How did mae west die
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Born in Brooklyn in 1893, Mae West always knew she was destined for more than life as a staid Victorian housewife. “I was a child of the new century just around the corner,” she writes in her 1959 autobiography, Goodness Had Nothing to Do With It, “and I ran towards it boldly.”
For the entirety of her long life, West would take a sledgehammer to outdated views about what it meant to be a woman. In her plays, movies, and stage shows, she celebrated female sexuality, the male body, and the thrill of “sin” with doses of campy humor and exaggerated glamour. In her autobiography and the new Bette Midler-produced documentary Mae West: Dirty Blonde (premiering on Tuesday, June 16 on PBS), West is revealed as an important cultural agitator—an unashamed “sexual gangster,” in the words of burlesque superstar Dita Von Teese.
“Underneath the blonde wigs and the diamonds and the wisecracks, she had a message and an agenda,” Dirty Blonde codirector Sally Rosenthal said in a statement to Vanity Fair. “She wanted to offer an alternative version of womanhood, in which overt sexua
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Mae West
1893-1980
Who Was Mae West?
Mae West hit her Hollywood stride in her late 30s when she might have been considered in her "advanced years" for playing sexy harlots, but her persona and physical beauty overcame any doubt. The blunt sexuality of her films aroused the wrath and moral indignation of several groups, but this sexuality is what she is remembered for today.
Quick Facts
FULL NAME: Mary Jane West
BORN: August 17, 1893
DIED: November 22, 1980
BIRTHPLACE: Brooklyn, New York
SPOUSES: Frank Wallace (1911-1966)
ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Leo
Early Life
Born Mary Jane West on August 17, 1893, in Brooklyn, New York, to Matilda and John West. Family members called her Mae (spelled May at the time) from an early age. Matilda, also known as "Tillie," was a German immigrant and aspiring actress. But her parents' disapproval in career choices brought her dreams down to a more realistic profession as a garment worker. However, she clandestinely abandoned her seamstress work for the less respectable, though somewhat more glamorous work, as
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Mae West
American actress (1893–1980)
This article is about the actress. For other uses, see Mae West (disambiguation).
Mae West | |
|---|---|
West in 1932 | |
| Born | Mary Jane West (1893-08-17)August 17, 1893 Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Died | November 22, 1980(1980-11-22) (aged 87) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Resting place | Cypress Hills Cemetery |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1907–1979 |
| Spouse | Frank Wallace (m. 1911; div. 1943) |
| Partner | Paul Novak (1954-1980) |
Mary Jane "Mae" West (August 17, 1893 – November 22, 1980) was an American actress, singer, comedian, screenwriter, and playwright whose career spanned over seven decades.[1] Considered a sex symbol, she was known for her breezy sexual independence and her lighthearted bawdy double entendres, often delivered in a husky contralto voice.[2] She was active in vaudeville and on stage in New York City before moving to Los Angeles to begin a career in th
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