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!

Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Meet Mae West August 2016

Meet the real Mae West: New Yorker, vaudevillian, upstart, and jailbird
The Annual Mae West Event Revisits the Brooklyn Bombshell’s Struggles and Trial That Made Her Famous


• • New York, NY, July 1, 2016  — Born in Brooklyn, NY on August 17, 1893, MAE WEST began performing at age 6. By 1925, the 32-year-old knew her career had capsized; she was cast only in minor roles, she had numerous negative reviews, and she’d been fired. A trip to Greenwich Village and an appearance at Jefferson Market Court (now Jefferson Market Library) — — along with an overnight stay at Jefferson Jail — — changed her life, making the controversial vaudevillian an overnight sensation.

• • Vintage NYC images punctuate this fascinating but little-known story about the legendary entertainer, some of which played out at 425 Sixth Avenue when it was the Third Judicial Courthouse.

• • Join us at 6:00 on Wednesday evening, August 17, 2016 to celebrate Mae’s birthday with a talk and slide-show by Greenwich Village historian LindaAnn Loschiavo featuring rare photos of the young variety artist, who toured as a “specialty dancer” before becoming a writer and going to Hollywood in 1932 for a small role in Paramount's “Night After Night.” Archival images of NYC vaudeville theatres, Greenwich Village, and Jefferson Market will be screened as you’ll be introduced to the company Mae kept such as Owney Madden, George Raft, Jack Dempsey, West 8th Street resident Texas Guinan, etc.
• • About our speaker: Greenwich Villager LindaAnn Loschiavo, a historian and dramatist, drew inspiration from trials at Jefferson Market Court for her play “Courting Mae West.” Her latest projects are a documentary film, “In the Footsteps of Texas Guinan,” and a new biography on the queen of the night clubs, who lived at 72 Washington Square South and 17 West 8th Street until her death in 1933.
• • Come up and see Mae on her birthday for a festive occasion filled with fun, refreshments, prizes.   

    
— — — — Who, What, When, Where — — — —
• • What: Meet the real Mae West: New Yorker, vaudevillian, upstart, jailbird
• • When: Wednesday, 17 August 2016 — — from 6:00—8:00pm (doors open at 5:30pm)
• • Where: Jefferson Market Library, 425 6th Avenue, New York, NY 10011 (at West 10th  St.)
• • Fee: FREE — — but reservations are suggested
• • Phone: 212- 243-4334
• • Who: Our speaker is LindaAnn Loschiavo, dramatist, historian, Greenwich Villager
• • Subway: IND line to West Fourth Street; PATH train to West 9th Street
• • Extra: refreshments and a Mae West raffle
• • Website for all things Mae West:  http://MaeWest.blogspot.com

• • Mae West said: "I enjoyed the court room as any other stage."
• • Mae West (to jail matron): "Whaddya mean strip? I thought this was a respectable place!" 
• • Feel free to share this post.

• • Mae West: New Yorker, Vaudevillian, Upstart, and Jailbird a Birthday Celebration!
• • https://www.nypl.org/events/programs/2016/08/17/mae-west-new-yorker-vaudevillian-upstart-and-jailbird-birthday

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• • The legal battles fought by Mae West and Jim Timony are dramatized in the play "Courting Mae West: Sex, Censorship, and Secrets," set during the Prohibition Era. Texas Guinan is in some scenes, too.
Watch a scene on YouTube.

• • Website for all things Mae West http://MaeWest.blogspot.com 

• • Exciting Texas Guinan news is on the horizon. More anon.
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• • Photo: Texas Guinan
• • Mae West on trial, 1927 • •

Texas Guinan.

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Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Texas Guinan: Free Event 2015

MAE WEST and her good friend TEXAS GUINAN will be celebrated in New York City during August 2015. All are welcome to attend.
• •
Onstage Outlaws — — Mae West and Texas Guinan during the Lawless Prohibition Era
• •
• • 3 events commemorate the Brooklyn bombshell’s August birthday in the room where she faced a judge who sent her to jail • •
• • New York, NY, July 13, 2015 — During the 1920s, when Mae West was trying to build her career, the building all dramatists and actresses tried to avoid——Jefferson Market Court at 425 Sixth Avenue—— was the very site that made a little-known performer world famous. When N.Y. District Attorney Joab Banton had Mae West arrested and paddy wagoned to Jefferson Market Police Court on February 9, 1927, the controversial Brooklyn entertainer made global headlines for the first time. The actress-writer also served time in Jefferson Jail. At her side, covering the trial for the New York Journal American, was Texas Guinan, Mae’s friend and a frequent passenger in the police department’s Black Maria herself.
• •  In the 1920s, though most Broadway headliners avoided negative publicity, these two diamond-draped divas flouted convention, defied police, and became as well known for being handcuffed as for blazing their way onto theatre marquees. They were “onstage outlaws” during the Prohibition Era.
• •  When Mae West [1893-1980] and Texas Guinan [1884-1933] weren’t being chased by the purity police, they found time to enjoy the speakeasies, bookshops, restaurants, night spots, and theatres in Greenwich Village. In 1907, Texas-born Texas Guinan moved to New York, where she resided at 72 Washington Square South, then at 17 West 8th Street. The speakeasy queen owned bracelets set with 567 diamonds each and a fancy armored car that once belonged to the King of Belgium.
• •  To celebrate Mae West's birthday on August 17, 2015, there will be an illustrated talk: "Onstage Outlaws — — Mae West and Texas Guinan during the Lawless Prohibition Era.” Rare vintage images will show you the buildings around Washington Square as these two headline-makers saw them. Sites include the Village speakeasies where Mae socialized and bent elbows with Texas Guinan, Walter Winchell, Jack Dempsey, George Raft, and Barney Gallant; significant theatres; court rooms where Mae and Texas fought City Hall; and off-beat addresses that made an impact. Rare Texas Guinan silent films will be shown and Mae West’s Jefferson Jail poetry will also be read.
• •  The speaker LindaAnn Loschiavo is a Greenwich Village historian and dramatist; her plays include “Courting Mae West: Sex, Censorship, and Secrets” and “Diamond Lil, Queen of the Bowery.”

        — — — — Who, What, When, Where — — — —
• • What: Onstage Outlaws — — Mae West and Texas Guinan during the Lawless Prohibition Era
• • When: Monday, 17 August 2015 — — from 6:30 — 8:00pm (doors open at 6:00pm)
• • Where: Jefferson Market Library, 425 Sixth Avenue, New York, NY 10011 (at West 10th Street)
• • Extra: to celebrate the birthday of Brooklyn bombshell Mae West, on August 3rd and on August 10th, her films will be shown at 6:00pm. The first one, "Sextette" [1978] will be screened on August 3rd. Then "Go West Young Man" [1936] will be screened on August 10th. The August 17th multi-media presentation will feature light refreshments (courtesy of East Village Cheese) and a raffle. You could win rare silent films starring Texas Guinan. Or maybe a rare reprint by The New Yorker’s caricaturist Alfred Freuh or by a famous N. Y. Times illustrator.
• • Refreshment sponsor: East Village Cheese
• • Subway: IND line to West Fourth Street; PATH train to West 9th Street
• • Fee: FREE — — no entry fee for the three Mae West events on August 3rd, August 10th, and August 17th, 2015
• • Phone: 212- 243-4334
• • Website for all things Mae West: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com 
• • Texas Guinan said: "I would rather have a square inch of New York than all the rest of the world."
• • Mae West said: "I enjoyed the court room as any other stage." 
• • Mae West told the jail matron: "Whaddya mean strip? I thought this was a respectable place!"  
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • The legal battles fought by Mae West and Jim Timony are dramatized in the play "Courting Mae West: Sex, Censorship, and Secrets," set during the Prohibition Era. Texas Guinan is in some scenes, too.
Watch a scene on YouTube.

• • Exciting news is on the horizon. More anon.
_________________________________________________________
Source:http://texasguinan.blogspot.com/atom.xml
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• • Photo: Texas Guinan
• • with Mae West at her trial, 1930 • •

Texas Guinan.

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Wednesday, August 01, 2007

Texas Guinan: Make Whoopee

The Frisky Factor Increases
Secrets of an Actress Are Exposed in August

New York, NY (PRWEB) July 21, 2007 – – Calling all FRISK-a-teers! The wild WEST side of Mae West, a close friend of speakeasy queen Texas Guinan, will be apparent on August 17, 2007 during the celebration of the Annual Mae West Gala in New York City. Secretive and image-conscious, the Brooklyn bombshell carefully covered up her private life, which included frequent partying at speakeasies, a secret marriage to an Italian accordionist, séances behind curtains, making whoopee, and multi-racial love affairs.
• • Next month, on the actress's birthday [Friday evening on August 17], the Annual Mae West Gala will focus on Manhattan's busy theatre district, where Mae's West Side Story will unfold in over a dozen sites between West 50th Street and West 63rd Street.
• • Participants will come up to see three addresses where the blonde bombshell hung her famous hats along with the former speakeasies where she rendezvoused with Rudolf Valentino, George Raft, and others.
• • Other locations include her dance school, the jewelers who created the "Diamond Lil" sparkle, legitimate theatres, former vaudeville houses, and more. In the past, guests of these yearly Mae West events have included playwright Sam Shepard, actress Jessica Lange, broadcaster Joe Franklin, ballplayers from the New York Yankees, well-known screenwriters, and a diverse group of Mae devotees who travel cross country to The Big Apple during the dog days of summertime.
– – WHO – – WHAT – – WHEN – – WHERE – – HOW MUCH – – SUBWAY INFO – –
• • Festivities kick off on Mae West's birthday August 17, 2007.
• • The public is invited.
• • TIME: "Mae West Side Story" tour begins at 7:00 PM -- ends 8:30 PM.
• • PLACE: Tour begins on Broadway at West 50th Street [NE corner.
• • SUBWAY: BMT to Broadway -- West 49th Street station
• • • • • • COST:
• • VIP tickets: $25 per person – – including tour and reception and giftbag – – and all VIP tickets must be pre-paid by August 15, 2007.
• • TOUR ONLY: $15 per person (CASH only) – – buy tickets on Friday evening August 17 for tour only – – $15 tickets do not include party nor giftbag.
• • Sorry, no exceptions and no refunds. Advance payment via PayPal.
• • Updates and past party pictures are online.
• • URL: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com
• • Sponsorship/ giftbag inquiries welcome.
– – WHO – – WHAT – – WHEN – – WHERE – – HOW MUCH – – SUBWAY INFO – –
• • Source: www.prweb.com
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/________
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• • Photo: Texas Guinan's pal Mae West • • 1932 • •

Texas Guinan.

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Friday, October 06, 2006

15 Minutes with a Hot Blonde

New York City's Fire Patrol was on stand-by the evening of August 17th, 2006.

Reason: they heard that vixenish vocalist MARNIE BAUMER was in Greenwich Village, doing her "Mae West Medley" at the ANNUAL MAE WEST GALA. Well, things got really hot when the boa-toting beauty took the floor to treat the crowd to "My Old Flame," "A Guy What Takes His Time," and "Frankie and Johnny."
• • George, the muscle-bound bodyguard who accompanies Texas Guinan everywhere, swore that the blonde Baumer's performance was not unlike a three-alarm-blaze. (Hey, sucker! Where were YOU on August 17th, huh?)

• • Party guests at Village Restaurant, happily feasting on a Roaring 20s menu specially prepared by chef Stephen Lyle, also were enjoying the exhibition "ONSTAGE OUTLAWS: Mae West and Texas Guinan in a Lawless Era."
• • Veteran reporter Jules Peimer covered the ANNUAL MAE WEST GALA for 15 Minutes Magazine. This is his coverage.
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• • photo: Marnie Baumer and LindaAnn Loschiavo • • courtesy of Jules Peimer and 15 Minutes Magazine • •

Texas Guinan.

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