ST. GEORGE — A Dixie State University student who is an expert on old Hollywood actresses has been invited to appear on Turner Classic Movies to discuss the 1933 film “She Done Him Wrong” starring Mae West and Cary Grant.
April VeVea is scheduled to appear on the show Sunday at 9:30 a.m. with TMC primetime host Ben Mankiewicz to discuss the movie prior to its showing. VeVea is going to discuss the movie’s editing, production code and why the 66-minute movie was the shortest to ever be nominated for an Academy Award for best picture.
“It’s overwhelming, but I’m very honored to be asked to be a part of it,” VeVea said.
Based in New York in the year 1892, “She Done Him Wrong” is a crime comedy about singer Lady Lou, played by Mae West, who keeps dating criminals, until she meets mission director and undercover federal agent Captain Cummings, played by Cary Grant, who wins her over in the end.
VeVea first became interested in old Hollywood films by watching them with her grandpa when she visited his house. She grew up watching movies starring Betty Grable, her grandpa’s favorite, and fell in love with the era.
VeVea is the author of two books following the lives of old Hollywood actresses. Her first book, “Marilyn Monroe: A Day In The Life,” is a timeline biography about Marilyn Monroe, offering a detailed account of her life from 1926 to 1962. VeVea wrote the book to mainly be used as a reference for researchers who want to know the specifics of what Monroe was doing on a specific date.
“I think a lot of people are so into old Hollywood right now, and it’s very hard to find biographies that don’t deal with rumors or solicitousness,” VeVea said. “So I wanted to contribute something to the market that was obviously based on fact.”
The book was used as a reference for the off-Broadway play “Norma Jeane at the Payne Whitney Psychiatric Clinic,” by N.G. McClernan in New York City, which VeVea acted as an advisor for.
Her second book, “Puffblicity: An Appreciation of Jayne Mansfield,” highlights Mansfield’s life in the 1950s. She is currently writing the second volume of the book which will cover the actress’ life during the 1960s.
VeVea also started the “That Touch of Vintage” Instagram page, where she shares historical photos of old Hollywood and has a reach of over 55,000 followers.
VeVea is preparing to graduate in the spring with a bachelor’s degree in history. She works as the personal assistant to best-selling author David Farland.
She is the single mother of a 4-year-old son and was 26 when she wrote her first book.
“Young people are so underrepresented in the old Hollywood community and their fandom tends to be ignored because of their age,” VeVea said.
In addition to writing her third book, she is working on a project featuring old Hollywood movies made in St. George, where a surprising number of westerns have been filmed, VeVea said.
The TMC episode featuring VeVea and “She Done Him Wrong” can be viewed online on Sunday at tmc.com.
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