Born in 1893, Mae West showed zero interest in school as a child in Woodhaven. Luckily, she found Neir’s Tavern, where she became a young sensation under the stage name “The Baby Vamp.” Vaudeville followed. Then, Broadway. Then, Hollywood, where she became the country’s highest paid woman in 1935.
The screen legend makes a triumphant return to Queens via An Evening with Mae at King Manor Museum in Jamaica on Saturday, Aug. 26.
Co-presented by King Manor and Neir’s, the doors open at 7 pm, and a Mae West Punch will be served (to those 21 and older). Attendees are asked to bring a blanket and wear clothes that were popular in the 1930s, although costumes aren’t required.
Then at 8 pm, I’m No Angel will screen outdoors. West stars along Cary Grant in this 1933 film that she also helped write. She plays a burlesque actress who has to choose between her criminally minded boyfriend and a handsome, wealthy socialite.
Located in the vicinity of Jamaica Avenue and 150th Street, King Manor is where Founding Father Rufus King and his descendants lived from 1805 to 1896. The house, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, lies among several acres of land near Rufus King Park.
An Evening with Mae will take place on King Manor’s lawn.
Founded in 1829, Neir’s is the oldest pub to operate continuously in the same location in the entire United States. The mahogany bar, where scenes from Goodfellas were shot, dates to the Grant Administration. And of course, it’s where West launched her seven-decade career.
Editor’s note: West is buried in her family mausoleum at Cypress Hills Cemetery about one mile from Neir’s.
Top image: Library of Congress; bottom image: Rob MacKay