Mae West Trivia

1. Where was Mae originally from?

From Quiz Mae West: When She's Bad, She's Better

Answer: Brooklyn

Mary Jane West was born on August 17, 1893 in Brooklyn, NY. Her father, John Patrick West was a professional boxer and her mother, Matilda Doelger, designed corsets.

From Quiz Mae West: When She's Bad, She's Better

Answer: 18 years old

Mae and Frank wed on April 11, 1911. Shortly after, the stage partnership and the marriage partnership ended, but they weren't divorced until July 23, 1942.

From Quiz Ain't She Sweet!

Answer: Sex

"Sex" ran for 375 performances until closed by police in February 1927. It is estimated that over 325,000 people saw it. It was the talk of New York and was attended by many members of the power elite of the city. West was charged with obscenity. She was sentenced to ten days in a workhouse and fined $500. While at the workhouse, she dined with the warden, wore her sexiest lingerie, and got two days off for good behavior. The resulting publicity enhanced her career.

From Quiz Mae West: When She's Bad, She's Better

Answer: Goodness Had Nothing to Do with It

"Goodness Had Nothing to Do with It" was published in 1959 in paperback form by Manor Books. It was re-released in 1970 by publishers, Macfadden-Bartell. In it you will find stories about her career and her love life.

From Quiz Ain't She Sweet!

Answer: Implementation of the "Hays Code"

Films made from the beginning of the sound era to the implementation of the Hays Office Code are called "pre-code". During this era, film producers were expected to censor their own film. These films dealt with sex, sexual identity, scantly clad women, and risque plots. Mae West thrived in this era. When the heavy censorship hammer fell in 1935, films had to conform to the so-called 'code'. Among the many codes were that married couples, if filmed in bed, must be in twin beds. If couples kissed, the man must have one foot on the floor. And so on. The Hays Office set a target on "Klondike Annie" (1935), a film based on a play West wrote in 1921. West had become a symbol of the type of film that the office was trying to control. About ten minutes were completely cut by censors. In one scene, West trades clothes with a nun in order to elude being arrested. West then was the nun; the nun became the prostitute. West was always grateful to the censors. If a line was censored, Mae would ad-lib a naughtier one. If a scene was cut, she would have it re-filmed with more innuendo. Without the help of censors, she commented, no one would know who she was.

From Quiz Ain't She Sweet!

Answer: One

Only the one. They were alike in many ways, so much so that there were conflicts. Both were used to either writing the script or rewriting to their talents. Both were used to having their way with direction. The pair is best when the two are not in a scene with each other. According to "Modern Drunkard's Magazine": "Mae West was a teetotaler, and she had a clause written into her contract that allowed her to shut down the set if she ever caught Fields drunk. Stories vary as to whether she ever acted upon it, but everyone agrees that Fields continued to drink unabated throughout the shoot". In one scene he drinks Mae's perfume.

From Quiz The Queen - Ms. Mae West

Answer: Catherine was Great

Mae's return to Broadway was a triumph for her. A nationwide tour of "Catherine Was Great" was launched in 1945. Some sources say Mae considered herself to be a reincarnation of Catherine II. Essentially the play was a biographical sketch of the Tsarina. London and New York became Mae's concurrent bases of business opportunity from 1948 to 1951. Would you conjecture that this may have contributed to another famous West quote? "I only like two kinds of men: foreign and domestic." While in England, Mae carried on with her traveling performances. The stage revival of her 1933 play, "Adamant Lil" appealed to Yanks and Brits alike. (A nice import goes down well on occasion)

From Quiz The Queen - Ms. Mae West

Answer: Charles Krauser aka Paul Novak

The men listed were all in Mae's revue. Mr. Krauser publicly punched Mr. Hargitay. Jealousy over the latter's relationship with Mae was the cause of the conflict. He needn't have worried - Mickey married Jayne Mansfield. Mr. Krauser became Paul Novak to escape notoriety. He chose instead to retire quietly to live with Mae for the next 26 years. Mae mentioned Paul, from that point on, only in passing. She would identify him as her chauffeur, bodyguard or butler. Very few people were even aware of Paul's existence until he stepped forward when Mae died. (A pitbull becomes a poodle; Is it possible?)

From Quiz Mae West: When She's Bad, She's Better

Answer: 1560 Vine Street

Audrey Hepburn's star is located at 1652 Vine Street. Marlon Brando's star is located at 1765 Vine Street and Cecil B. DeMille's star is located at 1725 Vine Street.

From Quiz Ain't She Sweet!

Answer: Salvador Dali

In 1937 Dali departed from his surrealist painting to engage in furniture design. The sofa, patterned after West's lips, was done at the bequest of one of Dali's patrons, Edward James. It measured 86.5 x 183 x 81.5 cm and was solid red. Five were made. Three have been owned by the Edward James Foundation. The Brighton Art Gallery and Museum bought one; the other was acquired by a private collector. Fliers during World War Two wore inflatable life preserver jackets that they called "Mae Wests", an allusion to Mae's figure. Catherine Hardwicke designed a gazebo at Hollywood-La Brea Boulevard to honor multi-ethnic leading ladies of films. Mae West is the American, Dolores Del Rio the Latin, Dorothy Dandridge the Black, and Anna May Wong the Oriental.

From Quiz Mae West: When She's Bad, She's Better

Answer: 87 years old

Mae died on November 22, 1980 due to complications of a series of strokes. She was buried in Cypress Hills Cemetery, in Brooklyn, New York.

From Quiz Ain't She Sweet!

Answer: Myra Breckenridge

The movie was a flop. It lost millions at the box office. There was a lot of tension on the set as the director often sat for hours to ponder out the next step. West and Raquel Welch did not get along. Shirley Temple and Loretta Young sued to have scenes from their movies removed. In addition, by this time Mae was more a caricature of her former self. Her last film in 1978 was "Sextette", based on her Broadway play of 1926. After some difficulty getting it distributed, it earned very little money before being withdrawn. West could not remember her lines so an ear piece was put in her ear to feed her the lines. Mae claimed that only thing she could hear were police calls. In 1976 Mae West made her classic appearance on Dick Cavett's talk show. Mae got a chance to recite some of her best one-liners while Cavett seemed almost in awe of her presence.

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