Mae West was an American actress on stage and in movies, a playwright, a screenwriter, a singer, and a sex symbol whose career lasted more than seven decades. She was known for her easygoing sexual freedom and her funny, racy double entendres, which she often said in a husky contralto voice. She did vaudeville and theatre in New York City before moving to Los Angeles to work in the movie business.
West was one of the most talked-about movie stars of her time, especially when it came to censorship. She once made a joke, “I support censorship. I made a lot of money from it.” She went against the rules by making fun of social norms, and people during the Depression admired her for it.
After she stopped making movies, she wrote books and plays, performed in Las Vegas and the UK, did radio and TV shows, and made rock ‘n’ roll albums. In 1999, after West had died, the American Film Institute ranked her as the 15th best classic American female screen legend.
Brief Information About Mae West
| Name | Mae West |
| D.O.B | August 17, 1893 |
| Profession |
Singer, Actor, Pin-up girl, Comedian
|
| Nationality: | United States of America |
| Net Worth | $50 Million |
Mae West Net Worth
According to CelebrityNetWorth, By the time of her death in 1980, American actress, singer, screenwriter, playwright, and sex icon Mae West had amassed a net worth of $50 million. During the middle of the 1930s, Mae West was at the height of her career and one of the highest-paid people in the United States. By the late 1930s, Mae West had amassed a fortune of $3 million, as reported by Time magazine in 1937. In today’s currency, that’s the equivalent of over $60 million.
Mae West became famous in New York City thanks to her work in vaudeville and on stage. Hollywood, California was her destination of choice in 1930, and she quickly became known for her use of double entendres.
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Mae West Personal Life
West married fellow vaudevillian Frank Szatkus (1892-1966), whose stage name was Frank Wallace, on April 11, 1911, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The two had first met in 1909 while performing together. She was 17. She concealed the marriage, but in 1935 a filing clerk found the marriage certificate and informed the media.
The clerk also discovered an affidavit she had signed during the Sex trial in 1927 stating that she was married. West initially denied ever marrying Wallace, but in response to a legal interrogation in July 1937, she finally acknowledged it. Never having been married, the couple never shared a home.
She insisted that they have separate bedrooms, and she quickly got rid of him by sending him away after he put on a show of his own. Wallace withdrew his demand for separate maintenance during the legal divorce she obtained on July 21, 1942, and West testified that they had only been together for “a few weeks.”
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On May 7, 1943, the final divorce decree was issued.
Mae West Professional Vaudeville Career
In 1907, West, then 14, began his professional Vaudeville career with the Hal Claredon Stock Company. Her mother made all of her costumes, drilled her during rehearsals, and took care of all of her bookings and contracts. Tillie was finally working in show business as her daughter’s manager.
West’s performance was a subtly ironic spoof of Victorian innocence and sentimentality. She wore a pink and green satin gown, a large white hat, and pink satin ribbons to disguise herself as a young girl. However, she did impersonate adult Vaudeville and burlesque performers, as well as dance and sing popular songs with sexual undertones.
West spent the next few years in vaudeville with William Hogan, a minor performer, and family friend. West played Hogan’s young girlfriend in a parody of the Tom Sawyer theme. West, on the other hand, is likely to have played a role in transforming her soft-spoken Becky Thatcher character into a more assertive and spunky foil for Hogan.
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When work was slow, as it was for many Vaudeville performers, she would hit the burlesque circuit, where she would perform for a predominantly male working-class audience. Social conventions forbade such a young girl from being present, let alone performing, but West thrived and honed her performance skills.
Mae West Death
Mae lost her ability to speak in August 1980 after falling out of bed. After being transported to the Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles, tests revealed that she had experienced a stroke. West passed away on November 22, 1980, at the age of 87.
Mae was buried in the family mausoleum at Brooklyn’s Cypress Hills Abbey after a private funeral service on November 25th at the church in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in the Hollywood Hills.
Summary
Mae West was an American actress on stage and in movies, a playwright, a screenwriter, a singer, and a sex symbol. She was known for her easygoing sexual freedom and her funny, racy double entendres. By the time of her death in 1980, she had amassed a net worth of $50 million.
Mae West’s mother Tillie made all of her costumes, drilled her during rehearsals, and took care of her bookings and contracts. Her performance was a subtly ironic spoof of Victorian innocence and sentimentality. She impersonated adult Vaudeville and burlesque performers, as well as danced and sing popular songs.
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