#45 MAE WEST - SIZZLE, SEX, n' SIN

"DIAMOND LIL" --

MAE WEST RETURNS TO THE GREAT WHITE WAY

 

Sizzle, sex and morality in the Bowery during the turn of the century

A serio-comic look at what made Mae a star and sensation and a tale of the seedy side of New York behind the glamour. 

DONT TELL MAMA -  AUGUST 18TH @ 7:00 PM

 

DIRECTED AND STARRING DARLENE VIOLETTE

 

along with a scintillating cast and

 

JOANNA BONARO...

as

Rita Cristina -- a fiery, feisty Madam/Slave Runner from Rio de Janeiro

Mae West and Diamond Lil Bring Sin Back to the Big Apple in August and November

Aug 7 2013, 7:40am CDT | by PR.com

Courting Mae West, LLC invites you to attend an extravaganza in New York, NY; five events featuring Mae West’s “Diamond Lil” -- in a new adaptation by LindaAnn Loschiavo that's faithful to the novel published in 1932.

New York, NY, August 07, 2013 --(PR.com)-- Mae West was the controversial Broadway playwright City Hall couldn't tame and the screen queen The Hays Office couldn't refrain from censoring, a bi-coastal bombshell who dominated the box office and the front page for decades. The legendary entertainer will be back in our midst with her gaudy retinue in 2013 during August and during November.

 Introduced on The Great White Way in 1928, “Diamond Lil” written by and starring Mae West remained popular until its final performances in 1951. The  "melodrama of the underworld" set in Chinatown and on the Bowery during the 1890s has been adapted into an 85-minute version by playwright LindaAnn Loschiavo, whose work "Courting Mae West" was last seen in Melbourne, Australia. Actress Darlene Violette stars as the irresistible diamond-draped Queen of the Bowery and is supported by a fine cast featuring Sidney Myer, Anthony DiCarlo, Joanna Bonaro, Gary Napoli, Juan Sebastian Cortes, Kimmy Foskett, Jim Gallagher with live music by Brian McInnis.

- Who, What, When, Where and How Much -
On 5 Dates: August 12th, August 17th, August 18th, November 22nd and November 23rd
- What: Five events timed to celebrate the 120th birthday of Mae West, born in Brooklyn, NY on August 17, 1893
- On Monday, 12 August 2013 at the Hudson Square Library
- One afternoon only from 4:00pm — 5:45pm [Seating from 3:45pm]
- Where: Hudson Branch Library, 66 Leroy St., NYC 10014; not accessible to wheelchairs
- Who + What: "Diamond Lil" by Mae West as a Reader's Theatre Experience with words and period songs and live music — a unique and unforgettable presentation
- Cast: Costumed in 1890s Bowery style, actress Darlene Violette and actor Sidney Myer present the 1932 novel "Diamond Lil" written by Mae West in Mae's words — enhanced with period songs and live music by Brian McInnis. At intervals, historian and playwright LindaAnn Loschiavo leads an "Armchair Tour" through the boisterous Bowery and Chinatown of the 1890s with rare vintage images you have never seen before.
  - RSVP: Email MaeWestDiamondLil @gmail.com

 - There will be two stagings of "Diamond Lil" on August 17th and August 18th in NYC.
- Cast: Starring Darlene Violette as Diamond Lil, Queen of the Bowery and also featuring Sidney Myer, Anthony DiCarlo, Joanna Bonaro, Gary Napoli, Juan Sebastian Cortes, Kimmy Foskett, Jim Gallagher and live music by Brian McInnis
- The public is invited (suitable for age 18 and over)
- On Saturday, 17 August 2013 at 7:30pm on West 38th St.
- Where: John Strasberg Studios, 555 8th Avenue, Suite 2310, New York, NY 10018; accessible to wheelchairs
- August 17th Admission: $10 — must be pre-paid. Raffle tickets are free.
- RSVP: Advance sale tickets: you must email MaeWestDiamondLil (at) gmail (dot) com
- Closest MTA subway stations: 42nd St./ Times Sq. via A, C, E, 1, 2, 3
- On Sunday, 18 August 2013 at 7:00pm on West 46th St.
-Where: Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, NYC 10036; T. (212) 757-0788
- RSVP: August 18th Admission: $15.00 cover charge plus a two drink minimum; raffle tickets are free.
- Reservations: www.donttellmamanyc.com
- Closest MTA subway stations: 42nd St./ Times Sq. via A, C, E, 1, 2, 3
- Join them as they turn the iconic NYC nightspot Don't Tell Mama into Gus Jordan's "Suicide Hall"



 - Updates: facebook.com/MaeWestDiamondLil
- On Friday, 22 November 2013 from 7:00 - 8:30 PM
- On Saturday, 23 November 2013 from 2:00 - 4:00 PM
- Where: Jefferson Market Library in the very room where Mae went before a judge
- Address: 425 Sixth Avenue, New York, NY
- RSVP: Admission is free but you must RSVP via email MaeWestDiamondLil (at) gmail (dot) com

FYI: "Courting Mae West" received a six-page spread in the July-August 2013 issue of THE DRAMATIST. The article will be part of a presentation on November 22nd and November 23rd, 2013 at Jefferson Market Library on Sixth Avenue -- in the same room where Mae West faced off with Judge Donnellan in 1927.
Contact Information:
Courting Mae West, LLC
Mae Westside
212-614-9683Contact via Email
maewest.blogspot.com
Sponsorship Inquiries only: 212-477-0893
Read the full story here: http://www.pr.com/press-release/508355

Press Release Distributed by PR.com
Source: PR.com

Read more at http://www.movieballa.com/2013/08/103728/mae-west-and-diamond-lil-bring-sin-back-big-apple-august-and-november#z5CGO64ImtK3HXig.99

 

 

 

#9 HOT OVER 40! GLAM A LA LOMBARD

Do you suppose that being glamorous just applies to appearing exotic, smoky and slinky?  Wrong!  Garbo notwithstanding ---

I would like to take a page from another siren's book --

the Screwball Goddess herself. Carole Lombard. 

Take a peak at her picture to your left and tell me she didn't rival Garbo in glamour.  

During Hollywood's Heyday, who did she catch?

None other than Mr. Sigh himself - Clark Gable. 

Clark and Carole were known as the Golden Couple during the Golden Age of Hollywood.

Photo from www.fanpix.net/carolelombard

A LESSON IN GOOFBALL GLAMOUR - VIA CAROLE

Many of you may be surprised to learn that Carole was in a car accident where her face was seriously scarred.  As a result of her "loss of looks" she was dropped by Fox Studios and her career appeared to be over.  Yet this seemingly cataclysmic marring of her face --- actually proved to be the making of the screwball girl. 

It was "the beginning," said a friend, "of her philosophy, her inner life.  For she began to laugh at herself-and she went on laughing at herself for as long as she lived." 

Lombard's humor came down to a profound irreverence --- and the need to tweak convention wherever she saw it.  She couldn't resist poking fun at those who took themselves too seriously.  When a movie of Gable's bombed everywhere but China, she dropped aerial leaflets printed with, "Fifty Million Chinamen Can't Be Wrong!" 

She teased Gable about his frugality, his large ears, and "the greater popularity of Shirley Temple."  (If you do not know who Shirley is... continue eating your Animal Crackers and stop reading this blog.) 

Lombard's screwball view helped him laugh at the world.                                                         Photo from www.feminine-flower.tumblr.com

She also had scores of what she termed, "sexy friendships"  with lots of the male leading stars of the day.  But she always remained true and faithful to Clark. 

Life magazine noted,  "her entry on a set often occasions so many greetings from prop men, mechanics, assistant directors, and electricians, that the uproar sounds like a reunion between Tarzan and his monkeys."  (young starlets take note)

During the shooting of From Heaven to Hell, Lombard shivered in a summer dress in the middle of January.  "All right you warm, bloody bastards," she joked,  "every one of you down to your jockey shorts!"  THEY STRIPPED.

Now, if you are not the life of the party or knock down funny (like me) you can still develop a sense of humor through your way of looking at the world.* 

GLAM A LA LOMBARD:

Carole Lombard On Her Beauty:
 “You ought to see the map for my face in the Makeup Department. It looks like a landscape of the moon.”
Carole Lombard On Being A Glamour Girl:
 “Personally, I resent being tagged ‘glamour girl.’ It’s such an absurd, extravagant label. It implies so much that I’m not.”

Carole Lombard On Being A Style Queen:

“I can’t imagine a duller fate than being the best dressed woman in reality. When I want to do something I don’t pause to contemplate whether I’m exquisitely gowned. I want to live, not pose!”

Carole Lombard On Humor:

“ The Cardinal Virtue ... Is a sense of humor,” says Carole. “Do you laugh in the right places? Then, you’ll get along, in fair weather or foul. Humor is nothing less than a sense of the fitness of things. Something that’s out of proportion, like an inflated ego, should strike you funny, particularly if it’s your own inflated ego. Otherwise you are pathetic and quite hopeless.”

Photo from www.seattletimes.nwsource.com

GOOFY GLAMOUR TIP
Look for the "funny in the fiasco" and you will have learned a lesson in Lombard's book. A sense of self-deprecation and an awareness of the absurdity in everyday living will work wonders.

So, laugh easily, laugh often and you'll be happier --- those laugh lines will start looking very good and be a reflection of both your outer and inner happiness. I would bet a chip or two that the admiring male next to you will think so too.

He will only have eyes for you.

Photo from www.goldenagedames.wordpress.com

*Royal Blue ink signifies complete excerpts from, Simply Irresistible by Ellen T. White

PS  I think the "Follow" favicon button is working now.  If you have a google account just click.  Or easily create a google account.   Otherwise you can follow me via email,  No spam or sales.
Even though this is a continuing problem - for I have heard from many of you  --- I want to thank all my readers, over 600 in just 3 months from the U.S., United Kingdom, Canada, Italy, Finland, Saudi Arabia, Chile, Germany, Jordan, India, Denmark, Malaysia, Egypt, Peru, Denmark, Hungary and the Netherlands for your continued support.  I hope I am inspiring/ helping you and giving you some calorie free "food for thought," along with a positive healthy inner sense of beauty and well-being.
 Have a great-glam day!  

#7 HOT OVER 40! FROM RED CARPET TO HILARITY PART 2 - or The Ecstasy then the Agony (#7)

We arrive in Dallas.  I know I am in the Lone Star State because as we are driving to the hotel we see two billboards. One states,  "GOD IS OUR SALVATION".  About 3 seconds later "GUN SHOW - CASH ACCEPTED". 

We arrive at our hotel, and find we have been upgraded to a suite. Sweet!  Debate whether to partake of some Texas chili but decide a good nights sleep is better.  Plus, I am not really eating anything that is not steamed or green until after the big event.  Instead, I  fill up on chamomile tea with lemon. 

I know - a poor second - but I told you I would be honest. 

(Do you remember the pic of Hillary Swank after she won the Oscar?  You don't think she did this too?  She was snarfing down a Big Mac n Cheese with gusto.  I love her for her refreshing honesty and fierce talent.)

Next day.  Wake up to warm sunshine and birds singing.  It was snowing back in New York about then, so I savor the  toasty rays saying to myself,  " another good sign." 
Like Catherine De Medici I am superstitious that way. 
Only she had visions and unfortunately I don't.
It might have proven useful later in the day. 
I layout the dress (which had its own suitcase - yup the entire suitcase had just one dress in it along with about 500 reams of tissue paper and crinkled dry cleaning plastic.) 
Put out the makeup.  Now, the makeup artist was bringing everything however, I am also the type who ALWAYS COMES PREPARED.  So I brought all of my "on camera hi-def" makeup --- in case we had a difference of opinion. 
As it turns out the makeup artist was an absolute angel along with being a great instructor on how one puts on false eyelashes.  A skill I have yet to attain.  She applies excessive eye makeup - up close this doesn't look natural, but does wonders when under bright lights. 
One must learn these things.
I had some slight misgivings on the hair-do when she teased it so that I looked like a raven colony had decided to nest, but she assuaged my doubts by stating, "by the time you get there it will have settled down."  My fleeting thought was, "hope the chicks are fed by then."

After she left it was time to put on the dress. 
A slight nervous breakdown occurred when the dress that fit perfectly in New York, suddenly would not zip up the back.  Hubby proved useless in this matter.  I think hubbies are usually useless in this matter of stuck zippers, but the only female I knew had just left so I was having a minor sweat attack along with worrying about the hair.  However, after15 minutes and endless attempts, the recalcitrant zipper decided to "play nice." Whew. 
Reapply deodorant.... carefully.   Then, shoes (which have been sanded on bottom so no slipping occurs) gold jewelry (not from Cartier but from Italy),  bag (remember to bring ID and cash plus I-phone -- on vibrate please , no room for a brush but the cement hairspray hopefully will hold out.)
Look in the mirror and   .......   THE TRANSFORMATION HAS BEEN ACHIEVED!
Like Maria in "West Side Story"  I feel pretty.  Hallelujah! 
I am ready with time to spare. 
Oh and in between hubby got dressed too.  But who really cared about that? Just kidding.  He looked very handsome. My leading man.

The phone vibrates.  It's the director.  "Don't worry, but the car that is coming to pick you up is running about 20 minutes late.  We can't arrive together. But the event is 5 minutes away so you should be OK.  We won't walk without you." 
20 minutes goes by.  No one arrives.  I call and get voicemail.  GREAT.
Finally another call.  "He is stuck in traffic.  He will be another 10 minutes." 
We were supposed to have been there by now.  After all this preparation I am going to miss the entire thing.
Another 15 minutes.  The anti-perspirant has stopped working. Voicemail. Again.
What to do? What to do?  Should I just hike up my dress and run over? 
(I told you how self-sufficient I can be. Plus I'm fit, remember?)
Finally, a call, "he should be there."  I am exhausted and the event is yet to happen.
I am thinking,  "can't something go smoothly, just once?"  Hubby about to give me a mini-massage and I scream, "watch the hair, watch the hair!"  Ah love.

We arrive. 
It looks exactly as one expects it too.  Lots of spectators milling about.  Lots and lots of press and photographers. Everyone is smiling. You can tell just by looking for the most part, who are the actors versus the directors, writers and producers.  The actors are always dressed and coiffed to the hilt.  It's just the way it is.  Plus their teeth are always so startlingly white. 
(Note to self: You forgot to doooooo thaaaaat! - 95% wattage will have to suffice)  
My director (whom I adore)  and executive producers look splendid and beautiful and radiant. 
And we are all smiling. 
We are assigned a handler.  This individual will escort us through the aisle leading up to the stage at our appointed time.  As we progress forward, people are waving hello and kissing the air and saying things like, "Let's meet for drinks later."  It's hard to hear anything.  I think I am being told to talk about the "female" slant of this film but can't really hear.  And now it's our turn.  The executive producer makes sure the film's poster is placed just so. 
It's time to step on the carpet which is a rich deep red.  
I give myself a moment to take it all in and "own it."  
I am not nervous at all.  In fact, I plan to have a ball. 
The camera's flash, light's pop everywhere, and as we progress down the stage we are stopped by reporters.  My lovely director introduces me as coming "all the way from New York City" which is touching, and the reporter looks at me and declares after having asked me about my role in the film, "How can you be from New York? You are so nice!"  I laughed at that and said, "It's hard not to be when one is in Texas. I think I will move here!"  I think she liked that. 
And so it went.  We were interviewed by the press for both print and TV and web and posed and smiled and laughed for about 45 minutes.  Ann -Margaret even interrupted me.  (It's okay to be cut off  by a legend.) 
Then it was over. Just like that. 
It was a piece of cake and I had a grand old time.  
I couldn't believe that I was even asked "who I wore." Hilarious.

Film premieres. Kiss, kiss, hug, hug.  Let's change and meet for drinks -----   Remember that dear reader!  You think I've already described the agony? HA!
We all part.  Hubby and I return to hotel suite.   Have about an hour and a half to kill before going out again.  Shower, change, very casual, low-key no pressure now.  Lost an eyelash in bathroom anyway. Impossible to locate. Hair back to raven color instead of avian gathering.  
Relaxing when hubby comes from living room to bedroom where I am resting, holding his stomach.  He lies down on bed and says.  "I don't feel so well." 
Not the least bit concerned I say - "What do you mean?" 
"My stomach  hurts."  (His stomach always hurts.)
"It's probably just gas, roll around on the bed a bit," I state unsympathetically. 
I am thinking, "what now, we have to go out soon!"
He moves around for about 5 minutes. Then doubles over and breaks out in a cold sweat.
"I am really in pain all of a sudden."  Jeez.
"Did you eat something since we came back?"  I am still not buying into this.
"No and I am really in pain.  Do you think I should go to the emergency room?"
This gets my attention. 
My husband would NEVER, EVER ASK ME if he should go to any emergency room. 
"You  would never, ever ask me if I think you should go to the emergency room!" I cry.
"Are you having an appendix attack?" 
We prod and poke.  His pain is kind of on the side of his waist.  No organ we can remember being there. 
"Are you sure you didn't eat something?"  "Are you having a heart attack?"
Even though the pain is located on his  right side and below the rib cage, I am starting now to worry. Big time.
He can't stand up but says,   "Maybe it will subside. After all we are going home tomorrow."
"If you are even thinking of an emergency room it means you should go. You can't have this happening on the plane. And what are you talking about anyway? You are white as newly bleached teeth and sweat is pouring off of you!" 
I pick up the phone to the receptionist. 
"My husband has become desperately ill.  Where is the nearest hospital?"
Being Texan, they were all so wonderful and helpful. Immediately.  No questions or attitudes.
Maybe we should move here.

We wind up at Baylor Hospital emergency room. 
Needless to say, an emergency room in downtown Dallas at midnight is as far away from a red carpet crowd as can be.  Plus their computer system went down resulting in  a 3 hour delay because processing all the incoming patients has to be done manually.  No one is used to doing that anymore. 
We sit in plastic chairs surrounded by moaning, suffering, bleeding, a screeching cat fight over a pimp, ( I kid you not) , a man who had beige bugs crawling over him, (is this a vision?!?) and mayhem until he is finally admitted at 4:15 AM. 
The admitting nurse asks us if we are willing to pay a $100 charge and is surprised when we say "yes." 
It appears that no one ever does.
Blood work, x-rays, and c-scans later, the doctor comes in to tell us - "Kidney Stones."
??!!!**##??!!!!!
Incredible. 
My husband looks at me, and with a twinkle in his eye restored, now that he is on mega-pain killers, and quips, "Well it's a good thing this didn't happen earlier.  You would have left me at the emergency room door. And I would have wanted you to. "  I say, "You are absolutely right, but I would have come back as soon as  it was all over."  Ah,  devotion.

We got back to the hotel at 6:30 AM.  And crashed.  Then hopped on a plane home by 4pm.

I think all the partying was over by then.  I didn't bother to check.  I didn't care.  I had my moment and more importantly, my husband by my side. 

So while everyone thinks I was living it up and leading such a glamorous life....

I say, "it's the grits that count."   Without love, it ain't much.  Ah Amore.  A-men.

BEAUTY TIP  --    studies show that wearing red increases athletic performance and may lead to more confidence. It may even make you push harder while working out!

Next.....  Carrots, Crunches, and Munchies

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#5 HOT OVER 40! FROM RED CARPET TO HILARITY (Part 1) #5

This blog is founded on helping women over 40 feel empowered and very pretty on a day to day basis.  I have been in the image industry where how you look and present yourself is of the utmost importance for most of my adult life.  At times the only requisite when you walk in a room is how you look.  In the cosmetic industry, the first thing that was drummed into my head was, "Image is everything."  This rule applies itself everyday, but amplify it one hundred fold in the entertainment industry.
As is apparent,  I am not a star, (still I work) a renowned great beauty, (considered pretty) or leggy stick thin model, (size 4 is borderline ok - 6 still considered fat) but I have seen what goes on behind the glamour curtain.
Baby, you ain't born that way. So here is the grit behind the glimmer.

I quite unexpectedly got a call to Walk the Red Carpet at the Dallas Int'l Film Festival for a film I was cast in, "Traveling."
I will admit  - Yes! I was pretty excited. 
And for all you denigrators - So, so sorry it wasn't Cannes, or Sundance or Holly Lolly Wood.
              (BTW - Maria Bello and Anne Margaret opened the festival)
At least I get to say I did it. 
It may be the only time.
Or it may be have been good practice for the future. 
Who knows?
This blog, however, is what went on BEFORE the event. The next blog will focus on AFTER.
I call it From Red Carpet to Reality - or Hilarity. 

Walking the Red Carpet!  I got quite an amount of positive support, (thank you, thank you, thank you) along with lots of questions.
"How did you prepare for it?"
"Wow! Was it wonderful?"
"Were you nervous in front of the cameras?"
and of course
"What are you going to wear?"
So the journey began...
After it sank in, I basically panicked because I don't have
1. an assistant 2. a stylist 3. an image consultant
4. a press agent or any other of the cadre of people
that do all the work for you, behind the scenes.
Then I took a deep breathe and remembered that I do
1. have my own sense of style 2. know my image
3. am a self starter and 4.  have lots of marketing experience.
In other words --- I had confidence in myself. 
That adds up to a whole lot of pretty before one even starts. 
But really, that's just minutae. 
Let's get to the important stuff....the dress.
Off I went - to every store in NYC. I wanted to wear red. My color.  Always lots of compliments.  EXCEPT --- Valentine's Day had just passed, the new Spring fashions were on display, and the colors this season, as I came to be aware (or be wary of) are beige, orange and green. Cafeteria colors.
Now what was I supposed to do with that? 
Needless to say, there was nary a red dress in any store in all of New York City.  Hrrrmph. 
I would also like to mention the word,  "PROM."  Yes, that time of year was approaching, so looking for a tasteful cocktail dress amidst, froth, fluff, netting in unlikely places, exceedingly short hemlines and pastel pink was no easy task either.
After purchasing a total of 6, yes 6 dresses, (hope you are factoring all this travel, time, effort and indecision in the dressing room + hubby stating, "another one?") my dear friend said to me while I unhappily modelled a lilac concoction in my bedroom, " Do you want me to come with you to return the dress at the Madison Avenue store?" ( I can perform in front of hundreds but returning a purchase from Madison Avenue brings on frissons of fear)  I said, "yes, yes, yes!" 
Off we went. 
In the window was a black dress with gold necklace collar that I would have never picked out. 
She said, "That's the one." 
I said, "No, I will not wear black on camera, I never wear gold, plus too formal." 
She countered with, "Shut-up and listen to me for once in your life, you will look elegant and sophisticated." 
I said begrudgingly, "Well, I can try it on." 
Guess who was right? 
Oh it was Max Azria for those who care.

Part 2 will describe the experience and OH!!! the afterwards.
Otherwise known as "The Ecstacy then the Agony."
For the record, I did not trip.

PRACTICAL FASHION TIP  -- when wearing new shoes, sandpaper the bottom of the soles. The roughened texture guarantees you won't slip on carpeted or wooden floors.