Born on 12 January 1884 in Waco, Mary Louise Cecilia "Texas" Guinan played a gun-slinger and rode bareback in silent films, took New York by storm in 1906, and earned a salary of $700,000 as a speakeasy hostess. Here are highlights from a life led at full speed until 5 November 1933. Meet TEXAS GUINAN!

Thursday, September 28, 2006

Texas Guinan & George Raft

Texas Guinan remembers her former protege on his birthday: September 26th.
• • George Raft [26 September 1895
24 November 1980] was an American film actor most closely identified with his portrayals of gangsters in crime melodramas of the 1930s and 1940s.
• • Born George Ranft in Hell's Kitchen, New York City to Conrad Ranft (a German immigrant), he adopted a slick "tough guy" persona that he would later use in his films.
• • His mother, who taught dancing to theatre people, gave him lessons. His smooth tango and dance-floor style led to performances at some of Times Square's most fashionable nightspots. He became part of the stage act of "Texas Guinan and Her Gang."

• • In 1929 Raft moved to Hollywood and took small roles. His success came in
Scarface [1932], the role that was originally offered to Jack LaRue, an actor who played opposite Mae West in her 1928 Broadway hit Diamond Lil. George Raft's convincing portrayal of the gangster led to speculation that he himself was a mobster — — not far from the truth.
• • When the studio was casting Raft's next feature
Night after Night, the role of Maudie Triplett, a former girlfriend, was to go to a very well known actress and personality: Texas Guinan. Raft suggested Mae West for this cameo, and Mae's three little scenes set the so-so film on fire.
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• • Photo: George Raft in cap (circa 1926?) • • Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel [28 February 1906 - - June 20, 1947] with George Raft • • circa 1940 • •


Texas Guinan.

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Wednesday, September 27, 2006

Texas & William B. Davidson

On September 28th he died.

William B. Davidson, a tall, strapping leading man in American silent films, went on to portray men of authority in films such as the Assistant District Attorney who clashed mightily with speakeasy hostess Texas Malone [played by Texas Guinan] in "The Queen of the Night Clubs" [1929].

• • Born on 16 June 1888 in Dobbs Ferry, New York, William B. Davidson died on 28 September 1947 in Santa Monica, California.
• • This busy actor also played in "My Little Chickadee" [1940]; he took the role of the Sheriff of Little Bend in this classic that starred Mae West and W.C. Fields.
• • Queen of the Night Clubs (1929)
• • Directed by Bryan Foy
• • Written by: Addison Burkhard & Murray Roth
• • • Complete credited cast • • •
Texas Guinan .... Texas Malone
John Davidson .... Don Holland
Lila Lee .... Bea Walters
Arthur Housman .... Andy Quinland
Eddie Foy Jr. .... Eddie Parr
Jack Norworth .... Phil Parr
George Raft .... Gigola
Jimmy Phillips .... Nick
William B. Davidson .... Assistant District Attorney (as William Davidson)
John Miljan .... Lawyer Grant
Lee Shumway .... Crandall
Joseph Depew .... Roy
Agnes Franey .... Flapper
Charlotte Merriam .... Girl
James T. Mack .... Judge
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• • Photo: Davidson in 1929 with Texas Guinan • • Davidson [alone] in 1939 • •

Texas Guinan.

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Thursday, September 21, 2006

Texas Guinan, Ace of Clubs


Maybe you heard of a "little black book" but not too many folks remember a quaint series of affordable titles published as part of the series "Little Blue Books."
Released on 1 January 1929 was this one:
Texas Guinan: The Ace of (Night) Clubs.
Little Blue Book No. 1446 [1929]; 30 pages.
Written by: Samuel Marx
Publisher: Haldeman-Julius Publications
• • Emanuel Haldeman-Julius [1888-1951] began publishing his "Little Blue Books" in 1919 in order for classic works of literature to be available for a much lower price than usual - - at five or ten cents apiece. His association with the Socialist party led him to buy the Socialist paper Appeal to Reason along with their printing press, which he used to publish a number of his books. These inexpensive books became widely popular; by 1949 over 300,000,000 had been sold.
• • All books were published by the Haldeman-Julius Company in Girard, Kansas.
• • Little Blue Books are housed in the Kent State University Libraries, Ohio.
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• • photo: Texas Guinan • • 1929 • •

Texas Guinan.

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Texas: Theatre Magazine

Look who was profiled in the September 1928 issue of Theatre Magazine! Texas Guinan was written up because of her show "Padlocks of 1927" and Mae West, darling of Broadway, was depicted in her star-turn as Diamond Lil.

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• • Illustration: this was one panel in the exhibition "Onstage Outlaws: Mae West and Texas Guinan in a Lawless Era" featured at Village Restaurant [August 17th - September 7th, 2006 ] • •

Texas Guinan.

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Texas Guinan: Sin Was In!


On 30 September 1933, a California newspaper The San Francisco Rounder printed an article about the ever-popular Texas Guinan.
• • "What Sin Racket? No! You're Wrong!" featured her views framed around the witty soundbites that made her very popular with the press. Such a vibrant woman. This might be the last interview that the 49-year-old entertainer gave before her untimely death in November 1933.
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• • Illustration: one panel in the exhibition "Onstage Outlaws: Mae West and Texas Guinan in a Lawless Era" at Village Restaurant • • Mae West birthday gala coverage for the events during August 2006 • • ANNUAL MAE WEST BIRTHDAY GALA • •

Texas Guinan.

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Friday, September 08, 2006

Texas by Sharon Kay Hunt

Good girls go to heaven (it's been said) - - but bad girls go everywhere.

• • That certainly applies to this superb rendition by artist Sharon Kay Hunt of Texas Guinan, whose shoot-em-up photoplay The Gun Woman opened at the Loew's Theatre (Broadway) on 1 February 1918. This much-admired painting was displayed at Village Restaurant in a unique Western-style frame that set it off from the other portraits.
• • Actress Jessica Lange was one of many guests who were mesmerized by Hunt's deft artwork. "I never knew who Texas Guinan was," admitted Lange at the VIP opening on August 17, 2006, "but I'm in favor of New York City history being narrated through the viewpoints of two remarkable women."
• • A copy of this wonderful portrait will be installed soon at The Cowgirl Hall of Fame on Hudson Street.
• • And we are in discussion with a Manhattan museum about an upcoming Texas Guinan - Mae West exhibit. Stay tuned for news on "Onstage Outlaws." Because bad girls do go everywhere. . . .
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• • Source: Village Restaurant • •
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• • Photo: Sharon Kay Hunt's superb Gun Woman canvas in the exhibition "Onstage Outlaws: Mae West and Texas Guinan in a Lawless Era" at Village Restaurant • • Mae West birthday gala coverage for the events during August 2006 • • ANNUAL MAE WEST BIRTHDAY GALA • •

Texas Guinan.

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Tuesday, September 05, 2006

Texas Two-Step

Texas Guinan's uninhibited exhibition will be on view only for a few more days. Come up and see Mae West and her friend Texas while their images are still at Village Restaurarant.

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• • Source: Village Restaurant • •
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• • Photo: Glen Loney's TheatreWire column discussing the exhibition "Onstage Outlaws: Mae West and Texas Guinan in a Lawless Era" at Village Restaurant • • Mae West birthday gala coverage for the events during August 2006 • • ANNUAL MAE WEST BIRTHDAY GALA • •

Texas Guinan.

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Sunday, September 03, 2006

Get Guinan


Extended for a few more days - - by popular demand - - is the exhibition "Onstage Outlaws: Mae West and Texas Guinan in a Lawless Era" at Village Restaurant
• • Source: Village Restaurant • •
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• • Photo: Texas Guinan in "Padlocks of 1927" - - don't miss the exhibition "Onstage Outlaws: Mae West and Texas Guinan in a Lawless Era" at Village Restaurant • • Mae West birthday gala coverage 31 August 2006 • • ANNUAL MAE WEST BIRTHDAY GALA • •

Texas Guinan.

Friday, September 01, 2006

Texas Conquered New York

- -
September 1, 2006 edition of
The New York Sun FEATURES >Section: Arts and Letters
Come Up and See Them Sometime
By GARY SHAPIRO

Laws didn't mean much to colorful ladies like Mae West and Texas Guinan. And that's the idea behind an exhibition at Village Restaurant [62 West Ninth Street] called "Onstage Outlaws: Mae West and Texas Guinan in a Lawless Era," which runs through mid-September.
• • Among their most notorious actions, West turned down Billy Wilder's request that she play Norma Desmond in "Sunset Boulevard," feeling it was insulting to play a role about a has-been, and Guinan ran Prohibition-era nightclubs that were raided by federal agents.
• • Among those paying homage to these figures was Louise Berliner, who traveled from Massachusetts to New York to view the exhibit Tuesday. Ms. Berliner, who is the author of "Texas Guinan: Queen of the Night Clubs" (University of Texas Press), has a personal connection to the show. Her grandfather, Maxwell Lopin, was Guinan's lawyer, who defended Guinan in 1929 at her "public nuisance" trial for operating a speakeasy. Ms. Berliner's book was the basis of a screenplay "Hello, Suckers," which Madonna is considering working on.
• • The show features a photo of Guinan in jodhpurs and another of her wearing a large Indian headdress at a Beaux Arts ball. There is also a rare song sheet from "Padlocks of 1927," a musical review featuring Guinan along with George Raft, Barbara Stanwyck, and Clare Booth. Nearby is a photo of the Hippodrome, the large Midtown indoor amphitheater where the review had its debut.
• • A woman of restless energy, Guinan was born in 1884 in Waco, Texas. She moved to New York in 1907, where she rented a room for $2 a week at 72 Washington Square South, and later moved to 17 West 8th St., where she lived in an antique-filled duplex.
• • In the exhibition, there is a photo of the Fifth Avenue Theatre on West 28th Street where Guinan met the producer John Slocum, who helped launch her theater career. Slocum had wanted to find a wild West act for a play he was working on. Guinan was billed as a "Lone Star Novelty," and Slocum thought the show would be a cowboy act. But he was disappointed when it turned out to be Guinan singing songs while suspended above the audience in an airship. As he got up to leave, she embarrassed him by shining a flashlight on him and saying, "If you're going out, bring one back for me!" He sat back down and waited for Guinan to turn the light off. She did not, and continued to sing and tease him.
• • • • [Continued from page 1 of 2] • • • •
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Texas in "Queen of the Night Clubs" [1929] with George Raft

• • In addition to furs, ropes of pearls, and other jewelry, she wore bracelets on each wrist with 567 diamonds each. She was driven around in an armored car that once belonged to the king of Belgium.
• • In her book, Ms. Berliner tells the story about the time that Prince Edward of Wales was at Guinan's nightclub when Prohibition agents raided the place. Guinan ushered the Prince to the kitchen, put him in a chef's outfit, and "handed him a carton of eggs, a frying pan, and a spatula, and told him to fry eggs until she returned." She put his escort, Lord Mountbatten, behind a drum and told him to play music.
• • After the agents had left, she heard a cry from the kitchen, "Texas, for Heaven's sake, do something about these eggs!" She hurried in to find fried eggs stacked two inches high.
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• • gshapiro@nysun.com 1 September 2006
• • Source:The_New_York_Sun [105 Chambers Street, NY 10007]
• • © 2006 The New York Sun, One SL, LLC. All rights reserved.
• • Photo: dramatist LindaAnn Loschiavo with biographer Louise Berliner
• • Source: Village Restaurant • •
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• • Photo: Louise Berliner, biographer of Texas Guinan, displays her book at the exhibition "Onstage Outlaws: Mae West and Texas Guinan in a Lawless Era" at Village Restaurant • • Mae West birthday gala coverage 31 August 2006 • • ANNUAL MAE WEST BIRTHDAY GALA • •

Texas Guinan.

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