Mae West was born Mary Jane West on August 17, 1893. West was born in
Brooklyn daughter to John West and Matilda Delker Duelger. West began her career at
the very early age of seven when she joined “Professor” Watt’s academy of the
dance. West had only been in the dance class for a few weeks when Watts
“decided Mae was talented enough to enter an amateur show at Brooklyn’s Royal
Theater”. This performance for West was the performance that determined her career.
Not because she was discovered here, but because her father said if she
“panicked or forgot her song, she could forget about any further stage appearances.”
West was not nervous this night nor had she ever been since:
“I’ve never had stage fright in my life” she commented.
That night West preformed with a 12-piece orchestra
singing “Movin’ Day” which she followed with a tap dance. West’s act,
Baby Mae-Song and Dance, was a huge success, and when she was finished, the
crowd went wild. For her performance “she received a gold medal and her
father’s permission to pursue a stage career.” This night would be the start of West
career that would last her entire life. West would continue on to become more and more
of a star and consequently continue to make movies till 1978, only a few years
before her death.
