Kathleen Turner

Robinson in the London, England revival of The Graduate, appearing fully nude (albeit in darkly lit sequences). Mae West has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1560 Vine Street in Hollywood. In 2000 Turner starred as Mrs. She is entombed in the Cypress Hills Cemetery at 833 Jamaica Avenue in Brooklyn, New York. In addition to the television work listed below, she also has appeared as a guest on Friends, King of the Hill (voice), The Simpsons (voice), and Saturday Night Live, which she hosted twice. She died at her home in the Ravenswood apartment building on Rossmore Avenue. She received two Golden Globe awards, both for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, in Romancing the Stone (1984) and Prizzi's Honor (1985). In November 1980, she suffered a stroke and was rushed to the hospital, but the prognosis was not good and she was sent home.

She was nominated for an Oscar for best actress in 1987 in Peggy Sue Got Married. Both movies were amusingly terrible and failed at the box-office, in spite of the fact that before the release of Sextette large photographs of her reclining on a chaise longue went up on billboards all over Hollywood proclaiming, "Mae West Is Coming.". She was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in 1992. And at the age of eighty-five she returned in her last movie, Sextette (1978). They have a daughter, Rachel Ann Weiss, born 1988. After an absence of almost thirty years from the silver screen, she appeared in Myra Breckinridge (1970) with Raquel Welch. Turner married New York real-estate mogul Jay Weiss in 1984. West also appeared on television talk shows and, in the early 1960s, she guest starred as herself on the Mister Ed series about a talking horse.

Turner remained a film star up to the early 90's, but has since rarely appeared in major productions. In 1958, she wrote her autobiography titled Goodness Had Nothing To Do With It. Turner had the last laugh as she became a movie star a few years later in Body Heat, which many consider one of the sexiest films (with Turner giving one of the sexiest performances) in the history of cinema. In order to keep her appeal fresh with younger generations, she recorded a Rock and Roll album titled "Great Balls of Fire.". In 1978 Turner was hired as the second Nola Turner on NBC daytime soap The Doctors, but was fired the next year because the producers felt she was "not hot enough". She was banned from the airwaves for several years. She attended Southwest Missouri State University at Springfield for two years, then gained her Bachelor in Fine Arts degree from the University of Maryland in 1977. On radio, West appeared on ventriloquist Edgar Bergen's show and did a sexy sketch with Bergen's dummy, Charlie McCarthy, that shocked the listening audience.

When her father died in 1973, the family moved back to Springfield. She also starred in her own Las Vegas stage show surrounded by muscle men and singing to delighted crowds. While attending high school in London, England, she also took classes at the London Central School of Speech and Drama. Among her stage performances was the title role in Catherine Was Great on Broadway. She was a gymnast as a teenager. She remained active during the ensuing years. She has two brothers and a sister. West appeared in her last movie during the studio age with The Heat's On (1943) for Columbia.

Born Mary Kathleen Turner in Springfield, Missouri, the daughter of diplomat Richard Turner, she had lived in four foreign countries by the time she entered college. She denied ever marrying him, and records showed she had never lived with him, but she still found it necessary to seek a legal divorce. Kathleen Turner (born June 19, 1954) is an American actress. She was apparently married April 11, 1911 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to Frank Wallace, a fellow Vaudevillian, who in 1942 showed up with a marriage certificate. The Best of Roger Rabbit (1996; voice only). During World War II, allied soldiers called their inflatable life jackets "Mae Wests" from its resemblance to her curvaceous torso. Trail Mix-Up (1993; voice only). Fields in My Little Chickadee at Universal.

Roller Coaster Rabbit (1990; voice only). Then, in 1940 she starred opposite W.C. Tummy Trouble (1989; voice only). West starred in eight movies for Paramount before their association came to an end. Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988; voice only). Her answer was to increase the double-entendre, saying phrases with risqué connotations that could also be taken to mean something else. Delilah (2000). In 1934, the Hays Office emerged to enforce censorship of movies and her scripts began to be heavily edited.

In Bad Taste (2000). The movie was a huge success and earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture. Beautiful (2000). She brought Diamond Lil, now Lady Lou, to the screen in She Done Him Wrong (1933), personally selecting Cary Grant for the male lead, a role that made him a star. The Virgin Suicides (2000). In her first scene, a coat check girl exclaimed, "Goodness, what lovely diamonds." West became an instant sensation when she replied, "Goodness had nothing to do with it, dearie.". Cinderella (2000; made for TV). At first, she did not like her small role in Night After Night, but was appeased when she was allowed to rewrite her lines.

Baby Geniuses (1999). She maintained a residence there for the rest of her life. Stories From My Childhood #3 (1999; voice only). Upon arrival, she moved into an apartment in the Ravenswood at 570 North Rossmore Avenue, not far from the movie studio on Melrose Avenue. Love and Action in Chicago (1999). She signed and went to Hollywood to appear in the motion picture Night After Night starring George Raft. The Prince of Central Park (1999). In 1932, she was offered a contract by Paramount Pictures.

Legalese (1998; made for TV). It enjoyed an enduring popularity and West would successfully revive it many times through the course of her career. The Real Blonde (1998). The show struck box-office gold and heralded the brazen blonde to new heights of fame. Bad Baby (1997; voice only). For her next adventure into theatre she had a Broadway hit, Diamond Lil (1928), about a racy, easygoing lady of the 1890s. A Simple Wish (1997). If they did not get shut down for indecency, they closed because of slow ticket sales.

Love in the Ancient World (1997; TV special, hosted). Her productions were plagued by controversy and other problems, however. Stories From My Childhood #1 (1996). She continued to write plays, including The Wicked Age, Pleasure Man and The Constant Sinner. Moonlight and Valentino (1995). It was a success, but audiences had to go to New Jersey to see it because it was banned from Broadway. Friends at Last (1995; made for TV; also producer). Her second play was about homosexuality and was titled The Drag.

American Cinema (1995; special TV series; narrator). When she regained her freedom she set to work on her next creative effort. Leslie's Folly (1995; made for TV; also director). You're hitting a woman.". All-Star 25th Birthday: Stars and Street Forever! (1994; TV special). She regarded the freedom to talk about sex as a basic human rights issue; she was also an early advocate of gay rights, pleading against police brutality against homosexuals by saying "A homosexual is a woman's soul in a man's body. Naked in New York (1994). She served eight days, with two days off for good behavior.

Serial Mom (1994; a John Waters movie). While incarcerated on Welfare Island, she was allowed to wear her silk panties instead of the scratchy prison issue. Undercover Blues (1993). She was prosecuted on morals charges and, on April 19, 1927, was sentenced to ten days in jail for public obscenity. House of Cards (1992). The theatre was raided and West was arrested along with everyone else in the cast. John Barry: Moviola (1993; made for TV). The notorious production did not go over well with city officials, however.

A Day at a Time (1992; voice only). Though critics hated the show, ticket sales were good. A Breed Apart (1991). Her first starring role on Broadway was in a play titled Sex, which was also written, produced and directed by West. Warshawski (1991). Eventually, she started writing her own risqué plays using the pen name Jane Mast. V.I. By the time she was twelve she was doing burlesque under the name "The Baby Vamp." Though she had not yet grown into her generous curves, the slinky, dark-haired Mae was already raising eyebrows with a lascivious "shimmy" dance.