Mae West Part II

In 1932, Paramount Studios was nearing bankruptcy. As a last effort to avoid merging with another studio, a big production with radio star Kate Smith was planned. When fans wrote in asking for more Mae West, the studio saw a sure thing and produced a vehicle for her instead. Mae brought Diamond Lil' (now called Lady Lou), to the screen in She Done Him Wrong. It was a hit and Paramount was able to continue operations. The film also earned an Oscar nomination for best picture and made Cary Grant a star.

As a follow-up, Mae adapted a circus story by Lowell Brentano. In I'm No Angel, she fulfilled her ambition to tame lions. She somehow convinced nervous studio executives that she should appear in the ring herself. It wasn't until later that Mae heard about the armed men that had been stationed out of sight with orders to shoot if it looked like a lion would attack. The picture was another hit.

Unfortunately, Mae's success prompted the Hays Office to pay closer attention to her racy material. The quality and success of her movies began to decline as censorship increasingly restricted her work. She made a total of ten movies during the studio age, but with each film her sexy style was diluted.

Not that Mae needed to work. She had invested well, primarily in real estate, and was financially set for life. She lived luxuriously in a white and gold apartment in one of her properties.

In 1940, Mae costarred with W.C. Fields in My Little Chickadee. Mae refused to let Fields drink during the production, which distressed the alcoholic comic. However, he made it through the filming and only got caught with a bottle a few times.

Next, Mae starred in The Heat's On. She was not as heavily involved in the script as usual, and perhaps this is why it was her first true flop. She was so disappointed that she decided never to appear in a movie again unless she had total control.

In 1942, Mae's long forgotten husband, Frank Wallace, sued for support. After a court battle, she was relieved of all financial responsibility for Wallace, who had taken to billing himself on stage as Mr. Mae West. She smirked to reporters that "we may owe 'em a lovin', but not a livin'."

Mae lost interest in making films. She returned to Broadway for a successful run in Catherine Was Great. She also appeared on television talk shows, Mr. Ed, and most memorably, on a radio show with ventriloquist Charlie McCarthy. Mae's sexy delivery in the sketch she did with Edgar the dummy shocked Sunday night listeners and she was banned from radio for years.

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