EXCLUSIVE: Ringo Starr Reveals Why He Regretted Appearing in Forgotten Raunchy Movie With One of the World's Most Famous Big-Screen Sirens — Who He Ended up Fancying
Ringo Starr has admitted he fancied his co-star, but later regretted the racy movie.
Nov. 12 2025, Published 6:44 p.m. ET
Ringo Starr has opened up about his regret over starring in a raunchy movie with movie icon Mae West, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The former Beatles drummer, 85, starred in a flop film titled Sextette in 1978 as he was battling to resurrect his failed acting career.
Taking the Role to Meet the Legend
Ringo Starr admitted he regretted starring in the 1978 film 'Sextette' with Mae West.
It was filled with camp sexual innuendos and saw fading silver screen icon West, then in her 80s, play a wife trying to consummate her marriage at a hotel with a toyboy played by James Bond star Timothy Dalton.
But the pair keep getting interrupted by West's character's string of ex-husbands – one of whom was played by Starr.
He said he took the role at the time as he couldn't land an acting job after turning down "small parts" he had been offered in Hollywood.
Starr said about his disastrous time on the set of Sextette: "I only agreed to the thing in Sextette because I thought it would be interesting not just to meet Mae West, but to work with her.
"I can't claim it as a career highlight, but I can say Mae West was not a disappointment.
"I thought it would be fantastic to play with Mae, just to see what the legend was really like.
"But on the very first day of shooting, I got uptight. I felt completely left out of things."
Starr Found Mae West 'Bloody Attractive'
Starr said he joined the project because he wanted to meet Mae West.
Starr added in a new chat included in a new biography on his life and career titled Ringo: A Fab Life, by author Tom Doyle, he ended up fancying West.
He said: "By the end of the second day, I would have stayed on as long as she wanted me." She's old enough to be my grandmother, so it's sort of embarrassing to say, but she's bloody attractive." And Mae's no Greta Garbo. Mae doesn't want to be left alone!"
Sextette was a romp in which West played a sexed-up version of herself called Marlo Manners, a six times-married movie star.
It featured gags including her wandering a men's locker room asking if they were trying to put her chest to shame by showing off their pecs.
Starr played her fourth ex-husband in the movie – flamboyant European film director Laslo Karolny.
The Role and Budget Disaster
Mae West played a movie star trying to consummate her marriage in 'Sextette'.
He is seen in the movie barreling into one scene wearing a grey beret and brown jodhpurs while brandishing a riding crop.
Before he exits, he turns to Dalton's character and says: "D'you know, when your wife was my wife, your wife was some wife.'I only hope my wife is your wife like your wife was my wife.' Y'know what I mean?"
Tony Curtis played another of West's exes – 'Sexy' Alexei Andreyev Karansky.
Despite its stellar cast, the film bombed, grossing only around over $50,000 against a budget estimated to have been up to $8million.Two years after it was shot, West tripped and fell at home when getting out of bed, and was diagnosed in hospital as having suffered a stroke.
She died three months later on 22 November 1980 aged 87.
Dalton on Working with the Star
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Timothy Dalton remembered Mae as 'wonderful but vain' when reflecting on the film.
Timothy Dalton, later cast as James Bond for two 007 films, said about the flick: "It's more of a museum piece. (Mae) was wonderful. I mean, she was very old. She was vain enough to lie about her age. She said she was 84.
"They knew she was eighty-seven and people that really knew said she was 91."
