Mae West: Loses Plea

In mid-November 1928, The N.Y. Times wrote about MAE WEST and her legal troubles.  The headline was "Loses Plea in Play Case — Mae West Not Allowed to See Minutes of Grand Jury."
• • This was the woeful aftermath of the raid at the Biltmore. Attorney Nathan Burkan did his best to stall the case and keep his client out of jail following the "Pleasure Man" bust. 
• • The trial is covered in the stage play "Courting Mae West."  What? You haven't seen it yet?  Producers and A.D.s are welcome to read the manuscript.
• • Billy B. Van [3 August 1878 — 16 November 1950] • •
• • Born in Pottstown, Pennsylvania on 3 August 1878 as William Webster Vandergrift, Billy B. Van had a long career in variety as an actor as well as a comedian, dancer, singer, and songwriter. For over three decades he was seen in the legit and numerous vaudeville houses. 
• • After retiring from the stage in the 1920s, he made two attempts to conquer the silver screen. In 1922 he was seen as Sobini in the silent film "The Beauty Shop." After his modest role in Mae's film "She Done Him Wrong" — — as the pianist in Gus Jordan's Bowery saloon — — he turned to corporate life. He became the President of the New York City based Pine Tree Products Company, manufacturers of cleaning solutions.
• • Billy B. Van died in Newport, New Hampshire in the month of November — — on Thursday, 16 November 1950. He was 72 years old.
• • On Thursday, 16 November 1916 • •
• • On Thursday, 16 November 1916, Mae West announced in Variety that, in her next appearance in vaudeville, she would appear in male drag and her material would be scripted by songwriter Blanche Merrill. She hinted at using a new name, too. Sounds like a cover-up for something, eh?  Maybe she was hiding from the actors union or her husband Guido Deiro.
• • On Wednesday, 16 November 1927 in Variety • •
• • Box office blues burdened Mae West during the brief Broadway run of "The Wicked Age." In its issue dated for Wednesday, 16 November 1927, Variety offered an explanation of why the show went dark one Monday. Previously, Mae had taken the blame, apologizing that she had a case of bad indigestion and could not perform. But the sleuths at Variety explained: "failure to pay salaries appears to have been the problem."  Oh, my!
• • On Sunday, 16 November 1986 • •
• • Melissa Fletcher penned an article about Al Hirschfeld's theatre caricatures, "Drawing the Line on the Great White Way," and here's how she began it:  "Mae West, her skirt raised a few tantalizing inches above her ankle, throws a flirtatious glance at Orson Welles. Mildly amused, Jack Benny folds his arms and smirks." Fletcher's piece ran in San Antonio Light on Sunday, 16 November 1986.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "You've got to keep cool and calm to collect when you're in there trading punches."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article about radio mentioned Mae West.
• • L. Bear wrote: In “Dress Circle” this week, Kate Hosking talks about her new show “Diva Sheila, eco Diva Takin’ it to The Street”” which opens in Street Theatre Thursday. ...  In the “Red Velvet and Wild Boronia” segment Kate Peters presents excerpts from her acclaimed show about Mae West, “Goodness Had Nothing to Do with It”....
• • Source: News Item: "Dress Circle This Sunday 4 November on ArtSound FM 92.7 5.00 pm to 6.30 pm" written by L. Bear in Canberra, Australia; posted on Saturday, 3 November 2012

• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started eight years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2487th 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 • • 1932 • •
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Mae West: Tod Andrews

MAE WEST starred in "Come On Up" and the cast included Tod Andrews. During the autumn, they performed on the East Coast. In October the comedy was staged in Philadelphia at the Walnut Street Theatre. On 1 November 1946 they began their booking in Buffalo, New York at the Erlanger Theatre.
• • The play's 1946 — 1947 run was under the direction of Russell Fillmore and produced by the Shuberts. This well-received comedy had opened in Oakland, California at the Oakland Auditorium on 20 May 1946. Mae West went coast-to-coast with her cast as part of a national tour that ended on 22 February 1947.  
• • Since the printed Program looked scrappy in certain theatres and woefully inconsistent, Mae eventually had her own souvenir Program designed featuring pictures of herself along with cast notes.
• • Program from Ford's Theatre, Baltimore (September 1946).
• • Tod Andrews [10 November 1914 — 7 November 1972] • •

• • Born in New York, NY on 10 November 1914, Tod Andrews was educated at Washington State College. During the early 1940s, he made his onstage debut at the Pasadena Playhouse in California. Andrews acted with the Margo Jones Company in New York City from 1944 — 1948.
• • Trouping with Mae West in "Come On Up" had raised his profile, so Broadway beckoned. In the drama "Summer and Smoke" he took the role of John Buchanan, Jr. [6 October 1948 — 1 January 1949].  Joshua Logan had seen him work, so when Henry Fonda left the title role in the long-running Broadway drama play "Mister Roberts" (which closed on 6 January 1951), Logan replaced Fonda with Tod Andrews.  The versatile thespian also starred in the popular Broadway comedy "A Girl Can Tell" taking the role of Bill [October — December 1953]. In May 1954,  he stepped in to replace an actor in the Broadway comedy "Sabrina Fair."
• • Some untoward turn of events occurred when he was 47. According to Rovi's Bruce Eder, "Andrews seemed to be doing well enough until 1961, when, days before the opening of a new play appropriately entitled 'A Whiff of Melancholy,' he attempted suicide. He later said that it was a result of stress over the role."
• • From 1941 — 1972, he racked up 71 credits for his participation in feature films and various TV work. He sometimes used the pseudonym "Michael Ames" for his appearances in B-grade material. For his final credit, he played President Jeremy Haines in a TV movie called "The President's Plane Is Missing," released in 1973.
• • Tod Andrews had a heart attack.  He died in Beverly Hills, California on 7 November 1972. He was three days away from his 58th birthday.
• • Herbert Rawlinson [15 November 1885 — 12 July 1953] • •
• • Mae West worked with a good number of handsome Englishmen and one was Herbert Rawlinson. In "Every Day's a Holiday" [1937], he was seen as a party guest.
• • Born in the month of November — — on Sunday, 15 November 1885 — — in New Brighton, England, Herbert Rawlinson distinguished himself in the United Kingdom on the stage. In 1911, when Herbert Rawlinson launched his career in the USA with a number of silent movies, the dapper 26-year-old was often cast as the leading man, at first. On Broadway he was seen in several plays between 1929 — 1934, mainly comedies.
• • In sound films, the handsome six-footer was a busy character player, in demand and employed up until the year he died. With 394 titles to his credit on the big screen and also some on TV, Rawlinson was frequently seen, albeit briefly, in an authority role such as a physician, judge, colonel, sea captain, first mate, etc. In his final motion picture "Jail Bait" [1954], he took the role of Dr. Gregor, filming his last scenes until July 1953.
• • Herbert Rawlinson died of lung cancer in Los Angeles on 12 July 1953. He was 67 years old.
• • On Sunday, 15 November 1936 • •
• • On Sunday, 15 November 1936, the New York Times interviewed actor Randolph Scott about his new motion picture starring Mae West.  An editor paraphrased Scott's opinion and it went something like this: "Miss West is idolized by the technical crews in the studios, she is so thoughtful of them. ... her Negro maid wept bitterly during the production because she (the maid) was sick and unable to go to the studio."
.• • On Sunday, 15 November 2009 • •
.• • The N.Y. Times columnist Margo Jefferson delivered a speech in Chicago on Sunday, 15 November 2009 about Mae West and Hattie McDaniel.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "The men in my life walked around stiff-legged, watching each other like animals at a waterhole, ready to leap at each others' throats."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article on safe driving mentioned Mae West.
• • The Pittsburgh Post Gazette stated:  Mae West, soon to be seen in Paramount's "Go West Young Man," today has added her name to the list of American citizens actively participating in the campaign for safe driving.  Miss West received an honorary card as a member of the Safety Club of Tampa, Florida from W.B. Bell . . . .
• • Source: Article: "Mae West Becomes Safety Campaigner" written for The Pittsburgh Post Gazette; published on Sunday, 15 November 1936 

• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started eight years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2486th 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 • • 1946 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest
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Mae West: Tom De Graffenreid

MAE WEST starred in "Come On Up" and Thomas De Graffenreid was in the cast in October 1946 when the comedy was staged in Philadelphia at the Walnut Street Theatre and elsewhere. 
• • The play was directed by Russell Fillmore and produced by the Shuberts. Their booking in Philly was part of a national tour that continued into 1947. 
• • Carliss Dale • •
• • Mae was seen in the starring role of Carliss Dale in the stage play "Come On Up (Ring Twice)," when it toured during 1946 — 1947 in California, Pennsylvania, in Rochester, NY, and elsewhere. This comedy had been written by Miles Mander [14 May 1888 — 8 February 1946], Fred Schiller, and Thomas Dunphy. She also let Herbert Kenwith direct her in this play in June 1952 in Princeton, New Jersey.
• • Tom De Graffenreid [14 November 1892 — 22 February 1985] • •
• • Born in Looney, Missouri in November — — on Monday, 14 November 1892 — — Thomas De Graffenreid was trained for the stage. During the 1950s, he guest-starred on television a few times. De Graffenreid was also seen in two motion pictures; he played a doctor in "Tight Spot" [1955] and Corbett in "Storm Center" [1956].
• • Tom De Graffenreid died in Ventura, California on 22 February 1985. He was 92.
• • Richard Kyle Fox  [12 August 1846 — 14 November 1922] • •
• • Richard Kyle Fox, the editor and proprietor of the original Police Gazette during its heyday, was the publication's beloved paternalistic leader. Born in Ireland on 12 August 1846, Richard Fox seemed to possess all the right instincts for lurid self-promotion.
• • The weekly journal National Police Gazette was known for its sensationalism, risqué pictures of showgirls, the glorification of male strength, and the sponsorship of boxing bouts and other sports. He put so much of his personal stamp on everything surrounding the publication that the names Richard K. Fox and National Police Gazette were nearly synonymous.
• • There is a scene in "Diamond Lil" and also in "She Done Him Wrong" that shows Mae West's character lounging in bed with an issue of the National Police Gazette. Shortly after the release of the 1933 motion picture, Mae was, in fact, featured on the publication's front page. Though her photo was used only once on page 1, articles about the Empress of Sex continued to be cover lines throughout the years.
• • Richard Kyle Fox was the ringmaster of this pink-paged circus from 1877 until his death on Tuesday, 14 November 1922.
• • On Monday, 14 November 1932 • •
• • Deliberately courting the disdain and despisal of Joe Breen, William LeBaron and Emanuel Cohen were daring enough to try to rush a script into production by Monday, 14 November 1932.  "Ruby Red" was written by Mae West (assisted by John Bright). The Hays Office suspected a mutiny, however.
• • On Saturday, 14 November 1936 • •
• • Trade paper Motion Picture Herald reviewed the Mae West movie "Go West Young Man" in their issue dated for Saturday, 14 November 1936. Among their unkind remarks was this punch: "Incidentally, the fight with obesity seems to be getting her down." Ouch.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said:  "Me, I have a genuine sex personality."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article published in November 1954 interviewed Mae West.
• • The NY correspondent wrote: Long ago the "it" girl of the silent screen, Clara Bow, and later Jean Harlow seriously challenged Mae West for the "queen of sex" title, but Mae won through. ...
• • Source: Article: "At 62, Mae West Now Brings Women Flocking To Learn From The Girl With IT" for The Sun-Herald (Sydney, NSW); published on Sunday, 7 November 1954 

• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started eight years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2485th 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:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml
Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • 1946 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest
NYC  Mae West.