Mae West: Gored by Vidal

MAE WEST was the central concern when Time Out New York interviewed her 1970 co-star Raquel Welch recently.
• • Melissa Anderson writes: When Myra Breckinridge, Michael Sarne’s X-rated adaptation of Gore Vidal’s novel was released in 1970, it was greeted with unanimous raspberries: One critic called it “about as funny as a child molester.” Viewers can decide for themselves, but one thing is certain — — the film had a particularly inspired cast, including Mae West, Rex Reed, John Huston and, in the title role, Raquel Welch. The chatty and charming Welch, 67, spoke with TONY from her home in Los Angeles about working on one of the most notorious films of the last 40 years.
• • TONY: What was it like working with Mae West?
• • Raquel: I found her surreal. Here was this star from the ’30s who had this unbelievably different way of doing things. Now she’s doing this movie in 1969—1970, and she’s never made a color movie before in her life.
• • I wouldn’t want to undertake that at 77. I thought, She’s got a lot of chutzpah and she’s completely bonkers. Mae was one of those people I always felt had a distinctly masculine vibration about her.
• • I have often ventured the opinion that she was a man in drag. [Laughs]
• • Source: Time Out New York
• • Author: Melissa Anderson
• • Issue 649: March 6-12, 2008
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • Michael Childers • • 1969 • •
NYC
Mae West.