Mae West Books

The first publication to focus solely on Mae West is an exquisitely hand bound 21 page booklet printed in color ink on thick cream hued paper, in a limited edition of one hundred copies entitled, "Reward of Virtue: a versified version of the great bed and bar-room epic, Diamond Lil, written and played by Mae West. Written by Earl H. Emmons, and published in 1938 by Maverick Press in New York, it clearly is a labor of love.
In the forward, Emmons stated that in the spring of 1928, he went to see Diamond Lil, and it occurred to him that the plot had amusing possibilties for some versified foolery. Over the next few weeks, he saw the play a number of times, made notes and learned the lines. After writing his opus to West, he typed one copy, made it into a little book, and sent it to Mae West, who "expressed enthusiastic apreciation and suggested I come up and see her some time in the near future so that she might thank me personally."
Emmons called on West the very next evening after the performance and "collected her personal thanks, the nature of which is no one's business." However, he did state for the record that West told him she had received the booklet just as she was preparing for her performance, and without even completing her makeup, went onto the stage, assembled the entire cast in whatever stages of undress they happened to be and proceeded to read it to the company, delaying the evening performance by twelve minutes. Emmons then goes on to apologize to anyone being annoyed by the delay that evening, and asks them to "stop blaming Miss West and turn their venom on me."
A year later, in 1939, a book of poetry entitled "An Uncensored Anthology," published by the Peter Pauper Press of New York, reprinted Emmon's "Reward Of Virtue," along with other poems by him entitled, "Mae West's Bust," and "Ballad Of The Twin Buttes." Another poem suggestive of West entitled "Frankie And Johnnie" was included in this collection attribued to "Anonymous."
I was thrilled to discover a mint copy of Emmons original booklet recently, and recommend anyone trying to search out the later published copy in the Anthology for sheer reading enjoyment. A classic early appreciation of Mae West, and one she clearly took pleasure in.

When Lillian Schissel edited "Three Plays by Mae West,' published in 1997, it marked the first time Sex, The Drag and The Pleasure Man had ever been printed. Long thought to be lost, the original manuscripts gathered dust at the Library of Congress. After prolonged legal wrangling with the Roger Richman Agency of Los Angeles, who at the time represented the Mae West receivership estate, a deal was finally struck to have the plays finally published.
Schissel argues that West provided one of the first role models for women suggesting they could be independent and achieve success following through on their own ambitions.
When a revival of Sex was mounted in Seattle in 1998, a review noted, "What dates this show more than all the quaint wink-and nod lewdness are a couple of incredibly racist lines that I'm glad they didn't cut. At one point, Margy LaMont tells a guy there's no way he could get himself a woman, at least not a white women. Later a character tells Margy that she could make good money whoring in Trinidad "'cause all the girls down there are half black."
Times have changed when this shocks us more than humping. Even a couple of archaic racial slurs are left in, the only real shock here is that a 1927 audience wouldn't have even blinked.
The strength of Schissel's work is the research she uncovered in the case for the prosecution against Mae West in legal documents relating to the staging of Sex and The Pleasure Man. The testimoney presented during the court proceedings is fascinating to read and sheds light on the rampant homophobia at the time.
Perhaps the most important aspect of Schlissel's sleuthing is that excerpts from West's obscenity trial and disturbingly the censor's accusations sound as troubling today as they did 80 years ago. The arguments used 80 years ago to ban Mae West's bon mots are not unlike those used today to bar gay and lesbian artists from public funding and public self-expression.
Highly recommended!

My mom and I have been reading one chapter of this book each night. Now that I'm on vacation from school we watch a movie from the actress we read about the night before the following day. My mom has always talked about these actresses and I've enjoyed knowing more about their personal lives. It gives me a better understanding of their acting when I know who they were in real life.



All the famous ones are covered in "Hollywood Blondes" - My favorites are Marilyn Monroe, Judy Holliday, Betty Grable and Jean Harlow. The detailed filmographies have helped us track down which movies we want to see too. It's a real bonus to have the filmographies of each actress after their chapter.



Not all of the movies are available anymore but old movies are being found and restored all the time so hopefully some of the lost films will become available in the future. If you're a fan of the blonde actresses from many years ago, whatever your age, this is a really fun and enjoyable book to read :) :)



If you think famous people of today like Lindsay Lohan, Britney Spears and Nicole Ritchie have their problems, after reading this book, it seems that old Hollywood celebs had the same pressures, addictions and problems. Many of the women in this book were addicted to drugs and alcohol. They had so many marriages and men in their lives, I found it hard to keep up and there were even some murders! I also found it interesting that as beautiful as they all were, their self esteem was very low. Probably the reason why they used drugs and alcohol to feel better about themselves.



Well, that's it. I just really liked this book and wanted to let you all know about it. Thanks!!!!!

I was beyond thrilled when someone told me there was a chapter about Marie McDonald in this book. I have been a huge Marie fan ever since I saw her in Promises Promises but there is not a lot of information about her out there. Thank goodness for Hollywood Blondes! This has to be the most detailed and accurate look at Marie's turbulent life. I thought they picked some stunning photos of Marie too. I wasn't surprised when I learned the authors started MarieMcDonald.org

I also like the other chapters in Hollywood Blondes. It was a good mix of bombshells from the 30s, 40s, and 50s.

Hollywood Blondes is the title of a new but highly superficial and unoriginal book on the flaxen actresses of the silver screen by Michelle Vogel and Liz Nocera. Weaving the reader in from silly hair color commercial catchphrases, to the history of how blonde hair was revered throughout the ages, (throughout the centuries women have use horse dung, horse urine, and saffron to lighten their hair) whatever, to the introduction, these two self-proclaimed "film historians" do themselves in and let the reader know what they are in for....which certainly is NOT knowledge of famous blonde actresses.

From telling the readers about the psychological effects that blondes are supposed to be lovelier, and that only a few percentage of the world's population are naturally blonde, one gets the idea that they are over-wording just to use up more space in the book.

I will limit myself discuss the Jean Harlow chapter and add a few of notes here on other actresses I am familiar with, so others can write their reviews on other stars they know more about.

While Jean Harlow's hair did become damage from over-bleaching, it wasn't true that, "She had no other choice but to wear a platinum blonde wig in her last seven films." In fact, Harlow was not a platinum blonde since 1935. She opted for a platinum colored wig in her 1935's movies Reckless and China Seas, as she was letting her own hair grow in. The only two films that she wore wigs after that were in Riffraff--the movie that introduced Harlow to the world as a "brownette"in 1936, and in Wife vs. Secretary. Harlow wore her own natural hair color of honey blonde hair in her other films from 1935 on, including Saratoga, her last film in 1937.
Here are some mistakes about Jean Harlow that were written on this book.

--Jean Harlow was not born in St. Louis, Missouri. It was Kansas City, Missouri. Betty Grable was the one born in St. Louis.

--Harlow's mother was never referred to as "Mama Jean"; she was known as "Mother Jean."

--Jean's grandfather, Skip Harlow, was not an architect; he was a real estate broker.

--Clara Bow did not make a film called The Love Parade with Harlow. It was The Saturday Night Kid, in which Jean had a minor part.

--Charles McGrew did want Jean to have their child at the time she was pregnant. In fact he was elated and wanted his wife to quit films.

--Howard Hughes was never "infatuated" with Jean; he was never interested and neither was she. There was no romance between the two. In fact the report about the two of them was they disliked each other.

--Canine star Rin Tin Tin did not die "cradled in her (Jean''s) arms." That is just a myth added to the Harlow legend.

--MGM Mogul Louis B. Mayer was not "obsessed" with Harlow; he never offered her a mink coat to have sex with her. That is a tall tale fabricated by novelist, Irving Shulman, who wrote an unaccountable, undocumented, un-researched, and false account on her life.

--Paul Bern, Jean Harlow's second husband, did not buy Jean "a mansion on Easton Dr, in Benedict Canyon." after they got married. That house was already his.

--Jean was never suspected of "being the killer" in Paul Bern's death; that is a plot from one of Jean's movies.

--Jean did not "witnessed" Dorothy Millete killing Paul Bern. Jean was at her mother's house where she had spent the night. There is no substantial proof that Millete murdered Bern. The official rule was a suicide.

--It was not "one of the biggest mistakes" for Jean to turn down King Kong, as we know it Fay Wray did nothing but scream and scream in it since the star of the picture was and will ever be: Kong!

--The character of Lola Burns in Bombshell is not patented after Jean Harlow, as the writers claim, but after Clara Bow. However, this was Jean's favorite role.

--While John Barrymore was in Dinner at Eight where Harlow was featured, Greta Garbo and Joan Crawford were not. The authors were thinking of Grand Hotel, in which Jean never appeared, but Garbo and Crawford did.

--Jean did not buy" a big mansion." She purchased the lot and her mother build it. It was called the "White Palace," not "the big white house."

--MGM never tried to "destroy all copies" of Harlow's novel, "Today is Tonight." Actually Mother Jean sold MGM the book after Jean''s death. MGM bought it help out Mother Jean economically. And Harlow's novel was published in 1965.

--Reckless was not "loosely based on Jean and Paul Bern's real story." It was a script patented after Broadway star Libby Holman, whose husband, Zachary Smith Reynolds, had killed himself the same year that Bern did. But there were similarities of the Bern-Harlow story.

--Jean and her mother did not move in "a modest bungalow on North Palm Drive." It was (and still there) a beautiful, Spanish styled, two-storied large home in Beverly Hills.

--Jean did not "collapsed into his (Clark Gable''s) arms" on May 24. The time was May 29 and the actor was Walter Pidgeon.

--Gable did not call "William Powell who took Jean home." She was driven in a limo back to her house by herself.

--William Powell died in 1984 not "1980."

--Mary Dees was not Jean's "long-time stand-in." Dees was hired to complete Saratoga. She never met Jean Harlow.

--Mother Jean did not die in "the same room at Good Samaritan Hospital," and she did not die on June 7th either; Mother Jean died of a massive heart attack on June 11, 1958.

As for Marilyn Monroe, the authors inform us that, "Without a doubt, Marilyn Monroe's persona was a creation of men, for men." That's part of the Monroe legend as being used by men isn't true. She was her own creation by taking on Harlow's favorite color of white dresses to Lana Turner's hair styles, and Betty Grable's make up, Monroe presented her own version of the dumb blonde in the 1950's.

The misquote attributed to director Billy Wilder, where Marilyn said she was the "only blonde" in the films, didn't happen in Some Like It Hot (1959). The incident to what the writers are recalling was from Something's Got To Give (1962), Monroe's last and uncompleted film, and the director was George Cukor. If people watch Some Like It Hot, they can see that Monroe was in an all-blonde-girls-band; some blonder than Marilyn.

Another misquote attributed to Colombia Pictures' mogul Harry Cohn; he never said "Get me another blonde!," when he heard that Monroe had died in 1962. Monroe made only one film at Columbia when she was a starlet in 1948. She was never a long-term contract player at Columbia; they had their own bombshell in Kim Novak, who was Rita Hayworth's successor. Any Monroe fan knows that she attained stardom at 20th Century Fox Films with the release Niagara in 1953, and had been that studio's contract player from 1951 till 1962.

According to the authors, Jayne Mansfield was "the poor man's Marilyn Monroe." In all my years of researching the library's microchips newspapers on Mansfield I never read that she was referred to that way. Mansfield was a Broadway star, given a highly-paid contract by Fox. Mansfield was that studio's premier blonde star of the late 1950's. Like Monroe before Mansfield, and Betty Grable before Monroe, and Alice Faye before Grable, Mansfield slipped into the prototype of the bombshell image updated every decade. Monroe's last hit movie at 20th Century Fox was Bus Stop in 1956.

In a grave error the authors state that Lana Turner's daughter Cheryl Crane "...shot and killed her (Turner's) gangster boyfriend, Johnny Stompanato..." and then telling us that "Cheryl stabbed him with the knife" in the Lana Turner chapter. At this rate one wonders, who did this book's copy writing, revising and general editing?

I found most of the chapters that I read to be careless, rehashed stuff from similar and equally badly written books. The authors use unverified websites as reference, quote sensationalist books, and worse, misquote a lot and resort to tabloid-trash writing.

I would advise any reader to skip this book at all costs, not even for the photographs, which are studio-standard photos that any fan is probably familiar with. Instead of reading this wasteful book, opt to watch any film by any of these blonde stars. They shine better in their films.

I didn't like this book - I LOVED IT!!!!!!!!!! If you think the stars today live crazy lives you should see the messes these classic stars got themselves into. I like to consider myself a classic film expert and I was very pleasantly surprised by how much I learned. There is a lot of information packed into this book. There are tons of quotes sprinkled throughout the book which made you feel like you were hearing the actresses tell their own story. Adding a detailed filmography at the end of every chapter was a great idea too. Also most books like this give you one or two pictures of each actress but this one is filled with dozens of great photos (some were a little dark). The best part for me was discovering actresses like Carole Landis and Barbara Payton who I didn't think much about before.

You can tell the authors have a lot of respect for these actresses because they are all written about in a mostly positive way. I hate books that treat the stars like they were saints but Hollywood Blondes doesn't do that. It gives you all the real dirt about their bad marriages, their drug problems, and their sad endings. Fanatics probably won't like seeing their idols exposed but you have to face the fact that celebrities are human beings. These blondes may have been gorgeous and talented but they were also very flawed women. After reading it you really feel sorry for them yet you still want to run out and rent their films.

I did find some factual errors but that is true with every book. There are definitely not as many errors as some of these other reviewers claim. The Jayne Mansfield and Jean Harlow chapters were actually two of my favorites. I am looking forward to Michelle Vogel and Liz Nocera's next book!

This book is sensational. From the gorgeous cover to the well written text. Vogel andher co-author, I do not know but am now a fan of, have really been great in their work. This book went into why Hollywood Blondes lived such tortured lives. Sure there are things in here, that some reviewers can and will disagree with. But it's unfair and tasteless to claim facts are wrong and you (the reviewer) knows more about a star like Jean Harlowe than the writer. Maybe the writer got information from someone other than you. Maybe if you are such a Jean Harlowe nut, you should write a book yourself. I found this book to be more than 99% accurate, sometimes writers have their own way of doing things and finding research and you shouldn't assume they didn't do their homework. These authors most certainly DID do their homework and the book is written brilliantly! I enjoyed the Lana Turner chapter most of all. The way Vogel writes it, gives you the feeling of almost being in the room as an observer in many dramatic and shattering scenes played out in this blonde beauty's life. Great job, Ms. Michelle Vogel. Looking forward to your next book.

Mae West considered writing her autobiography as early as 1957 and several publishing houses had already approached her. A flood in the mid-thirties destroyed documents of her early vaudeville appearances stored in the basement of her Hollywood apartment building, The Ravenswood, and other papers stored at her ranch house were eaten by rats.
Since arriving in Hollywood, her film career had been well-documented, but West had only a faint recollection of what happened and where. She asked Larry lee, who assisted her with the novelization of "Diamond Lil" to research her early stage career. Lee suggested they try writing a few chapters to see how things went. Eventually Stephen Longstreet, an author who ghosted other star biographies came on board to help West pull together her book, and was given credit for his "editorial assistance." West apparently supervised everything and pointed out, "Nobody can write about me except me," a remarkable feat considering she barely completed the third grade.
The driving force in West's decision to pen her memoirs was that someone else might try to write an unauthorized account of her life and there wasn't much she could do about it since much of her life had been spent in the public domain. Initially West protested that she had so much more to do with her life, but friends pointed out she could write a sequel in the future. Some of the the early working titles West had in mind for her memoirs were "Queen of Sex," and "Come Up and See Me Sometime."
Although West's autobiography went through several printings in hardback and soft cover, critic's reaction to her account of her life was mixed. Theatre Arts stated "the heart of gold is outweighed by the purse of gold and the gloating over box-office grosses," while the New York Times reviewer found West's tome "theatre wise, basically clean, sometimes corny, often entertaining yarn."
Perhaps Mae West's self penned novel, "Babe Gordon," published in 1930 and later rechristened, "The Constant Sinner," was closer to the actual events of her life, that she dared not reveal in her later biography. The inside panel of the original cover proclaimed, "Constantly sinning and constant to her sin, Babe Gordon, the heroine of this vigorous story belongs to that rare type of woman who uses her beauty and sexual allure as a soldier uses his weapons - without mercy or scruple. She is irresistible to every type of man, from the bruisers of the prize ring to the sensitive sons of aristocracy. She is canny, worldly wise, quick thinking. All her art , her wisdom, her will is to love; and when her passion for one man cools, she kindles it in another.
In a classic example of life imitating art, Mae West was outraged when Confidential magazine featured an expose on her private life alleging her sexual proclivity for black men. Chalky Wright, "a bronze boxer" whom West had met was "invited up to see her sometime" and ended up living with her for a year. Confidential magazine claimed "West's favorite color combination, as only the men in her life know, is black and white."
As a result of Mae West's appearance in Myra Breckinridge in 1970, interest in her was at an all-time high, and MacFadden-Bartell published an updated edition of her biography in paperback.
West asked George Eiferman, a former 1948 Mr. America, and 1962 Mr. Universe title holder, to write an eight page appendix entitled "My Story," explaining the events that led to Chuck Krauser aka Paul Novak knocking out Mickey Hargitay. West sagely secured affidavits from the other bodybuilders in the act supporting her statement that she had never shown romantic interest in Hargitay. When asked why it would possibly matter years after the fact, West pointed out, "That's where you're not thinkin' clear. It's when he gets desperate that he'll try to peddle a story, '"I was the One Man Mae West Wanted but Couldn't Get."
West's prophesy was realized when Gordon Mitchell, one of the muscleman in her Vegas act was quoted in the July 2001 issue of Premier : "Mickey won't tell you this but I will. Mae was crazy about him! He was the first guy who ever rejected her." Other chapters in West's updated memoirs dealt with the filming of Myra Breckinridge and outlined plans for future projects.
For the serious student of Mae West lore, "Goodness Had Nothing To Do With It" is an excellant starting off point to discover why Mae West can be considered the most fascinating woman of the Twentieth Century.

Mae West (1893-1980) was well known in her day as a leading sex symbol. But, she was more than a pretty face and a set of wild curves. Ms. West had a mind of her own, and a great deal of talent - she was an actress, a playwright and a screenwriter. Her on-screen personae featured a great deal of double entendre, and she considered discussing human sexuality to be a basic human right. In 1959, she published her autobiography, which was designed to tell her story, from her angle, and this is it!

Overall, I found this to be a fascinating read. Mae West was a fascinating woman, and led life the way she wanted to. Now, whenever any writes an autobiography, it is so that they can put their own spin on things, presenting themselves as they want to be presented. Well, that's the fun of an autobiography, and I must say that Goodness Had Nothing To Do With It is a lot of fun.

Plus, I must say that I loved her particular take on Broadway and Hollywood. So, if you are interested in that golden Ms. West (diamond would be closer to the truth), then this is the book for you. Also, if you are interested in early 20th century Broadway or early Hollywood, then this is also a book that you should read. I give it two thumbs up!

Originally written in the 1950s and later updated in the early 1970s, GOODNESS HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH IT is the autobiography of the celebrated Mae West, one of the 20th century's greatest stars of stage and screen. It is an entertaining read, and in her writings West perfectly captures that unique tone and way with words that made her world famous.

But whether she intended it to be so or not, the most interesting thing about the autobiography is its revelation of the incredible ego that drove her. To hear her tell it, West was born with absolute self-awareness, knew what she wanted from the cradle, and was well on her way to getting it before she could walk. Be it saving the life of a drowning child, doing a lion-taming act, or living out the life of sex goddess to end all sex goddesses, Mae West did it first--and if not first, at least better. And if either of those are a matter of opinion, there is clearly only one opinion that counts with West: hers.

Sometimes she is factually inaccurate, as in her assesment of the box office success of MY LITTLE CHICKADEE (it was not a big hit at the time.) Sometimes she simply ignores an unpleasant fact or two, as when she declares that her film work ended because no one could offer her a good script (in truth, her screen career ended because public taste had changed and her films simply weren't living up to box office expectations any more.) But the truly astonishing thing about her various claims is how often they really are correct: yes, she really did save Paramount from bankruptcy; yes, she really was the highest-paid star in 1930s Hollywood; yes, her stage work was every bit as legendary as she says it was.

If West's autobiography often comes off as boastful, it has reason to be so; even so, the tone of unending self-praise does have a way of wearing a bit thin after a while, and now and then a little humility would not have been amiss. And if you're expecting a litany of lovers and bedroom details, you will no doubt be disappointed in the book. West gives few details and names no names.

Even so, it is a fascinating--or should I say fascinatin'--read. It was a indeed a brilliant career, a remarkable life, a memorable personality. If you're a fan, this is a must have.

--GFT (Amazon.com Reviewer)--

"Goodness Had Nothing to Do With It" takes its title from a line in Mae West's first film, 1932's "Night After Night". By 1959, when the first edition of this autobiography was published, Mae West had conquered stage, screen, and Las Vegas and not lost a bit of sassy style in her 66 years. "Goodness Had Nothing to Do With It" is an unabashedly self-aggrandizing tour of Mae West's professional life and loves, but it's nothing if not entertaining. The story begins with a self-possessed -if not self-obsessed- child from Brooklyn who made her stage debut at age 7 -barely, since she refused to go on stage until the spotlight was on her. Mae turned professional at age 8, debuted on Broadway at 18, caused a sensation soon thereafter with her wriggle, began to write her own plays in the 1920s, was jailed for "corrupting the morals of youth" soon after, followed with films in the 1930s, a return to the stage in the 1940s, and Las Vegas night clubs in the 1950s.

"Goodness Had Nothing to Do With It" focuses more on the conception of West's plays and movies than on other aspects of her life. This might be explained by West's passion for her career above all else, but she never did like to discuss her personal life. West believed that personal confessions amounted to overexposure and undermined her value as an entertainer. That may have been true when she was a huge star, but a candid autobiography could do her nothing but good in 1959. Mae West spent a lifetime creating and reinforcing a persona, though, so that's what she does here. She speaks fondly of the men in her life, but without many intimate details. Ironically, Mae West eschewed vulgarity, always preferring insinuation. But that sometimes left me wondering if she was a libertine or a tease. And surely her ego and inflexible nature frustrated a few of her lovers, whom West would have us believe all worshipped her unfailingly. I'm not sure how literally to take "Goodness Had Nothing to Do With It", but Mae West always did put on a great show, and this book is no exception. Her fans won't want to miss it.

Though sugar coated and boastful, it covers a great deal with photos only she could/would provide. A must for any serious Mae West collector, especially if you can get it with it's original cover.

The voluptuous Mae West - so famed for her ultra-hourglass figure that a World War II life jacket was nicknamed after her - was, IMHO, the first great sex symbol of cinema after sound came in and closed the curtain on the era of the silent movie. She built an image through her career on stage and screen - the lusty woman who unapologetically loves sex - that got her in trouble with bluenoses all her life and keeps her a truly iconic figure to this day.

People looking for "dirt" on West will have to look somewhere else, as Tim Malachosky, West's private secretary for some ten years, wrote this book as a tribute to his employer and friend. The text is affectionate and entertaining, though, as other reviewers have also noted, no startling revelations are contained herein. The heart and soul of the book, however, is the photograph collection - which is truly dazzling, from the stunning front cover (depicting West in a reprise of her famous "Diamond Lil" role in 1946) to the back cover. Many of these pictures have never before been published, and they display Ms. West, in color and black-and-white, from beginning to end of her life and career. The limited-edition format (only 2,000 copies, with each copy numbered and signed by the author and his collaborator) presents the imagery in a hugely oversize format (something like 12" x 15"), printed on high-quality paper, and truly does justice to the photographs, many of which are reproduced in full-page format.

There will probably never be another printing of this book, so if you can afford the price, buy it today.

Whilst the text is slight this is easily forgiven for the amazing impact of the presentation and scale of this must-have book for every Mae West fan. I love this book and return to it often. It is huge, beautifully produced and full of the most marvellous photographs of Miss West, many in full colour. Tim clearly adored her and this shines through in the text. Having met him I know his love was and still is very real and his efforts on Miss West's behalf have continued long after her passing. I have also met a number of those who knew Tim in his days when he served Miss West and they have all paid tribute to his unstinting love and devotion. Well done, Tim, and thanks for everything, including this lovely tribute book. Thanks too for your kindness and generosity to me on my various trips to LA.

This lavishly printed coffee table picture book was put together with great care by Tim Malachosky, Mae West's personal secretary of over 10 years. Tim draws upon his conversations with Miss West and keeps his comments on the upbeat and positive side. There are no startling or profound observations to be found here, however Tim has reproduced several photographs that have never been published before. The photographs alone are worth the purchase price of the book.
While Ms West had several other "personal" secretaries over the years - all male, there are many other stories that can be told and ultimately will. I have had the remarkable good luck to become acquainted with many of Mae West's "inner circle," and been privy to many of the remarkable adventures they shared with her. Through the stories her confidantes related during the last two decades of her life, one comes to understand the truly personable and lovely individual Mae West really was. It is my hope that my manuscript, "Saint Mae Our Lady Of Hips & Quips," researched over a ten year span, will eventually find a publisher, and give Mae West's adoring public another aspect of this truly unique individual, who was like a diamond in her ability to focus light on the facet of her life she wanted seen at any given time.
However, until that happens, this pictorial tribute to the memory of Miss West will keep fans and West fanatacs happy.

Do not be swayed by reviewers with personal agendas or call yourself a true Mae West fan if you don't own this book! A treat for both the eye and heart, it's generously crammed with high-quality pictures of the late, great West throughout her career and in all her glamorous glory. Look closely: many of the photos were personally inscribed to the author. It's not intended as a research project or biography but as an oversized coffee-table homage to one of the most "fascinatin'" women who ever lived. If you love West, then do yourself a favor, get up off your nickels, and snag yourself a copy. As West herself once said, "He who hesitates is last".

This book is simply a wonderful and personal tribute to the fabulous Miss Mae West - it is packed with the most sin-sational photographs you are ever likely to see, and is a glorious over-sized coffee table extravaganza... it is simply a delight to own and leaf through. Tim should not only be praised for his book, but for his commitment to Miss West and her memory. His exhibits at the Hollywood History Musuem need to be seen to be believed, and having met Tim and others who knew him during his work with Miss West I would recommend this book to ANYONE with an interest in this special star. As she herself said 'It is better to be looked over than overlooked' and I for one am so glad Tim has taken the time to look over his own photographs and memories to share them with us all. Well done Tim - hope to see you again sometime soon!

Originally published in Great Britain and later distributed in the colonies, The Empress of Sex, by Maurice Leonard, was a welcome addition to the rather staid Mae West biographies available at the time. Leonard, a British television producer, flew to Los Angeles and spent considerable time interviewing some of Mae West's gay entourage in order to give his book a sensational slant.
One inner circle devotee, extremely upset at not being interviewed, at the time living in the desert as a virtual recluse and changing his phone number every few months, publicly denounced this intriguing examination as "utter trash and a pack of lies," when he was promoting his own pictorial tribute to Ms West.
Although well-researched and documented, this fascinating study failed to capture the imagination of Mae West fans, and was sadly overlooked, in part due to Leonard's dry British wit. Pity, because it's a jolly good read.

This book gives you real insight into Mae West's life and personality. While there are some errors in the captions under a few photographs, it is all well researched and very entertaining. I have read it more than twice...

The book about Mae West was good. I enjoyed all of it. It was funny, touching and very entertaining. I recommend it highly.

Mae West: Empress of Sex by Maurice Leonard is a spirited account of the wild, serenely-brazen, sex-drenched life of Americas's foremost 1930's sex goddess Mae West. Saucy Miss West was born in 1893 in Brooklyn, New York , a gal with nerve to spare. Although in many ways still a product of the times, West was an autonomous, calculating cookie that knew the power of image and scandal in generating a stage career. Leonard shows West at the black clubs of 1920's New York City studying the outrageously sexy dances of the black crowd, doing her best to capture their moves, and then introducing those moves as her own to a properly shocked, white Broadway audience. West wrote her own stage and movie material; she felt she knew what was right for her better than anyone else. She wrote plays, books, and screenplays dealing with the forbidden topics of homosexuality(The Drag), and sex (The Constant Sinner). She had a taste for musclemen, handsome black studs and wayward, lawless thugs. She generally never met a man she didn't like. Leonard's tome on West shows a woman who liked to be in control, control of her career, her men, and delusionally time itself. (She believed she looked twenty-six while in her eighties.) This book is a must read for all West's fans.

Mae West: Empress of Sex by Maurice Leonard is a spirited account of the wild, serenely-brazen, sex-drenched life of Americas's foremost 1930's sex goddess Mae West. Saucy Miss West was born in 1893 in Brooklyn, New York , a gal with nerve to spare. Although in many ways still a product of the times, West was an autonomous, calculating cookie that knew the power of image and scandal in generating a stage career. Leonard shows West at the black clubs of 1920's New York City studying the outrageously sexy dances of the black crowd, doing her best to capture their moves, and then introducing those moves as her own to a properly shocked, white Broadway audience. West wrote her own stage and movie material; she felt she knew what was right for her better than anyone else. She wrote plays, books, and screenplays dealing with the forbidden topics of homosexuality(The Drag), and sex (The Constant Sinner). She had a taste for musclemen, handsome black studs and wayward lawless thugs. She generally never met a man she didn't like. Leonard's tome on West shows a woman who liked to be in control, control of her career, her men, and delusionally time itself. (She believed she looked twenty-six while in her eighties.) This book is a must read for all West's fans.

Riding on the coattails of renewed interest in her career, in large part due to her comeback role in Myra Breckinridge, a manuscript entitled "Mae West On Sex, Health & ESP," was prepared for publication. In October of 1975, Connie Schrader of Harcourt, Bruce, Jovanovich Inc. Publishers wrote to Stanley Musgrove, her agent, to ask "would Miss West consider changing the focus of her manuscript 'Health, Sex & ESP' to 'Mae West on Meditation, Health and Sex?' " As well, Schrader inquired if West would consider reorganizing the material and delete the section on her biography written by David Ray Johnson.
Schrader suggested, "the book might best be by Mae West alone. Could she add some of her own formulas for living? The memo also inquired if Canadian rights were available and if West would be willing to undertake a tour to promote the book." In a second memo to Musgrove dated two days later, Schrader informed him, "Boo-hoo! I love it. But it isn't right for us."
Unable to find an American publisher for her largely ghosted manuscript, West broadened her search and W.H. Allen in England eventually secured the rights.
Some of West's detractors had taken her comments on homosexuality out of context and narrowed their focus attacking her views expressed in the late 1920's. In a chapter entitled "The Third Sex," West put a more positive spin on her thoughts concerning gays in order to bring her line of thinking up to date with the liberal attitude of the day.
David Ray Johnson's essay, "An Historical And Interpretive Analysis Of The Development And Perpetuation Of The Mae West Phenomenon On Stage And Screen 1900 - 1970" formed a 72 page appendix to the book, and partially fullfilled the requirements for his masters of Arts Degree from Bowling Green State University in 1971.
Johnson sent West a copy of his thesis, and she was so flattered, he was invited to visit her as a guest at her Santa Monica beach house. Johnson arrived in Los Angeles, found work at Universial Studio as a tour guide and continued to live rent free at the beach house.
In my manuscript, "Saint Mae Our Lady Of Hips & Quips," which I am currently seeking a publisher, I outline the bizarre circumstances of the tragic demise of David Ray Johnson. Although West was indirectly connected to the sordid affair, she was anxious to keep her name out of the newspapers, and ensured that Johnson's body was returned to his family in Chicago.
Although Sex Health & ESP was not a best seller, West's sage advice shines through, and her observations on eating well, loving yourself and your partner, as well as being in touch with your inner self are still relevant today.

This book reveals West's beauty secrets and health regimens. A MUST for real Mae West collectors and is WAY out of print, and was never even released in the U.S.! It is ghost written, but very good. The ESP parts are fascinating.

In the days of vaudeville and burlesque, people created performing persona's for themselves that came to identify them so strongly, that it became their entire character. Charlie Chaplin was the Tramp. WC Fields was the befuddled hustler. Buster Keaton was the acrobatic Stone Face.

Mae West created herself as a sex goddess, and it came to identify her throughout her life. She lived it so strongly, that it overtook her entire being, for better and for worse.

Simon Louvish points this out, and does a solid job of getting into Ms. West's intentions, her performing highlights, and what little he can dig up of her personal life.

She was a highly intelligent woman of great inner strength, huge ego, and a predilection for self-promotion we can now compare to Madonna. The only difference being that Mae West never re-created herself. She just continued to build the myth and the creation.

Mae West was in some ways an enigma, but in others very transparent. A hugely successful woman, a shrewd investor, a lively personality. Louvish captures her in her entirety pretty well.

Like just about everything that has to do with Mae West. Nothing new here other than her actual plays being highlighted, reviewed so to speak. Risque in her day and a fascinating personality. Her dedication to herself and herself only was amazing, though it would seem lonely to me to dote on myself ALL the time.

Academic, even pompous, full of text, armed with facts and scrupulous about avoiding conjecture, Louvish writes the kind of bio I can dig. The emphasis is on West the ARTIST. There's plenty of quoted material to just let West be herself. Occasionally, though, Louvish indulges some fanciful prose (eg, his description of West's Presidential bid) - very nice. (My only complaint is he missed the story with Sgt. Pepper.) Smart stuff, all in all.

Mae West provided civil libertarians with new limits for permissible discourse at a prudish moment in US history. Louvish presents the cases brought before the courts in which she stretched what was allowed to appear on stage and in print. I found this the most fascinating part of the book, making it a must for those who want to know more about US censorship and its nefarious effects on artistic creativity. The amazing thing is that Mae persisted in the face of harrowing restrictions that would have daunted anyone else. Louvish's chronicle of how she faced the censors, and thrived anyway, is a study in courage in the face of state controls. The research is thorough and revealing as he presents Mae West as a crusader against censorship of any kind. The fact that she continued her career despite major restrictions placed on her scripts attests to her fighting spirit. Behind this dolled up woman was a steeled professional.

This biography chronicles Mae West's life and achievements very well. While I disagree with another reviewer's comments about spelling errors ("gangster" and "Floradora" are correct spellings) I do agree that the author's writing style could have used some editing to avoid repetetive phrasing and over-use of "as we shall see". A fact checker might also have helped since the New York hotel mentioned as being on the site of Mae's old theatre is not called the "Marquess Marriott". It's the Marriott Marquis. I know because I worked there a few years after it opened. One would think a British author would be better versed in noble titles.
But back to Mae. This book shows just how hard Mae West worked at her craft in order to make everything she did seem effortless. She was a dedicated performer and this book does a better job than most in conveying that fact.

If I had NOT read the other 2 popular books on Mae West ("When I'm Bad I'm Better" -and- "It Ain't No Sin"), I would have given this book a 5 star rating. I give it 4 stars only because as I read thru this book, I drew on my recollections of the more thorough (but far less entertaining) ruminations about the censorial tribulations and machinations described in the other two books, which gave more substance to the narratives contained in this (Eells, Musgrove) book.

However, THIS book is MUCH more thorough on Ms West as the Performer AND the Woman -- with far less emphasis on her trials and tribulations with those pesky Censors, which ruined 3 movies that could have also been blockbusters for Ms West. It also had Photos Galore!! Wonderful photos!!

This particular book covers an era that the other 2 books MISS, or at the very most, glossed over lightly - the late 40's, through the 70's where Ms. West DID go out and Wow them in her usual inimitable spectacular fashion - those other two books had led me to believe that Ms. West did nothing after the censors had appeared to ruin her career, when instead, she carried on and went ahead with the same verve, style and audacity that she was famous for doing. These additional, well-written and detailed narratives REALLY rounded out my information on Mae West and at the end of the book I felt like I knew the woman much more as an individual as well as a genius of an actress and writer.

This book also elaborates more fully on her love life, which was just as varied and spectacular as her vaudeville productions, her plays and her movies.

I would have liked to have seen more information about the books she wrote.

Is there a Mae West museum with archives? There should be!

Mae West retrospectives ?(done the way SHE woulda done them!!) There should be!!

Viva Ms. West -- a TRUE legend in her own time AND ours!!!

Thank you Mssrs Eells and Musgrove, for writing this book!

George Eells specialized in writing about female entertainers and intended to set the record straight on Mae West. Contrary to what was assumed at the time, Stanley Musgrove did not have a hand in writing this biography, but insisted on co-writing credit in exchange for his insights while acting in the capacity as Miss West's publicity agent from her Hollywood film comeback in Myra Breckinridge up until the time of her death.
Eells took the point of view that West's real and public persona were nearly identical. Much of this conclusion may have come from the information he received from Musgrove, which was tainted in part from some disappointments from his business interactions with West.
Reviews of the Eells book were generally positive though some reviews expressed repulsion at West's purported total self-absorption, based on negative comments expressed in the biography.
The pair had been collaberating on the book for two years prior to West's death with the tacit understanding from Paul Novak, her long time companion that the book would not be published in her lifetime. West became suspicious when pointed questions were directed towards her during weekly supper outings to Musgrove's home. West expressed her misgivings to Novak that her conversations over supper were being taped. It was later reported in the Hollywood Reporter that "Paul Novak is to receive a half share interest in the performing rights in return for clearing claims to his inclusion in all media."
Several glaring omissions are made in this biography, including any mention of West's pop music career in the mid 1960's. As well, Tim Malachosky, a Mae West devotee who was her last personal secretary, and who tended to her during her incapacitating stroke which lead to her death, is mentioned in passing as a "memorabilia collector."
Widely acknowledged to be the first major biography of Mae West apart from her own account of her life and times, George Eells' book is the perfect starting point for any serious Westian scholar.

This is a dull and dry biography for such a colorful subject. Boring, circular descriptions and few interesting anecdotes. Not recommended.

This is an early Mae West bio, now apparently out of print. It is excellent, and written by two people who knew her fairly well. Great photos. Both authors have passed on from what I understand. It was my introduction into the world of Mae West, and it was life changing. Highly recommended.

THE original FILMS OF MAE WEST was one of the best entries in the Citadel film series. Originally published in the early 70's when Mae was still alive and active (one film yet to be made!) it's both admiring and serious, fan-oriented and scholarly. Since Mae only made 11 pictures at that point, each movie gets far more attention that films in other volumes where the star made 60 or more. Tuska clearly admired Mae at the time (he even heaps praise of the widely trashed MYRA BRECKENRIDGE, accurately predicting it would become a cult film!) Alas, he apparently had a falling out with West or something because in his update for the edition after her death he brutally trashes her last film, the genteel rather enjoyable sex comedy SEXTETTE as well as her performance, makes comments about her personal abilities in her final years that are unkind and rude, and tacks on a final essay on her that seems dismissive. I would give the book five stars if not for these "revisions".

I must agree with the previous reviewer who pointed out that the author needlessly bashes the film SEXTETTE and that because of that, its impossible to give this book 5 stars. I did a review of SEXTETTE here on amazon and I pointed out some of the arguements made in this book and my feelings on those points. Aside from that, the book is full of great photos and tons of valuable information on the other films. A must have for any Mae West fan's collection, but see Sextette with an open mind first, and then judge it for yourself. Don't just listen to this author's somewhat cruel appraisal. The woman was, after all, in her mid-80's when SEXTETTE was made, and you know, we all know women 30 years younger than that who don't look as good as Mae does in SEXTETTE. Otherwise a great book.