Mae West: Tarzan

James Pierce was lucky enough to work with MAE WEST twice — — as an admirer in "Belle of the Nineties" [1934] and as a cowboy in "Goin' to Town" [1935].

• • James H. Pierce [8 August 1900 — 11 December 1983] • •

• • Born in Freedom, Indiana in August — — on 8 August 1900 — — James H. Pierce grew up to be a strapping six-foot-four. He had been an all-American center for Indiana University and graduated in 1921.  Afterwards, he coached football for two years in Arizona and also tried his luck at acting.  He wound up in California and was cast in the silent film "Leatherstocking" [1924] while also coaching at Glendale High.

• • During a party at Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzana ranch, the author convinced Pierce to play the vine-swinging he-man in "Tarzan and the Golden Lion" [1927].  The following year he wed Joan Burroughs, the author's daughter. From 1932 — 1934, James and Joan were the voices of Tarzan and Jane on national radio; they did 364 15-minute episodes of this serial, which aired in the USA and abroad.

• • Pierce's visibility enabled him to be cast as King Thun the Lion Man in Universal's "Flash Gordon" [1936] but stardom came and went in a flash.  Minor roles were what he got, for the most part, in 80 motion pictures between 1924 — 1951.

• • During World War II, James Pierce helped form the National Airmen's Reserve, the foundation for the Air National Guard.

• • Joan pre-deceased him. When James Pierce died in Apple Valley, California on 11 December 1983, he was laid to rest with his spouse; their monument reads "Tarzan and Jane."  Pierce lived to be 83.

• • Dayton Lummis [8 August 1903 — 23 March 1988] • •

• • Born in New Jersey on 8 August 1903 was Dayton Lummis, an actor of film and television who specialized in the genre of anthology and western series, often playing authority figures. He went to the West Coast and studied theatre at the Martha Oatman School, Los Angeles. His first professional engagement, at age 24, was with the Russell Stock Company, of Redlands, California.

• • Dayton Lummis remained a regional actor until his Broadway bow in 1943 opposite Mae West in "Catherine Was Great," where he was cast in the role of Chechkofski.

• • Lummis died in Santa Monica on 23 March 1988.

• • On Friday, 8 August 1913 in Variety • •

• • Mae West was trying her best at Hammerstein's Victoria in early August 1913.  Though most of the reporters ignored the 19-year-old's attempts to woo the crowd and did not even mention her name in their reviews, at least Daily Variety's columnist Joshua Lowe [whose critique was published on 8 August 1913] noticed how hard she was working. "Mae West sang loud enough to be distinctly heard in the rear," wrote Joshua Lowe.

• • August 1956 in Hush-Hush Magazine • •

• • Hush-Hush Magazine (Vol. 2, No. 8, August 1956 issue) contained the article "Show Biz Buzzer: Mae West versus Marilyn Monroe."

• • Save the Date: Thursday, August 16th • •

• • Thursday, 16 August 2012 will be the next Mae West Tribute in Manhattan and the evening affair will start at 6:30 pm at 155 Mulberry Street.  This year Mae-mavens will enjoy an indoor event (ahhh, air conditioning), music written by Mae West's Italian husband will be played, and attendees will be seated.

• • At the Reception, Italian wine and light refreshments will be served. The ever-popular Mae West Raffle will offer rare prizes once again to a number of lucky attendees. The public is invited.

• • Mae West was born in Brooklyn, NY on Thursday, 17 August 1893.

• • Closest MTA subway stations: Grand St. or Canal St.

• • In Her Own Words • •

• • Mae West said: "I've always taken the rap for the Code, but it was really those Barbara Stanwyck pictures (i.e., 'Babyface') that did it."
• • In character as Diamond Lil, Mae West said: "Diamonds are my career."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article about legit theatres in London mentioned Mae West.
• • Where wrote:  Hollywood stars in the West End are nothing new.  Mae West and James Stewart started the trend at the Prince of Wales theatre in the early 1940s. ...
• • Source: Article in Where London; published August 2008 

• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started eight years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2388th 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 • • 1934 • •
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Mae West: Major Credit

An intriguing article about MAE WEST was printed on Monday, 7 August 1995.

• • Mae West never stopped exerting herself when it came to her career.  Despite the considerable energy she applied to every project, when The N.Y. Times printed an obituary for James Timony on 5 April 1954, they depicted their relationship along the lines of Pygmalion and Galatea.
• • Timony guided her to success • •

• • Calling James A. Timony the manager of Mae West for 25 years, and the person who "guided her to success," The N.Y. Times also noted that he "received major credit for her development from a relatively obscure singer and dancer into an internationally known prototype of the American siren."
• • They Made Mae West a Star • •

• • The William Morris Agency also claimed credit. "They Made Mae West a Star" was the title of the article that ran in U.S. News and World Report on Monday, 7 August 1995.

• • Born in Germany, William Morris [1873 — 2 November 1932] had registered himself as a vaudeville agent in 1898 when he was 25 years old. Though several variety artists became rich and famous, the entertainment audience was shifting to the motion picture house by the late 1920s.  Fortunately, the William Morris Agency took note. A news item about the agency stated: "The Morris Agency found an unlikely savior in Mae West, who went on to become the top grosser at the box office in the 1930s. After its initial dip, entertainment proved a Depression-hardy industry."

• • Now what would Mae West have said about that?

• • Frank Buchman [4 June 1878 — 7 August 1961] • •

• • It was August 1939 when Mae West met with Frank Buchman for a half an hour.

• • Born in in Pennsburg, Pennsylvania on 4 June 1878, Franklin Nathaniel Daniel Buchman was a Protestant Christian evangelist who founded the Oxford Group (known as Moral Re-Armament from 1938 until 2001, and as Initiatives of Change since then). Buchman was a controversial figure throughout much of his adult life, and critics dubbed his movement as "Buchmanism" from the 1920s.

• • Buchman, who never married, went out to Hollywood in 1939 to have himself photographed with movie stars as a way to use these pictures for his own publicity.

• • In August 1939, Mae West suggested that Buchman might visit comedian W.C. Fields.

• • Despite a stroke in 1942, and failing health that eventually led to blindness and immobility, Buchman pressed on and remained fairly active for the next nineteen years. Buchman died in Freudenstadt, Germany in the month of August — — on Monday, 7 August 1961. He was 83.

• • On Tuesday, 7 August 1934 in Variety • •

• • According to Daily Variety, "Belle of the Nineties" was given the purity seal on 6 August  1934. Variety announced this on the front cover of their issue dated for Tuesday, 7 August 1934.

• • Correspondence from Hammell to Joe Breen dated Wednesday, 7 August 1934, however, listed half-a-dozen script revisions that would be made. These modifications were meant to scrub away any implied immorality from the Ruby Carter character or the Tiger Kid.

• • Save the Date: Thursday, August 16th • •

• • Thursday, 16 August 2012 will be the next Mae West Tribute in Manhattan and the evening affair will start at 6:30 pm at 155 Mulberry Street.  This year Mae-mavens will enjoy an indoor event (ahhh, air conditioning), music written by Mae West's Italian husband will be played, and attendees will be seated.

• • At the Reception, Italian wine and light refreshments will be served. The ever-popular Mae West Raffle will offer rare prizes once again to a number of lucky attendees. The public is invited.

• • Mae West was born in Brooklyn, NY on Thursday, 17 August 1893.

• • Closest MTA subway stations: Grand St. or Canal St.

• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "There's nothing better in life than diamonds."
• • Mae West said: "Diamond Lil and I are getting to be pretty inseparable."

• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • Excerpt from a review of "Becoming Mae West" by biographer Emily Wortis Leider.
• • Book critic Maria Braden noted: Mae West also hid that she had been married twice because she wanted to be perceived as single and available. And although West was a businesswoman, she refused to portray such a character on the screen because it might compromise her "femininity." ...
• • Source: Book Review: "A Hollywood Legend Who Wasn't Always What She Seemed" written by Maria Braden, Knight-Ridder Newspapers; published on 7 August 1997

• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started eight years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2387th 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 • • 1939 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest
NYC  Mae West.