West, Mae

West, Mae (1892–1980), American actress and entertainer, and a significant figure in the history of stage censorship. She was on the stage as a child, among her many juvenile roles being Little Willie in Mrs Henry Wood's East Lynne. She retired at the age of II, returning as an adult actress in musical comedy, her first major role on Broadway being in Winsome Widow (1912). She was then seen in revue, and soon became renowned for her mastery of sexual innuendo expressed through the character of a curvaceous, Edwardian-style vamp. She first tangled with the censorship over Sex (1926), at Daly's Theatre, and was charged with corruption of morals, fined, and sent to Welfare Island for 10 days. Two years later she played the title-role in her own production of Diamond Lil, probably her best-known vehicle. After some years in films she returned to Broadway in her own play Catherine was Great (1944). In 1948 she was seen in London in Diamond Lil, which she then took on tour until 1951. She was a glamorous and extrovert personality, whose fame can be judged by the fact that the RAF in 1940 named their inflatable life-jacket a ‘Mae West’.