Actors - Mae West

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	Actors - Mae West

Mae West (August 17, 1893 – November 22, 1980) was an American actress, playwright, screenwriter, and sex symbol.

Famous for her bawdy double entendres, West made a name for herself in vaudeville and on the legitimate stage in New York before moving to Hollywood to conquer and make her unforgettable place among the great performers of the motion picture industry.

One of the most controversial stars of her day, West encountered many obstacles, including early censorship, but her indomitable spirit, coupled with an indefinable drive, made her persevere.

When her movie career ended, she continued to perform on stage, in Las Vegas, England, on radio and television, even recording a few Rock and Roll albums.

In her old age, she returned to the silver screen and starred in two final movies in the 1970s.

Early life

She was born Mary Jane West in Brooklyn, New York, the daughter of John Patrick West (1865-1935) and Matilda "Tillie" Delker-Doelger (1870-1930). Her sister and brother were Mildred Katherine "Beverly" West (1898-1982) and John Edwin West (1900-1964).

Her father was a prizefighter known as "Battlin' Jack West" who later worked as a policeman. He was later a detective who ran his own agency. Her mother was a former corset and fashion model.

The family was Protestant, despite the Jewish heritage of West's mother, who was a Bavarian German immigrant, her Catholic paternal grandmother, who was Irish, as well as other distant relations who were Roman Catholic, including the woman who helped deliver her (and whose disapproval of her career Mae was made well aware of).

Career

West began performing in vaudeville at the age of five. By the time she was 12, she was peforming under the name "The Baby Vamp." Though she had not yet grown into her generous curves, the slinky, dark-haired Mae was already raising eyebrows with a lascivious "shimmy" dance.

Her famous walk was said to have originated in her early years as a stage actress. West had special eight-inch platforms attached to her shoes to increase her height and enhance her stage presence.

Eventually, she began writing her own risqué plays using the pen name "Jane Mast." Her first starring role on Broadway was in a play she titled Sex, which was written, produced and directed by West. Though critics hated the show, ticket sales were good. The notorious production did not go over well with city officials, however. The theatre was raided and West was arrested along with everyone else in the cast.

She was prosecuted on morals charges and, on April 19, 1927, was sentenced to 10 days in jail for public obscenity. While incarcerated on Welfare Island, she was allowed to wear her silk panties instead of the scratchy prison issue and the warden reportedly took her to dinner every night. She served eight days, with two days off for good behavior.

Her next play, The Drag, was about homosexuality and alluded to the work of Karl Heinrich Ulrichs. It was a box-office success, but audiences had to go to New Jersey to see it because it was banned from Broadway. West regarded talking about sex as a basic human rights issue, and was also an early advocate of gay rights.

She continued to write plays, including The Wicked Age, Pleasure Man and The Constant Sinner. Her productions were plagued by controversy and other problems, however. If they did not get shut down for indecency, they closed because of slow ticket sales.

For her next adventure into theatre she had a Broadway hit, Diamond Lil (1928), about a racy, easygoing lady of the 1890s. The show struck box-office gold and heralded the brazen, wisecracking blonde to new heights of fame. It enjoyed an enduring popularity and West would successfully revive it many times throughout the course of her career.

Motion pictures

In 1932, West was offered a motion picture contract by Paramount. She signed and went to Hollywood to appear in Night After Night
starring George Raft. Upon her arrival, she moved into an apartment in the Ravenswood at 570 North Rossmore Avenue, not far from the studio on Melrose. She maintained a residence at the Ravenswood, her preferred abode, for the rest of her life, although she also owned a beach house and a ranch in the Valley.

At first, she did not like her small role in Night After Night, but was appeased when she was allowed to rewrite her lines. In West's first scene, a hat check girl exclaimed, "Goodness, what lovely diamonds." West became an instant sensation when she replied, "Goodness had nothing to do with it, dearie."

She brought Diamond Lil, now Lady Lou, to the screen in She Done Him Wrong
(1933), personally selecting Cary Grant for the male lead, a role that made him a star. The movie was a huge success and earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Mae West ]

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Actors - Mae West

Early life

Career

Motion pictures

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