th 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 • • in 1934 • •
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