Monday, October 8, 2007

The legendary actress and siren Mae West acted in her last film, "Sextette" at age 85.

Mae West (August 17, 1893November 22, 1980) was an American actress, playwright, screenwriter, and sex symbol. Famous for her bawdy double entendres, West made a name for herself in vaudeville and on the legitimate stage in New York before moving to Hollywood to become a comedian, actress and writer in the motion picture industry. One of the most controversial stars of her day, West encountered many problems including censorship.
When her cinematic career ended, she continued to perform on stage, in Las Vegas, in the United Kingdom, on radio and television, and recorded Rock and Roll albums.

The famous Mae West quip "Is that a gun in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?", often varied to "Is that a banana in your pocket . . .", is accurately attributed to her. She made this remark in February 1936, at the train station in Los Angeles upon her return from Chicago, when a Los Angeles police officer was assigned to escort her home.[2] She first delivered the line on film in My Little Chickadee, and again to George Hamilton in her last movie, Sextette. It is one of the most quoted lines in movie history.
Other famous West quips include:

"A hard man is good to find."

"His mother should have thrown him away and kept the stork."

[To the question "Have you ever met a man that could make you happy?":] "Several times."

"Why don't you come on up and see me sometime, when I got nothin' on but the radio?"

"Good girls go to heaven, but bad girls get to go everywhere."

"Sex is like bridge. If you don't have a good partner, you'd better have a good hand."

"My left leg is Christmas and my right leg is New Year's. Why don't you visit me between the holidays?"

[To the remark, "Goodness, what a beautiful diamond!":] "Goodness had nothin' to do with it, dearie."


You know, I think I'm going to have to borrow a couple of these....

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