The Queen - Ms. Mae West Trivia Quiz

Answer: Theater Stock Actor

Mae was a child prodigy on stage. She began entertaining as a professional actress by age five. Mae's long-running role as "Little Nell" gave her a deserved reputation for excellence. About age 14, Mae earned the nickname of "Baby Vamp" for her work on the Vaudeville scene. She would meet and marry her stage partner Frank Wallace by age 16. Their intimate and working relationship would soon end, but they wouldn't legally divorce until 1942.
Mae's mother was a German born, bit actress whose stage name was "Champagne Til". Matilda was also a part-time corset model. Mae's father was a livery stablehand, a detective for a time, and a prizefighting boxer. Mae was known to have preferred athletic men throughout her life.
For two decades Mae honed her skills in Vaudeville, on Broadway and Burlesque stages prior to becoming a film star.

(As Edison said, "Genius is 99% perspiration and 1% inspiration.")

Answer: Mae was sentenced to 10 days in jail.

Well, at least she wasn't sentenced to sip hemlock. "Sex" was put to bed after Mae's conviction on May 28th, 1927. After more than 300 performances, "Sex" became forbidden on the stage. (Hmm, kind of like locking the barn door after the horse was stolen.)
Mae still managed to get the last laugh. She garnered nation-wide, free publicity due to the press's frenzy to comment on the affair. This exposure gained Mae instant recognition and numerous boisterous fans. As Brendan Behan, the Irish dramatist, said "There is no such thing as bad publicity except your own obituary."

(Now who can argue with that?)

Answer: The Drag

"The Drag" endeared Mae as an icon to generations of gay men. Her use of melodramtic setting and satirical points of view, depicted her steadfast belief in the quality of all relationships. Mae did not discriminate. She utilized males in women's clothing and make-up, known as drag queens. These actors performed as representatives of a cross-section of society. Mae wanted to make her main concept clear; homosexuality was not limited to a certain class of people.
Forced to open in Bridgeport, Connecticut, due to her legal difficulties with "Sex" in New York, Mae managed to do quite well for herself in the areas of finance and professional acclaim.

(You Go Girl!)

Answer: Night After Night

During the scene with the coat-check girl these famous lines were spoken:
Girl: "Goodness, what beautiful diamonds."
Maudie: "Goodness had nothing to do with it, dearie."
Mae as Maudie was the girlfriend of the gangster Raft played. The film depicted Mae as the savvy girlfriend who turned the tables on her cheating boyfriend.
Ms. West seemed to have a natural inclination for comedic timing. Unlike other actors, she was able to make a smooth transition from the stage to the screen.
George Raft's other occupations included being a dancer and a boxer. Mae seemed to drift toward this type of man.

(Bad Boys Rule!)

Answer: She Done Him Wrong

By riding this celluloid vehicle, Mae ultimately reaped the respect of peers and critics alike. This would be Mae's only film to be nominated for an Oscar. Long before Carol Channing and Marilyn Monroe became famous for singing "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend", Mae was flaunting this maxim on the silver screen. Censors were outraged at the sexually charged scenarios on the topics of prostitution, or the euphemistic synonym, "white slavery".
Famous for its repeated misquotes, here's the original Mae West signature line:
Mae: "Why don't you come up sometime 'n see me?"
This tag-line was spoken to Cary Grant. He portrayed the innocent mission worker and ultimate object of Mae's lustful urges. He was an undercover cop as well. The comedic plot revolves around this hidden identity and Mae's saucy lines to Cary.

(I'd like to know what happened off-screen between those two.)

Answer: My Little Chickadee

Credit as screenwriter for "My Little Chickadee" was divided equally between Mae and W.C. This so angered Mae, as WC. was responsible for authoring only one scene, which he starred in, that she refused to ever work with him again. Mae took guff from no one. She was a type of Belle Starr in her old western themed flicks.
Classic quotes from this movie include:
Judge: "Are you trying to show contempt for this court?
Mae: "No, your Honor, I'm doing my best to hide it."
W.C. "I wonder what kind of woman you are."
Mae: "Sorry I don't give out samples."
Mae, as Flower Belle Lee, was forced to wed W,C.'s character, Cuthbert J. Twillie. He thought she was loaded...with cash. Hidden identity, thievery, an Indian attack, all these elements provide the thin plot for the comedic lines.

(I agree with Mae)

Answer: Catherine was Great

Mae's return to Broadway was a triumph for her. A nationwide tour of "Catherine Was Great" was launched in 1945. Some sources say Mae considered herself to be a reincarnation of Catherine II. Essentially the play was a biographical sketch of the Tsarina.
London and New York became Mae's concurrent bases of business opportunity from 1948 to 1951. Would you conjecture that this may have contributed to another famous West quote?
"I only like two kinds of men: foreign and domestic."
While in England, Mae carried on with her traveling performances. The stage revival of her 1933 play, "Adamant Lil" appealed to Yanks and Brits alike.

(A nice import goes down well on occasion)

Answer: Charles Krauser aka Paul Novak

The men listed were all in Mae's revue. Mr. Krauser publicly punched Mr. Hargitay. Jealousy over the latter's relationship with Mae was the cause of the conflict. He needn't have worried - Mickey married Jayne Mansfield. Mr. Krauser became Paul Novak to escape notoriety. He chose instead to retire quietly to live with Mae for the next 26 years. Mae mentioned Paul, from that point on, only in passing. She would identify him as her chauffeur, bodyguard or butler. Very few people were even aware of Paul's existence until he stepped forward when Mae died.



(A pitbull becomes a poodle; Is it possible?)

Answer: Goodness Had Nothing To Do With It

Prentice Hall published the first edition of Mae's autobiograpy in 1959. A second revised edition came out in 1971. To read "Goodness Had Nothing To Do With It" check your local library. See for yourself what and who Mae was actually like.
Perhaps this quote from her book best sums up Mae's attitude:
"I freely chose the kind of life I led because I was convinced that a woman has as much right as a man to live the way she does if she does no actual harm to society."

Answer: Sextette

"Sextette" was widely criticized. It was a jumbled parody of a thinly disguised biography of Mae West's lust for younger men. Many well known actors played cameo roles with Mae to honor her longevity in show business.
Mae just couldn't resist a stud. She appeared as herself with the program's star, a hunky palomino known famously as "Mr. Ed." This episode became one of most cited by fans as their favorite of the entire sit-com series.

(Mae and I both like horses, I guess)