Raquel Welch suggested Mae West was actually a man! Also a columnist noted the 'noticeable switch' in appearance

Mae West 

A video has emerged in which the recently deceased beauty Raquel Welch claimed that Mae West was a character being played by a man.

It wasn't a new idea. A Hollywood column from more than a decade back suggested the same thing.

Welch's suspicions were revealed after the two were "up close and personal" during the filming of "Myra Breckinridge."

"The two goddesses spent a lot of time in each other's company on the set of the 1970 film - and Welch admits she started to think there was something more than a little odd about her co-star," explained a Huffington Post report.

The report noted Welch explained at the time, "When I went over to say hello to her (one day) I said, 'Hi, it's Raquel, remember?' She sort of extended her hand to me and I went to kiss the ring and one false fingernail painted silver fell to the floor. I looked at the hand and I thought, 'Oh, I'm getting a vibe.' I really think she's a man!"

Her assessment was that West actually "resembled a dock worker in drag."

Raquel Welch in 1966 

Welch also recalled one time when Mae West "confiscated" a dress she planned to wear in a film scene, because she "does not want you to wear that dress."

The 2012 claim was in Hollywoodnews.com.

"Over the years there have been many rumors about Mae West, but the most bizarre rumor has to be that SHE…was really a HE!" the report explained back then. "Years ago, I read an article about the 'real' Mae, who was indeed a woman. It stated that she died in the early-1950’s, yet reports popped up that her brother had died instead. Then, HE took over the whole Mae West persona."

That report cited a "a noticeable switch in Mae’s appearance. Personally, I never found her feminine, but as the story goes, this brother who became his famous sister in order to carry on the legacy had some manly features that couldn’t be disguised, like an Adam’s apple and much larger hands."

The column cited a source at "Find-a-death," which said, "the real Mae West died somewhere around 1950, give or take a couple years, and rather than let the show stop, it was announced that not Mae, but her brother, died. Of course, the brother then became Mae West and carried on until November 1980."

https://www.wnd.com/2023/02/report-raquel-welch-suggested-mae-west-played-man/