American Legends: The Life of Mae West

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American Legends: The Life of Mae West

Discusses the myths and legends of the Tea Party… More. The Heat's On opened to poor reviews and weak performance at the box office. West was so distraught after the experience, and by her years of struggling with the strict Hays censorship office, that she would not attempt another film role for the next quarter-century.

She went on the show eager to promote her latest movie, Every Day's a Holiday. West referred to Charlie as "all wood and a yard long" and commented, "Charles, I remember our last date, and have the splinters to prove it! She told Ameche in the show to "get me a big one I feel like doin' a big apple!

Days after the broadcast, the studio received letters calling the show "immoral" and "obscene" by societies for the protection of morals. Under pressure, the Federal Communications Commission later deemed the broadcast "vulgar and indecent" and "far below even the minimum standard which should control in the selection and production of broadcast programs". Conservative religious groups took umbrage far more swiftly than the mainstream. These groups found it easy to make West their target.

They took exception to her outspoken use of sexuality and sexual imagery, which she had employed in her career since at least the Pre-Code films of the early s and for decades before on Broadway, but which was now being broadcast into American living rooms on a popular family-friendly radio program.

The groups reportedly warned the sponsor of the program they would protest her appearance. NBC Radio scapegoated West for the incident and banned her and the mention of her name from their stations. After appearing in The Heat's On in , West returned to a very active career on stage and in swank clubs. Among her popular new stage performances was the title role in Catherine Was Great on Broadway, in which she penned a spoof on the story of Catherine the Great of Russia, surrounding herself with an "imperial guard" of tall, muscular young actors.

The show stood Las Vegas on its head. Universe , Mickey Hargitay. Still smarting from the censorship debacle of The Heat's On , and the constraints placed on her characterization, she declined. The theme of the Wilder film, she noted, was pure pathos, while her brand of comedy was always "about uplifting the audience". Mae West had a unique comic character that was timeless, in the same way Charlie Chaplin did. In subsequent years, West was offered the role of Vera Simpson, opposite Marlon Brando , in the film adaptation of Pal Joey , which she turned down, with the role going to Rita Hayworth.

In , West was offered a leading role in Roustabout , starring Elvis Presley. She turned the role down, and Barbara Stanwyck was cast in her place. West was also approached for roles in Frederico Fellini 's Juliet of the Spirits and Satyricon , but rejected both offers. CBS executives felt members of the television audience were not ready to see a nude marble statue of West, which rested on her piano.

In , she made a guest appearance on the sitcom Mister Ed. West's recording career started in the early s with releases of her film songs on shellac 78 rpm records. Most of her film songs were released as 78s, as well as sheet music. In , she recorded her first album , The Fabulous Mae West. She recorded several tongue-in-cheek songs, including "Santa, Come Up to See Me", [84] on the album Wild Christmas , [85] which was released in and reissued as Mae in December in The April 18, , issue of Life featured West at age 75, with images by child star, actor, and professional photographer Roddy McDowall.

The movie was intended to be deliberately campy sex change comedy, but had serious production problems, resulting in a botched film that was both a box-office and critical failure. Author Vidal, at great odds with inexperienced and self-styled "art film" director Michael Sarne , later called the film "an awful joke". Despite Myra Breckinridge' s mainstream failure, it continued to find an audience on the cult film circuit where West's films were regularly screened and West herself was dubbed "the queen of camp". Mae West's counterculture appeal included the young and hip, and by , the student body of UCLA voted Mae West "Woman of the Century" in honor of her relevance as a pioneering advocate of sexual frankness and courageous crusader against censorship.

Mae West was a shrewd investor, produced her own stage acts, and invested her money in large tracts of land in Van Nuys , a thriving suburb of Los Angeles. With her considerable fortune, she could afford to do as she liked.

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In , she appeared on Back Lot U. Adapted from a script written by West, the film's daily revisions and production disagreements hampered production from the beginning. At 84, her now-failing eyesight made navigating around the set difficult, but she made it through the filming, a tribute to her self-confidence, remarkable endurance, and stature as a self-created star 67 years after her Broadway debut in at the age of Upon its release, Sextette was not a critical or commercial success, but remains notable for the diverse cast, and because none of West's contemporaries such as Dietrich, Garbo, etc.

It also included cameos of some of her famed musclemen from her s Las Vegas show, such as the still remarkably fit Reg Lewis. The film was a last hurrah and a Valentine from Mae West to her fans. In August , West tripped while getting out of bed.

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After the fall, West was unable to speak and was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles, where tests revealed that she had suffered a stroke. Her father and brother were also entombed there before her, and her younger sister, Beverly, was laid to rest in the last of the five crypts less than 18 months after West's death. For her contributions as a stage actor in the theater world, she has been inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame.

West was married on April 11, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Frank Szatkus — , [] whose stage name was Frank Wallace, [] [] a fellow vaudevillian whom she met in She insisted that they have separate bedrooms, and she soon sent him away in a show of his own to get rid of him. She obtained a legal divorce on July 21, , during which Wallace withdrew his request for separate maintenance, and West testified that Wallace and she had lived together for only "several weeks".

In August , she met Guido Deiro — , an Italian-born vaudeville headliner and star of the piano-accordion. Her affair went "very deep, hittin' on all the emotions". West later said, "Marriage is a great institution. I'm not ready for an institution yet. In , when she was a vaudeville actress, West had a relationship with James Timony — , an attorney 9 years her senior. Timony was also her manager.

By the time that she was an established movie actress in the mids, they were no longer a couple. West and Timony remained extremely close, living in the same building, working together, and providing support for each other until Timony's death in West remained close to her family throughout her life and was devastated by her mother's death in The management at her Ravenswood apartment building barred the African American boxer from entering the premises; West solved the problem by buying the building and lifting the ban.

She became romantically involved at age 61 with Chester Rybinski — , one of the muscle men in her Las Vegas stage show — a wrestler, former Mr. California, and former merchant marine. He moved in with her, and their romance continued until her death in at age At least 21 singles 78 rpm and 45 rpm also were released from to From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. This article is about the actress. For other uses, see Mae West disambiguation. Publicity photo for Night After Night Los Angeles , California, United States.

An Encyclopedia of Variety Performers in America. Breen and the Production Code Administration. Retrieved October 19, An Icon in Black and White. Oxford University Press US. Goodness Had Nothing to Do With it. Retrieved November 22, Colangelo June 22, Retrieved November 2, Mae West Empress of Sex. Part One", Movie Classic , January , pp.

The Complete Films of Mae West. The Legendary Mae West. All Around the Town: Amazing Manhattan Facts and Curiosities. Three Plays by Mae West: Sex, The Drag and Pleasure Man. When I'm Bad, I'm Better: Mae West, Sex, and American Entertainment. University of California Press. With Amusement for All: University Press of Kentucky.

Children, Cinema and Censorship: From Dracula to the Dead End Kids. Hollywood Musicals Nominated for Best Picture. California Enters the s. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture. Sex, the Drag, the Pleasure Man. Sex, Immorality, and Insurrection in American cinema, — Morality Codes, Catholics, and the Movies. A Titan Is Born 1 ed. Man on the Flying Trapeze: The Life and Times of W. The Complete Films of W. Parody as Film Genre: The Merchant Prince of Poverty Row: Harry Cohn of Columbia Pictures.

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Essays in the Cultural History of Radio. The Encyclopedia of Old-time Radio. The Kenosha Comeback Kid. Journal of Radio Studies November Too Much of a Good Thing: Mae West as Cultural Icon. U of Minnesota Press. American Women Playwrights, — Peter Lang Publishing Inc. Feminist Camp from Mae West to Madonna. Swingin' Chicks of the '60s: A Tribute to of the Decade's Defining Women.

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