Mae West
Buxom actress Mae West employed clever double-entendres throughout the course of her long career on stage and screen. More than once she managed to squeeze something suggestive past the eagle eyes and ears of her rigid censors, and her public came to adore her for it. In fact she boasted of the feat, saying, "I believe in censorship. I made a fortune out of it." Similarly, the titles of West's recordings veered toward the suggestive and risqué. The Rosetta Records release Mae West Sings Sultry Songs includes such numbers as "A Guy That Takes His Time," "Easy Rider," and "Pardon Me for Loving and Running." The compilation I'm No Angel from Jasmine Records, which was named for one of her early films, features the title song and "I Want You, I Need You." The Fabulous Mae West from MCA Records offers "I'm in the Mood for Love" and "All of Me." The Mind's Eye issued a cassette featuring such classic West numbers as "Come Up and See Me Sometime," as well as "Slow Down."
The actress was born Mary Jane West in Brooklyn, NY, in 1893, although some sources say she was born a year earlier. By the age of five she was working the boards in vaudeville. By her early teens her performances had earned her the moniker of "Baby Vamp." She eventually landed on Broadway in Diamond Lil, but not before offending the moral code of the 1920s and earning a short stop in jail for one of the plays she had written, which she titled Sex.
Her fortunes turned around when she went to Hollywood. Outrageous remarks packed with sexual innuendo brought fame and adulation to the five-foot blonde actress with an exaggerated hourglass figure, as well as an Oscar nomination in 1933 for She Done Him Wrong, her second movie. Evidently another of West's oft-quoted remarks was accurate. She said, "When I'm good, I'm very good, but when I'm bad I'm better." A look at her salary during the early Hollywood years backs up this claim. In 1932, in the midst of the Depression, she was paid $50,000 to make one film. In 1959 the actress published Goodness Had Nothing to Do with It, her autobiography. She remained active almost until the end, making her final film, Sextette, just two years prior to her passing. She died in Los Angeles, CA, in 1980, after experiencing a number of strokes. During her life she claimed that she had never taken a husband, and she is given credit for saying, "Marriage is a great institution, but I'm not ready for an institution." However, records indicate that she married a man named Frank Wallace.
Recordings are available of West's radio and television appearances. Mark 56 Records offers recordings of the actress on a 1937 radio broadcast with Edgar Bergen and his puppet, Charlie McCarthy. Other broadcasts include a take from her guest appearance in the '30s on The Rudy Vallee Show and two of her Christmas broadcasts from the early '70s for The American Forces Radio Service. Recordings of her television work span the 1940s to the 1960s and include guest appearances on shows hosted by Perry Como, Red Skelton, and Dean Martin.
© Linda Seida /TiVo
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Discografia
40 álbum(ns) • Ordenado por Mais vendidos
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Wild Christmas! (Remastered)
Ambient/New Age - Lançado por RevOla em 20/02/2020
Disponível em24-Bit/96 kHz Estéreo -
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The Fabulous Mae West
R&B - Lançado por Cherry Red Records em 01/01/1955
Disponível em16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
The Fabulous Mae West
Ragtime - Lançado por Poppydisc em 01/01/1955
Disponível em16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
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BD Music Presents Mae West
Vocal Jazz - Lançado por BDMUSIC em 25/06/2007
Disponível em16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
The Very Best Of
Vocal Jazz - Lançado por Master Classics Records em 01/07/2009
Disponível em16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
I'm No Angel
Pop - Lançado por Rainbow Media OMP em 11/05/2009
Disponível em16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
Alone With The Moon
Pop - Lançado por Reminisce Music em 29/05/2023
Disponível em16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
The Fabulous Mae West And Other Wonderful Girls
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Lançado por Sepia em 04/07/2006
Disponível em16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
You Turn Me On - Mae West
Pop - Lançado por ISIS em 05/09/2022
Disponível em16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
His Only Recording
Humour/Spoken Word - Lançado por Tin Toy em 31/01/2014
Disponível em16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
Golden Selection (Remastered)
Jazz - Lançado por Master Tape Records em 03/10/2020
Disponível em16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
Nostalgic Memories-The Very Best Of Mae West-Vol. 51
Jazz - Lançado por RP-DSP em 24/11/2011
Disponível em16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
The Ultimate Collection
Vocal Jazz - Lançado por Master Classics Records em 01/09/2009
Disponível em16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
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Wild Christmas
Musical Theatre - Lançado por Christmas Album em 30/11/2018
Disponível em16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
Woman in Blues - Mae West
Blues - Lançado por ISIS em 05/09/2022
Disponível em16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
Come Up and See Me!
Pop - Lançado por Music Manager em 07/02/2022
Disponível em16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
At the Movies
Film Soundtracks - Lançado por KEMDISC em 10/07/2020
Disponível em16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
Ladies of Hollywood 1930s
Ethel Merman, Lyda Roberti, Mae West
Film Soundtracks - Lançado por Music Today Records em 25/06/2015
Disponível em16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo