Sunday, June 24, 2012

Mae West: Auction in L.A.

When MAE WEST was a marquee name, original lobby artwork was in its prime. Many individual (i.e., unaffiliated) theatres would hire artists to produce vivid, exciting, original advertising in order to compete with other movie houses as well as vaudeville circuits and legitimate theatres.
• • Bonhams' auction of Entertainment Memorabilia in Los Angeles is on Sunday, 24 June 2012.  Bonhams announced: "The summer auction features a wide range of collectible items related to our popular culture and includes The Gaston Collection of original movie poster and lobby art. From Long Beach, California, this collection, comprised of approximately 80 original works of movie display art, portrays such timeless stars as Mae West, Fred Astaire, Bette Davis, Lionel Barrymore, Charlie Chaplin, Claudette Colbert, Joan Crawford, Marlene Dietrich, Errol Flynn, Katharine Hepburn, William Powell, Ginger Rogers, Spencer Tracy, among others."
• • If you are seeking a special Mae West collectible, check out today's sale.
• • Jack Dempsey [24 June 1895 — 31 May 1983] • •
• • World heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey came up to see Mae onstage at the premiere of "The Mimic World of 1921." One of the characters Mae played was "Shifty Liz."
• • After the performance, the champ and the actress enjoyed their own private performance in her dressing room. Jack Dempsey retained the title from 1919 —1926 but he may have held Mae's heart a little longer.
• • Two years younger than Mae, the dashing prizefighter was born in Colorado on Monday, 24 June 1895.
• • Jack Dempsey, a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame, died of natural causes at age 87 and was buried on Long Island in Southampton Cemetery in New York.
• • On Sunday, 24 June 1928 • •
• • The Brooklyn Eagle, Mae's hometown paper, sent reporter George Halasz to interview the star about her new Broadway play "Diamond Lil." In the newspaper's weekend edition dated for Sunday, 24 June 1928, George Halasz wrote:  "When the play is put in rehearsal she has but a bare outline of the plot and dialogue.  As the rehearsals progress, she throws in a line here, a speech there. ..."
• • This is, of course, nonsense.  Mae's plays had a large cast and she was present at the auditions.  She knew how many actors she would need and what roles they would play well before hiring an adequate rehearsal space. A lot of dramatists refine and revise during rehearsal, sometimes to suit an actor, but a theatre professional like Mae West did not walk into a rehearsal with scraps of dialogue written on napkins.  No way.
• • On Wednesday, 24 June 1970 • •
• • "Myra Breckinridge"  at the Criterion Theatre (1514 Broadway) on Tuesday, 23 June 1970. The general release was on June 24th.
• • On Monday, 24 June 1974 • •
• • During an interview on the "Mike Douglas Show" on Monday night, 24 June 1974, George Raft talked about being signed to the speakeasy film "Night After Nght" to play the gangster Joe Anton in 1932, and how he convinced the studio to use Mae West as one of his character's former girlfriends, Brooklyn beautician Maudie Triplett.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "The fairy princess, you mug." [Movie dialogue for Maudie Triplett]
• • Mae West said: "Kiss me, you dog." [Movie dialogue for Maudie Triplett]
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article about a street in Harlem mentioned Mae West.
• • Michelle Young wrote: Recently, David associate produced a segment for the Channel Thirteen series, “The City Concealed” on the history of Swing Street in Harlem. “The City Concealed” checks out New York’s rich history in the city’s hidden remains and overlooked spaces and accordingly David explores the now abandoned club that started the whole jazz movement on 133rd Street, “The Nest.”  The bars were meccas for the personalities and performers of the time, including Duke Ellington, Mae West and Billie Holiday, and the street had the highest concentration of speakeasies during Prohibition than anywhere else in New York City. ...
• • Source: Article: "Swing Street in Harlem" written by  Michelle Young for Untapped New York; posted on 25 January 2011
By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started seven years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2341st 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 • 1932 • •
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  Mae West.

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