Mary Jane "Mae" West

 Mary Jane "Mae" West (August 17, 1893 – November 22, 1980)

Known for her bawdy double entendres, West made a name for herself in vaudeville and on the stage in New York before moving to Hollywood to become a comedienne, actress and writer in the motion picture industry. In consideration of her contributions to American cinema, the American Film Institute named West 15th among the greatest female stars of all time. One of the more controversial movie stars of her day, West encountered many problems, including censorship. Asked about the various efforts to impede her career, West replied, "I believe in censorship. I made a fortune out of it." She wrote plays such as The Drag, The Wicked Age, Pleasure Man and The Constant Sinner. Her productions aroused controversy, which ensured that she stayed in the news, which also often resulted in packed houses at her performances. In 1932, West was offered a motion picture contract by Paramount Pictures despite being close to 40. This was an unusually high age to begin a movie career, especially for women, but she nonetheless managed to keep this fact ambiguous for some years. She made her film debut in Night After Night starring George Raft. At first, she did not like her small role in Night After Night, but was appeased when she was allowed to rewrite her scenes. In West's first scene, a hat check girl exclaims, "Goodness, what beautiful diamonds." West replies, "Goodness had nothing to do with it, dearie." Reflecting on the overall result of her rewritten scenes, Raft is said to have remarked, "She stole everything but the cameras." She then starred with a young Cary Grant in She Done Him Wrong, and I'm No Angel, both from 1933. West continued in films during the 1930's, followed by her stage performance play “Diamond Lil” for SRO audiences across the country for nearly 5 years (including an 8 month tour of England in 1947). Record-breaking night club appearances ensued in Las Vegas and Reno, New York, Chicago, and San Francisco. She also appeared on radio, as well as several TV series into the 1950's. When casting the role of Norma Desmond for the 1950 film Sunset Boulevard, Billy Wilder offered the 57-year old West the role. Still smarting from the failure of The Heat's On, she declined, claiming to be offended at the notion. Wilder later said, "The idea of [casting] Mae West was idiotic because we only had to talk to her to find out that she thought she was as great, as desirable, as sexy as she had ever been."

In August 1980, West tripped while getting out of bed. After the fall, West was unable to speak it was revealed that she had suffered a stroke. On September 18, she suffered a second stroke which left her right side paralyzed and developed pneumonia. By November, her condition had improved, but the prognosis was poor and she was sent home. She died there on November 22, 1980, at the age of 87. Mae West is interred at Cypress Hills Abbey in Brooklyn, NY.