description Mae West Overview
American actress, playwright, and comedian Mae West (1893–1980) began performing in vaudeville as a child and moved to Broadway revues and her own plays in the 1920s, including Sex (1926), for which she was prosecuted on obscenity charges and briefly jailed. Her Hollywood film career began in 1932, and she became one of the highest-paid performers of the 1930s through films such as She Done Him Wrong (1933) and I'm No Angel (1933), which she also wrote. West maintained creative control over much of her material and continued performing in film, stage, and recordings into her eighties.
insights Ranking position
Mae West ranks #15 of 161 in the Vaudeville ranking, behind Orpheum Circuit, ahead of Keith-Albee Circuit.
help Mae West FAQ
Why was Mae West prosecuted for her play "Sex"?
West wrote and starred in the 1926 Broadway play "Sex," which drew obscenity charges from New York authorities. She was found guilty and spent several days in jail on Welfare Island (now Roosevelt Island), but the controversy only amplified her fame and public profile.
What were Mae West's most famous Hollywood films?
West starred in several iconic 1930s films, including "She Done Him Wrong" (1933) and "I'm No Angel" (1933), both co-starring Cary Grant. Her innuendo-laden dialogue made her one of the highest-grossing stars at Paramount Pictures and a major box-office draw during the Depression era.
Did Mae West write her own plays?
Yes, West was a playwright as well as a performer, writing and producing her own Broadway material. In addition to "Sex" (1926), she wrote "The Drag," a play that addressed homosexuality, making her one of the few writers of the era to bring LGBTQ themes to the mainstream stage.
What is Mae West's most famous movie line?
West is immortalized for the line "Why don't you come up sometime and see me?" from "She Done Him Wrong" (1933), frequently paraphrased as "Come up and see me sometime." The quotation became one of the most iconic and widely referenced lines in American film history.
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