Mae West's gay toady died tragically 50 years ago...or was it murder?

I want that mural!

So did Mae really have a dick?

R2 No

Weird story...and kind of a weird article...

That article was a lot of nothing. Needed more Mae West and her musclemen photos.

who was the "young actor" who died in 2013?

I was also about to mention it was a long article about not much.

R6 Yes, I had the same question.

Interesting story. I love the detailed mentions of all the old L.A. haunts.

I'd rather hear more about that Novak guy. That queen probably saw all kinds of interesting or at least odd stuff.

Novak was straight. West's longtime fuck. Not bright, but intensely loyal.

The story of her last movie Sextette is a bizarre story in itself. The rumour was it was the birthday gift of one of the producers (who allegedly put up a million bucks of his own inherited fortune) for his boyfriend. And then After Dark, the fabulous gay-but-not-gay magazine devoted an issue to giving West its silver cup trophy, so she rocked up to the event, with two elderly bodybuilders on both arms. They descreetly lifted her so she glided!!!! Because she was mostly deaf by this stage and had trouble remembering her lines, while filming Sextette they wired her to deliver the lines in her ears. Except it once got crossed with the police radio. And she came out with "Traffic is banked up along Santa Monica Boulevard..." Apparently she went up to one of the grips on the film and said: "See this leg? It's Christmas. See this other leg? It's New Year. Come up and see me between the holidays..."

Oh, and there's a shocking story about Novak. He looked after West for a zillion years with absolute devotion. And was left nothing in the will. Nothing! It was profoundly shocking even for those who knew Mae was intensely narcissitic and thought only of herself. Fortunately people rallied round, and I think he was taken care of, including by the benefactors. But it's one of the more shocking stories of star selfishness.

Weird!

There’s a fascinating audio recording of West posing as her sister (and ‘assistant’) on the phone with a freelance press photographer, as she tries to acquire the negative of an unflattering photograph of her at an event that appeared in print. Probably from this same era. Her obsession with her image at her very old age was huge. The comparisons to SUNSET BOULEVARD are apt!

R14 I remember that. It was on one of those Celebrities At Their Worst! compilation CDs from the 90’s. I can’t seem to find that Mae one online.

Oh that sounds fun. Here's the CD.

R12 but the story is Mae West never changed her will, she did want to in her final years so it would benefit Novak, but somehow Novak was not keen on these things he never brought the lawyer home, that's how he was left nothing in her (old) will.

[quote] A dignified man of principle and loyalty, Novak was stunned by her death, although it could not have come as a surprise to him. Ever the realist, West in her last years continually asked Novak to line up an attorney so she could change her will in his favor, but he procrastinated. “I always said to her, ‘Now, now, dear, there’s plenty of time to do that,’ ” he once said. “I guess I thought she would live forever.”...

It was mentioned in Novak's obituary.

This guy died in August 2013 from cancer. Seems to be about the right age bracket too.

i'm disappointed. I thought the story would end with Mae West killing him after realizing he was a psychotic fan like Annie Wilkes and not just an admiring one.

Had brunch with someone who insisted Mae was a man born Myron and that Mae/Myron's long term lover was a gay man. Eh, guess not. That was a very steamy letter from a 30 something year old to 67 year old Mae!

Wait, monkeys?

What the fuck is a toady?

[quote]So did Mae really have a dick?

Inquiring minds want to know! The implications are terrifying!

Loved the description of Mae's beach house, which had a "huge mural of musclemen with gold-leaf erections ejaculating."

I wonder if I can get one on eBay.

Has anybody been inside the Ravenswood Apartments that Mae owned and lived in for nearly 40 years?

Are they upscale? In a good neighborhood?

[quote]So did Mae really have a dick?

No. But the guy who impersonated her in "Breckenridge" and "Sextette" did.

R23 What the fuck is a toady?

British slang. Check out any of the Royal Family threads for examples.

No wonder her son, Kanye, is such a wacko!

R28, this is an American board about an American subject. We don’t do toady and Mae West.

[quote]Are they upscale? In a good neighborhood?

It isn't Beverly Hills, r26, but it's okay.

interior

Would someone be so kind as to post the details about the conflict between Mae West and Micky Hargitay over Jayne Mansfield? I read somewhere that Mae held a press conference to denounce them.

He met and married Jayne while performing in Mae's Vegas revue, r33. I'm sure she was very jealous.

[quote]I'm sure she was very jealous.

West was driving the truck Mansfield's car ran under, scalping the actress.

R19 how the fuck did you come up with that guy?

Detective Olivia Benson's mother is Mae West.

Yeah, r37...no.

I love this genre of story. Gay man becomes obsessed with older wealthier woman of some level of fame or stature often years past the height of her fame. Then he ingratiates himself into her life. Two people with big voids in their lives that need filling. Lucille Ball. Lisabeth Scott. Martha Raye. I'm sure there are more I'm missing.