Today is the birthday of Screen Siren, actress, singer, and screenwriter, Mae West who was born on Thursday, August 17, 1893, in Brooklyn, New York, She was delivered at home by her aunt, a midwife.
She was the eldest surviving child of Mathilde Delker (originally
"Doelger" and later Americanized to "Delker" or "Dilker") West, a corset and fashion model, and John Patrick "Battlin' Jack" West, a former prizefighter who later
worked as a "special policeman" and founded a private investigation
agency.
Mae West - 1932
photo: L.A. Times
West was five when she first entertained a crowd at a church social, and
she began appearing in amateur shows at the age of seven and frequently won prizes at local talent contests. She began performing professionally in vaudeville in the Hal Clarendon Stock Company in 1907, at the age of 14. As a child performer, West used the stage name "Baby Mae" (the baby may behave like this), and later tried various personas, including a male impersonator.
She was recognized as a prominent sex symbol of her time, she was known for portraying sexually confident characters and for her use of double entendres, often delivering her lines in a distinctive contralto voice. Her distinctive walk was said to have been inspired or influenced by female impersonators Bert Savoy and Julian Eltinge, who were prominent during the Pansy Craze,
West began performing in vaudeville and on stage in New York City before moving on to film in Los Angeles.
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