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In 1944, a starry-eyed 22-year-old Brooklynite Richard Sylvan Seltzer landed a small part in MAE WEST's Broadway show, "Catherine Was Great."
• • Born on 29 August 1922, he was the younger of two sons of impoverished Jewish parents who were evicted from their apartment in Bensonhurst several times. More than once, Richard and his brother, Benson, lived in homes for troubled boys. Their father abandoned the family when Richard was a teenager.
• • Like many children who dream of something better, he got his start as a young actor with minor roles in several Broadway shows and was in the cast of "Dead End," which starred the Dead End Kids.
• • When the show closed in 1937, Blackwell moved to Los Angeles with his mother and brother and found work in movies, starting with "Little Tough Guy" (1938) — — a spinoff of the Broadway show he left behind. He got another small role that year in "Juvenile Court," starring Rita Hayworth.
• • Meeting Mae West in 1944 was unforgettable, he always said. Shortly afterward, he was to encounter movie producer Howard Hughes, who changed his name to Richard Blackwell. Howard Hughes chose the name to sound "theatrical, polished, memorable," Blackwell wrote in his autobiography.
• • Eventually, he became "Mr. Blackwell," whose annual "worst dressed" list dressed down movie stars, music icons, and European royalty with the predilection for making a fashion faux pas. This helped turn him into a household name.
• • Mr. Blackwell lived in the Hancock Park enclave of Los Angeles with his partner of 60 years, Robert Spencer. Unfortunately, Blackwell suffered from Bell's palsy for the last seven years of his life. He died in Los Angeles in October — — on 19 October 2008 — — of complications from an intestinal infection. He was 86 years old.
• • On 19 October 1899 • • 
• • Mae West was a little slip of a girl when the St Louis Post-Dispatch published their edition on 19 October 1899. This paper reported a local crime: beautiful Frankie Baker, a 27-year-old mulatto prostitute [residing at 212 Targee Street, St. Louis, Missouri], who kept an expensively decked-out 17-year-old mack, stabbed him on October 15th. A few days later, Frankie's cheating (and abusive) lover died. A blitz of headlines followed: "Woman Kills Colored Man in St. Louis."
• • The stabbing and the ensuing trial — — wherein Frankie Baker [1872 — 1952] was acquitted — — inspired the folksong "Frankie and Johnny."
• • In 1928 — 1929, Mae West sang "Frankie and Johnny" on Broadway in her melodrama "Diamond Lil," giving the song a glamour glow, enhancing its prominence.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "Frankie and Johnny were lovers / Oh lordy, how they could love /Swore to be true to each other / Just as true as the stars above / He was her man, but he was doing her wrong . . . ."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article on the early cinema mentioned Mae West.
• • J. Hoberman writes: Introduced rolling her eyes and shooting craps, Clara Bow is a paradoxical presence, a fading star who seems the essence of hard-boiled resilience. A spunkier Jean Harlow, a svelter Mae West, she takes her place among the comic sex goddesses of the early talkies, resurrected along with the film that preserved her performance. Film restoration is also the restoration of cultural memory. ...
• • Source: Article: "To Save and Project Fest: Long Live Cinema!" written by J. Hoberman for The Village Voice; posted on Wednesday, 12 October 2011
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started seven years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2088th 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 • • 1928 song sheet • •
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Mae West.
MAE WEST was attracted to tall, dark, and handsome gents. Calvin Lockhart certainly fit this description.
• • Born as Bert Cooper in Nassau in the month of October — — on 18 October 1934 — — he was raised in the Bahamas before relocating to The Big Apple with ambitions of becoming a civil engineer. He entered Cooper Union but dropped out to forge a performing arts career. The story goes that he was a cabdriver when he was discovered by playwright Ketti Frings, who was so impressed with his arrogance that she cast him in her play "The Cool World" [1960]. From there the six-foot-two hunk aroused controversy on Broadway when he played a black sailor in love with a white girl in the racially-themed "A Taste of Honey" starring Angela Lansbury.
• • The year 1970 was a high-profile time for the actor. A strong, confident, smoothly handsome presence, Bahamian-born Calvin Lockhart first caught moviegoers' attention in the supercharged urban films "Cotton Comes to Harlem" (1970) and "Halls of Anger" (1970) before becoming a fairly steady fixture in the "blaxploitation" movies of the early-to-mid 1970s.
• • In "Myra Breckinridge" [1970] Calvin Lockhart was cast as Irving Amadeus.
• • Complications from a stroke brought about his demise. He died on 29 March 2007 in his homeland, Nassau, Bahamas.
• • On 18 October 1923 • •
• • Connie's Inn in Harlem was where Mae West had encountered Louis Armstrong. Conrad Immerman's first night spot had opened in 1921 on Seventh Avenue and 131st Street in the section of Harlem known by the locals as "Jungle Alley."
• • Two Caucasian brothers Conrad (Connie) and George Immerman had emigrated from Germany and they had started out by running a delicatessen in Harlem; Fats Waller was their delivery boy. Eventually, they purchased the club that came to be known as Connie's Inn. Connie had one of the best revues and, in 1929, trumpeter Louis Armstrong was first featured there with an orchestra.
• • Between the terrific music, the splendid stage shows, and the new acts, Mae easily became a fan. Cementing her bond to the extraordinarily good-looking lady-killer Connie Immerman may have been the fact that both shared a German connection. Matilda, Mae's mother, had been born and raised in Bavaria.
• • Fueled by the success of Connie's Inn on West 131st, the brothers launched their second jazz club two blocks away on West 133rd, The Nest — — on 18 October 1923.
• • Mae West featured an underground hot spot in her novel Babe Gordon. She called this fictional rendezvous Tony's.
• • On 18 October 1936 • •
• • The East Coast readers of The New York Times read this frightening headline on 18 October 1936 — — MAE WEST ESCAPES APARTMENT HOLD-UP; Other Residents, Victims in Hollywood, Are Glad She and Her Bodyguard Were Away.
• • That happened seventy-five years ago.
• • On 18 October 2010 • •
• • The release date of the song "Mae West's Dress" — — inspired by the Brooklyn Bombshell — — was on 18 October 2010. If you check online, then you'll find the sites where you can download this track from Desmond Star's debut album "Boxette" [Bullhit Records, catalogue number: BULL001CD].
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said about her trial in 1927, which had an all male jury: "This was a case of Men versus One Woman."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article in a Yankton, South Dakota paper mentioned Mae West.
• • The Yankton Press & Dakotan writes: On This Date — 75 Years Ago
• • Two gunmen slipped into Mae West’s fashionable apartment house last night [Oct. 16th] and robbed eight persons of money and jewelry, but missed the buxom actress’s rooms. . . .
• • Source: Article: "On This Date — 75 Years Ago" written by Archives Editor for The Yankton Press & Dakotan; first published on Saturday, 17 October 1936
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started seven years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2087th 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 • • 1936 • •
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Mae West.
In October 1931 MAE WEST, starring on Broadway in her play "Constant Sinner," was also in talks to bring the show to Washington, DC.
• • The play had its Broadway premiere at the Royale Theatre on 14 September 1931 and would last there until November. Set in Harlem during the Prohibition Era, the play followed the escapades of a honey-haired prizefighter groupie named Babe Gordon who enjoys taking risks.• • Since the drama was set in and around West 125th Street, the Pittsburgh Courier (a black weekly newspaper) was keeping tabs on this. Reporter Floyd G. Snelson, Jr. signaled his appreciation. On 17 October 1931, Snelson told his readers: "Mae West Employs 30 Race Artists In Her Latest Production." Praising Mae's plans to bring a bi-racial cast with her to D.C., he pronounced the project "the cleverest piece of artistry to be expected from a woman of the Caucasian race."
• • Lorenzo Tucker: Tucker-ed Out • •
• • Later on, however, when the Mid-Atlantic area theatre owners received criticism from the media along with anonymous threats about lynching the black actor Lorenzo Tucker, Mae had to hide him in a D.C. hotel for two weeks to get the local bigots off the scent, and then smuggle Tucker back to New York City. Meanwhile, George Givot, in blackface and a curly wig, had been hired by the Schuberts to portray the Harlem pimp Money Johnson on stage.
• • On 17 October 1933 • •
• • A review of the latest Mae West motion picture was published by Variety on 17 October 33. Movie critic Land wrote: "I'm No Angel" is going to help redistribute a nice chunk of the nation's coin. That the Mae West film is going to make tubs of coin was crystal-clear opening day at the Paramount. Ushers were riding herd on a permanent corral of waitees in the lobby. As to quality, "I'm No Angel" can stand alone, although without "She Done Him Wrong" as a benediction and a million bucks worth of assorted publicity, high-brow and hoi pollil, the gross probably wouldn't reach the big brackets now looming. ...
• • On 17 October 1968 in The N.Y. Times • •
• • Mae West had plans for a cinema version of the stage play "Sextet" back in 1968.
• • Writing for The New York Times, Motion Picture Editor A.H. Weiler announced: Mae West, who has not appeared in movies for a quarter of a century, will return to the screen early next year in a film version of her play — — "Sextet" — — in which she starred in Florida in 1961.
• • This is how A.H. Weiler began his article about Mae West, whose producer was going to be Warner Brothers Seven Arts when Abe's article was published in The New York Times back on 17 October 1968. The actress was 75 years of age when she was interviewed.
• • "Sextet" — — explained Miss West — — is a comedy about a movie star who has six husbands. I appeared in it only in Florida [sic] because I didn't want to spend the time and the energy needed to bring it to Broadway.
• • I am also happy to say that I'm not doing this for the money, added Mae West. I'm fortunate in having a lot of young fans, who, I suppose, have been watching my old films on TV and listening to my rock 'n' roll records such as "Way Out West" and "Wild Christmas," who have been pleading with me to do a picture. I guess you could call "Sextet" a return by popular demand. Anyway, it's very flattering. I think "Sextet" is very funny and I hope they'll think it is, too. ...
• • On 17 October 1968 • •
• • Mae West was more interested in protecting her brand than chasing after Federico Fellini's carrot. When asked by reporters to confirm her role in his next film, Mae replied: "I will not sign until I see the script." Fellini had seen her cinematic character in his screenplay as "an erotic witch."
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "I gave up a lot. I love kids but I never had any. Never let myself eat too much. That might have been fun, once in awhile. Still I can't regret anything really."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article in an Australian paper mentioned Mae West.
• • Bronwyn Haynes writes: There were many different themes during the 1920s and some included Gangsters, Prohibition, Radio, Art deco, Jazz, Silent, and Black and White movies. The Celebrities are all remembered today for changing history like Mae West, Al Capone, Charlie Chaplin, Coco Chanel, Greta Garbo, Harry Houdini, Jean Harlow, Louis Armstrong, Henry Ford and . . . .
• • Source: Article: "Crossroads Café head back in time" written by Bronwyn Haynes for The Crookwell Gazette; posted on 13 October 2011
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started seven years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2086th 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 • • onstage with Arthur Vinton in 1931 • •
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Mae West.
When she was not living in Brooklyn or Queens with her parents, MAE WEST enjoyed staying in hotels in the theatre district, which offered very convenient housing to a busy actress who would work in a show sometimes until 11 PM or midnight. After renting for years, she did purchase a townhouse rippling with French Renaissance style at 266 West End Avenue in Manhattan. Mae West occupied the house (between 72nd and 73rd Street) for a time with her sister, Beverly, who is listed there in a 1933 directory.
• • Built in 1896 with a limestone facade, the former Mae West home is 28 feet wide and six stories tall with nearly 14,000 square feet (generously designed with windows on all sides). The house was originally constructed for the importer Julius N. Jaros and designed by 42-year-old Rudolphe Daus, a prominent architect who worked in New York City. The Jaros family occupied it from 1896 —1906 only. The property remained a single-family dwelling until the early (or mid) 1940s.
• • Born in Mexico in 1854, Rudolphe Daus was educated in Berlin and in the United States. He graduated from the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. He designed the Hall of Records, 13th Regiment Armory, and German Hospital in Brooklyn, and the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes in New York. [One of Mae's childhood residences was a block away from the German hospital.] Daus was Secretary of the Commission of 1898, an official group that framed the building laws of New York City; additionally, from 1899 — 1900 he was Surveyor of Buildings for Brooklyn. He was a fellow of the American Institute of Architects and a member of the Society of Beaux-Arts Architects, the Atlantic Yacht Club, and the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences.
• • Rudolphe Daus died in Paris in mid-October — — on 16 October 1916. He was 62 years old.
• • On 16 October 1939 • •
• • Mae West and W. C. Fields signed legal paperwork for "My Little Chickadee" when they were collaborating. Both signatures appear on a Universal Films contract dated 16 October 1939.
• • On 16 October 1989 • •
• • A studio call for actors was printed in a Florida newspaper on 16 October 1959.
• • Writing for the Orlando Sentinel, business reporter Susan G. Strother announced: Mae West, Charlie Chaplin, and Clark Gable — — are you out there? If so, Universal Studios Florida is interested. The studio theme park is looking for actors to fill the roles of 20 or so characters who would roam the Orlando park and entertain guests. Universal plans to hold auditions later this month, though a site has not been selected. In addition to Mae West, Charlie and Clark, shoes the studio wants to fill are for the likes of Bette Davis, James Cagney, Kojak and Humphrey Bogart. ...
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "Those who are easily shocked should be shocked more often."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article in an Australian paper mentioned Mae West.
• • Melanie Ball writes: I set out at an enthusiastic clip on the first day of a 145-kilometre walk between Cape Leeuwin and Cape Naturaliste in Western Australia's south-west and I'm tending towards Mae West's contrary observation: "Too much of a good thing can be wonderful." . . .
• • Source: Article: "The Cape crusader" written by Melanie Ball for The Brisbane Times; posted on 15 October 2011
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started seven years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2085th 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 • • 1930 • •
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Mae West.
MAE WEST worked briefly with a Utah native in her last motion picture.
• • Born in Standardville, Utah in the month of October — — on 15 October 1949 — — Peter Liapis was seen in a movie short in 2007 and two 7-minute comedies in 2010. Actor and screenwriter Peter Liapis has worked on 22 projects since making his cinema debut in "Sextette" [1978]; the 29-year-old hopeful was cast in the minor role of Ronald Cartwright (as Peter Alexander). Peter changes his name so often, it can be hard to keep up with his credits, though.
• • Happy Birthday to Peter, who turns 62 years old today.
• • On 15 October 1901 • •
• • Christiana Brimier was born in Germany in October 1838. When Mae referred to her, she called Mrs. Delker her "rich" grandmother. What does "rich" mean to a little Brooklyn girl? Mae was only eight years old when her maternal grandmother died.
• • Brooklyn transplant Christiana Delker: we pay you tribute today, remembering that you passed from Mae's life on 15 October 1901 when you were 63 years old.
• • On 15 October 1959 • •
• • Mae West got too personal in her "Person to Person" interview with CBS reporter Charles Collingwood, some newsroom censors believed. On 15 October 1959, an article appeared in The Los Angeles Times by TV reporter Cecil Smith: "Mae West Censored from New TV Show."
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "I enjoyed the courtroom as just another stage but not so amusing as Broadway."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article about haunted places mentioned Mae West.
• • Country Living Magazine explained: Menger Hotel — — Once a lavish vacation destination for celebrities as diverse and dynamic as Mae West, Babe Ruth, and Ulysses S. Grant, the Menger Hotel in San Antonio, Texas is now forced to deal with a few guests who, after nearly 100 years, are still not ready to check out.
• • Country Living Magazine added: Teddy Roosevelt, who is said to have recruited many of his “Rough Riders” at the hotel, can be seen in the dark corners of the barroom, waiting to offer a free drink to the next innocent cowboy he hoped to enlist in his brigade of rough-and-tumble soldiers. ...
• • Source: Article: "7 Real-Life Haunted Houses" written by the Country Living Staff; posted on 13 October 2011
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started seven years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2084th 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 • • 1978 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest
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Mae West.
MAE WEST selected songs written by an African American composer who died in mid-October — — Henry Creamer.
• • Henry Creamer [1879 — 1930] • •
• • Born in Richmond, Virginia, Henry Sterling Creamer [21 June 1879 — 14 October 1930] was a pop song lyricist. He co-wrote many hits during the years from 1900 — 1929, often collaborating with Turner Layton, with whom he also appeared in vaudeville. Creamer was a co-founder with James Reese Europe of the Clef Club, an important early African American musicians and entertainers organization in New York City. Mae worked with the Clef Club in the early 1920s.
• • In 1918, Henry Creamer wrote the words for the hit "After You've Gone" — — an enduring classic and every major artist has covered it.
• • Mae West performed "After You've Gone" in "Sextette" [1978], a song she fondly remembered from her New York years when she frequented the hottest night spots in Harlem.
• • And on the LP "The Fabulous Mae West," Mae recorded "If I Could Be with You (One Hour Tonight)," a favorite written in 1926 by lyricist Henry Creamer and the black composer and pianist James P. Johnson.
• • Henry Creamer died in New York City in the month of October — — on 14 October 1930. He was 51 years old.
• • On 14 October 1937 • • 
• • Members of the news media in Los Angeles received a press invitation to "Mae West and Friends" for George Rector's afternoon tea, from 5 to 7. This event took place on Thursday, 14 October 1937 at Major Studios, which was located here in 1937: 1040 N. Las Palmas.
• • Mae appeared with restaurateur George Rector in the motion picture "Every Day's a Holiday." The set was built to look like the inside of Rector's once located in the Times Square area. Mae said that her parents had taken her to dine there when she was a little girl. The dignified restaurant owner stayed busy in his retirement years; he went on to produce best selling cookbooks.• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "I'm a pretty good observer myself. I like to study character, especially where men are concerned. But as you know, I've got a reputation for that. ..." [personal letter in 1949 written in Manhattan on hotel stationery]
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article in The New York Times discussed Mae West on 14 October 1933.
• • The movie critic wrote: Arrayed in a variety of costumes which set off her sinuous form, Mae West is appearing at the Paramount in her latest screen vehicle, "I'm No Angel," a title which, as might be surmised, fits the leading character. Here Miss West, who wrote the story herself from "suggestions contributed" by Lowell Brentano, is beheld as a circus beauty named Tira, who wins applause and admiration by risking her blond head in a lion's mouth twice daily.
• • It is a rapid-fire entertainment, with shameless but thoroughly contagious humor, and one in which Tira is always the mistress of the situation, whether it be in the cage with wild beasts, in her boudoir with admirers or in a court of law.
• • Tira is ever ready with a flip double entendre and she permits no skeleton to be found behind her cupboard doors. She has an emphatic personality, which proves a magnet for even social lights with millions. She receives costly presents, including diamond necklaces, but she is hardly a gold-digger. She refrains from posing, preferring to keep to her natural slangy speech in her journey through the story from a tent to a penthouse.
• • She admits that she has thrown discretion to the winds and she sometimes finds herself in an awkward predicament, but through a wily lawyer she succeeds in proving that she is guiltless. The feeble parts of this picture are those in which a criminal known as Slick is introduced. The less one sees of him the better one feels, for the production is interesting only as long as it proceeds on its merry route.
• • The glimpses of Tira making her impressive entry to the circus arena and then proceeding to the big cage with the roaring lions are depicted shrewdly. Tira does not actually stick her whole head in the lion's mouth, but contents herself by putting her face between the beast's jaws, which is quite enough. Even this is set forth with a certain degree of fun, and one feels that Tira probably has a pistol ready for an emergency and that other circus employes are ready to shoot in the event that the beast starts to close its mouth. But one is apt to wonder whether they could possibly be quick enough. Society among the spectators is thrilled, all except one snobbish girl, who is furious because her fiancé is very enthusiastic over the performer's courage — and her beauty.
• • Later there comes the time when Tira puts her fair head into a court of law as the plaintiff in a breach-of-promise case. She sues Jack Clayton, whom she really loves, for $1,000,000, and it is not Tira's artful counsel who wins the case, but the circus queen herself. She crossexamines the defendant's witnesses and turns their testimony in her own favor, the unusual proceeding being countenanced by a judge whose sympathy Tira wins with the utmost ease.
• • Miss West plays her part with the same brightness and naturalness that attended her second film rôle. There is no lack of spontaneity in her actions or in the utterance of her lines. She is a remarkable wit, after her fashion. Cary Grant is pleasing as Clayton and Walter Walker is excellent as the considerate old judge. Gregory Ratoff does well as Tira's lawyer. Wesley Ruggles has directed the film with his usual intelligence.
• • Source: Movie Review: "Mae West Reveals Herself as a Circus Queen in 'I'm No Angel' at the Paramount" written by a New York Times critic for The Times; first published on 14 October 1933
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started seven years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2083rd 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 • • with George Rector in 1937 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest
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Mae West.
MAE WEST recorded a popular old standard in her album "The Fabulous Mae West" [for MCA Records, Inc., 100 Universal Plaza, Universal City, California] — — "All of Me" by composer Gerald Marks.
• • Born in Saginaw, Michigan in the month of October — — on 13 October 1900 — — Gerald Marks began writing songs as a boy. He was best known for the song "All of Me," which he co-wrote in 1931 with bandleader Seymour Simons, and which has been recorded more than 1,000 times (including four versions by Frank Sinatra). Al Jolson was the first to make it a hit. Marks also wrote the songs "That's What I Want for Christmas" for a Shirley Temple film, and "Is It True What They Say About Dixie?" recorded by Al Jolson and Rudy Vallee.
• • After a long and exciting career, Gerald Marks died on 27 January 1997. He was 96 years old.
• • Mae West on the Bookshelf • •
• • Author Michael Bronski's new book "A Queer History of the USA" [Beacon Press, 286 pages] has been getting press attention and has attracted new awareness to Mae West's legal battles in 1927.
• • Writing for Gay City News, Doug Ireland had this to say about Mae West, "The Drag," and Bronski: Michael Bronski traces the crucial role the theatrical stage played as a transmission belt for discussions of a wider spectrum of sexualities. He’s unearthed examples that –– –– even though I consider myself fairly well versed in homo history –– –– were new to me. For example, “the opening scene of Mae West’s 1927 play ‘The Drag’ –– featuring homosexual characters and a drag ball –– –– has two characters discussing the ideas of Karl Ulrichs,” the 19th century German agitator for homosexual liberation who is considered the pioneer of the LGBT movements for sexual liberation. The play was closed down by authorities, as was the iconic Yiddish playwright Sholem Asch’s classic 1907 drama “The God of Vengeance” for its lesbian content.
• • Doug Ireland continued: Such widespread stage portrayals contributed to the Republican-controlled New York State Legislature’s vote to ban any theatrical performances “depicting or dealing with the subject of sex degenerates or sex perversion.” ...
• • Source: Article: "America Only Gets Queerer" written by Doug Ireland for Gay City News; posted: Wednesday, 12 October 2011
• • On 13 October 1928 • •
• • On 13 October 1928, an article appeared in Billboard Magazine (on page 42) covering the actions of the NYC police who had padlocked Mae's second homosexual play "Pleasure Man."
• • On 13 October 1932 • • 
• • During the middle of October in 1932, Mae's jewel robbery was in the newspaper headlines. It was a frightening episode — — and it occurred just a few months after Mae had relocated to Los Angeles, California to be in the speakeasy film "Night After Night" with George Raft.
• • Clip: Omaha-Bee News on 13 October 1932.• • On 13 October 1933 • •
• • Mordaunt Hall critiqued the motion picture "I'm No Angel" starring Mae West on 13 October 1933 for The New York Times. Hall gave this screen comedy a rave review.
• • On 13 October 1968 • •
• • It was on 13 October 1968 that The New York Times printed this teasing dispatch from their Rome-based journalist Mark Shivas: "Fellini's Back, and Mae West's Got Him!"
• • Federico Fellini [20 January 1920 — 31 October 1993] had met Mae West in 1963 and had been wooing her from then — — cooking her pots of pasta and coaxing her to appear in one of his projects, according to the eccentric filmmaker. "Mae West is the mother of the empress," announced Fellini. "An erotic witch. She knows everything about the ancient ritual of bedrooms. I met her five years ago and she looked more like 45 than 75. Molto Simpatico. Intelligent. Full of humor. . . ."
• • But Mae West was more interested in protecting her brand than chasing after Fellini's carrot. When asked by reporters to confirm her role in his next film, Mae replied: "I will not sign until I see the script" [17 October 1968].
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "Goodness had nothing to do with it."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article in The New Masses discussed Mae West.
• • Robert Forsythe wrote: When you consider Madame Du Barry and Nell Gwynne, it is evident that Mae West has made a mistake in confining her immorality to stage and screen. Granted that a woman of her intelligence could be prevailed upon to favor, a Congressman or a Secretary of War, the spectacle of Miss West affecting state policy as well as private temperatures is something which no future historian could afford to overlook. It is plain that on any basis of comparison she belongs to the great line.
• • Robert Forsythe explained: There are so many indications of the breakdown of capitalist civilization that we are inclined to become tender and sympathetic in the midst of the debacle, much in the manner of "don't cheer, boys; the poor devils are dying," but it is obvious that Miss West, more than any of her associates, symbolizes the end of an epoch. Her stage plays, Sex and The Drag, uncovered such a horrifying picture of homosexuals, lesbians and ordinary degenerates that Miss West was sentenced to the work house for ten days as a way of restoring the faith of the populace in the great city. Her motives in presenting the plays were undoubtedly mercenary, but her attorneys overlooked a great opportunity of establishing her as a sociologist and humanitarian, moved solely by her concern for reform.
• • Robert Forsythe continued: The movies were more astute in their management of her films. They retained the spiciness, the lustiness and bawdiness, but they carefully confined them to the past. ...
• • Source: Article: "Mae West: A Treatise on Decay" written by Robert Forsythe for The New Masses; published on 9 October 1934.
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started seven years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2082nd 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 October 1932 • •
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Mae West.
MAE WEST cherished immutability. 
• • Charles Darwin may have challenged the fixity of species, however, Mae made up her mind that she would only play characters who were in their twenties — — women who were sexy, ambitious, sought after, in control, and decorated with diamonds.
• • The autumn of 1964 brought Mae face to face with her fears: mortality and mutability.
• • Though Mae had taken good care of her health, shortly after her 71st birthday she was hospitalized and her ailments were scrutinized. The diagnosis was diabetes.
• • As Mae was quietly convalescing at home, with Paul Novak at her side, she received the worst news. Her beloved brother John Edwin West, 64, had a massive heart attack.
• • As he matured, her kid brother's career had stalled. More than once, he had turned to his movie-queen sister for assistance. But Mae also remembered how much she had counted on John's unfailing loyalty during her court trials. In 1930, for instance, when the Pleasure Man court trial had bankrupted her, and she was too upset to seek work, John supported his two unemployed sisters and set up a nice household for the three of them in an apartment building on West 57th Street (across the street from Carnegie Hall).
• • Born on 11 February 1900, John Edwin West died during mid-October — — on 12 October 1964. Mae made arrangements for his body to be sent back to Brooklyn to the family crypt.
• • Two weeks later, Mae — — who hated to think about death — — made a Will.
• • Leon Errol [1881 — 1951] • •
• • Unfortunately, Mae West did not last too long when "A Winsome Widow" opened in April 1912. But during the rehearsals, she got to work with vaudeville mainstay Leon Errol, who was cast in the role of Ben Gay.
• • Born in Sydney, Australia on 3 July 1881, Leon Errol had a busy career as a variety artist, on Broadway, and in the cinema. He died in Hollywood, California in the month of October — — on 12 October 1951. On another occasion, Leon Errol will be discussed more fully.
• • On 12 October 1997 • •
• • On 12 October 1997, readers of the Orlando Sentinel read this intriguing news item [under the title "Author Uncovers The Real Diehl"]: You probably know that William Diehl is a successful suspense author, known for such best-selling novels as Primal Fear, wrote Sentinel Staffwriter Leslie Doolittle. But did you know he saw the Hindenburg explode, had Mae West for a baby sitter, served as Martin Luther King's personal photographer, had his throat slashed by three Mississippi racists, didn't start writing books until his 50th birthday, played a pimp in the Burt Reynolds movie based on his first best-seller and dedicated his latest novel, Reign in Hell, to his late dog? Mae West was his babysitter, eh?
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "Considering what Sex got me, a few days in the pen 'n' a $500 fine ain't too bad a deal."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article about a Liberace biopic for HBO also mentioned Mae West.
• • Corinne Heller writes: Liberace, known for his flashy outfits as much as his music, never revealed his sexual orientation and successfully sued the UK tabloid The Mirror for implying he was gay in a 1956 article. When asked if he "indulged in homosexual practices," he said in court: "No, sir, never in my life. I am against the practice because it offends convention and it offends society."
• • Scott Thorson served as the entertainer's bodyguard, chauffeur, and confidant. Liberace was also linked romantically to women, including actress Mae West. ...
• • Source: Article: "Matt Damon, Michael Douglas to play lovers in Liberace biopic for HBO" written by Corinne Heller for On The Red Carpet; posted on 11 October 2011• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started seven years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2081st 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 court in 1930 • •• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest
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MAE WEST worked with many bit part players — — and the inglorious adjective "uncredited" too often defined these hard working reliables who plied their craft in the screen trade as well as on TV for decades without, alas, much upward mobility.
• • London born on 17 July 1920, Englishman Richard Peel was cast as Christian, the Sussex Score Hotel chef in "Sextette" [1978]. Actively seeking work from his 30s and forward, Peel was seen onscreen in "Titanic" [1953] and then in sixteen other films. He fared somewhat better with television. Richard Peel was cast as a semi-regular on "Family Affair"; he played Mr. Withers between 1966 — 1968 in this gentle TV sit-com. All told, he logged in about three dozen projects for the small screen, mostly in one series or another.
• • Richard Peel died in Los Angeles, California in the month of October — — on 11 October 1988. He was 68.
• • "Sex" on 11 October 1930 • •
• • In the autumn of 1930, Mae West performed with the cast of "Sex" in the capital of Illinois. Invited by the Dill Pickle Club's founder John (Jack) Jones, the playwright and actress took to the stage on Saturday 11 October 1930, and again on Saturday 18 October 1930.
• • The Dill Pickle Club was thriving between 1914 — 1933 in The Windy City. Once one of Chicago’s best-known Bohemian nightspots, the club provided a forum for free speech as well as affording encouragement for artistic expression. Its patrons included Socialists, atheists, anarchists, “liberated” women, professional lecturers and soapbox orators, artists, actors, literary hopefuls and all sorts of unconventional types.
• • On 11 October 1936 • •
• • On 11 October 1936, readers of the Los Angeles Times read about this intriguing news item: "Mae West's Driver Hunted." Provocative, eh?
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: “A real farmer. He spent his childhood in the wheat — — and his marriage in the hay." [Marlo Manners said it in "Sextette," 1978.]
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article that mentioned Mae West appeared recently in Great Britain.
• • The BBC has reported this: A "Comedy Carpet" featuring the catchphrases, jokes and names of more than 1,000 comedians has been unveiled at the foot of Blackpool Tower. ...
• • Designer Gordon Young said: "It soon became obvious that Blackpool, England had been a magnetic chuckle point for the nation. From Mae West to modern maestros like Peter Kay, the sheer breadth of comedians who've performed in the town over the decades is amazing." ...
• • Source: Article: "Ken Dodd to unveil Blackpool comedy carpet artwork" written by the BBC; posted on 10 October 2011
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started seven years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2080th 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 • • "Sextette" in 1978 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest
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Mae West.
