Her career started in 1907 & her last appearance was in 1978. Talented Mae West worked in vaudeville, on radio, on Broadway, in Las Vegas & in films. Her 1927 Broadway play- Sex opened to bad reviews, boffo box office, & was ultimetly closed down by the police. She was charged with & served time for "corrupting the morals of the youth". While incarcerated she ate her meals with the warden & his wife & told the press that she wore her silk panties under her prison garb.
Throughout the 1930s her films were anticipated as major events, but by the end of the decade she seemed to have reached her limit & her popularity waned; puritanism was on the rise & censorship was severely limiting her career. After making The Heat's On in 1943, West planned to retire from the screen, & went back to Broadway. In 1954, when she was 62, she began a nightclub act in which she was surrounded by her musclemen; it ran for 3 years & was a surprise success. West is the author of a rather readable memoir- Goodness Had Nothing to Do with It.
At 77 years old she appeared on the film Myra Breckinridge with Farrah Fawcett, Tom Selleck & Raquel Welch. In the mid-1970s she released an album of rock & roll covers- Great Balls Of Fire. But for me, Mae West is remembered best for her quips, including Stephen's words to live by: "Too much of a good thing can be wonderful"
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