Mae West

[lovegod]

Born: Mary Jane West on August 17, 1893 in Woodhaven, Queens, New York City, New York, USA
Died: November 22, 1980 (age 87) in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0922213/

Can't believe that Mae has take so long to make it into the forum, but she's here at last.
What a lady!, vaudevillian, actress, comedienne, movie star, playwright, there was no end to her talent.

Mae was only 5 years old when she started appearing in amateur shows and many times she won prizes for her performances, she began performing professionally in vaudeville in 1905 at the age of twelve.

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

Her play, 'The Drag, 'was about homosexuality . It was a box office success but it played in New Jersey because it was banned from Broadway.

Mae regarded talking about sex as a basic human rights issue and was also an early advocate of gay and transgender rights.

She was prosecuted on morals charges and, on April 19, 1927, was sentenced to 10 days in jail for public obscenity, while incarcerated on Roosevelt Island, she was allowed to wear silk knickers 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.

During her entire lifetime she surrounded herself with gay men and stood up for gay rights at any and every opportunity.

She continued to write plays including The Wicked Age, Pleasure Man and The Constant Sinner.

Her productions were plagued by controversy and other problems. The controversy insured that Mae stayed in the news and most of the time resulted in packed performances.

In 1932 Mae 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 not far from the studio on Melrose, she maintained a residence at Ravenswood, for the rest of her life, although she also owned a ranch in the San Fernando Valley.




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 greatly influenced his career.
The movie was a success and earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture.

Her next release was' I'm No Angel,' which paired her with Cary Grant again. "I'm No Angel" was nominated for an Academy Award for "Best Picture", It was a tremendous financial success and, along with 'She Done Him Wrong,' saved Paramount from bankruptcy.

Mae West was the largest box office draw in the United States at the time, however, the frank sexuality and seamy settings of her films aroused the wrath of the moral brigade.

The most famous Mae West quip, "Is that a gun in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?" is accurately attributed to Mae, she first delivered the line on film in My Little Chickadee, and again to George Hamilton in her last movie, Sextette. It is one of the most quoted lines in movie history.

Other famous Mae West quips include:

"A hard man is good to find."

[To the question "Have you ever met a man that could make you happy?"she replied "Several times."

"Why don't you come on up and see me sometime, when I got nothin' on but the radio?"

"Good girls go to heaven, but bad girls get to go everywhere."

"Sex is like bridge, If you don't have a good partner, you'd better have a good hand."

"My left leg is Christmas and my right leg is New Year's. Why don't you visit me between the holidays?"

[To the remark, "Goodness, what a beautiful diamond!"] ~ she replied "Goodness had nothin' to do with it, dearie."

[Sam Spade]

I was sure that i made a post about her, but it seems to have been deleted? ???

Anyhoo, Mae is my all time favourite celeb, alive or dead, that woman was 100% sexuality, and that pic you posted is my favourite pic of her, just such a gorgeous woman.

[Sam Spade]

A load more of Mae.

[Fabrizio]

[Sam Spade]

Some more of Mae.











And three with W.C Fields, from My Little Chickadee.

[AceXX]

One leggy pose to add to the thread.





Enjoy


AceXX

[zwaik]

[zwaik]

[zwaik]

From "Belle of the Nineties" (1934) --- IMDb
Reposted in better resolution (1023 x 1280)

[zwaik]

good resolution (1700 x 2160)
.