Harvey Brownstone Interviews Mae West’s Personal Assistant, Tim Malachosky

Harvey Brownstone conducts an in-depth interview Mae West’s Personal Assistant, Tim Malachosky
About Harvey's guest:
Today’s guest has the distinction of having been the personal assistant for one of the greatest legendary stage and screen goddesses of all time: Mae West, for the last decade of her life. Although she died in 1980 at the age of 87 after a career that spanned 7 decades, Mae West is still one of the most innovative and controversial entertainers in the history of show business, because she was always way ahead of her time. She wrote and starred in her own plays, including the 1926 Broadway show “Sex”, that landed her in jail on charges of corrupting the morals of young people. In blockbuster movies such as “She Done Him Wrong”, “Klondike Annie”, and “My Little Chickadee”, she was known for her breezy sexual independence, and her lighthearted naughty double entendres. She was an industry powerhouse, and the second highest-paid actor in Hollywood back in the 1930s. She was also an early supporter of the feminist movement and the gay rights movement. As Mae West famously said, “When I’m good, I’m very good; but when I’m bad, I’m better.” And no one KNEW her better, than our guest, Tim Malachosky.
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#TimMalachosky #MaeWest #harveybrownstoneinterviews

[@kennykool100]

Tim seems like such a sweet, genuine, giving, man. So many in his position would have found ways to exploit, Mae. They were lucky to have each other!

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

So true. Thanks for watching

[@carolestapleton4063]

Congratulations Tim! You did a great job. You painted a beautiful picture of Mae West and the lovely lady she was.

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

I hope Tim sees your lovely comment. Thanks so much for watching

[@briannorber978]

Harvey Brownstone does it again! He brings up things that only someone who took their responsibility as an interviewer VERY seriously would know through exhaustive research and passion about his work, his subject and his responsibility. Because I was such a huge Fan of Miss West’s as a kid there were wonderful moments in here to watch because Harvey and Tim treat her with such respect. There is no doubt that Tim adored her and loved her. I had the pleasure of Meeting Miss West when she invited me to “come up and see her” after I was able to get a receipt for a statue I had bought of her (the same statue that Tim has in his home when he shows the dress). She was kind enough to speak to me on the phone when I would stop by the Ravenswood as a 14 year old boy. I was in Hollywood on vacation from St. Louis and had loved Mae for years. When I mentioned that I had purchased a statue of her, she got very interested. She asked if I was sure it was her, explaining that when they went for royalties on the statue, they were told it was Jayne Mansfield and didn’t pay the royalties. Mae explained that all royalties of this sort went to charity and was upset that those charities were being cheated. She asked if I could go back to where I purchased it and get a receipt stating that it was indeed Mae West. She thought her lawyers might be able to use that to right the wrong that was being done to charity. I did get the receipt and Mae was so kind and appreciative and asked if I could come up and see her so that she could thank me in person. I of course said YES and asked if my Mother and Brother could come with me. She of course said yes. We spent two hours with her and her entrance was legendary in a beige peignoir set. We stayed for two hours and she was so funny and so relaxed. She made us feel so at home. She played cuts from her newest album for me. She even sent a copy of the album WAY OUT WEST to my hotel room the next day because I had mentioned that it was the only album of hers I couldn’t find. It came with her personal Christmas card. She told many stories of her life and of making Myra Breckinridge and of her interest and belief in the occult and esp and how they had helped her in her life. She spoke of her belief in healthy living and health foods etc. she gave me several beautiful signed photos but sadly only one made it through the years due to my family moving while I was away. She also gave me many xeroxed sheets of reviews and articles on her. They sadly did not make it past the move either but we did get photos of us in the apt. When I asked her if I could get a photo with her she said “Oh, I’m sorry, I can’t do that. You see my face is my fortune and if a bad photo got out there, I couldn’t have that. I still have the photos of us in her apt and I cherish them. She was still Mae West, but she was so relaxed and not “on”. She was just being so kind to a young man who loved her. I don’t know a lot of Stars of her stature that would be so kind. She has a reputation of being isolated but she was not at all that way to us. She was present and engaged and engaging and funny and warm and so very kind. I will never forget her generosity to me with her time. She signed her autobiography to my brother and I before we left. Thank you Harvey and Tim for treating her memory and her legacy with such respect. As always Harvey, you bring it!!!

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

Brian I so enjoyed reading your wonderful comments not only about the interview, but about your amazing meeting with the fabulous Mae West. Thank you so much for sharing!!!❤️

[@JohnBartiromo]

Incredible story and experience! You had the ideal meeting of your star. Nowadays especially, but today's stars are no where near Mae, Debbie, Joan or Lucy, and a meet and greet is hardly what a fan hopess the experience will be. You got the perfect experience = she was a true class act. I'm jealous, but love that it happened for you. Thanks for sharing some of that here.

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

@JohnBartiromo I don’t think our guests actually read the comments posted on our KZbin channel. But I certainly do. I’m delighted that you enjoyed this interview. Thank you so much for watching our show 🙏❤️

[@frankmarter6845]

I knew Mae West for her last 15 years. She was more than an individual. She was an institution that didn’t have an age or limitations that ordinary people encounter in old age. She was the same all of her life. She however had a very easy personality that allowed her to relate to others on a normal level that was very enjoyable. She was a wonderful friend to both to me and my mother. Paul was a loyal companion to her for 25 years. He cared for her and kept her image intact. Tim acquired most of her wardrobe and costumes after her passing. I get the impression he thinks he owns her memory. No one owns Mae West. She belongs to the world. Mae never said uncomplimentory comments about gay people. She defended them and embraced their culture. She was not the least bit discriminatory toward any group of people. The only surviving member of her family is her nephew John who is her brothers son. She had a sister Beverly who passed about a year after she did. John died in 1964. I knew Craig Eadie who eventually became Craig Russell. I spent a day with him at Disneyland. I spent that night at her home in Santa Monica. He was nice to me but he did Mae wrong by trying to steal some of her clothes for use in his drag act. He died of AIDS in 1990. Paul Novak died of cancer in 2000. I was 21 when I met her. I am now 78. She was a wonderful lady and friend.

[@eugeniasyro5774]

I am so jealous! I admired her so much!

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

That’s fascinating. Thank you so much for sharing your experience with us

[@tula1433]

Since you knew Mae you’d probably confirm she was NOT a feminist, she was an Equalist and LOVED men. I hate seeing modern media try to spin her into anything like a modern man hating feminist. Mae loved traditional masculinity in men and loved being feminine and desired by them!

[@tula1433]

Mae loved the gays, she just wanted sexual things kept private which she said. She probably saw the coming politicization and push of it all and didn’t think it was needed. I think that innate homosexuals she liked. I think she thought sexuality was best in innuendo and saved for private relationships.

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

@tula1433 yes I think so too. She was a product of her generation

[@robbybobbyoh]

Tim is a nice and loyal man who accomplishes his goals with unassuming integrity, you were so kind in embracing your guest and providing a comfortable space, Harvey.

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

Thank you so much!

[@eamestv]

I am truly a fan. Another remarkable show. Thank you, Mr. Brownstone. Ms. West was one of the funniest women in movies. Ahead of her time as far as writing her own riskque material in the 1920s and 30s. If this type of show was on prime-time TV, I would start watching TV again. As Mr. Malachosky referenced the film 'Bell of the Nineties', it was Mae West who got Duke Ellington his first Hollywood movie. The studio wanted a white orchestra to back Mae. She wanted and insisted on Duke. At that time 1934 she was the queen of Paramount and of course, Mae got Duke. They introduced the jazz standard My Old Flame. They did an album together.

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

Thank you so much for your incredibly kind support of our show. We appreciate you very much!

[@ukuleleeddie1953]

Very interesting interview! Tim Malachosky should definitely get to work on writing down everything and finding homes for all his Mea West treasures. There is great risk that much of this will be lost if he were to pass.

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

He has no plans to write another book, but his first book is really wonderful. When he passes, all of Mae West’s possessions are going to The Hollywood Museum

[@saugusguy]

This man Tim is an absolute treasure his loyalty in his devotion an the fact that he would not sell out cheap alla Christina Crawford

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

Yes, Tim is a person of great integrity. I really enjoyed interviewing him. I hope you enjoyed the interview, and that you’ll consider subscribing to our KZbin channel. 🙏❤️

[@christinehaley8097]

Christina had a very different life and personal dynamic to cope with. She struggled although many didn't like her method of coping.

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

@christinehaley8097 I agree. There is no comparison between Tim and Christina Crawford. Their situations and experiences were totally different.

[@PeachandaDuBose1]

Harvey, this is why you are the King of Interviews... When interviewing a third party about a legend, it takes a certain skill set and expertise to finesse an interview like this. Even when the answers aren't answered completely, you find a way to pull it out of them, in spite of, or simply move on. Because of this interview, I learned a great deal about this woman, and I deeply respect her journey. She and I have a great deal in common. Much respect.

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

Thank you so much Peachanda. You absolutely do have a great deal in common with Mae West. Your independent spirit and insistence on authenticity will bring you equal if not greater success. ❤️

[@emmylou-y4b]

Tim is such a lovely man; so loyal. Thank you, Harvey.

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

My pleasure! Thanks so much for watching!

[@chrisdirects]

Wonderful interview, thoroughly enjoyed it. I always love listening to Tim talk about her and their time together. I do hope someone can come forward and help you publish that book again, I know I will be one of the first people in line to buy it!

[@harveybrownstone7840]

I finally bought a copy of the book on Ebay.

[@castanedagus]

Tim is always amazing to listen to because he tells it straight as she really was and I appreciate that very much Great interview

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

Thank you so much for watching

[@jabjab4434]

I adored Mae West and all her quips. I read her autobiography and was happy to see that she was loved by her parents especially her mother and being an only child. Ironic that I read Ethel Mermans bio and she also was an only child and adored by her mother. Strong women who were loved from an early age by their mothers. Thank You Tim and as always ,Thank you Harvey.

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

I am an only child who was adored by his mother. I credit that love with the confidence and self-esteem that has sustained and mobilized me my whole life.

[@cherchezlavache5183]

Tim Malachosky is a wonderful person. I am SO glad to have found this. Thank you!

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

Thank you so much. I hope you’ll subscribe to our KZbin channel. 🙏❤️

[@richardswinbusk7787]

A delightful interview Mae West was phenomenal!

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

She sure was. Her assistant Tim is very shy and not used to being interviewed, so this interview was a challenge. I’m so grateful to you for watching and for posting a comment. Thank you so much ❤️

[@user-ru6ln9er4g]

What a fantastic interview Harvey. Tim is so very interesting, honest and down to earth. My favourite Mae West movies are, She Done Him Wrong and Goin' to Town. There's some great pre-code dialogue in the first one and even though the Hays Code was censoring movies by the time Goin' to Town was made, it's still a great comedy. I've read that her modus operandi was to give the censors something she knew they were going to reject, so then they would allow the lines she actually wanted. In the first part of She done him Wrong she says to the Gilbert Roland character "Come up again anytime" and he replies, "I shall, then I hope you will be alone", Lady Lou replies "So do I, tall dark & handsome". While this was going on her maid, Pearl, said "Your bath is ready Miss Lou" and she replied "You take it, I'm indisposed". It was later in the picture when she said to the Cary Grant character "Why don't you come up sometime and see me. I'm home every evening." It's a classic! - regards, Logan (British Columbia)

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

Thank you so much for watching our show

[@cookingartguy2170]

Recently discovered your videos Mr Brownstone and really enjoying them. This is just wonderful. I'm very touched to learn just how generous Mae West was to her fans and to those in her life. Marilyn Monroe was just the same, by many accounts. When you see people today, such as Madonna, who charges ridiculous amounts to see her mostly talentless incredibly vulgar current show, and you see clips of her exiting the Ritz or wherever, she can't even be bothered to even look at all her fans waiting outside, let alone wave to them or anything. I realize some of the public can be intrusive, but that's no excuse. She could learn a lot from the likes of Mae West, but unfortunately I think that kind of ⭐star ⭐ is no more.

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

Glad you’re enjoying our shows. Thank you for taking the time to post your thoughtful comments.

[@marycampbell7012]

I have recently discovered your interviews on You Tube. Thanks for providing such intimate and sometimes private thoughts of the family and friends of the person you are discussing. I loved the videos on Peggy Lee, Boris Karloff, Ava Gardner, Tina Sinatra, and Miss Mae West. My parents saw her on stage in Glasgow many years ago and got a great chuckle out of her act. Please keep up these good interviews coming our way. Such a treat. Could you do something on one of my favorites Gloria Graham? Perhaps Kim Novak who is still with us. PS loved the Sharon Gless video. How about Tyne Daly? Thanks again for these great videos it seems like were all sitting in on the conversations you put the folks at ease.

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

Thank you so much for your very kind feedback about our show. I am immensely grateful that you found our show. We believe we have the best celebrity interviews!! Please help spread the word about our show!

[@eugeniasyro5774]

Great interview! Mae was beautiful and sexy, talented, kind and wicked smart. No one could touch her by way of talent. She is a National Treasure! Much loved and missed.

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

Thank you so much for watching

[@TheRavenal]

Good interview, glad you were able to locate him.

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

It wasn’t easy finding him, but I have an amazing team around me! Glad you enjoyed this interview

[@rhd123]

Another great interview. I had no idea Mae was so into ESP. Fascinating the things we learn. Also to think that even in real life she WAS that character. Thanks yet again Harvey and to Tim as well for this fabulous interview. 😊

[@rhd123]

Harvey, you need a phone in podcast so we can ask you about all of your favourite actors, actresses and movies you love.

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

Great idea!!

[@rhd123]

@@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980 Have a different theme every few months. One podcast you could do film noir, then melodramas, then foreign just to name a few examples. I still am curious about what your all time favourite movie is. 🎥

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

A Star is Born starring Judy Garland

[@rhd123]

@@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980 ❤ Great choice 👌

[@MensAsses33]

Great interview

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

Thank you so very much!!

[@MissPerriwinkle]

awesome interview ! imagine bein with miss west so much....

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

Thank you so much for watching. I hope you’ll subscribe to our KZbin channel. 🙏❤️

[@linapagliari8003]

Ty Harvey this was a fantastic interview Tim was wonderful answering all ur questions rip beautiful MAE WEST❤️🇨🇦🇨🇦

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

Thank you so much for your very kind comment about this special episode of our show. I appreciate your feedback more than you can ever know 🙏❤️

[@MsBackstager]

Wow! Very enjoyable.

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

Thank you so much for your support for our show

[@tedg4171]

I definitely feel I got to know about Mae West from your questions and his answers. He is definitely a devoted assistant and glad he didn’t give into publishers greedy wishes to write a trashy book.

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

I’m so happy you enjoyed this very special episode of our show. Thanks so much for watching

[@dubbelhenke854]

As always you encourage your guests with smart and stimulating questions.

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

You are so very kind. Thank you so much!

[@carmelcream7662]

This is a lovely interview

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

Thank you so much!

[@haroldstella1398]

LEGENDARY MAE WEST ❤️❤️⭐️⭐️🙏🏼🙏🏼

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

Did you enjoy the interview?

[@onegem721]

Thank you for another excellent interview. You really have a way with your words, in the best possible manner. Learned a lot of new things about the legendary "sex bomb".

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

Thank you so much for watching, and for your beautiful comments. I put my heart and soul into every interview, and feedback like yours is what I live for!!🙏❤️

[@NickolasFigler-fi3wj]

She was great, she also sang opera 1920s style jaz ,pop music and rock and roll.

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

She sure did!

[@michaelcubria]

I don't know how I missed this interview, Harvey, but most definitely another excellent discussion about one of the original Hollywood icons. You seemed a bit surprised when Tim mentioned the rumor that Mae was a man, which unfortunately continues to circulate. Here on KZbin, you can find interviews with Raquel Welch, where she says in several interviews that Mae was a man, which was based on Raquels opinion that Mae had "man hands". Raquel has helped give life to that rumor. 😡

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

Thank you so much for watching this episode of our show. Tim was quite nervous and not used to giving interviews. It was a bit of a struggle getting him to open up. I’m glad you enjoyed it. And any suggestion that Ms West was actually a man is preposterous! For one thing, she was arrested way back in the 30s. She would have been strip searched before entering prison. Had she been a man, it most definitely would have been discovered at that time!

[@vickitaylor680]

My favorite Mae West is I’m no Angel.

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

A great movie

[@NickolasFigler-fi3wj]

She's a saint.

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

I think she liked being considered both a sinner and a saint!! But then don’t we all?

[@tula1433]

Mae West was NOT a feminist! She was an equalist! Mae LOVED men and everything that made them men! Not a feminist, especially not a modern feminist!

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

Most feminists do love men and they also want equality. Men who treat women as equal partners are considered very sexy.

[@kathrynfox2171]

Hi Harvey, thoroughly enjoyed this interview. Are you able to pass on a message to Tim Malachosky? I'm trying to get in touch with him. I'm a writer and am keen to connect with him, if I can help him. Thank you so much, Kathryn

[@MsBackstager]

Tim should start his own MW museum.

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

I told him the same thing!

[@katcoric4930]

Long live Mae West the original badass !!!

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

Yes!!!

[@pepperprovasnik]

They weren't negative comments about gays. She said she felt sexuality had no place in children's lives. She felt childhood could be negatively affected.

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

Agreed. That’s what she said. She was most definitely not homophobic.

[@pepperprovasnik]

The American film Industry 'done her wrong'!

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

Absolutely true.

[@NickolasFigler-fi3wj]

She also played three instruments well , guitar, piano and drums.

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

She also played the flute very effectively!😜

[@AChosenPearl]

@@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980😅

[@carmelcream7662]

I was aware there was an auction now I know Tim would of kept a handful of sentiments.Surely something small?

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

Yes he kept the items that meant the most to him

[@carmelcream7662]

@@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980 that is so sweet and tender.I am in Australia.

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

@carmelcream7662 Thank you so much for watching our show!

[@carmelcream7662]

What did Tim keep from the auction for sentimental reasons?

[@tula1433]

I wish he would list some stuff on eBay!

[@carmelcream7662]

​@@tula1433that would of been cool I would be happy with a hair clip

[@jenniferpetrellicarslearni2265]

Didn't care for Jayne Mansfield? Anyone who knows the history between Jane and her knows that she hated Jayne!!!! She treated Jayne horribly.

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

I didn’t know that. But I can tell you Mamie did NOT have a reputation for treating people badly in Hollywood.

[@rayllompart]

Mr. Malachosky is the nightmare guest for an interviewer: a monosyllabic person whom the host has to bombard with a thousand questions in order to keep the "ink from dropping". Mr. Brownstone is actually quite good when he presses him (if delicately) on issues that are clearly very, very sensitive to the subject---re: the will! One thing that has repeatedly been erased in many documents that speak of Ms. West's personal life is that she had two lovers that were the most important men in her life throughout. The first one was her manager, Jim Timony, who died young; the second one was Paul Novak, who is mentioned by this gentleman as Mae's "bodyguard" and was left nothing in the will, so he ended up suing the estate. That is because Mr. Novak was basically her "common-law" husband for more than thirty years, a loving, devoted man who adored Ms. West and who without him one wonders what would have become of Mae. As well, the interviewee tells us that there was no distinction between the private and public Mae West. This is false. The private Mae West was an uncommonly shy human being (uncommonly if only because of her very sexual, outgoing public image) and several books document this. In private, all those bon mots and sensuality were usually dropped. In fact, it is the reason Bette Davis confesses to Charlotte Chandler (another biographer of Ms. West, if more than slightly unprofessional in her habits of writing, but kind in her description of Mae's personality) that she was very disappointed upon meeting her. She expected the sex goddess that only reigned in Mae's movies and shows.

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

Tim was most definitely NOT a “nightmare guest”. Not even close. But thanks for watching and for your comments.

[@rayllompart]

@@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980 My apology for presuming to assume your feelings. The rest, however, is an opinion that I stand by.

[@ticket2malibu858]

I have to agree, the subject is so interesting but Tim’s answers are not. How did Tim come to own Mae’s personal belongings? Did she actually gift them to him?

[@joshdrayton1230]

There is little to no evidence that Mae West ever had any lovers. Paul Novak was certainly a devoted companion, but he was not her lover. And in interviews he himself made that clear, sometimes directly sometimes less so. As a number of reputable biographies have established, the romances in West's life were curiously illusory. West herself spoke only elliptically about men she loved and never said anything that would amount to confirming a sexual relationship. Curiously decorous for the world's most notorious sex bomb. This is what gave rise to the oft-repeated legend that Mae was born inter-sex and possibly had indeterminate genitalia (it's not at all uncommon, and in Mae's day would not have been surgically corrected). As far as I can gather there is no evidence that Mae West ever had sex with anyone, no credible claim by any man to have be her lover (as opposed to "romantically involved"), and no evidence that anyone ever actually saw West naked. West's only marriage, to fellow vaudevillian Frank Wallace (real name Szatkus), lasted only a few weeks. They never lived together or shared a bed, and West kept the marriage a secret (and likely paid Wallace to do likewise) until it was exposed decades later when she became a movie star. It's fairly certain the marriage was not consummated. There are stories about subsequent relationships, even a rumoured abortion, but the details are suspiciously murky in every case, and a convincing case can be made for them amounting to not much more than smoke and mirrors.

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

@joshdrayton1230 hmmm, interesting food for thought! Thank you so much for watching our show and for your comment!

[@user-gv6kp6pu1t]

Mae West turned 100 in 1993. She died at age 87 in 1980. She was born in 1893. She would be 131 years old now.

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

I loved her so much

[@user-gv6kp6pu1t]

@@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980 She was extraordinary. One of a kind...this is coming from someone who was born in 1981, one year after she passed away. I read all her books and biographies and watched all her movies and introduced her to my nieces and nephews who are part of Gen -Z generation. I'm a artist and I love drawing her. She was a true legend and icon...a real 🐐 goat. May the one and only Diamond lil Mae West RIP 1893-1980)📺📻📽️🎥🎙️🎬🎬🎞️👒🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️⭐⭐⭐⭐

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

@user-gv6kp6pu1t god bless you. Thanks for supporting our show.