Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Mae West: Kit Guard

MAE WEST starred in "Belle of the Nineties" [1934] and Kit Guard was seen as a St. Louis gym mug.
• • Born in Hals, Denmark on 5 May 1894, Christen Klitgaard emigrated from Aalborg, Denmark to Manitoba, Canada in 1901 with his family. He was active in live theatre for nearly a decade. By 1920, he was involved in silent films, shorts mainly, gaining credits at Fox, Metro, and FBO in dramas and comedies.
• • Between 1920 — 1958, the five-foot-eight actor was attached to about 350 feature films, occasionally in modest supporting roles but more often in bit parts as "the heavy" or one of the under-class: a henchman, thug, pirate, barfly, "seedy man," vagrant, drunk, gang member, parolee, guy at the racetrack, etc. He guest-starred on TV a few times.
• • Kit Guard (sometimes billed as Kid Guard) was finished off by cancer. He died in Woodland Hills, California in July — — on 18 July 1961. He was 67. He was buried in  Valhalla Memorial Park.
• • Red Skelton [18 July 1913 — 17 September 1997] • •
• • It was 1 March 1960 when Mae West was a special guest on "The Red Skelton Show" on TV. "The Red Skelton Show" was an American variety show that was a television staple for almost two decades — — from the early 1950s through the early 1970s.
• • Born in Vincennes, Indiana in the month of July — — on 18 July 1913 — — Red Skelton was an American comedian who was best known as a top radio and TV star from 1937 to 1971. Red Skelton's show business career began in his teens as a circus clown and he went on to appearances that spanned from vaudeville, Broadway, films, radio, TV, night clubs, and casinos. During his career as a performer, he also pursued his interests as a serious fine arts painter.
• • Red Skelton died from pneumonia in a California hospital on 17 September 1997.  He was 84.
• • James Brolin, Happy Birthday • •
• • When Ann Jillian portrayed Mae West for ABC-TV's viewers in the spring of 1982, she was far luckier than the Brooklyn bombshell. Co-starring as Mae's burly lawyer-manager James A. Timony was the handsome actor James Brolin mouthing sentences in E. Arthur Kean's fairy-dusted confection. 
• • Born in Los Angeles on 18 July 1940, James Brolin's birthname is Craig Kenneth Bruderlin. We hope this good-looking guy is enjoying his 72nd birthday today.
• • On Friday, 18 July 1952 • •
• • The headline on July 18th read: "Mae Gets Mae West."  Here's the article.
• • New York, Thursday — Mae West, reversing her usual procedure, came up to Groton submarine base to see the United States Navy. She was given a Mae West life jacket. Hundreds of sailors at the base whooped and shouted when Miss West hove into view.
• • The actress came as the Navy's honored guest for the unveiling of the latest model "Mae West" jacket.  The new jackets were made of an orange-red material, visible at great distances at sea.
• • "I like the new color," Miss West said. "It's so desirable.  I understand they can be seen from a great distance. That's another thing we have in common."
• • Mae considered it a great honor • •
• • Miss West said she considered it a great honor to have men all over the world wearing the Jackets.  "After all, men is my business," she added.
• • Three sailors demonstrated the jackets by leaping from a wharf into the water and then the actress was presented with one of the jackets.
• • Source: Australia's Barrier Miner, on page 9, published on Friday, 18 July 1952.
• • Save the Date: Thursday, August 16th • •
• • Thursday, 16 August 2012 will be the next Mae West Tribute in Manhattan and the evening affair will start at 6:30 pm at 155 Mulberry Street.  This year Mae-mavens will enjoy an indoor event (ahhh, air conditioning), music written by Mae West's Italian husband will be played, and attendees will be seated.
• • At the Reception, Italian wine and light refreshments will be served. The ever-popular Mae West Raffle will offer rare prizes once again to a number of lucky attendees. The public is invited.
• • Mae West was born in Brooklyn, NY on Thursday, 17 August 1893.
• • Closest MTA subway stations: Grand St. or Canal St.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "Clara Bow was through at Paramount. I could have had her old dressing room if I wanted it."
• • Mae West said: "My public expects me to be bad."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • An article about motion pictures from the 1930s mentioned Mae West.
• • "Belle of the Nineties" will be available on 6 August 2012.
• • Michelle McCue wrote: Four cinematic gems from the 1930s that have been unavailable for years are coming to DVD this August in a unique collection from Turner Classic Movies (TCM) and Universal Studios Home Entertainment (USHE). Released as part of the TCM Vault Collection, the "Universal Rarities: Films of the 1930s" set features some of the biggest stars of the era, including W.C. Fields in "Million Dollar Legs" (1932), Mae West in "Belle of the Nineties" (1934), Jack Benny in "Artists and Models" (1937) and Gary Cooper and George Raft in "Souls at Sea" (1937).  The Universal Rarities: Films of the 1930s collection will be available exclusively through TCM’s online store, beginning on 6 August 2012. The set features extensive digital bonus materials, such as photos, posters, lobby cards and more.  ...
• • Source: Article: "Rare Films From 1930s Coming To DVD From TCM and Universal" written by Michelle McCue for We Are Movie Geeks; published on 11 July 2012
By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started eight years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2366th 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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• • Mae West • 1934
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