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May Mann

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For the First Lady of Florida, see May Mann Jennings.

May Mann
Mann with close friend Marilyn Monroe on the set of Let's Make Love [citation needed]
Born
May Vasta Randall

(1908-09-01)September 1, 1908
Seattle, Washington, United States
DiedApril 15, 1995(1995-04-15) (aged 86)[1][2]
Los Angeles, California, United States
OccupationJournalist

May Mann, born May Vasta Randall,[3] (September 1, 1908 - April 15, 1995)[2] was a Hollywood columnist and freelance writer. She wrote a syndicated column about Hollywood gossip and wrote articles on celebrities for fan magazines. Her "Going Hollywood" column was syndicated to 400 newspapers, and contributed to movie magazines Movie Mirror, Silver Screen, Movie Teen, Screenland, and Photoplay. Her columns often featured photos of herself with the celebrity she profiled. She befriended several celebrities like Marilyn Monroe and wrote books about Elvis Presley, Clark Gable, and Jayne Mansfield. She was known as "Hollywood Date Girl" since she wrote about parties that she attended with Hollywood celebrities.[4]

Biography

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May Mann was born to a prominent family in Ogden, Utah. As a child, she loved watching films and reading movie magazines. Her first newspaper publication was in 1934 in The Ogden Standard-Examiner. There she wrote as a society columnist. She met with Hollywood celebrities in Union Station in Ogden. The articles she wrote from these meetings were successful, and movie studios paid for her transportation to and from Hollywood in order for her to continue the good publicity. She started her column, "Going Hollywood," in 1936.[3] Mann was Miss Utah in 1938.[citation needed] She attended many parties in Hollywood and thought of herself as a celebrity. In 1938 she wrote an article about Clark Gable for Screenland and one about Wallace Beery in Movie Mirror. In 1939, she spent several months in New York City writing columns about Broadway during the World's Fair. She spent her vacation time working as a reporter for a New York newspaper.[3][5] Her columns often featured photos of her with the celebrity she wrote about, which she started when a reader doubted that she had actually met with the celebrity.[5]

In 1956, she became one of Marilyn Monroe's favourite reporters and confidantes. As such she received a telegram from Monroe setting up a call for a specific time to confide to Mann that she and Arthur Miller would be wed 'at midsummer" but was told, 'don't print it yet.'

Mann later reported on Marilyn Monroe's wedding to Arthur Miller (after it was announced) for the New York Tribune. Mann continued to write about Monroe up until Marilyn's death in 1962.[6] Mann reported on what she considered to be an "inept probe" into her close friend, Marilyn Monroe's untimely death. She received a call from chief Parker about the article. Mann relayed, "He said it would be bad for my health if I kept writing stories like that."[7]

She was a regular contributor to Photoplay 1972–1977.[8] King Features, Faucett Publications and General Features syndicated her "Going Hollywood" column to 400 newspapers.[9] Mann wrote for movie magazines starting in 1937, and her work appears in Movie Mirror, Silver Screen, Movie Teen, and Screenland. Sometimes she used a pen name, Frances Lane, because she claimed that the Associated Press told her she could only write in one A.P. paper.[10] She described herself as liking everyone, even if they disliked her, and "never [said] an unkind word about anyone."[5]

Mann interviewed Mae West,[3] Marilyn Monroe, Clark Gable,[11][12] Joan Crawford,[13][14] Jayne Mansfield, and Mary Pickford.[15] Mann also wrote extensively about The Osmonds.[3]

Later in Mann's career, she became involved in charity work, especially with the Ida B. Mayer Cummings Auxiliary, a charity that helped provide for elderly Jewish people.[3]

Books

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Mann's style was that of an adoring fan. She wrote a book on Elvis Presley called Elvis and the Colonel, where she claimed to have an exclusive "authorized" interview with Elvis. Writing for The Daily Herald in Chicago, John Lampinen wrote that the book was "classic Hollywood pulp" showing only Elvis's "promotional image."[16] After Elvis's death, author and columnist Molly Ivins updated Elvis and the Colonel, renaming it The Private Elvis.[17]

Mann was good friends with the actress Jayne Mansfield. Mann wrote her biography after reporting that Mansfield's spirit haunted her until she wrote the book.[18][19]

Personal life

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Mann was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and abstained from smoking or drinking her whole life.[5] Mann was married to David H. Mann, a writer and editor at the Ogden newspaper, for at least two and a half years before they were divorced in 1944. David Mann sued for divorce because of desertion.[20] Mann married Al Leon, a former concert singer who was from San Francisco in 1945. Their wedding was held in Falcon Lair and covered by Louella Parsons. Fellow columnist Cobina Wright sent invitations and managed the wedding. Mann and Leon divorced in 1948. May married Buddy Baer in 1949, and a divorce was granted in 1956.[3]

Mann died in Los Angeles on April 15, 1995.[8]

Celebrity gowns

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Evening gown and shawl owned and worn by Marilyn Monroe, given to Mann

An evening gown and shawl that had previously belonged to Marilyn Monroe had been in Mann's possession until 1992 when she gave it to Arlene and Milt Larsen to exhibit at the Magic Castle Museum.[21] In 2017, it was sold for an undisclosed price.[22][23]

Works

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  • "A Date With Clark Gable", Screenland magazine, May 1937.
  • Elvis and the Colonel, Drake Publishers, 1975. ISBN 9780847310043.
  • Jayne Mansfield: A Biography, Drake Publishers, 1973. ISBN 978-0877494157.
  • My Friend Clark
  • Marilyn Monroe (now thought to have been lost)[24][failed verification]
  • Princess, Drake Publishers, 1976.[25] Book about Mann's cat, who made appearances at charity events to help raise money.[3]

References

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  1. ^ "May Mann; Hollywood Columnist and Biographer". Los Angeles Times. April 26, 1995. Archived from the original on January 27, 2013. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
  2. ^ a b "May Vesta Randall (1908-1995)". FamilySearch. 2021. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Finding aid authors: James V. D'Arc and Angela Wolf (2013). "May Mann papers". Prepared for the L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Provo, UT. Retrieved May 16, 2016.
  4. ^ "Court checks on buyer of gift for blond writer". Los Angeles Times. August 13, 1948. ProQuest 165885313.
  5. ^ a b c d Clark, Ethel Glasmann (August 18, 1939). "May Mann, Small Town Girl, Overcame Obstacles Through Hard Work, Fine Personality". The Ogden Standard-Examiner. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  6. ^ Summers, Anthony. Goddess: The Secret Lives Of Marilyn Monroe.
  7. ^ Buskin, Richard. The Murder of Marilyn Monroe: Case Closed.
  8. ^ a b Slide, Anthony (2010). Inside the Hollywood Fan Magazine: A History of Star Makers, Fabricators, and Gossip Mongers. University Press of Mississippi. p. 148. ISBN 9781604734140.
  9. ^ "May Mann; Hollywood Columnist and Biographer". Los Angeles Times. April 26, 1995. Retrieved July 25, 2018.
  10. ^ Mann, May. "May Mann Autobiography" [textual record]. May Mann Papers, Box: 3, File: 2, ID: MSS 1449 Series 1 Subseries 4. Provo, Utah: L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Brigham Young University.
  11. ^ Mann, May (August 9, 1937). "Gable interview". Life.
  12. ^ Mann, May (May 1937). "A Date With Clark Gable". Screenland.
  13. ^ Mann, May (November 17, 1938). "Going Hollywood". The Ogden Standard-Examiner. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  14. ^ Considine, Shaun. Bette And Joan: THE DIVINE FEUD.
  15. ^ Mann, May (November 20, 1936). "Mary, Buddy to Buy Ranch: Famed "Pickfair" Home to be Sold: Will Play Polo and Fly". The Ogden Standard-Examiner. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  16. ^ Lampinen, John (April 23, 1977). "An Elvis Books That is Strictly Hollywood Pulp". The Daily Herald (Chicago, Illinois).
  17. ^ Zito, Tom; Rohter, Larry (August 21, 1977). "New book claims to reveal the seamier side of Elvis' life". The Spokesman Review. p. A18. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  18. ^ Bacon, James (August 30, 1973). "Jayne Mansfield in Spirit Still Craves Publicity". Sarasota Journal. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  19. ^ Manners, Dorothy (March 10, 1973). "A Rather Spirited Biography". Evening Herald (Shenandoah, Pennsylvania). Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  20. ^ "Ex-Wife Burns Biscuits After Divorce". The Ogden Standard-Examiner. May 10, 1944. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  21. ^ Fajuri, Gabe (2017). Potter and Potter Movie & Music Memorabilia. Chicago: Potter and Potter Auctions.
  22. ^ Nickens, Christopher. Marilyn in Fashion: The Enduring Influence of Marilyn Monroe.
  23. ^ Spoto, Donald (1993). Marilyn Monroe: The Biography. Rowman & Littlefield.
  24. ^ Baner, Louis. Marilyn Monroe.
  25. ^ Mann, May (1976). Princess. Drake Publishers. ISBN 9780847310500.
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