Sunday, July 17, 2011

Mae West: Edward Gargan

MAE WEST starred in "Belle of the Nineties" [1934] and worked with numerous character actors such as Brooklynite Edward Gargan, who portrayed Ruby Carter's agent Stogie.
• • Born of Irish parentage in Kings County during the month of July — — on 17 July 1902 — — Edward Gargan was the older brother of actor William Gargan. Both were often cast as dumb Irish policemen or detectives as well as befuddled or dunderheaded sidekicks. It's odd that Edward often wound up in demeaning ethnic roles since he was a college grad with extensive stage training. After appearing in numerous plays, Edward Gargan embarked on a career in the screen trade in 1931. He was one of the most prolific bit players, logging in almost 300 films on his resume between 1931 — 1952, and a scattering of TV work from 1951 — 1953. He died in New York City on 19 February 1964 at age 61.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West wrote these lines for her character in "Belle of the Nineties," Ruby:
• • Ruby Carter: "His mother should have thrown him away and kept the stork."
• • Ruby Carter: "It is better to be looked over than to be overlooked."
• • Ruby Carter: "Remember, I'm a lady, you worm."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • Covering the cinema in 1934 for The N.Y. Times, Andre Sennwald admired Mae West, noting that she was her own plot. Sennwald wrote: It is pretty futile to strive for an air of detachment toward Miss West and her new work. A continuously hilarious burlesque of the mustache cup, celluloid collar and family entrance era of the naughty Nineties, it immediately takes its place among the best screen comedies of the year. Its incomparable star has been bolstered by a smart and funny script, an excellent physical production and a generally buoyant comic spirit. There are gags for every taste and most of them are outrageously funny according to almost any standard of humor. ...
• • Source: Film Review "Mae West and Her Gaudy Retinue in 'Belle of the Nineties'" written by Andre Sennwald for The N.Y. Times; published on 22 September 1934
• • 17 July 2004 17 July 2011 • •
• • In mid-July the Mae West Blog will celebrate its seventh anniversary. Thank you to all those Mae-mavens who come up and see Mae every day.
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started seven years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 1994th 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 • • 1934 • •
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1 comment:

  1. Since you commented on my blog post about Ms. West I thought I'd return the favor and show you another post with a great magazine cover;

    http://what-i-found.blogspot.com/2011/06/radio-stars-magazine-1931-mae-west-and.html

    Enjoy and thanks for the cheescake!

    ReplyDelete