January 30, 2024 • 21 mins
It started just after Labor Day, with an envelope postmarked September 13, 1935, sent special delivery, addressed to Miss Mae West of 570 N. Rossmore, Ravenswood Apartments, Hollywood, California. There was nothing unusual about the envelope, but its contents were a different matter. It was the first of what would become a series of extortion letters threatening disfigurement by acid if she didn't pay $1,000. This wasn’t about keeping secrets or giving favors; it was about taking money from Mae West.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome to Criminalia, a production of Shondaland Audio in partnership
with iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Miss West. The letter stated, quote we told you before
one thousand dollars or by god, we will get your
face at Western and Sunset you personally acid burns. This
was not the first time may West had run up
against extortionists. In another instance, in nineteen twenty nine, The
(00:34):
New York Times reported she paid three thousand dollars to
quote stay out of trouble with Chicago gangsters who were
threatening and terrorizing quote nationally known performers to hand over
cash for their own good. It was bigger than actors, though.
There were five major studios at the time, and they
not only made movies but also distributed them through their
(00:56):
own theater chains. Chicago gangster Frank Nitti. Since the Mob
controlled the Hollywood unions, the mob would also be able
to run a racket extorting theaters around the United States,
and they did. Plus they targeted actors, producers, executives, everyone.
By nineteen forty three, Nitty and his associates were charged
(01:17):
with extorting millions of dollars from Hollywood studios. But this
letter sent to May West this was different. This may
have been Hollywood, but this one was personal. Welcome to Criminalia.
I'm Rich Markey and I'm Holly Frye. So this time around,
West wasn't being threatened by the mob. She wasn't being
blackmailed in regard to something salacious or indecent that she
(01:41):
may or may not have said her done, or for
her secret, albeit short lived marriage to New York vaudeville
performer Frank Wallace in nineteen eleven.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
That's right. She denied it until nineteen thirty seven, but
she finally admitted under oath that she was yes, missus
maymie Zukis, but the pair she claimed had never lived together. Wallace,
which was of course his stage name, was not trying
to blackmail her in the action that brought her before
a judge. He was trying to get New York state
(02:11):
courts to declare that he was entitled to half of
everything she had. She won that case.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
After Labor Day in nineteen thirty five, West received the
first of what would become a series of extortion letters,
threatening death or disfigurement by acid if one thousand dollars
was not paid. This wasn't about secrets or favors. It
was about taking money from a celebrity. It started with
an envelope postmarked September thirteenth, nineteen thirty five, Special Delivery,
(02:42):
and was addressed to Miss May West of five p
seventy North, Rossmore, Ravenswood Apartments, Hollywood, California. There was nothing
unusual about the envelope, but its contents were a different matter.
The blackmail letter read as quote acid is a horrible
thing to throw in one's face, so beautiful in the
height of her career. You can lose one thousand dollars
(03:04):
or a million dollars. We are determined to get it.
We want money no later than nine o'clock Monday night
at the other end of Warner Brothers studio in the
last palm tree. If the extortion squad is there, we
will spoil your face for all time. You know where
the last tree is, by the gate on the corner.
Stick it in the tree by the palms, and don't
(03:26):
try to stop who gets it ty a handkerchief on
the wall there opposite the tree. If you fail to
meet our demands, we will shoot an air gun at you,
and we are good shots.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
Over. Another letter followed it read quote acid is a
holy job. It never heals. We have an air gun
which will shoot one hundred yards and it has a
perfect sight. We know we would be caught if we
walk up to you and throw it in your face,
so we are playing safe. We want one thousand dollars
(03:57):
by Tuesday night at twelve o'clock. There is a tin
can in front of the Warner Brothers studio on Sunset Boulevard,
next to the Remick Music Pub. There's a passage there.
It's inside the concrete wall next to the hydrant. Tie
a white handkerchief on the faucets so we know it's there.
Cross us and lose a million, we will send a
(04:19):
decoy for it, acid burns.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
These were threats meant to induce terror, no doubt, Promising
to disfigure a celebrity known for their face probably seemed
like a quick way to gain compliance. As we ponder that,
we're going to take a break for a word from
our sponsors. And when we return there are more letters
to talk about. But first we'll get to know more
about May West.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
Welcome back to Criminalia. You may know her from lines
like cut up and see me sometime, But May West
was much more than the character she played, So let's
talk about how she got to be a celebrity.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
Mary Jane May West was an American actress, singer, playwright,
and screenwriter. She wrote under the pen named Jane mast And.
She was known for her sex appeal and her body humor.
West was born on August seventeenth, eighteen ninety three, in Greenpoint, Brooklyn,
the first of three children born to John West and
Matilda Delker. After she placed well in local talent contests
(05:35):
under the stage name Baby May as a child, her
parents allowed her to drop out of school to pursue
the stage. Her education ended after the fourth grade. Recalling
of herself growing up, May has stated quote, I had
a deep, rough voice for a child. The audience started
laughing when they heard my first powerful tones. I fell
(05:56):
in love on that stage.
Speaker 1 (05:59):
May began her acting career when she was fourteen years old,
when she signed with hal Clarendon Stock Company at the
Gotham Theater in New York City. She spent the next
few years working the vaudeville and burlesque circuit. By the
nineteen twenty she was acting, singing, and writing her own plays.
It was in nineteen twenty six when she shot to stardom,
(06:21):
some say, to notoriety with her self penned play titled
Sex The Story of a Montreal Sex Worker was a
hit on Broadway, and a year into its run, as
many as three hundred seventy five performances had already taken
place and three hundred twenty five thousand people had seen
the show. But in February of nineteen twenty seven, authorities
(06:45):
rated the theater and the show was shut down. West
was arrested and faced a grand jury claiming that her
quote obscene, indecent, immoral, and impure drama would corrupt the
morals of youth.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
The court offered to drop the charges if she paid
a five hundred dollars fine and closed the show, but
the savvy West chose to serve a ten day jail
sentence in a workhouse on Welfare Island now known as
Roosevelt Island because of the publicity it would garner. She
ended up serving eight of those days, and she used
the very public opportunity to her advantage, including stating to
(07:24):
the press during her incarceration that she'd dined with the warden.
She shocked the tabloid press when she told them she
wore silk garments under her inmate uniform. In response to
a journalist who asked her what she thought was going
to happen next, West replied, quote, I expect this will
be the making of me. The whole event, said West
(07:44):
was quote marketing gold. It was the first time she
was arrested on indecency charges, but it wasn't the last.
Speaker 1 (07:53):
She followed up Sex with several other plays, including Diamond Lil,
a massive hit that ran for more than three hundred
performances on Broadway alone. When the Great Depression began to
take a toll on the economy, West, at age thirty eight,
relocated from New York to Hollywood, and in nineteen thirty two,
she was offered her first motion picture contract. The contract
(08:16):
with Paramount Pictures not only launched her screen career, but
it also helped save Paramount from bankruptcy. Arriving in Hollywood,
West famously announced quote, I'm not a little girl from
a little town making good in a big town. I'm
a big girl from a big town making good in
a little town. And she proved it. Variety reported quote,
(08:38):
May West's films have made her the biggest conversation provoker
free space grabber and all around box office bet in
the country. She's as hot an issue as Hitler. It's
kind of a dubious honor to be given by the press.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
Yes. By nineteen thirty five, West had become a hot
celebrity topic. She was the highest paid woman in the
United States and the second highest paid person behind William
Randolph Hurst. Her critics called her quote the first female
leading man and the greatest female impersonator. So not exactly
(09:17):
adored by.
Speaker 1 (09:18):
All, but there were many who championed her too, including
popular American writer f. Scott Fitzgerald, who considered West quote
the only Hollywood actress with an ironic edge and comic spark.
Popular British novelist Hugh Walpole wrote that only she and
Charlie Chaplin quote dare to directly attack with their mockery
(09:40):
the fraying morals and manners of a dreary world. French
author Sidey Gabrielle Colette praised her independent spirit, writing quote,
she alone, out of an enormous and dull catalog of heroines,
does not get married at the end of the film,
does not gaze sadly at her declining youth, does not
experience it's the bitterness of the abandoned older woman. She
(10:03):
alone has no parents, no children, no husband. This impudent
woman is in her style as solitary as Chaplain used
to be.
Speaker 2 (10:13):
We are now going to take a break for word
from our sponsors, and when we return we will talk
about yes, more letters and how West's extortionist was caught
sort of caught.
Speaker 1 (10:39):
Welcome back to Criminalia. It took more than one try
to do it. But let's talk about the odd way.
This case was closed.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
In October of nineteen thirty five. The letters kept arriving.
One stated quote, lose your career and beauty on the
set or fights or home five seventy raw or writing
or parties or studio. We see you every day. Acid burns.
Yet another read quote, you can call the police if
(11:10):
you wish, but then you will be sure to get
acid and a little lie in the eyes as good measure.
We want one thousand in fives, tens, twenties, unmarked or copied.
If so you shall never be afraid again of this threat,
as we keep our promise, as.
Speaker 1 (11:25):
Any of us would. West reported these letters to the
authorities as soon as they started arriving. District Attorney's Office
investigator Harry Dean was assigned to the case capture the
extortionist who was threatening to throw acid at May West
unless she delivered one thousand dollars, and to catch their
suspect to Dean went undercover, really undercover. He impersonated May West,
(11:51):
wearing hair, makeup and clothing in her style and manner.
Speaker 2 (11:56):
Part of another letter read quote, we could have did
it many times already, but we want to see what
you would say.
Speaker 1 (12:01):
First.
Speaker 2 (12:02):
We had your chauffeur's automatic last Friday, but put it back,
ask him if he left it in the car, and
then came back for it an hour later.
Speaker 1 (12:11):
Attempts to make contact with the perpetrator failed the first
few times. Dean and his team left a decoy package
at the site more than once, but no one showed
up at the drop to claim it, and then May
received another letter stating quote, we've seen your sign. It
looked like a trap. You put that money next to
the fire plug over the wall in the bushes tonight
(12:34):
and leave it there in a tin can, a small
can of your own. If anyone stops the man who
comes for it, this town will be too hot to
hold you as he will not know who we are,
and we don't joke. We knew you when you sent
one guy up the river for publicity, so don't try
it again, Acid burns.
Speaker 2 (12:56):
After those few failed attempts by dean impersonating Way to
make the drop at the named rendezvous point, May herself
went with her chauffeur to drop off the money, well
to drop off the decoy. West's chauffeur, by the way,
was a man named Albert Chalky Wright, who was a
former boxer, and he was no joke. In two thousand
(13:18):
and three, he appeared in The Ring magazine's list of
one hundred Greatest Boxers of All Time. There was serious
backup at the scene too, a shotgun squad. Shotgun squads
were used in stakeouts, during which officers would camp out
for hours or longer at the scene waiting for their suspect.
One retired sergeant who worked these types of shifts once
quipped that the process was quote seven hours of boredom
(13:42):
and three seconds of sheer terror when confronting a suspect.
Speaker 1 (13:47):
A man named George Janus, a cafeteria worker at one
of the studios, was taken into custody after he picked
up the decoy, which had been placed by Chalky Wright.
Reported by the Los Angeles Time on October tenth, nineteen
thirty five, quote, the bus boy was arrested Monday night
when he picked up a pocketbook which miss West chauffeur
(14:08):
had placed near Warner Brothers Sunset Boulevard studio. Per instructions
contained in the last of six notes received by the actress,
Yanoo stuck to his story that he happened along as
the pocketbook was placed by the tree, and that he
had picked it up out of sheer curiosity. The Los
Angeles Times then reported the next morning that quote, six
(14:29):
other suspicious characters found loitering in the neighborhood were taken
to the District Attorney's office for questioning. Those six people
were released.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
And Janoos well, the chief special investigator for the District Attorney,
a man named Blaney Matthews, doubted his guilt because George,
a Greek immigrant, spoke little English. Janos was released from
custody on October tenth, nineteen thirty five, and the extortion
story just kind of ends there. The case wasn't solved,
(15:01):
but it was closed. No one was held accountable for
the threats, but after Yanus was detained and questioned, the
letters stopped.
Speaker 1 (15:09):
Dean for his efforts, received acclaim and applause for his
investigation and his impersonation from his fellow investigators. The New
York Times reported that his colleagues turned his office into
what could have been may West's dressing room, tying ribbons
to his telephone and placing flowers on his desk and
(15:30):
leaving quote essence of hyacinth spray lingering in the air.
At the same time and off the record, some reports
suggest FBI Director j. Edgar Hoover was really angry with
the Los Angeles Police Department because he believed blackmail and
extortion fell under federal responsibility and was not an enforcement
(15:50):
matter for local law. Hoover built the reputation of the
FBI by targeting and arresting bank robbers in the nineteen thirties.
That's true, but yes, the new bureau was responsible for
investigating this type of threat.
Speaker 2 (16:05):
When may West died from complications of a stroke at
the age of eighty seven in November of nineteen eighty,
it was front page news and the embalmer it said,
made her look half her age. The Los Angeles Times
reported quote. In her life, she became both an icon
and a caricature. May herself lives on in so many
(16:27):
ways still today, and she's been a dictionary entry, yes,
since World War Two, when RAF pilots cheekily named their
full chested inflatable life preservers in her honor. I think
we should have a drink to her honor.
Speaker 1 (16:42):
Listen, I'll drink to May West any day. I love her.
So this coercion concoction, it's an interesting one. Before I
talk about the one we're having, there is a cocktail
called a May West.
Speaker 2 (17:00):
I didn't know that.
Speaker 1 (17:01):
I was not brave enough to make it, and I'll
tell you why. It is an odd combination of ingredients
because it is made with vodka, amaretto, madori, and cranberry juice.
Speaker 2 (17:16):
What very interesting fruity salad you got going on there.
Speaker 1 (17:20):
It seems like it would be a war. Allegedly, and
again I didn't make this to test it. Allegedly, something
happens where when you drink it, it actually tastes like
a cherry cordial like. It takes on a chocolatey note
from the amaretto and the medori's sweetness. Okay, does something
that makes it sound like a confection. I haven't tried it.
I might at some point, but just if you're curious
(17:42):
about it, that's what that is. That's not what we're having.
The thing, of course, that I would bet most of
us are thinking throughout this whole thing is acid Burns,
which is interesting right the way it's always the tag
of the letters. It almost sounds like somebody's name, their
pen name is acid Burns, like Charles Montgomery Burns and
(18:03):
his brother Acid his brother, just to get a little
Simpsons reference in at any time. But it made me
think about a cocktail that would be acidic ie in
cocktail language, that means citrus, heavy and a little bit interesting, familiar,
but something with a bite that was like as robust
and brazen as May West. This one is a little
(18:26):
bit it shares DNA with a margarita, but it goes
to a different place pretty quickly. But we also haven't
done tequila in a while, so it felt like the
right time, right. I could definitely see May West doing
shots of tequila, or we're not doing shots, but.
Speaker 2 (18:42):
I could see that. Yes.
Speaker 1 (18:45):
So the acid burn starts with an ounce and a
half of tequila reposotto would be my choice. A half
ounce of quantro, a half ounce of ginger liqueur, a
half ounce of lime juice. Then you're also gonna add
a quarter ounce of lemon juice, anywhere between a splash
(19:06):
and a half ounce of a gave, depending on how
sweet you like it, like in agave syrup. And then
you're gonna shake that. You're gonna pour it into a
pre chilled glass, and you're gonna top it with a
low kiss of prosecco. There's enough sweetness because the citrus,
we're getting citrus from the liqueur and the ginger liqueur
is involved that it's not just the bitter acid flavor.
(19:29):
You're also getting that sweetness. And the prosecco evens it
out a little bit, makes it very crisp and bright,
because otherwise I found it a little heavy.
Speaker 2 (19:36):
And you get a little bubbly from may West.
Speaker 1 (19:38):
I think you know I love a little bubble action
the mocktail. For this one, we're gonna do things a
little different. We're gonna do an ounce of lime juice,
a half ounce of lemon juice, a half ounce of
ginger syrup, and a half ounce of orange syrup. If
you cannot find ginger syrup, man, that's the easiest syrup
(19:59):
in the world to make. If you just boil some ginger,
literally chunks of ginger and water, you will have ginger tea,
and then you can make that into ginger syrup by
just adding sugar to it. I usually do like a
cup and a half of tea and a cup and
a half of sugar. I like a one to one.
Some people like more sugar to get a thicker syrup,
(20:22):
which is fine, that's dealer's choice. But then you're gonna
take all of that, You're gonna put it in your shaker,
you're gonna strain it into a pre chilled glass, and
you can top that with ginger ale or if you
want a less sweet drink, club soda. That's just like
a refreshing variation on a lemon lime. It's very, very
yummy and very easy to drink. So that is the
(20:45):
acid burns, which hopefully will not burn you in any
way and will only be delightful and make you feel
refreshed and also make you think of May West, because
she's pretty interesting, a fascinating woman. We just can't help
but admire a bit I like that. She was like, Ugh,
(21:05):
just give me the thing. I'll take it myself.
Speaker 2 (21:07):
I yeah, right, you've tried five times, I'll do the
six to one. Right.
Speaker 1 (21:10):
I got a boxer with me. We're fine between the
two of us, not a problem. If you find yourself
in dire straits, please let authorities handle it. Don't presume
that you can do it, even if Maywest is very.
Speaker 2 (21:23):
Cool or you have a boxer friend.
Speaker 1 (21:27):
We are so thankful that you spent this time with us.
We hope that you will join us once again next week.
Four other stories of blackmail, extortion, and coercion concoctions. Criminalia
is a production of Shondaland Audio in partnership with iHeartRadio.
(21:50):
For more podcasts from Shondaland Audio, please visit the iHeartRadio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
Welcome to Criminalia, a production of Shondaland Audio in partnership
with iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Miss West. The letter stated, quote we told you before
one thousand dollars or by god, we will get your
face at Western and Sunset you personally acid burns. This
was not the first time may West had run up
against extortionists. In another instance, in nineteen twenty nine, The
(00:34):
New York Times reported she paid three thousand dollars to
quote stay out of trouble with Chicago gangsters who were
threatening and terrorizing quote nationally known performers to hand over
cash for their own good. It was bigger than actors, though.
There were five major studios at the time, and they
not only made movies but also distributed them through their
(00:56):
own theater chains. Chicago gangster Frank Nitti. Since the Mob
controlled the Hollywood unions, the mob would also be able
to run a racket extorting theaters around the United States,
and they did. Plus they targeted actors, producers, executives, everyone.
By nineteen forty three, Nitty and his associates were charged
(01:17):
with extorting millions of dollars from Hollywood studios. But this
letter sent to May West this was different. This may
have been Hollywood, but this one was personal. Welcome to Criminalia.
I'm Rich Markey and I'm Holly Frye. So this time around,
West wasn't being threatened by the mob. She wasn't being
blackmailed in regard to something salacious or indecent that she
(01:41):
may or may not have said her done, or for
her secret, albeit short lived marriage to New York vaudeville
performer Frank Wallace in nineteen eleven.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
That's right. She denied it until nineteen thirty seven, but
she finally admitted under oath that she was yes, missus
maymie Zukis, but the pair she claimed had never lived together. Wallace,
which was of course his stage name, was not trying
to blackmail her in the action that brought her before
a judge. He was trying to get New York state
(02:11):
courts to declare that he was entitled to half of
everything she had. She won that case.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
After Labor Day in nineteen thirty five, West received the
first of what would become a series of extortion letters,
threatening death or disfigurement by acid if one thousand dollars
was not paid. This wasn't about secrets or favors. It
was about taking money from a celebrity. It started with
an envelope postmarked September thirteenth, nineteen thirty five, Special Delivery,
(02:42):
and was addressed to Miss May West of five p
seventy North, Rossmore, Ravenswood Apartments, Hollywood, California. There was nothing
unusual about the envelope, but its contents were a different matter.
The blackmail letter read as quote acid is a horrible
thing to throw in one's face, so beautiful in the
height of her career. You can lose one thousand dollars
(03:04):
or a million dollars. We are determined to get it.
We want money no later than nine o'clock Monday night
at the other end of Warner Brothers studio in the
last palm tree. If the extortion squad is there, we
will spoil your face for all time. You know where
the last tree is, by the gate on the corner.
Stick it in the tree by the palms, and don't
(03:26):
try to stop who gets it ty a handkerchief on
the wall there opposite the tree. If you fail to
meet our demands, we will shoot an air gun at you,
and we are good shots.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
Over. Another letter followed it read quote acid is a
holy job. It never heals. We have an air gun
which will shoot one hundred yards and it has a
perfect sight. We know we would be caught if we
walk up to you and throw it in your face,
so we are playing safe. We want one thousand dollars
(03:57):
by Tuesday night at twelve o'clock. There is a tin
can in front of the Warner Brothers studio on Sunset Boulevard,
next to the Remick Music Pub. There's a passage there.
It's inside the concrete wall next to the hydrant. Tie
a white handkerchief on the faucets so we know it's there.
Cross us and lose a million, we will send a
(04:19):
decoy for it, acid burns.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
These were threats meant to induce terror, no doubt, Promising
to disfigure a celebrity known for their face probably seemed
like a quick way to gain compliance. As we ponder that,
we're going to take a break for a word from
our sponsors. And when we return there are more letters
to talk about. But first we'll get to know more
about May West.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
Welcome back to Criminalia. You may know her from lines
like cut up and see me sometime, But May West
was much more than the character she played, So let's
talk about how she got to be a celebrity.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
Mary Jane May West was an American actress, singer, playwright,
and screenwriter. She wrote under the pen named Jane mast And.
She was known for her sex appeal and her body humor.
West was born on August seventeenth, eighteen ninety three, in Greenpoint, Brooklyn,
the first of three children born to John West and
Matilda Delker. After she placed well in local talent contests
(05:35):
under the stage name Baby May as a child, her
parents allowed her to drop out of school to pursue
the stage. Her education ended after the fourth grade. Recalling
of herself growing up, May has stated quote, I had
a deep, rough voice for a child. The audience started
laughing when they heard my first powerful tones. I fell
(05:56):
in love on that stage.
Speaker 1 (05:59):
May began her acting career when she was fourteen years old,
when she signed with hal Clarendon Stock Company at the
Gotham Theater in New York City. She spent the next
few years working the vaudeville and burlesque circuit. By the
nineteen twenty she was acting, singing, and writing her own plays.
It was in nineteen twenty six when she shot to stardom,
(06:21):
some say, to notoriety with her self penned play titled
Sex The Story of a Montreal Sex Worker was a
hit on Broadway, and a year into its run, as
many as three hundred seventy five performances had already taken
place and three hundred twenty five thousand people had seen
the show. But in February of nineteen twenty seven, authorities
(06:45):
rated the theater and the show was shut down. West
was arrested and faced a grand jury claiming that her
quote obscene, indecent, immoral, and impure drama would corrupt the
morals of youth.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
The court offered to drop the charges if she paid
a five hundred dollars fine and closed the show, but
the savvy West chose to serve a ten day jail
sentence in a workhouse on Welfare Island now known as
Roosevelt Island because of the publicity it would garner. She
ended up serving eight of those days, and she used
the very public opportunity to her advantage, including stating to
(07:24):
the press during her incarceration that she'd dined with the warden.
She shocked the tabloid press when she told them she
wore silk garments under her inmate uniform. In response to
a journalist who asked her what she thought was going
to happen next, West replied, quote, I expect this will
be the making of me. The whole event, said West
(07:44):
was quote marketing gold. It was the first time she
was arrested on indecency charges, but it wasn't the last.
Speaker 1 (07:53):
She followed up Sex with several other plays, including Diamond Lil,
a massive hit that ran for more than three hundred
performances on Broadway alone. When the Great Depression began to
take a toll on the economy, West, at age thirty eight,
relocated from New York to Hollywood, and in nineteen thirty two,
she was offered her first motion picture contract. The contract
(08:16):
with Paramount Pictures not only launched her screen career, but
it also helped save Paramount from bankruptcy. Arriving in Hollywood,
West famously announced quote, I'm not a little girl from
a little town making good in a big town. I'm
a big girl from a big town making good in
a little town. And she proved it. Variety reported quote,
(08:38):
May West's films have made her the biggest conversation provoker
free space grabber and all around box office bet in
the country. She's as hot an issue as Hitler. It's
kind of a dubious honor to be given by the press.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
Yes. By nineteen thirty five, West had become a hot
celebrity topic. She was the highest paid woman in the
United States and the second highest paid person behind William
Randolph Hurst. Her critics called her quote the first female
leading man and the greatest female impersonator. So not exactly
(09:17):
adored by.
Speaker 1 (09:18):
All, but there were many who championed her too, including
popular American writer f. Scott Fitzgerald, who considered West quote
the only Hollywood actress with an ironic edge and comic spark.
Popular British novelist Hugh Walpole wrote that only she and
Charlie Chaplin quote dare to directly attack with their mockery
(09:40):
the fraying morals and manners of a dreary world. French
author Sidey Gabrielle Colette praised her independent spirit, writing quote,
she alone, out of an enormous and dull catalog of heroines,
does not get married at the end of the film,
does not gaze sadly at her declining youth, does not
experience it's the bitterness of the abandoned older woman. She
(10:03):
alone has no parents, no children, no husband. This impudent
woman is in her style as solitary as Chaplain used
to be.
Speaker 2 (10:13):
We are now going to take a break for word
from our sponsors, and when we return we will talk
about yes, more letters and how West's extortionist was caught
sort of caught.
Speaker 1 (10:39):
Welcome back to Criminalia. It took more than one try
to do it. But let's talk about the odd way.
This case was closed.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
In October of nineteen thirty five. The letters kept arriving.
One stated quote, lose your career and beauty on the
set or fights or home five seventy raw or writing
or parties or studio. We see you every day. Acid burns.
Yet another read quote, you can call the police if
(11:10):
you wish, but then you will be sure to get
acid and a little lie in the eyes as good measure.
We want one thousand in fives, tens, twenties, unmarked or copied.
If so you shall never be afraid again of this threat,
as we keep our promise, as.
Speaker 1 (11:25):
Any of us would. West reported these letters to the
authorities as soon as they started arriving. District Attorney's Office
investigator Harry Dean was assigned to the case capture the
extortionist who was threatening to throw acid at May West
unless she delivered one thousand dollars, and to catch their
suspect to Dean went undercover, really undercover. He impersonated May West,
(11:51):
wearing hair, makeup and clothing in her style and manner.
Speaker 2 (11:56):
Part of another letter read quote, we could have did
it many times already, but we want to see what
you would say.
Speaker 1 (12:01):
First.
Speaker 2 (12:02):
We had your chauffeur's automatic last Friday, but put it back,
ask him if he left it in the car, and
then came back for it an hour later.
Speaker 1 (12:11):
Attempts to make contact with the perpetrator failed the first
few times. Dean and his team left a decoy package
at the site more than once, but no one showed
up at the drop to claim it, and then May
received another letter stating quote, we've seen your sign. It
looked like a trap. You put that money next to
the fire plug over the wall in the bushes tonight
(12:34):
and leave it there in a tin can, a small
can of your own. If anyone stops the man who
comes for it, this town will be too hot to
hold you as he will not know who we are,
and we don't joke. We knew you when you sent
one guy up the river for publicity, so don't try
it again, Acid burns.
Speaker 2 (12:56):
After those few failed attempts by dean impersonating Way to
make the drop at the named rendezvous point, May herself
went with her chauffeur to drop off the money, well
to drop off the decoy. West's chauffeur, by the way,
was a man named Albert Chalky Wright, who was a
former boxer, and he was no joke. In two thousand
(13:18):
and three, he appeared in The Ring magazine's list of
one hundred Greatest Boxers of All Time. There was serious
backup at the scene too, a shotgun squad. Shotgun squads
were used in stakeouts, during which officers would camp out
for hours or longer at the scene waiting for their suspect.
One retired sergeant who worked these types of shifts once
quipped that the process was quote seven hours of boredom
(13:42):
and three seconds of sheer terror when confronting a suspect.
Speaker 1 (13:47):
A man named George Janus, a cafeteria worker at one
of the studios, was taken into custody after he picked
up the decoy, which had been placed by Chalky Wright.
Reported by the Los Angeles Time on October tenth, nineteen
thirty five, quote, the bus boy was arrested Monday night
when he picked up a pocketbook which miss West chauffeur
(14:08):
had placed near Warner Brothers Sunset Boulevard studio. Per instructions
contained in the last of six notes received by the actress,
Yanoo stuck to his story that he happened along as
the pocketbook was placed by the tree, and that he
had picked it up out of sheer curiosity. The Los
Angeles Times then reported the next morning that quote, six
(14:29):
other suspicious characters found loitering in the neighborhood were taken
to the District Attorney's office for questioning. Those six people
were released.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
And Janoos well, the chief special investigator for the District Attorney,
a man named Blaney Matthews, doubted his guilt because George,
a Greek immigrant, spoke little English. Janos was released from
custody on October tenth, nineteen thirty five, and the extortion
story just kind of ends there. The case wasn't solved,
(15:01):
but it was closed. No one was held accountable for
the threats, but after Yanus was detained and questioned, the
letters stopped.
Speaker 1 (15:09):
Dean for his efforts, received acclaim and applause for his
investigation and his impersonation from his fellow investigators. The New
York Times reported that his colleagues turned his office into
what could have been may West's dressing room, tying ribbons
to his telephone and placing flowers on his desk and
(15:30):
leaving quote essence of hyacinth spray lingering in the air.
At the same time and off the record, some reports
suggest FBI Director j. Edgar Hoover was really angry with
the Los Angeles Police Department because he believed blackmail and
extortion fell under federal responsibility and was not an enforcement
(15:50):
matter for local law. Hoover built the reputation of the
FBI by targeting and arresting bank robbers in the nineteen thirties.
That's true, but yes, the new bureau was responsible for
investigating this type of threat.
Speaker 2 (16:05):
When may West died from complications of a stroke at
the age of eighty seven in November of nineteen eighty,
it was front page news and the embalmer it said,
made her look half her age. The Los Angeles Times
reported quote. In her life, she became both an icon
and a caricature. May herself lives on in so many
(16:27):
ways still today, and she's been a dictionary entry, yes,
since World War Two, when RAF pilots cheekily named their
full chested inflatable life preservers in her honor. I think
we should have a drink to her honor.
Speaker 1 (16:42):
Listen, I'll drink to May West any day. I love her.
So this coercion concoction, it's an interesting one. Before I
talk about the one we're having, there is a cocktail
called a May West.
Speaker 2 (17:00):
I didn't know that.
Speaker 1 (17:01):
I was not brave enough to make it, and I'll
tell you why. It is an odd combination of ingredients
because it is made with vodka, amaretto, madori, and cranberry juice.
Speaker 2 (17:16):
What very interesting fruity salad you got going on there.
Speaker 1 (17:20):
It seems like it would be a war. Allegedly, and
again I didn't make this to test it. Allegedly, something
happens where when you drink it, it actually tastes like
a cherry cordial like. It takes on a chocolatey note
from the amaretto and the medori's sweetness. Okay, does something
that makes it sound like a confection. I haven't tried it.
I might at some point, but just if you're curious
(17:42):
about it, that's what that is. That's not what we're having.
The thing, of course, that I would bet most of
us are thinking throughout this whole thing is acid Burns,
which is interesting right the way it's always the tag
of the letters. It almost sounds like somebody's name, their
pen name is acid Burns, like Charles Montgomery Burns and
(18:03):
his brother Acid his brother, just to get a little
Simpsons reference in at any time. But it made me
think about a cocktail that would be acidic ie in
cocktail language, that means citrus, heavy and a little bit interesting, familiar,
but something with a bite that was like as robust
and brazen as May West. This one is a little
(18:26):
bit it shares DNA with a margarita, but it goes
to a different place pretty quickly. But we also haven't
done tequila in a while, so it felt like the
right time, right. I could definitely see May West doing
shots of tequila, or we're not doing shots, but.
Speaker 2 (18:42):
I could see that. Yes.
Speaker 1 (18:45):
So the acid burn starts with an ounce and a
half of tequila reposotto would be my choice. A half
ounce of quantro, a half ounce of ginger liqueur, a
half ounce of lime juice. Then you're also gonna add
a quarter ounce of lemon juice, anywhere between a splash
(19:06):
and a half ounce of a gave, depending on how
sweet you like it, like in agave syrup. And then
you're gonna shake that. You're gonna pour it into a
pre chilled glass, and you're gonna top it with a
low kiss of prosecco. There's enough sweetness because the citrus,
we're getting citrus from the liqueur and the ginger liqueur
is involved that it's not just the bitter acid flavor.
(19:29):
You're also getting that sweetness. And the prosecco evens it
out a little bit, makes it very crisp and bright,
because otherwise I found it a little heavy.
Speaker 2 (19:36):
And you get a little bubbly from may West.
Speaker 1 (19:38):
I think you know I love a little bubble action
the mocktail. For this one, we're gonna do things a
little different. We're gonna do an ounce of lime juice,
a half ounce of lemon juice, a half ounce of
ginger syrup, and a half ounce of orange syrup. If
you cannot find ginger syrup, man, that's the easiest syrup
(19:59):
in the world to make. If you just boil some ginger,
literally chunks of ginger and water, you will have ginger tea,
and then you can make that into ginger syrup by
just adding sugar to it. I usually do like a
cup and a half of tea and a cup and
a half of sugar. I like a one to one.
Some people like more sugar to get a thicker syrup,
(20:22):
which is fine, that's dealer's choice. But then you're gonna
take all of that, You're gonna put it in your shaker,
you're gonna strain it into a pre chilled glass, and
you can top that with ginger ale or if you
want a less sweet drink, club soda. That's just like
a refreshing variation on a lemon lime. It's very, very
yummy and very easy to drink. So that is the
(20:45):
acid burns, which hopefully will not burn you in any
way and will only be delightful and make you feel
refreshed and also make you think of May West, because
she's pretty interesting, a fascinating woman. We just can't help
but admire a bit I like that. She was like, Ugh,
(21:05):
just give me the thing. I'll take it myself.
Speaker 2 (21:07):
I yeah, right, you've tried five times, I'll do the
six to one. Right.
Speaker 1 (21:10):
I got a boxer with me. We're fine between the
two of us, not a problem. If you find yourself
in dire straits, please let authorities handle it. Don't presume
that you can do it, even if Maywest is very.
Speaker 2 (21:23):
Cool or you have a boxer friend.
Speaker 1 (21:27):
We are so thankful that you spent this time with us.
We hope that you will join us once again next week.
Four other stories of blackmail, extortion, and coercion concoctions. Criminalia
is a production of Shondaland Audio in partnership with iHeartRadio.
(21:50):
For more podcasts from Shondaland Audio, please visit the iHeartRadio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
Hosts And Creators
Holly Frey
Maria Trimarchi
Popular Podcasts
Are You A Charlotte?
In 1997, actress Kristin Davis’ life was forever changed when she took on the role of Charlotte York in Sex and the City. As we watched Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte navigate relationships in NYC, the show helped push once unacceptable conversation topics out of the shadows and altered the narrative around women and sex. We all saw ourselves in them as they searched for fulfillment in life, sex and friendships. Now, Kristin Davis wants to connect with you, the fans, and share untold stories and all the behind the scenes. Together, with Kristin and special guests, what will begin with Sex and the City will evolve into talks about themes that are still so relevant today. "Are you a Charlotte?" is much more than just rewatching this beloved show, it brings the past and the present together as we talk with heart, humor and of course some optimism.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.