Was arrested along with the cast of "Sex" (1926) when the theater was raided after complaints from religious groups and was sentenced to 10 days for "corrupting the morals of youth." West was incarcerated on Roosevelt Island and served for eight days with two days off for good behavior.
Rewrote her own dialogue
Spotted Cary Grant at Paramount and told one director "if he can talk, I'll take him!" to be her male lead in "She Done Him Wrong" (1933)
Wrote 7 out of her 13 films
Has a building named after her after "She Done Him Wrong" (1933) which ended up saving Paramount from bankruptcy
"She Done Him Wrong" (1933) saved Paramount from bankruptcy, the studio naming a building on its lot after her.
Wrote, produced, and directed her first starring role on Broadway with 1926's "Sex" as well as "The Drag" which dealt with homosexuality among many others.
Bought the Ravenswood apartment building when management barred one of her boyfriends, the African American boxer William "Gorilla" Jones, and lifted the ban herself
Insisted that Paramount hire Duke Ellington and his orchestra for "Belle of the Nineties" (1934)
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