Mae West speaking at UCLA 5/12/1971
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- Опубліковано 19 гру 2013
- From the archives of the UCLA Communications Studies Department. Digitized 2013.
The views and ideas expressed in these videos are not necessarily shared by the University of California, or by the UCLA Communication Studies Department.
![Former Slave Owner Interview in 1929 [Colorized]](/img/n.gif)
That woman had it all at the end of her life: brains, humor, and still a gorgeous face and body. She was timeless.
I am only 21 years old, and I go to college majoring in Forensic Science, I would have never asked the FABULOUS Mae West such stupid questions. I would have loved to meet BRILLIANT Mae West.❤
@@bellabelisarius7049 high praise indeed from a future forensic pathologist! I love mae west too! a once in a century gal.
Yes I like her too. Things were alot different times then.
"They censored me and censored me, and now I'm the Woman of the Century." Mae West.
Bars!
@C Dream Yes I loved it when she said that. ONE OF A KIND. I love Mae West. So beautiful look at her body in when she is singing LIGHT MY FIRE, and she was I believe in her late 70s SO SAD THAT SHE IS DEAD, but at least I can watch her movies.
@@bellabelisarius7049 Mae West I Love you too much. BEAUTIFUL LADY. ❤️🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹❤️
She was very quick witted. I wish I could have seen men trying to pull something over on her. She probably made a lot of people look stupid. She probably gave a lot of people their just desserts if that makes sense to anyone.lol
At least they appreciated Mae West judging by hearing the excitement, whistles I bet you that Mae West got a standing ovation hearing how long they were clapping. Those College students went nuts when Mae West came out. Happy to know that those college students knew who Mae West was.❤
Read about it in her book
Never mind the microphones, what you should have done was to film it. You made a blunder by not filming this *HISTORICAL EVENT* with *FABULOUS Mae West*❤
maybe she wouldn't allow filming Has anyone thought of that?
Our department recorded hundreds of these speeches on reel-to-reel audio; I'm guessing they would not have been able to afford doing so on film.
I agree!! Wth
@@anntaylor2039 That seems likely, especially if she didn't have control of the lighting.
@@UCLACommStudies had anyone tried to put it all together and edit it??
AMAZING...SHE WAS 78 AND SHARP AS A TACK......
Yea. 7:30 to 7:45 was _Definitely_ her! ; )
78 is not that old. Hopefully, you’ll be delighted to find out for yourself.
Edward Harbur I did get to meet Mae When I was in High School we took a trip to California and went to her house which everyone thought I was nuts,but low,and behold a maid came and I asked could I speak with Miss.West and she said hold.I thought that's it no one will come back,but when the door opened I could have passed out as there she was standing there saying Hello what can I do for you.I told her I had come from South Jersey to see her and she said well I'm Honored. I then gave her a lot of Phila.Phillies stuff as I worked for them and she was so thankful to me for them.We then took pictures with my friends being more nervous than I was.When I got back home after a month I can so vividly remember showing Bill Giles the owner of the Phillies one of the pictures of Mae and I together and she's holding up the Phillies shirt I have her,he was so impressed he kept that picture on his desk In Bet Stadium for years. Whenever Bill would see me after that he would introduce me to these big executives and say this is Scott he's friends with Mae West. For years after that Mae and I would write back and forth to each other up until she passed. I still have every letter and autographed pictures she sent me and also have two original scripts from her movies that she signed and sent me.By the way she lives in the same house for 60 years and owned half of Rodeo Drive when her and Bob Hope bought it for pennies on the dollar way back when.She was a really nice lady and I get kinda teary eyed thinking about her.How many stars would have opened there door to a fan.
What an incredible story...thank you for sharing this.
spectrumlocalb191 this is amazing thank you for sharing
Wonderful story. Her acumen in re real estate was well known to the Hollywood community but is not often mentioned in discussions of her career. I have yet to hear an interviewer ask her how and why she first got interest in real estate.
spectrumlocalb191
Which one of her residences did you go to when you met her?
what an awesome experience!!
Didn't smoke or drink. Loved her mother.
*They censored me and censored me, and now I'm the woman of the *CENTURY* LMAO got to love Mae West. RIP Mae West. BEAUTIFUL LADY.❤
Mae West I Love you too much. BEAUTIFUL LADY.❤️🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹❤️
@bella Belisarius💯%
MAE WEST WAS THE GREATEST ENTERTAINER!!!
i love her voice
Its very comforting, with a little zing!
Very rare interview. The legend Mae West deserved a much better more mature audience.
The question of why she never married reminded me of a quote from her that unfortunately she didn't think to use here, but it was "I think marriage is a great institution... but I'm not ready to be institutionalized yet"
Wish I could have met you Mae, RIP.
Odd. She was married once.
@@thechloechronicles9688 I'm no expert on her but it seems to me there's some debate as to whether she was actually married or not, I think she always claimed she had never been, but some say there's evidence she was married for at least a brief amount of time.
Yes, and she had a child who died around a year old
@@thechloechronicles9688 I'd heard about her marriage to Frank Szatkus [billed as Frank Wallace] that she undertook in 1911 before separating from him shortly afterwards . .but not getting it officially dissolved (and giving him some 'blue chip stocks' as she put it) until 1943. .and she may have had a bigamous union in the 'teens. However, I've never heard of Mae West ever having had a child.
She had a very young sounding voice! She would have almost been 78 years old...
I wish Mea West was still around, she was so far ahead of her time and very relevant now. She was one of kind. I hate that she is gone, she was a extraordinary women. A TRUE Legend and Icon in every since of the word, She broke barriers and pushed boundaries, and Payed her dues the old fashion way, with legit real Raw talent. RIP diamond lil aka the incomparable MEA WEST (1892-1980)👠💄💍💎💎👒🎥🎬📹📽🎬🎬🎬🌹🌹🌹💐💐💐
She was a woman way ahead of her time....
She was far ahead of her time. She was great!!!
I aspire to so charmingly give no shits what people think as she did. She was genuinely glorious
A TRUE original was Mae!!
Great stuff Mae! You were right we don't need Nudity or Vulgar Curse words....
Great lady, great mind and self depreciating humor. No film at UCLA? WTF. Stupid questions but great answers. RIP, Mae
Born before Brooklyn was Brooklyn. born in the town of Bushwick before the consolidation that created the city of Brooklyn in 1899. Her accent is a 19th century Bushwick- Greenpoint accent
Is “Bushwick” a double entendre?
@@BillViets you have a dirty mind it’s a slur on the original Dutch name. Brooklyn wasn’t always Brooklyn. It was a bunch of towns on the island of Long Island .
Woman of the Century. YES! Mae West.
Mae should have hosted the academy awards.
Oh wow, she would have been absolutely amazing.
That would have been the most memorable in my opinion!
@@oliviablackburn3907 Those who receive the coveted statue like to be the center of attention for a minute, and that wouldn't have happened with Mae hosting. So, I think not a good idea, not that Mae was ever asked.
She DID perform in the 1958 Oscar Ceremony singing her own version of 'Baby It's Cold Outside' with [of all people] Rock Hudson!
'two types of men... foreign and domestic'... she's the best
What a shame Mae West had to deal with this considering what a legend she was
@CYBR ANGEL I feel your pain. And they are in COLLEGE?
IM SORRY BUT IT BOGGLES MY MIND THAT UCLA IS A FILM SCHOOL AND NO ONE ARCHIVED THIS PIECE OF HISTORY ON FILM.IF BOB ELIAS IS OUT THERE PLEASE TELL US IT WAS FILMED.
spectrumlocalb191
Kids
Love Mae West! Sassy with an attitude... The way she walked, talked, very witty & very funny. 💃
Okay, but why are you shouting?
What a waste of History I wonder what DIMWIT thought that this was a great idea? Such a shame that they didn't film this. *Mae West BEAUTIFUL LADY* ❤ RIP Mae West.❤
I wonder what she would have thought about the fifty shades series. I don't think I can imagine what she would say.. or maybe I can.
It's always wonderful hearing Mae West speaking. Her wit shines through in this talk, but unfortunately the questions the students asked weren't all that interesting.
a GODDESS OF THE SILVER SCREEN!
She, then Elvis, shook it up and gave us ourselves id. Cultural icon as well as social signpost. She will live forever
She was just plain marvellous. So quick witted, but she's genuinely intelligent and just so charismatic.
"I like two types of men, foreign and domestic." Mae West
Don't forget she said the foreign men first.
My favorite line from Mae West was: I use to be Snow White but I drifted. Great line. :)
My favorite was:
"For a long time I was ashamed of the way I lived."
(You mean you've reformed?)
"No, I got over being ashamed of it."
My favorite line was in responding to a judge asking her if she was showing contempt of the court, "No, I'm doing my best to HIDE it!"
[from 'My Little Chickadee' (1940) and something she allegedly said during her court trial for having written and produced a play called 'Sex'- in 1926!]
I have a feeling the class of '71 didn't go very far! Still it's fun to listen to Mae West ... even if she had to deal with some stupid questions.
@Carlos Aguilar The class of 71 didn't go very far. LMAOOOOOOOOOO
0nly from total Ignorance would one say
I have a feeling the class of ' 71 didn't get very far..
Apparently you haven't
used that computer
givin to you from
the early 70's.
It's now 2021 look up
that generation you feel didn't get far
then sprew all the BS
from your mouth first
then just maybe
next time you won't make such a total ass out of yourself. Good luck with
that though..
I have a feelin, your gonna need it LMA0...............
Music Art, Education, Science, Inventions,
etc. etc.& etc.
Class of 71 they run the world now or recently retired. Thank them for ending the draft, starting Earth Day, the entire space shuttle program, demise of USSR, etc
What a treasure this gal was! I could listen to her for hours.
I graduated from UCLA in 1968 and it is a fact that the student body deteriorated and became far less decorous and far more puerile when they "became liberated" and cared less about manners.
This was a beautiful and very smart and witty woman. Way ahead of her time. I would have loved to sit and listin to her amazing stories....
Smart and quick and funny......way ahead of her time......oh yes and loved.
i love this Lady !!!!!!!!!!
Just about the greatest thing I have heard on UA-cam.With hopes that the video of this shows up at some time.
Just about the worst thing I've heard on UA-cam. What is the greatest thing you heard? Because honestly I couldn't hear half the questions those first grade students I'm talking first grade grammar school, were asking Mae West.
If you have never seen Mae singing "Now I'm A Lady," on youtube, don't miss it. This one song sums up all that was creatively great about her. She staged her own numbers and what she does fashionwise, how she sauntered down a staircase, how she sang out of the side of her mouth as if sharing secrets with the people in her audience, and all the subtexts in everything she diid--it's all fully in evidence. Remember, too, she wrote many of her scripts.
She wrote all of her scripts! She never spoke a line in character that she didn't compose herself. She said so when she met Bette Davis. It's on UTube
]
hooray for mae she's the best!!!
her only friends in the village were gay men, she wrote "sex" and the other plays with their help
Gabriel Q Miss West never needed anybody's help with anything in her life, cookie.
@@drsunshine1959 I'm so glad that you said that to him. He's full of crap, plus he doesn't know zilch about Mae West.
People know Mae for movies...but , she was on stage 30 years before her first movie...really, quite a career entertainer. Way more than most entertainers will ever last today...
God I LOVE her! I could listen to her speak ALL DAY
I was 6 months old I love this lady ❤❤❤
I wish there had been video of this performance.
She knew how to play with the boys and work with them. Whether she used her feminine wiles to get her point across doesn't matter. Her body language got their attention.
ive lived I Hollywood in the late 60s and had the honer of meeting many of her contemporarys but never her gal dang it
But her intelligence got their respect.
Should have been filmed!!
Horrible waste..history could have been brighter love me some Mae West!!
Maybe she only agreed as long as it wasn't filmed. Ya know lighting etc
She sounds the same here as she does in movies when age 30. Mae West was one of a kind in beauty and brains.
Mae's enormous success at creating the character she came to live sometimes overwhelms the realization that her was brilliant, pioneering actress, comic, writer and producer and even director (without credit) who fashioned her career from the start, and always on her own terms. Her first scene in her first film announced clearly, here is a sensation.
These are such good things to have recorded, like family history. These are part of America's culture. Thank you for posting.
1GirlieGirl Thank you for posting what? Are you kidding me? If they would have filmed this, that could have been American Culture but they didn't film this *TREASURE*, And recording it doesn't even come close to filming it. Got that *COOKIE*!!
@@bellabelisarius7049 💀
I wish like everyone else this was on film
Mae West was awesome. She fought for her rights, didn’t let any of the executives take advantage of her, insisted on a good salary and creative rights.
Thanks for sharing this!
Mae west said of the Vietnam veterans, that some won't come home and those that do will never be the same.
I love Mae west
I can't believe she said Rub-a-Dub-Dub, three fags in a tub that was not too cool.
too bad it wasn't filmed
🦋 Mae West, Ich liebe dich und du wirst Immer mein Idol sein 🦋
I SAID THE SAME THING AND UCLA WAS A FILM SCHOOL.
Wow, what a treat! Thank you for posting this treasure!
Put it on C-Span
Some of the interviews Mae West gave during this era (late 60's early 70's) were prepackaged, rehearsed answers to prepared questions. The spontaneous Q&A form you hear in this tape, despite some of the inane questions, shows how quick on the draw she was, and how funny. The laughter she got with simple answers showed how much her innuendo was understood and appreciated by the youth of the time. Great stuff!
So sad that someone didn't film, yes, but also some decent questions!
Bonobo3D And she was also very classy, unlike Raquel Welch who used every forum available to her to trash Mae, when asked about Raquel she resisted the temptation to trash her and just answered with a simple "she's nice."
+Rayarena True, but when she responded, "she's nice" like so many other retorts hers, it had insinuation. That's why her response got such a laugh.
+Rayarena she probably meant "lice".
+SwarthySkinnedOne Love it!
Someone should have asked her what was the favorite film she had made?
I love MAE!!!!
SHe was so quick on her feet
Mae West was so beautiful, look at her pictures I don't understand why people say that she was ugly fat and so many filthy names. RIP Mae West,❤
It is astounding this was not filmed by the supposed Film Department at UCLA. UCLA had started going downhill as obvious by the questions asked of Miss West.
@Richard McLeod LMAO😂
ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS COLLEGES IN THE WORLD AND A GREAT TV AND FILM SCHOOL AND NO ONE FILMED THIS?
Mae west was Mae west and nothing in between..
Miss Mae West is a true Glamorous star, with an amazingly wonderful personality.
Myra Breckinridge was unique and ahead of its time. ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫
The audience is very immature I cringe at the questions they're asking her,,, but you have to give it to Mae West, she answers her questions like the Great Star she is.
Thanks for sharing this interview. The questions were cute and Mae handled it well, with her usual humor. She was truly an icon.
Questions start at 3:45. What an amazing woman MAE WEST was. Born Mary Jane West 1893-1980. RIP Ms. West.
Questions are about what she thinks about other people rather than about her greatness.
What an amazing woman.
Classof 71, immature audience.
Thank you UCLA for posting this audio interview. The acoustics are incredible and it sounds as if it were recorded live this morning and not 43 years ago.
@@bellabelisarius7049 I know it's a year later....but, I do hope you got that wax cleaned-out of your ears?
@@jaf8771 right? That commenter is rude.
Noone compares with Cavett. But this was sheer delightful. Woman of the Century. Wasn't a waste of my time. Any woman who wrote her own stories, albeit some risque. Deserves recognition. She did contradict herself at one point. But, who the hell cares. This was vavavoom who gave the boys some competition.
she was the original and still the best
I have no doubt , that was one of her favorite interviews - she Loved raw attention from young Men .... and knowing she still had it was never in doubt !
Yes she did! And feminists hated her for loving men and all that men are !
My comment was blocked but Mae was not a feminist in the modern sense. She loved men and loved masculinity in men. She was an equalist.
i dont think God would've got a longer ovation than miss West.at least not in L.A
JSOMERSET994 JSOMERSET994 what a dumb comment
She was asked what type of man she likes, she replied instantly: there isn't a man i didn't like: all except w.c.fields,whom she couldn't stand when making my little chickadee with him at universal studios. hell! she didn't even want to appear in a radio spot with his grandson ronald a few years after this interview.
This was very lovely, Mae was ahead of her time in every way. Thank you UCLA for this recording. xoxo.
Thank you for what? They should have filmed this golden opportunity, and that recording was cringeworthy.
What's wrong with the audio recording??
Keep in mind that filming something like this in addition to the high quality sound that we hear would involve a full studio production crew and would be insanely expensive for a university back in the early 70’s.
You can tell it was about the current things happening at the time in '71. It was a bunch of young kids doing this as best as they knew then. Interesting time capsule.
@John Nelson Really? Come on you don't call people that go to College *KIDS* They are adults and certainly not *KIDS*
@John Nelson Hey *POPEYE* lay off the drugs Olive Oyl wouldn't like that, and Sweetpea needs you. LMAO
Thanks for saving this brilliant speech.
Hatcheck Girl: "My goodness! What a beautiful diamond."
Mae: "Honey....goodness had nothing to do with it".
"Goodness, what beautiful diamonds!"
"Goodness had nothing to do with it, dearie!"
That was a lovely tribute to a one of a kind ..... there are some persons who will always be larger than life . Mae was one of those people . A superstar
"I like to types of men -- foreign and domestic."
#two, that is in English
Mae West should have gotten paid for this torture.
@Edwards Cherry Indeed she sure should have been paid. I'm surprised that she stayed there and she should have walked away from the stage. Those frigging retards, din't belong in College, where they should have been in Middle School. Bunch of MORONS.
That Bessie Smith question just knocks me out...LMFAO! What hoot that one was...I mean...as IF!!! Mae West never took a thing off of or from anyone in her life! She was always and ever Mae West...in her own words and in her own style. One of the craziest things about all this is that Mae West is associated, basically, with only two things and they are both three letter words...SEX & MEN! In her heyday Ms. West never had to take off a stitch of clothing or reveal anything...and YET...here is was, 1971, and people still have this image of her that simply oozes sex, permissiveness and everything you would think she would be made of, say yes to and have on her mind. Isn't it something that when asked the question about the movies of the present era...she answered part of it having to do with sex and nudity. She didn't like it and saw no reason for it! All her sexiness and preoccupation with men and sex were in her words and in her looks, body language and glances. She never had to remove anything...she never had to expose herself in any way whatsoever...and yet...any one of those boys would kill to be on that list of men or date her for one night only! She was magic at any age!
+Kuklapolitan ___That's not entirely accurate.
Mae's screen personna was a combination of the male,female impersonators
she studied in vaudeville. Her genius was the seeing the comic possibilities
of their EXAGGERATIONS of women.
Mae was like a Victor/Victoria. She was a woman doing an impression
of men, impersonating women. As one film historian said,
she left them (female impersonators) their pathos and extracted the comedy.
@@ThatsMRdouchbag You don't say? Mae West was no Victor/Victoria. Mae West never copied anyone or borrow anything. She did not have to because Mae West had a brilliant mind. Mae West was an original AMERICAN GENIUS. RIP Mae West.❤ BEAUTIFUL LADY.❤
@@ThatsMRdouchbag You don't say? Mae West never copied or borrow anything from anybody, she didn't have to because Mae West had a brilliant *MIND*. OMG I Just saw your name, ThatsMRdouchbag *DOUCHEBAG* You sure a FUCKING DOUCHEBAG perfect name for you.
What the hell is so funny??....someone just thought that the two women were similar and maybe wondered if she used some of her style in her art.....Mae said that she'd heard that she was a good singer, but never heard her before...very classy response...Its possible that Bessie Smith had never seen Mae before....who knows, but they both were very talented, bold and highly respected women in their day....so why is that so daam funny to you, you sound very silly
Absolutely! Her sexuality was always implied never directly shown or lewd. It was a sarcastic quick witted pun like sexuality. Feminists hated her. They are trying to rewrite history now but they hated that she loved men! ❤
Love the questions, and LOVE Ms. West
Mae, like some other stars, came to believe her own folklore. Discovering Cary Grant, for example. But it's fun, certainly no harm.
People in college in 1971 are retired now, if still living. This generation held anti-war protests, anti-draft ( all US citizens since then should be grateful). Woodstock, Earth Day, etc comes from the people of the audience age group
Wonderful stuff !!
I attended this (I was a graduate student in theater arts). The auditorium was oversold and I was stuck in the back. Mae needed a little help hearing some of the questions. One I remember distinctly. "Miss West, did you pattern your singing style after Billie Holliday?" Everyone was a bit shocked that she did not recognize the name. On the other hand, it points to the originality of her own work. I wish I could remember more. But there was the white dress, the blonde wig, and the diamonds. And the voice, that voice, was exactly the same as it was in her movies.
@Alan Foster. Of course she couldn't hear some of the questions, I could hardly hear them also.Horrible everything, the recording, and not filming this was wasted opportunity of a *LIFETIME*
The question appears in this tape -- the singer she is asked about is Bessie Smith. She said she knew of Bessie Smith but had not heard her sing.
@@florinest You're right...I stand corrected.
It was a looongggg time ago.🧐
Why wasnt this recorded on film? My God this is the best interview ive ever heard how classic!!!
I was fortunate in getting to meet all of my idols during my life except for two - Fred Astaire and Mae West. If only!
@Edward Harbor Really? What a bunch of MALARKEY.
Odd..didnt you say you did meet her in another post...huuuummm?
One of a kind.
Wow...that was 1 1/2 minutes of continuous ovation, and Miss West hadn't even spoken yet....
Read the book "Mae West and the Count - Love and Loss on the Vaudeville" stage which reveals the full story of Mae's early career and marriages (yes plural!) that she only alluded to in this interview.
@airmuseum What are you nuts or what? Mae West only got married 1 time. Where are these multiple marriages that you are talking about? I never heard that she got married more than once. Whatever is written in those books are not accurate.I bet you that those books that you are talking about were after she died. And since she is dead they could write as many books that they want to, because obviously, Mae West is dead and she can't dispute those claims, and for sure she can't defend herself.
Don't know which is funnier Mae West or the modern 'Creative...editing and sound?, or is it Creative...Accounting?
Now That's The Question !
It is really too bad that the M.C. guy holding the mic (or however it was attached to him) had better sound than Mae West did ... (actually, he is TOOOOO loud, especially whenever he laughs ... it is ear splitting), anyway, embarrassingly, the questions all seemed to be on the level of young middle school, snot-nosed, show off brats! She graciously answered them and knew just how to play along with them. She's a pro, that's for sure. Considering she was a 78 year old woman at the time, getting cheered on, and flirted with, by young college men ... well ... she rests her case. Never was there anyone like her before ... and never has there been anyone like her since! As she said at the end of the program, upon receiving a plaque from the students at UCLA for "Woman of the Century," "They censored me and censored me, and now I'm the Woman of the Century!" Amazingly bright and witty woman! :)
There's something about the fact that we can only listen to this and not see it which makes it seem timeless. Video would have dated it instantly. Thanks for these, hope you keep releasing them!
Thanks: we're continuing to work on digitizing our massive collection. We have been posting digitized video recently (ironic, given your comment) but have at least one major audio recording we'll be releasing soon.
💖🌹🕊🎋