Eliot Stein Interviews Madeleine Brown
©Eliot Stein
Madeleine Brown was the secret mistress of President Lyndon Baines
Johnson (1964-1968)--something that did not receive press coverage
in those days. She was privy to his most private thoughts on everything
from the Vietnam War to civil rights. She has some incredible
revelations.
ELIOT: I'm sure this shocks many people. We expect it from the
Kennedys, but LBJ seemed so cold, so non-emotional. How long was
this going on?
MADELEINE: From the fall of 1948 through the fall of 1969. They were
wonderful years. I met him at a party at a hotel. I was an
advertising executive. Lyndon was a Congressman running for the
Senate. He stole the election. He won. Dead people voted, etc.
Three weeks later he invited me to another party in Austin.
He put a key in the palm of my hand and told me to go to his
suite. He was married at the time to LadyBird and had
children. He was 41.
ELIOT: What made you follow this through?
MADELEINE: He had such strong charisma, it was something I couldn't
say no to. He was very attractive as I was to him. The passion
escalated between us and kept growing. I would fly to Austin
on a regular basis to meet him at the hotel.
ELIOT: Did this continue when he became Vice-President under JFK?
MADELEINE: Yes. We would still meet in Texas. It continued until
a year after he was President. The visits were very frequent throughout
the relationship.
ELIOT: Ladybird must have suspected something. Did she ever
say anything?
MADELEINE: I had a son, Stephen, by LBJ. Which he wouldn't
acknowledge
publicly. However, he took care of me and my son financially
covering all of our needs. It was done through a lawyer.
Stephen filed a lawsuit after he died trying to get part
of his inheritance. The only thing Ladybird ever said was
"Lyndon loved women. He like one the best."
ELIOT: What happened with the lawsuit?
MADELEINE: My son died of cancer before the suit could come to trial.
It was sensational here in Texas although it didn't go national.
ELIOT: What did he tell you about Vietnam?
MADELEINE: He took a lot of bad advice. It destroyed him politically.
It grieved him. He was sorry it was going on. He told me that
Stephen would never go to Vietnam.
ELIOT: What did LBJ tell you about the Kennedy Assassination?
MADELEINE: LBJ hated John Kennedy with a passion. LBJ was resentful
that
he was older and more experienced than John Kennedy.
The oil people in Texas lost control in Washington and closed-room
politics selected John Kennedy over LBJ as the presidential candidate
in 1960. Big money exchanged hands over that election.
The oil people did not like that Kennedy got in.
©Eliot Stein
Madeleine Brown was the secret mistress of President Lyndon Baines
Johnson (1964-1968)--something that did not receive press coverage
in those days. She was privy to his most private thoughts on everything
from the Vietnam War to civil rights. She has some incredible
revelations.
ELIOT: I'm sure this shocks many people. We expect it from the
Kennedys, but LBJ seemed so cold, so non-emotional. How long was
this going on?
MADELEINE: From the fall of 1948 through the fall of 1969. They were
wonderful years. I met him at a party at a hotel. I was an
advertising executive. Lyndon was a Congressman running for the
Senate. He stole the election. He won. Dead people voted, etc.
Three weeks later he invited me to another party in Austin.
He put a key in the palm of my hand and told me to go to his
suite. He was married at the time to LadyBird and had
children. He was 41.
ELIOT: What made you follow this through?
MADELEINE: He had such strong charisma, it was something I couldn't
say no to. He was very attractive as I was to him. The passion
escalated between us and kept growing. I would fly to Austin
on a regular basis to meet him at the hotel.
ELIOT: Did this continue when he became Vice-President under JFK?
MADELEINE: Yes. We would still meet in Texas. It continued until
a year after he was President. The visits were very frequent throughout
the relationship.
ELIOT: Ladybird must have suspected something. Did she ever
say anything?
MADELEINE: I had a son, Stephen, by LBJ. Which he wouldn't
acknowledge
publicly. However, he took care of me and my son financially
covering all of our needs. It was done through a lawyer.
Stephen filed a lawsuit after he died trying to get part
of his inheritance. The only thing Ladybird ever said was
"Lyndon loved women. He like one the best."
ELIOT: What happened with the lawsuit?
MADELEINE: My son died of cancer before the suit could come to trial.
It was sensational here in Texas although it didn't go national.
ELIOT: What did he tell you about Vietnam?
MADELEINE: He took a lot of bad advice. It destroyed him politically.
It grieved him. He was sorry it was going on. He told me that
Stephen would never go to Vietnam.
ELIOT: What did LBJ tell you about the Kennedy Assassination?
MADELEINE: LBJ hated John Kennedy with a passion. LBJ was resentful
that
he was older and more experienced than John Kennedy.
The oil people in Texas lost control in Washington and closed-room
politics selected John Kennedy over LBJ as the presidential candidate
in 1960. Big money exchanged hands over that election.
The oil people did not like that Kennedy got in.
