Mae West: The Sex-Positive Old Hollywood Icon Who Was Far Ahead of Her Time
Tim Gray Senior Vice PresidentThere weren’t many other figures of old Hollywood like Mae West, a bold comic performer who was at least 50 years head of her time in terms of her material and command of her career.She was born August 17, probably in 1893, though accounts differ. Variety covered her vaudeville appearances starting in 1911, describing her as a “cyclonic young singer” in shows like “Big Gaiety Review.” In 1912, Variety tried to discreetly describe her specialty act in Philadelphia, which was called “A Muscle Dance in a Sitting Position.” The PR stated: “It is all in the way she does it, and her way is all her own.”That doesn’t provide a lot of clues, but the phrase “her way is all her own” sums up her style and her work.