Mae West

• • Mary Jane ("Mae") West: 1892 - 1980 • • Born in Bushwick, Mae West glamourized the Brooklynese accent on the silver screen. The native New Yorker was born on August 17, 1892 to Matilda [Dilker] West, a buxom German-born corset model, and John "Battling Jack" West, a former boxer. • • With her parents' encouragement, "Baby Mae: Song and Dance" was the vaudeville act the child perfected, winning amateur contests at local theatres. In 1911, the petite brunette debuted on Broadway in a revue choreographed by her dance instructor Ned Wayburn. • • Frustrated by restrictions of the male-dominated Rialto, however, Mae West began creating her own material. In April 1926 she starred in her own controversial Broadway show, the brazenly titled "Sex." After Variety Magazine reviewed her homosexual comedy "The Drag" in February 1927, Mae West was jailed for obscenity, inciting worldwide headlines and a re-examination of the First Amendment. • • Newspapers and magazines debated this issue: Should "dirt plays" be policed by City Hall, the Governor, the Catholic Church, or citizens groups? For years to come, the issue of censorship and Mae West would be entwined. • • Despite her notoriety, when the Great Depression was keeping people away from the movie theatres, Paramount Pictures hired Mae West in 1932. By 1934, she was the highest paid actress/ screenwriter. • • "Myra Breckenridge" [1970] and "Sextette" [1978] were her final films but these movies were not her best work. • • After complications from a stroke, Mae West died in Los Angeles in November 1980 at the age of 87. She is buried in Brooklyn, NY, at Cypress Hills Cemetery. • • Written by EONS member MaeWestNY. • • Come up and see MAE WEST's blog on EONS.