Mary Jane "Mae" West (August 17, 1893 – November 22, 1980) was an American actress, singer, comedian, screenwriter, and playwright whose career spanned more than seven decades.[1] Recognized as a prominentsex symbol of her time, she was known for portraying sexually confident characters and for her use ofdouble entendres, often delivering her lines in a distinctivecontralto voice.[2] West began performing invaudeville and on stage in New York City before moving on to film in Los Angeles.
She was frequently associated with controversies overcensorship and once stated, "I believe in censorship. I made a fortune out of it."[3][4] As her film career declined, she remained active by writing books and plays, performing inLas Vegas and London, and appearing on radio and television. In later years, she also releasedrock and roll recordings. In 1999, theAmerican Film Institute ranked her 15th among thegreatest female screen legends ofclassic American cinema.
She was the eldest surviving child of Mathilde Delker (originally "Doelger" and later Americanized to "Delker" or "Dilker") West, acorset and fashion model,[8] and John Patrick "Battlin' Jack" West, a former prizefighter who later worked as a "special policeman" and founded a private investigation agency.[9][10]
Her mother, known as "Tillie" or "Matilda", was a German immigrant fromBavaria, who arrived in 1886 with her siblings and parents, Christiana (née Brüning) and Jakob Doelger.[11] West's paternal grandmother, Mary Jane (née Copley), was of Irish descent,[6] and her paternal grandfather, John Edwin West, was of English and Scottish ancestry.[12][13]
Her parents married in Brooklyn on January 18, 1889. According to reports, the groom's parents approved of the union, while the bride's family opposed it.[14][15] They raised their children in theProtestant faith.[16]
West's eldest sister, Katie, died in infancy. Her surviving siblings were Mildred Katherine "Beverly" West and John Edwin West II (often incorrectly referred to as "Jr.").[17] During her childhood, the family lived in various areas ofWoodhaven, Queens and theWilliamsburg and Greenpoint neighborhoods of Brooklyn.
Newspaper ad forburlesque show with West, "The Girl With a Personality", Detroit, Michigan, 1915
West was five when she first entertained a crowd at a church social, and she began appearing in amateur shows at the age of seven. She frequently won prizes at local talent contests.[20] She began performing professionally in vaudeville in the Hal Clarendon Stock Company in 1907, at the age of 14.[21] As a child performer, West used the stage name "Baby Mae" (the baby may behave like this),[22] and later tried various personas, including amale impersonator.[23]
Early in her career, she sometimes used the alias "Jane Mast". Her distinctive walk was said to have been inspired or influenced by female impersonatorsBert Savoy andJulian Eltinge, who were prominent during thePansy Craze.[24][25]
West made her first appearance in aBroadway show in 1911, at age 18, in a revue titledA La Broadway staged by her former dancing teacher,Ned Wayburn. The show closed after only eight performances,[26] but West was praised in aNew York Times review, which noted that "a girl named Mae West, hitherto unknown, pleased by her grotesquerie and snappy way of singing and dancing."[27] She next appeared inVera Violetta, which also featuredAl Jolson, and in 1912, she played La Petite Daffy, a "baby vamp", inA Winsome Widow.[28]
Cover of "Ev'rybody Shimmies Now" sheet music with West's portrait, 1918
West continued to build her career invaudeville, appearing in circuits such as that run byGus Sun of Ohio.[29] She credited her mother as a constant supporter who believed everything Mae did was "fantastic", though other family members—including an aunt and her paternal grandmother—disapproved of her performing career.[30][6] In 1918, West gained significant attention in theShubert Brothers revueSometime, starring oppositeEd Wynn.[31] Her character, Mayme, danced theshimmy,[32] and her photograph was featured on the sheet music for the popular number "Ev'rybody Shimmies Now".
Eventually, West began writing her own risqué plays using the pen name Jane Mast.[33] Her first starring role on Broadway was in the 1926 playSex, which she wrote, produced, and directed. Although conservative critics panned the show, ticket sales were strong. The production did not go over well with city officials, who had received complaints from religious groups, and the theater was raided and West arrested along with the cast.[34] She was taken to theJefferson Market Court House, where she was prosecuted on morals charges, and on April 19, 1927, she was sentenced to 10 days for "corrupting the morals of youth". Though West could have paid a fine and been released, she chose the jail sentence for the publicity it would garner.[35] While incarcerated onWelfare Island, she dined with the warden and his wife and told reporters she had worn her silk panties while serving time, instead of the "burlap" issued to other inmates.[36] She served eight days, with two days off for good behavior, and afterward told reporters that her play was "a work of art".[36] Media attention surrounding the incident enhanced her career, with reporters dubbing her a "bad girl" who "had climbed the ladder of success wrong by wrong."[35]
Her next play,The Drag, dealt with homosexuality and was what West called one of her "comedy-dramas of life."[37] After a series of try-outs in Connecticut and New Jersey, West announced she would open the play in New York.[38] However,The Drag never opened on Broadway, owing to efforts by theNew York Society for the Suppression of Vice to ban any attempt by West to stage it. West explained, "The city fathers begged me not to bring the show to New York because they were not equipped to handle the commotion it would cause."[39] West was an early supporter of thewomen's liberation movement, though she said she was not a "burn your bra" type offeminist. Since the 1920s, she also supported gay rights and spoke publicly against police brutality toward gay men. She expressed the then-modern belief that gay men were women's souls in men's bodies, and said that hitting a gay man was akin to hitting a woman.[40]
In her 1959 autobiography,Goodness Had Nothing to Do With It, ghostwritten by Stephen Longstreet, West condemned hypocrisy while also voicing concerns about homosexuality:
I have always hated the two-faced, the smoother-over folk — the people who preach loudly one way of life, and then do something in private that they're against in public. In many ways homosexuality is a danger to the entire social system of western civilization...[41]
This perspective seems at odds with her later statements, such as in her 1975 bookMae West: Sex, Health, and ESP, in which she wrote:
I believe that the world owes male and female homosexuals more understanding than we've given them. Live and let live is my philosophy on the subject, and I believe everybody has the right to do his or her own thing or somebody else's — as long as they do it all in private![42]
Between the late 1920s and early 1930s, West continued to write plays, includingThe Wicked Age,Pleasure Man, andThe Constant Sinner. These productions stirred controversy, which helped keep West in the headlines and filled seats at performances.[43] Her 1928 playDiamond Lil, a story about a racy but clever lady of the 1890s, became a Broadway hit.[44] West revived it many times throughout her career.[45]
Three years later, she played Babe Gordon inThe Constant Sinner, which opened at theRoyale Theatre on September 14, 1931.[46]New York Times criticBrooks Atkinson gave the show a scathing review:
...The Constant Sinner commits one of the major sins in the theatre; it is dull... "The Constant Sinner" is also, as might be expected, vile as to speech... Her peculiar slouching about the stage... her vocal stunts, her exploitation of blond buxomness—all these grow pretty tiresome through repetition.[47]
Other critics similarly dismissed the play as "clumsy", "deliberately outlandish", and referred to West as an "atrocious playwright".[48] The play closed after 64 performances.[46] Compared toDiamond Lil, which ran for 323 performances,The Constant Sinner was a disappointment.[49][50] Still, its notoriety enhanced West's public image as a daring and provocative performer. Soon afterward, she accepted a contract fromParamount Pictures to begin her Hollywood film career.[51]
"Diamond Lil" returning to New York from California, 1933
In June 1932, after signing a two-month contract with Paramount that provided her a weekly salary of $5,000 ($110,000 in 2023), West left New York by train for California.[52] The veteran stage performer was by then nearly 40 years old, yet managed to keep her age ambiguous for some time. She made her film debut in the role of Maudie Triplett inNight After Night (1932) starringGeorge Raft, who had suggested West for the part.[52] She did not like her small supporting role in the drama at first, but was appeased when she was allowed to rewrite portions of her character's dialogue.[53] One of several revisions she made is in her first scene inNight After Night, when a hat-check girl exclaims, "Goodness, what beautiful diamonds", and West replies, "Goodness had nothing to do with it, dearie."[54] Reflecting on the overall result of her rewritten scenes, Raft is reported to have said, "She stole everything but the cameras."[54]
For her next role for Paramount, West brought herDiamond Lil character, now renamed "Lady Lou", to the screen inShe Done Him Wrong (1933).[55] The film was one ofCary Grant's early major roles, which boosted his career. West claimed she spotted Grant at the studio and insisted that he be cast as the male lead.[56] She claimed to have told a Paramount director, "If he can talk, I'll take him!" The film was a box office hit and earned anAcademy Award nomination forBest Picture.[55][57] The success of the film saved Paramount from bankruptcy, grossing over $2 million, the equivalent of $46 million in 2023. Paramount recognizes that debt of gratitude today, with a building on the lot named after West.[58]
West's second film with Cary Grant,I'm No Angel (1933)
Her next release,I'm No Angel (1933), teamed her again with Grant. The film was also a box-office hit and was the most successful of her entire screen career. In the months after its release, references to West could be found almost everywhere, from the song lyrics ofCole Porter, to aWorks Progress Administration (WPA) mural of San Francisco's newly builtCoit Tower, toShe Done Him Right, aPooch the Pup cartoon, toMy Dress Hangs There, a painting by Mexican artistFrida Kahlo. Kahlo's husband,Diego Rivera, paid his own tribute: "West is the most wonderful machine for living I have ever known—unfortunately on the screen only." ToF. Scott Fitzgerald, West was especially unique: "The only Hollywood actress with both an ironic edge and a comic spark." AsVariety put it, "Mae West's films have made her the biggest conversation-provoker, free-space grabber, and all-around box office bet in the country. She's as hot an issue as Hitler."[59]
Publicity photo, 1936
By 1933, West was one of the largest box-office draws in the United States[60] and, by 1935, she was also the highest paid woman and the second-highest paid person in the United States (afterWilliam Randolph Hearst).[61] Hearst invited West toHearst Castle, his massive estate inSan Simeon, California, where Hollywood celebrities and prominent political and business figures frequently gathered to socialize. "I could'a married him," West later commented, "but I got no time for parties. I don't like those big crowds." On July 1, 1934, the censorship guidelines of the film industry'sProduction Code began to be meticulously enforced. As a result, West's scripts were subjected to more editing. She, in turn, would often intentionally place extremely risqué lines in her scripts, knowing they would be cut by the censors. She hoped they would then not object as much to her other less suggestive lines. Her next film wasBelle of the Nineties (1934). The original title,It Ain't No Sin, was changed because of censors' objections.[62] Despite Paramount's early objections regarding costs, West insisted the studio hireDuke Ellington and his orchestra to accompany her in the film's musical numbers. Their collaboration was a success; the classic "My Old Flame" was introduced in this film. Her next film,Goin' to Town (1935), received mixed reviews, as censorship continued to take its toll by preventing West from including her best lines.[63]
Her following effort,Klondike Annie (1936), dealt, as best it could given the heavy censorship, with religion and hypocrisy.[64] Some critics called the film hermagnum opus, but not everyone agreed. Press baron William Randolph Hearst, offended by a remark West made about his mistressMarion Davies, sent a private memo to his editors stating: "That Mae West pictureKlondike Annie is a filthy picture... DO NOT ACCEPT ANY ADVERTISING OF THIS PICTURE." Paramount executives felt they had to tone down West's characterization. "I was the first liberated woman, you know. No guy was going to get the best of me. That's what I wrote all my scripts about."[65]
West next starred inEvery Day's a Holiday (1937) for Paramount before their association ended. Censorship had increasingly made West's sexually suggestive humor difficult to sustain on screen. She was included in the "Box Office Poison" list published by the Independent Theatre Owners Association. This did not stop producerDavid O. Selznick from offering her the role of Belle Watling inGone with the Wind, but West declined, saying it was too small and would need rewriting.
A pair of "trick" platform shoes worn by West in films to make her look taller, which also contributed to her unique gait
In 1939,Universal Studios approached West to star oppositeW. C. Fields inMy Little Chickadee (1940).[69] Although West and Fields had a combative relationship, the film was a box office success.[70][71] Religious leaders condemned West's on-screen persona, taking offense at lines such as: "When I'm caught between two evils, I generally like to take the one I never tried."[72]
West's final film of the period wasThe Heat's On (1943), produced by Columbia Pictures. She only agreed to star as a personal favor to directorGregory Ratoff.[73] It was the only film where she was not allowed to write her own dialogue. The result was poorly received, and West later cited her frustration with censorship as a key reason for her departure from filmmaking.[74] Instead, she found continued success in nightclubs, stage shows, and Broadway revivals where she retained creative control over her performances.
On December 12, 1937, West appeared in two separate sketches onventriloquistEdgar Bergen'sradio showThe Chase and Sanborn Hour.[75] Appearing as herself, West flirted withCharlie McCarthy, Bergen's dummy, using her usual brand of wit and risqué sexual references. West referred to Charlie as "all wood and a yard long" and commented, "Charles, I remember our last date, and have the splinters to prove it!"[76] West was on the verge of being banned from radio.
Another controversial sketch aired the same night onNBC, written byArch Oboler, and featuredDon Ameche and West asAdam and Eve in theGarden of Eden. She tells Ameche to "get me a big one... I feel like doin' a big apple!"[76] This ostensible reference to the then-currentdance craze was one of the manydouble entendres in the dialogue. Days after the broadcast, the studio received letters calling the show "immoral" and "obscene".[77] Several conservative women's clubs and religious groups admonished the show's sponsor,Chase & Sanborn Coffee Company, for "prostituting" their services for allowing "impurity [to] invade the air".[75]
Under pressure, theFederal Communications Commission later deemed the broadcast "vulgar and indecent" and "far below even the minimum standard which should control in the selection and production of broadcast programs".[78] Some debate existed regarding the reaction to the skit. Conservative religious groups took umbrage far more swiftly than the mainstream. These groups found it easy to make West their target. They took exception to her outspoken use of sexuality and sexual imagery, which she had employed in her career since at least thepre-Code films of the early 1930s and for decades before on Broadway, but which was now being broadcast into American living rooms on a popular family-friendly radio program. The groups reportedly warned the sponsor of the program they would protest her appearance.[79]
NBC Radio banned West (and the mention of her name) from their stations following the backlash.[80] She did not return to radio until January 1950, when she appeared on an episode ofThe Chesterfield Supper Club, hosted byPerry Como.[81] Ameche's career did not suffer any serious repercussions, however, as he was playing the "straight" character. West subsequently continued to perform in venues such as Lou Walters'sThe Latin Quarter, Broadway, and London.
After appearing inThe Heat's On in 1943, West returned to a highly active stage and nightclub career. Among her notable performances was the title role inCatherine Was Great (1944) on Broadway, a play she wrote as a satirical take on the life ofCatherine the Great. In the production, she surrounded herself with a group of tall, muscular actors described as an "imperial guard".[82] Produced by theater and film impresarioMike Todd, the play ran for 191 performances before going on tour.[83]
West revived her 1928 playDiamond Lil in 1949, returning it to Broadway. A reviewer forThe New York Times referred to her as an "American institution—as beloved and indestructible as Donald Duck. Like Chinatown, and Grant's Tomb, Mae West should be seen at least once." In the 1950s, she performed in her own Las Vegas stage show at the newly openedSahara Hotel, where she sang while flanked by bodybuilders. The show proved popular with both male and female audiences, with West commenting, "Men come to see me, but I also give the women something to see: wall to wall men."[84]
During the casting ofBilly Wilder's 1950 filmSunset Boulevard, West was offered the role ofNorma Desmond. Still frustrated by the censorship imposed onThe Heat's On, she declined the role, stating that its pathos did not suit her comedic sensibility, which she characterized as focused on uplifting audiences. The role ultimately went toGloria Swanson, afterMary Pickford also declined.[85]
On March 26, 1958, West appeared at the live televisedAcademy Awards and performed the song "Baby, It's Cold Outside" withRock Hudson, which received a standing ovation.[86] In 1959, she released an autobiography,Goodness Had Nothing to Do With It, which became a best-seller. West made several television appearances to promote the book, including onThe Dean Martin Variety Show in 1959 andThe Red Skelton Show in 1960. She also recorded a lengthy interview forPerson to Person withCharles Collingwood in 1959, which was ultimately not broadcast; CBS executives reportedly felt viewers were not prepared to see a nude marble statue of West that appeared in the segment. In 1964, she guest-starred on the sitcomMister Ed.[87] In 1976, she appeared on a CBS special,Back Lot U.S.A., hosted byDick Cavett, where she was interviewed and performed two songs.
West's recording career began in the early 1930s with releases of songs from her films on78 rpm records. These were issued alongside sheet music for home use. In 1955, she recorded her first LP album,The Fabulous Mae West. In 1965, she recorded two songs, "Am I Too Young" and "He's Good for Me", for a 45 rpm single released by Plaza Records. She also recorded novelty songs such as "Santa, Come Up to See Me", featured on the albumWild Christmas,[88] which was later reissued in 1980 asMae in December.[89] In 1966, she released the rock-and-roll albumWay Out West, followed in 1972 byGreat Balls of Fire, which included covers of songs byThe Doors and tracks written by English songwriter-producerIan Whitcomb.
West's likeness was used on thefront cover ofthe Beatles' 1967 albumSgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. When approached for permission, West initially declined, reportedly asking, "What would I be doing in a Lonely Hearts Club?" She changed her mind after receiving a letter from the band expressing admiration for her work.[90]
After a 27-year absence from motion pictures, West returned to the screen as Leticia Van Allen inMyra Breckinridge (1970), based on the novel byGore Vidal. The film starredRaquel Welch,Rex Reed,Farrah Fawcett, andTom Selleck, but was hampered by production difficulties and poor critical reception.[91] Though West received top billing, her role was reduced during editing. In 1971, she was voted "Woman of the Century" by students atUniversity of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) for her legacy as an outspoken figure on issues of sexuality and censorship.[92]
West in her Los Angeles apartment, 1973; photo by Allan Warren
In 1975, West released the booksSex, Health, and ESP andPleasure Man, the latter based on her 1928 stage play.[93] Her 1959 autobiography,Goodness Had Nothing to Do With It, was also updated and reissued during this period.[94] She managed her own stage acts and invested in real estate, including property inVan Nuys, Los Angeles.
She appeared on the CBS television specialBack Lot U.S.A. in 1976, where she was interviewed byDick Cavett and performed "Frankie and Johnny" and "After You've Gone".[95][self-published source?]
That year, she began production on her final film,Sextette (1978), based on a script she had written in 1959.[96] Frequent revisions and production delays led to a decision to feed her lines via a speaker concealed in her wig due to her deteriorating eyesight.[97] Despite these challenges, directorKen Hughes later described her as committed to completing the film.Sextette was not a commercial success. Its cast includedGeorge Raft,Tony Curtis,Timothy Dalton,Walter Pidgeon,Ringo Starr,Alice Cooper,Dom DeLuise, andRona Barrett, along with several of West's former Las Vegas performers, such asReg Lewis. The film reunited her with costume designerEdith Head, who had worked onShe Done Him Wrong in 1933.[98]
Mae West was known for her distinctive appearance, often characterized by figure-hugging, floor-length gowns with low necklines. Her style typically featured details such asfishtail trains and feather trim, which became associated with her on-screen persona.[101]
West and husband Frank Wallace in 1911West (right) in an ad with Deiro, c. 1916–17West in 1978 with Paul Novak, her partner of 25 years
West was married on April 11, 1911, inMilwaukee, Wisconsin, to Frank Szatkus (1892–1966),[102] whose stage name was Frank Wallace,[103] a fellow vaudevillian whom she met in 1909. She was 17.[104] She kept the marriage a secret, but a filing clerk discovered the certificate in 1935 and alerted the press.[105] The clerk also uncovered anaffidavit from her 1927Sex trial, in which she had declared herself married.[106] At first, West denied the marriage but admitted it in July 1937 in response to a legal interrogatory.[107] The couple never lived together as husband and wife; she stated they had separate bedrooms and soon sent him away to headline his own show. She obtained a divorce on July 21, 1942, during which Wallace withdrew his request for separate maintenance, and West testified that they had lived together for only "several weeks".[108] The final divorce decree was granted on May 7, 1943.[109]
In 1913, West metGuido Deiro (1886–1950), an Italian-born vaudeville star and accordionist. According to his son, Guido Roberto Deiro, West married Deiro in 1914, though this has not been conclusively proven. Their relationship reportedly ended after West had an abortion at her mother's urging, which left her infertile and nearly killed her.[110] West later quipped, "Marriage is a great institution. I'm not ready for an institution."[111]
In 1916, West began a relationship with James Timony (1884–1954), an attorney and her manager. By the mid-1930s, they were no longer a couple but remained close until his death.[112]
West remained close to her family throughout her life and was especially affected by her mother's death in 1930.[114] She moved into apartment 611, one floor from the top, atThe Ravenswood in Hollywood that year, remaining there until her death.[115] She later brought her father, sister, and brother to Hollywood and supported them.[116] She also had a relationship with boxerGorilla Jones (1906–1982). When her apartment building barred Jones from entry because he was African American, she bought the building and lifted the ban.[117]
In her sixties, West became romantically involved with Chester Rybinski (1923–1999), a former Mr. California and member of her Las Vegas stage show. He later changed his name to Paul Novak. He was 30 years her junior and remained with her until her death.[118][119][120] Novak once commented, "I believe I was put on this Earth to take care of Mae West."[121]
West would sometimes refer to herself in thethird person and speak of "Mae West" as the entertainment character she had created.[122]
In August 1980, West tripped while getting out of bed. After the fall, she was unable to speak and was taken toGood Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles, where tests revealed that she had suffered astroke.[122] She died three months later on November 22 at the age of 87.[125][123][126]
A private service was held three days later at the church inForest Lawn Memorial Park.[127][128][129] Her friend, Bishop Andre Penachio, officiated at the entombment in the family mausoleum atCypress Hills Cemetery inBrooklyn, which had been purchased in 1930 when her mother died. Her father and brother had also been entombed there, and her younger sister Beverly was laid to rest in the last of the five crypts less than 18 months later.[98][130][131]
In the 1935 Laurel and Hardy filmBonnie Scotland, in response to the character Mrs. Burns saying to Mr. Miggs, "The next time you drop down to Glasgow, you must come up and see me some time," Stan comments, "It's Mae West."
During World War II, Allied aircrews called their yellow inflatable, vest-likepersonal flotation devices "Mae Wests", partly fromrhyming slang for "breasts" and partly because of the resemblance to her torso.[133] A "Mae West" is also a type of round parachute malfunction that contorts the shape of the canopy into the appearance of a largebrassiere.[134]
West is referenced in songs, including the title number ofCole Porter's Broadway musicalAnything Goes and in "You're the Top".[135]
^Black, Gregory D. (1996).Hollywood Censored: Morality Codes, Catholics, and the Movies. Cambridge University Press. pp. 228–229.ISBN978-0-521-56592-9.
^Dick, Bernard F. (1993).The Merchant Prince of Poverty Row: Harry Cohn of Columbia Pictures. University Press of Kentucky. p. 130.ISBN978-0-8131-1841-3.
^Ohmart, Ben (2007).Don Ameche: The Kenosha Comeback Kid. BearManor Media. p. 50.ISBN978-1-59393-045-5.
^Craig, Steve.Out of Eden: The Legion of Decency, the FCC, and Mae West's 1937 Appearance on The Chase and Sanborn Hour. Journal of Radio Studies (November 2006).
