THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

The exhibition, like his column, is named STARRLIGHT.

Mae West

Giant billboards all over Hollywood depicted the 85-year-old star, once known as the Queen of Sex, dress in white, reclining seductively on a chaise lounge, promoting her latest and last film appearance with the caption 'Mae West Is Coming.'

Mary Jane West was born in Brooklyn, Aug. 17, 1893. Her father was an Irish prizefighter, 'Battlin' Jack West.' Her mother, Matilda, was a model and a dressmaker, who also played in vaudeville. Little Mae, encouraged by her parents, went on the New York stage at the age of five, and for the next six years performed on the road in various plays including Mrs. Wigg of the Cabbage Patch and Ten Nights In A Barroom. Mae picked up some formal schooling along the way which later helped her to write her own books and plays, but that type of education never interested her much. At age 12 her rowdy vaudeville performances had her billed as 'The Baby Vamp.'

In 1911, 17-year-old Mae made her Broadway debut in A La Broadway, and then appeared in Hello Paris. That same year, she married a jazz singer named Frank Wallace and together they developed a song-and-dance act. After deciding marriage wasn't for her, she dumped Frank and dissolved the act. West never spoke of this marriage until 1942, when her husband re-appeared after touring the country in a show as 'Mae West's husband', suing her for divorce and $1,000 a month maintenance. Mae once wrote, 'Save a boyfriend for a rainy day—and another in case it doesn't rain.'

West continued to work in revues and vaudeville, and Mother Matilda encouraged her daughter to write her own material. In 1926 Mae produced a play on Broadway, named Sex, about a prostitute. In the 41st week of the play's run, West was arrested for writing a 'profane' drama and giving a 'suggestive' performance. Her 10-day stint for obscenity in the Welfare Island jail established her as New York's most famous and beloved jailbird. She was released two days early for good behavior.

Mae's second play, The Drag, opened in New Jersey. It was a story about homosexuals, a topic which was rarely discussed publicly at that time. She was convinced by numerous officials not to bring the production to New York. Her third play, Diamond Lil,was a huge success, and it was in this show that she first uttered her most famous line, 'Why don't you come up and see me sometime?' In 1928, her Broadway play, The Pleasure Man, was closed by the police after one performance. In 1931, her play The Constant Sinner was forced by the district attorney to close after two performances.

Tired of her censorship problems on the stage, West turned to Hollywood. In 1932, at age 40, she appeared in her first film for Paramount Studios, Night After Night. In the film, when a hat-check girl comments on Mae's jewelry, 'Goodness, what beautiful diamonds!', West gives another famous response, 'Goodness had nothing to do with it, dearie.' Also in the film, when asked 'Do you believe in love at first sight?', Mae replies 'I don't know, but it saves an awful lot of time.'

In 1933, Mae chose young, handsome, unknown Cary Grant to be her male lead in the film adaptation of her play Diamond Lil, re-named She Done Him Wrong. In the film, Cary asks Mae, 'Haven't you ever met a man who could make you happy?' Mae replies, 'Sure, lots of times.' The movie was a huge success, and Cary became a star. That same year, Grant appeared with West again in I'm No Angel, which was an even bigger success. One of her lines in the film was 'Don't let a man put anything over on ya 'cept an umbrella.' Uttering her own witty, sexually charged dialogue while wearing fantastic costumes, and artfully singing suggestive songs made Mae a screen sensation.

However, the sensational sexual content of Mae's films with Cary Grant helped induce a code of censorship. By 1934, the Hays Code [The Production Code] was in place, and it limited West's brand of humor. But Mae wrote her clever dialogue with double talk that could be taken in various ways, and pushed her work past the censors. Her next film, Belle Of The Ninties 񢈎), was another tremendous hit. In 1936, when she made both Klondike Annie and Go West Young Man, she was the highest paid woman in the U.S.

In 1937, West made Every Day's A Holiday, and then waited three years to appear with W.C. Fields in My Little Chickadee 񢈔). She disliked her co-star, and felt he was vile and crude.

During World War II, Army and Navy pilots, referring to Mae's obvious attributes, named their inflatable lifevests after her. The term 'Mae West' made it into Webster's dictionary, and continues in use today.

In 1943, West made the first film she didn't script herself, The Heat's On. The censors had become even more restrictive, and she decided to abandon her film career. Mae concentrated on writing, producing, and starring in various plays. In 1954, at age 62, she developed an outstanding, popular Las Vegas nightclub act in which she sang surrounded by handsome musclemen. It ran for three years, and one of the men became her life partner for 26 years. In 1959, West published her autobiography, Goodness Had Nothing To Do With It.

Mae appeared on ventriloquist Edgar Bergen's radio show, and did a sketch with the dummy Charlie McCarthy that was considersd so shocking, she was banned from the airwaves for years. To attract a younger audience, she recorded a Rock & Roll album titled Great Balls of Fire. On Broadway she appeared in the title role in Catherine Was Great. In 1970, when censorship was lifted, Mae returned to the screen after almost 30 years in the outrageous Myra Breckenridge, co-starring movie critic Rex Reed and Raquel Welch. In 1978 Mae made her last film appearance in Sextette.

Many of her lines of dialogue, written decades ago, are still remembered and much appreciated today. Here are some:

'I used to be Snow White, but I drifted'

'It's better to be looked over than overlooked.'

'I generally avoid temptation, unless I can't resist it.'

'There are no good girls gone wrong, just bad girls found out.'

'It's not the men in my life that counts, it's the life in my men.'

'Is that a gun in your pocket, or are you just glad to see me?'

'A hard man is good to find'

'I'll try anything once, twice if I like it, three times to make sure.'

'Between two evils, I always pick the one I haven't tried before.'

'A man in the house is worth two in the street.'

After a series of strokes, Mae West died Nov. 22, 1980. She was 87 years old. West was once quoted, 'You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.'

Steve Starr is the author of 'Picture Perfect'-Deco Photo Frames 1926-1946. A designer and an artist, he is the owner of Steve Starr Studios, specializing in original Art Deco photo frames, jewelry and furnishings.

Visit the glamorous studio at 2779 N. Lincoln Avenue in Chicago where adorning the walls is Starr's collection of over 950 gorgeous frames filled with photos of Hollywoods most elegant stars.

You may email Steve at SSSChicago@Ameritech.net

Photo of Steve Starr June 25, 2002, by Albert Aguilar.