Throughout West's life, she would reminisce about the many legendary performers she saw in her youth, but one artist always stood out for her: African American entertainer Bert Williams, whom she credits as her earliest influence. Tillie soon took West to plays and vaudeville performances where she was enthralled with the make-believe world of characters, dance, and musical acts. While she was too young to understand the art of impersonation, she learned quickly about the power of commanding an audience. West started to show signs of talent at the age of 3, mimicking family members and friends, much to the delight of her father and mother. West quickly obliged with precocious and, at times, obstinate behavior. With West, Tillie's childrearing was out of step with more the traditional Victorian methods of "children should be seen and not heard." Instead, she preferred to humor and coax West, rather than harshly discipline her. West was the oldest of three children, but West was her mother's favorite from the beginning. Later, after he met Tillie, he worked as a "special policeman" (most likely as muscle for local business and crime bosses) and then as a private detective. When he wasn't fighting in authorized boxing matches, he was fighting in underground street fights or exhibiting his boxing prowess in pick up fights at Coney Island Amusement Park. West's father was a prizefighter known around the Brooklyn area as "Battlin' Jack" West, not so much for this success in the ring as for his reputation for street brawling. However, she clandestinely abandoned her seamstress work for the less respectable, though somewhat more glamorous work, as a fashion model and never totally gave up the prospect of having some career in show business. But her parents' disapproval in career choices brought her dreams down to a more realistic profession as a garment worker. Matilda, also known as "Tillie," was a German immigrant and aspiring actress. Family members called her Mae (spelled May at the time) from an early age. Early Lifeīorn Mary Jane West on August 17, 1893, in Brooklyn, New York, to Matilda and John West. The blunt sexuality of her films aroused the wrath and moral indignation of several groups, but this sexuality is what she is remembered for today. Mae West hit her Hollywood stride in her late 30s when she might have been considered in her "advanced years" for playing sexy harlots, but her persona and physical beauty overcame any doubt.
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