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Mae West American actress Mary Jane "Mae" West was an American actress, singer, playwright, screenwriter, comedian, and sex symbol whose entertainment career spanned seven decades. Wikipedia Born: August 17, 1893, Bushwick, Brooklyn. Died: November 22, 1980, Hollywood, Los Angeles, CA Height: 5′ 0″ Plays: Sex, The Drag, Pleasure Man, Diamond Lil Quotes When choosing between two evils, I always like to try the one I've never tried before. When I'm good I'm very, very good, but when I'm bad, I'm better. Too much of a good thing can be taxing. Mae West Born Mary Jane West August 17, 1893 Brooklyn, New York, United States Died November 22, 1980 (aged 87) Los Angeles, California, United States Occupation Actress, singer, playwright, screenwriter, comedian Years active 1907–1978 Spouse(s) Frank Szatkus, stage name Frank Wallace (1911–43; dissolved) Partner(s) Paul Novak (1954–80) Known for her lighthearted bawdy double entendres, and breezy sexual independence, West made a name for herself in vaudeville and on the stage in New York City before moving to Hollywood to become a comedian, actress, and writer in the motion picture industry, as well as appearing on radio and television. For her contributions to American cinema, the American Film Institute named West 15th among the greatest female stars of classic American cinema. One of the more controversial movie stars of her day, West encountered many problems, especially censorship. She bucked the system, making comedy out of prudish conventional mores, and the Depression-era audience admired her for it. When her cinematic career ended, she wrote books and plays, and continued to perform in Las Vegas, in the United Kingdom, and on radio and television, and to record rock and roll albums. Asked about the various efforts to impede her career, West replied: "I believe in censorship. I made a fortune out of it." While true, she also suffered greatly because of it, even going to jail for her right to freedom of speech. Early life, career, and jail West was born in Bushwick, Brooklyn on August 17, 1893, having been delivered at home by an aunt who was a midwife. She was the eldest surviving child of John Patrick West and Matilda "Tillie" Delker (sometimes spelled "Dilker"). Delker and her five siblings emigrated with their parents, Jacob and Christiana, from the German state of Bavaria in 1886. West's parents married on January 18, 1889, in Brooklyn and reared their children as Protestants, although John West was of mixed Catholic-Protestant descent. Her father was a prizefighter known as "Battlin' Jack West" who later worked as a "special policeman", and later had his own private investigations agency. Her mother was a former corset and fashion model. Her paternal grandmother, Mary Jane (née Copley), for whom she was named, was of Irish Catholic descent, and West's paternal grandfather, John Edwin West, was of English-Scots descent and a ship's rigger. Her eldest sibling, Katie, died in infancy. Her other siblings were Mildred Katherine West, later known as Beverly (December 8, 1898 – March 12, 1982), and John Edwin West, II (sometimes inaccurately called "John Edwin West, Jr."; February 11, 1900 – October 12, 1964). During her childhood, West's family moved to various parts of Woodhaven, as well as the Williamsburg and Greenpoint neighborhoods of Brooklyn. In Woodhaven, at Neir's Social Hall (which opened in 1829 and is still extant), West supposedly first performed professionally. West was five when she first entertained a crowd at a church social, and she started appearing in amateur shows at the age of seven. She often won prizes at local talent contests. She began performing professionally in vaudeville in the Hal Clarendon Stock Company in 1907 at the age of 14. West first performed under the stage name "Baby Mae:, and tried various personas, including a male impersonator, She used the alias "Jane Mast" early in her career. Her trademark walk was said to have been inspired or influenced by female impersonators Bert Savoy and Julian Eltinge, who were famous during the Pansy Craze. Her first appearance in a Broadway show was in a 1911 revue A La Broadway put on by her former dancing teacher, Ned Wayburn. The show folded after eight performances, but at age 18, West was singled out and discovered by The New York Times. The Times reviewer wrote that a "girl named Mae West, hitherto unknown, pleased by her grotesquerie and snappy way of singing and dancing." West next appeared in a show called Vera Violetta, whose cast featured Al Jolson. In 1912, she appeared in the opening performance of A Winsome Widow as a "baby vamp" named La Petite Daffy. She Done Him Wrong 1933 I'm No Angel 1933 Sextette 1978 Mae West ORIGINAL NAME Mary Jane West BIRTH 17 Aug 1893 Brooklyn, Kings County (Brooklyn), New York, USA DEATH 22 Nov 1980 (aged 87) Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California, USA BURIAL Cypress Hills Cemetery Brooklyn, Kings County (Brooklyn), New York, USA Show Map PLOT Cypress Hills Abbey, Aisle EE, Special Section #2 MEMORIAL ID 1089 · View Source