Margaret West (September 10, 1903 – July 29, 1963) was a Texan heiress, vaudeville performer and later radio hostess.
Biography
Margaret West was born in
San Antonio, Texas
("Cradle of Freedom")
, image_map =
, mapsize = 220px
, map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = United States
, subdivision_type1= State
, subdivision_name1 = Texas
, subdivision_t ...
, the daughter of
George Washington West (1879–1956), the man who in 1913 built
George West, Texas
George West is a city in Live Oak County, Texas, United States, and named for cattle rancher George Washington West. The population was 2,445 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Live Oak County. George West was named the "storytelling ...
, and Robbie Bedell (1880–1959).
West became a vaudeville performer and sang Western songs dressed as a cowgirl.
In 1948 she was a retired radio personality with homes on Santa Monica beach and in Bel-Air.
Pola Negri
Pola Negri (; born Apolonia Chalupec ; 3 January 1897 – 1 August 1987) was a Polish stage and film actress and singer. She achieved worldwide fame during the silent and golden eras of Hollywood and European film for her tragedienne and femme ...
moved in with her and they became notorious party hostesses, at the same time building up a collection of artworks.
At the death of West's father in 1956, West and Negri moved to San Antonio and, after a period spent in an hotel, moved to Olmos Drive, where they lived until West's death on July 29, 1963. Negri was the chief beneficiary to West's estate, receiving $1,250 a month ($ in dollars) and the use of West's home and ownership of all furniture and art objects in the house. In her autobiography, talking about West, Negri said, "It was difficult for some of the so-called sophisticates to understand that there had not been... the slightest tinge of the sexual to what we shared together."
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:West, Margaret
1903 births
1963 deaths
Vaudeville performers
People from San Antonio