Editing Mae West (section)

===Later years===
West's likeness was used on the [[List of images on the cover of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band|front cover]] of [[the Beatles]]' 1967 album ''[[Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band]]''. When approached for permission, West initially declined, reportedly asking, "What would I be doing in a Lonely Hearts Club?" She changed her mind after receiving a letter from the band expressing admiration for her work.<ref>{{cite book |last=Martin |first=George |title=Summer of Love: The Making of Sgt. Pepper |publisher=MacMillan |year=1995 |page=139}}</ref>

After a 27-year absence from motion pictures, West returned to the screen as Leticia Van Allen in ''[[Myra Breckinridge (film)|Myra Breckinridge]]'' (1970), based on the novel by [[Gore Vidal]]. The film starred [[Raquel Welch]], [[Rex Reed]], [[Farrah Fawcett]], and [[Tom Selleck]], but was hampered by production difficulties and poor critical reception.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Hoberman|first1=J.|first2=Rosenbaum|last2=Jonathan|title=Midnight Movies|publisher=Da Capo Press|year=1991|page=268|isbn=978-0-306-80433-5}}</ref> Though West received top billing, her role was reduced during editing. In 1971, she was voted "Woman of the Century" by students at [[University of California, Los Angeles]] (UCLA) for her legacy as an outspoken figure on issues of sexuality and censorship.{{sfn|Hamilton|1997|p=263}}

[[File:Mae West 14 Allan Warren.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=Mae West seated in her Los Angeles apartment, 1973|West in her Los Angeles apartment, 1973; photo by Allan Warren]]

In 1975, West released the books ''Sex, Health, and ESP'' and ''Pleasure Man'', the latter based on her 1928 stage play.{{sfn|Louvish|2006|p=463}} Her 1959 autobiography, ''Goodness Had Nothing to Do With It'', was also updated and reissued during this period.{{sfn|Leider|2000|p=401}} She managed her own stage acts and invested in real estate, including property in [[Van Nuys]], Los Angeles.

She appeared on the CBS television special ''Back Lot U.S.A.'' in 1976, where she was interviewed by [[Dick Cavett]] and performed "Frankie and Johnny" and "After You've Gone".{{sfn|Yeatts|2000|p=74}}{{self-published inline|date=February 2020}}

That year, she began production on her final film, ''[[Sextette]]'' (1978), based on a script she had written in 1959.{{sfn|Watts|2003|p=309}} Frequent revisions and production delays led to a decision to feed her lines via a speaker concealed in her wig due to her deteriorating eyesight.{{sfn|Watts|2003|p=310}} Despite these challenges, director [[Ken Hughes]] later described her as committed to completing the film. ''Sextette'' was not a commercial success. Its cast included [[George Raft]], [[Tony Curtis]], [[Timothy Dalton]], [[Walter Pidgeon]], [[Ringo Starr]], [[Alice Cooper]], [[Dom DeLuise]], and [[Rona Barrett]], along with several of West's former Las Vegas performers, such as [[Reg Lewis (bodybuilder)|Reg Lewis]]. The film reunited her with costume designer [[Edith Head]], who had worked on ''She Done Him Wrong'' in 1933.{{sfn|Kashner|MacNair|2003|p=336}}

West was awarded a star on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]] at 1560 Vine Street for her work in film and was later inducted into the [[American Theater Hall of Fame]] for her contributions to stage performance.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theaterhalloffame.org/members.html#VW|title=Theater Hall of Fame &#124; Preserve the Past • Honor the Present • Encourage the Future|website=theaterhalloffame.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.onthisveryspot.com/find/spot.php?spot_web_name=The_Gershwin_Theatre|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140320224158/http://www.onthisveryspot.com/find/spot.php?spot_web_name=The_Gershwin_Theatre|url-status=usurped|archive-date=March 20, 2014|title=The Gershwin Theatre – On This Very Spot|access-date=March 20, 2014}}</ref>