Editing Mae West (section)

===Middle years===
[[File:Mae West in 1953.jpg|thumb|190px|upright|alt=Mae West posing in a glamorous dress with a confident smile, 1953.|Featured in the ''Los Angeles Times'', 1953]]
After appearing in ''The Heat's On'' in 1943, West returned to a highly active stage and nightclub career. Among her notable performances was the title role in ''[[Catherine Was Great]]'' (1944) on Broadway, a play she wrote as a satirical take on the life of [[Catherine II of Russia|Catherine the Great]]. In the production, she surrounded herself with a group of tall, muscular actors described as an "imperial guard".<ref>{{cite book|last=Shafer|first=Yvonne|title=American Women Playwrights, 1900–1950|url=https://archive.org/details/americanwomenpla0000shaf|url-access=registration|publisher=Peter Lang Publishing Inc.|year=1995|page=[https://archive.org/details/americanwomenpla0000shaf/page/419 419]|isbn=978-0-8204-2142-1}}</ref> Produced by theater and film impresario [[Mike Todd]], the play ran for 191 performances before going on tour.<ref>{{cite book|last=Bloom|first=Ken|title=Broadway: An Encyclopedia|publisher=Taylor & Francis|year=2004|page=480|isbn=978-0-415-93704-7}}</ref>

West revived her 1928 play ''Diamond Lil'' in 1949, returning it to Broadway. A reviewer for ''The New York Times'' referred to her as an "American institution—as beloved and indestructible as Donald Duck. Like Chinatown, and Grant's Tomb, Mae West should be seen at least once." In the 1950s, she performed in her own Las Vegas stage show at the newly opened [[SLS Las Vegas|Sahara Hotel]], where she sang while flanked by bodybuilders. The show proved popular with both male and female audiences, with West commenting, "Men come to see me, but I also give the women something to see: wall to wall men."{{sfn|Robertson|1996|p=27}}

During the casting of [[Billy Wilder]]'s 1950 film ''[[Sunset Boulevard (1950 film)|Sunset Boulevard]]'', West was offered the role of [[Norma Desmond]]. Still frustrated by the censorship imposed on ''The Heat's On'', she declined the role, stating that its pathos did not suit her comedic sensibility, which she characterized as focused on uplifting audiences. The role ultimately went to [[Gloria Swanson]], after [[Mary Pickford]] also declined.<ref>{{cite book|last=Meade|first=Marion|author-link=Marion Meade|title=Buster Keaton: Cut to the Chase|publisher=Da Capo Press|year=1997|page=245|isbn=978-0-306-80802-9}}</ref>

West was later offered additional film roles, including Vera Simpson opposite [[Frank Sinatra]] in the 1957 musical ''[[Pal Joey (film)|Pal Joey]]'', which she declined, with the part going to [[Rita Hayworth]]. She also turned down a role in ''[[Roustabout (film)|Roustabout]]'' (1964) alongside [[Elvis Presley]], which was subsequently played by [[Barbara Stanwyck]]. West rejected offers from [[Federico Fellini]] to appear in both ''[[Juliet of the Spirits]]'' and ''[[Fellini Satyricon|Satyricon]]''.