IN: Mary Jane "Mae" West (August 17, 1893 - November 22, 1980) was an American actress, singer, playwright, screenwriter, comedian, and sex symbol whose entertainment career spanned seven decades. Known for her lighthearted bawdy double entendres, and breezy sexual independence, West made a name for herself in vaudeville and on the stage in New York City before moving to Hollywood to become a comedian, actress, and writer in the motion picture industry, as well as appearing on radio and television. For her contributions to American cinema, the American Film Institute named West 15th among the greatest female stars of classic American cinema. One of the more controversial movie stars of her day, West encountered many problems, especially censorship.

Mae West was a shrewd investor, produced her own stage acts, and invested her money in large tracts of land in Van Nuys, a thriving suburb of Los Angeles. With her considerable fortune, she could afford to do as she liked. In 1976, she appeared on Back Lot U.S.A. on CBS, where she was interviewed by Dick Cavett and sang "Frankie and Johnny" along with "After You've Gone." That same year, she began work on her final film, Sextette (1978). Adapted from a 1959 script written by West, the film's daily revisions and production disagreements hampered production from the beginning. Due to the near-endless last-minute script changes and tiring production schedule, West agreed to have her lines signaled to her through a speaker concealed in her hair piece. Despite the daily problems, West was, according to Sextette director Ken Hughes, determined to see the film through. At 84, her now-failing eyesight made navigating around the set difficult, but she made it through the filming, a tribute to her self-confidence, remarkable endurance, and stature as a self-created star 67 years after her Broadway debut in 1911 at the age of 18. Time wrote an article on the indomitable star entitled "At 84, Mae West Is Still Mae West".  Upon its release, Sextette was not a critical or commercial success, but remains notable for the diverse cast, and because none of West's contemporaries such as Dietrich, Garbo, etc., were still making films. The cast included some of West's first co-stars such George Raft (Night After Night, 1932), silver screen stars such as Walter Pigeon and Tony Curtis, and more contemporary pop stars such as The Beatles' Ringo Starr and Alice Cooper, and television favorites such as Dom DeLuise and gossip queen Rona Barrett. It also included cameos of some of her famed musclemen from her 1950s Las Vegas show, such as the still remarkably fit Reg Lewis. Sextette also reunited Mae West with Edith Head, her costume designer from 1933 in She Done Him Wrong. The film was a last hurrah and a Valentine from Mae West to her fans.  In August 1980, West tripped while getting out of bed. After the fall, West was unable to speak and was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles, where tests revealed that she had suffered a stroke. She died on November 22, 1980, at the age of 87.  A private service was held in the Old North Church replica, in Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills, on November 25, 1980. Bishop Andre Penachio, a friend, officiated at the entombment in the family mausoleum at Cypress Hills Abbey, Brooklyn, purchased in 1930 when her mother died. Her father and brother were also entombed there before her, and her younger sister, Beverly, was laid to rest in the last of the five crypts less than 18 months after West's death.  For her contribution to the film industry, Mae West has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1560 Vine Street in Hollywood. For her contributions as a stage actor in the theater world, she has been inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame.

Was she in any other films?

OUT: 


IN: Michael John Kells Fleetwood was born in Redruth, second child to John Joseph Kells Fleetwood and Bridget Maureen (nee Brereton) Fleetwood. His elder sister Susan Fleetwood, who died of cancer in 1995, became an actress. In early childhood Fleetwood and his family followed his father, a Royal Air Force fighter pilot, to Egypt. After about six years, they moved to Norway where his father was posted on a NATO deployment.

In November 1977 Fleetwood and Nicks began having an affair. It would continue sporadically for the next two years during the fallout from the end of Fleetwood's relationship with Boyd, until the pair mutually decided to end the affair. "Never in a million years could you have told me that [her affair with Fleetwood] would happen," Nicks later stated. "Everybody was angry, because Mick was married to a wonderful girl and had two wonderful children. I was horrified. I loved these people. I loved his family. So it couldn't possibly work out. And it didn't. I just couldn't." Boyd and Fleetwood had in fact begun living together once more in 1976, and would remarry temporarily to assist their children with emigration to the United States. However they quickly divorced for the second time some months later. In November 1978 Fleetwood moved into a Bel Air home with Sara Recor, mutual friend of Fleetwood and Nicks who was at the time married to another music producer. Meanwhile, Fleetwood began working on a charity project to get Fleetwood Mac to tour the Soviet Union, however the Soviet War in Afghanistan later made the tour untenable.  Tusk, Fleetwood Mac's 12th studio album, was released in 1979. The work represented a more experimental direction taken by Buckingham. Fleetwood, recently diagnosed as having diabetes after suffering recurring bouts of hypoglycemia during several live shows, was again instrumental in maintaining the band's cohesion. He placated Buckingham over feelings of creative claustrophobia and discomfort playing alongside Nicks. On the issue of Buckingham taking creative control away from the other members of the group for the creation of Tusk, Fleetwood recounts that his three-day discussion with Buckingham culminated in him telling the latter that "if it's good, then go ahead." Though the nature of the album strained relationships again within the band - particularly John McVie, a long-established blues musician who disliked the experimental nature of the album - Fleetwood himself rates the album as his favourite by Fleetwood Mac, and cites the freedom of creative expression allotted to each band member as integral to the survival of the group. The album sold four million copies worldwide, a return noticeably poorer than Rumours. Though Buckingham was blamed by the record labels, Fleetwood linked the album's relative failure to the RKO radio chain playing the album in its entirety prior to release, thus allowing mass home taping.  Later that year, Fleetwood Mac embarked on a lengthy tour that brought them across America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, France, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands, and the UK. The tour lasted from October 1979 to September 1980, consisting of 113 concerts.

Was Tusk a popular album for Fleetwood Mac?

OUT:
The album sold four million copies worldwide, a return noticeably poorer than Rumours.