RIP: Raquel Welch

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Raquel Welch, the model, actress, singer, business woman and international sex symbol died today after a brief illness.  Ms. Welch was 82.

Raquel Welch’s birth name was Jo Raquel Tejada.  A year after she graduated high school Jo Raquel married her high school sweetheart, James Welch. Mrs. Welch attended San Diego State College on a theater arts scholarship.  She began getting roles in local plays.  Then Raquel Welch got a job presenting weather at a local San Diego television station. Due to work and family obligations she dropped out of college.  Ms. Welch had two children with James Welch before they separated.  She would keep his name throughout her career.

In 1964, Raquel Welch began acting in film and television. She would work in both throughout her career.  Her role in One Million Years B.C. (1966) and the publicity photo of her in a fur bikini launched her to international stardom.  Raquel Welch became THE sex symbol of a generation (or three).  She posed for Playboy in 1979, but refused a total nude photo spread. (She also never appeared nude in any of her films.)

Ms. Welch appeared on Broadway in Woman of the Year (1981) and in Victor/Victoria (1997).  She had a one woman musical show in Las Vegas for several years.  In 1984, Raquel Welch released The Raquel Welch Total Beauty and Fitness Program as a book and video.  Later she would develop a wig, skincare and jewelry line of products.

Some of the television shows featuring Raquel Welch include: The Virginian; McHale’s Navy; Bewitched; Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In; Mork & Mindy; The Legend of Walks Far Woman; Evening Shade; Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman; Seinfeld; Spin City and CSI: Miami.

Some of the movies featuring Raquel Welch include: A House Is Not a Home; Fantastic Voyage; One Million Years B.C.; Fathom; Bedazzled; Bandolero; Lady in Cement; 100 Rifles; Myra Breckinridge; Hannie Caulder; 100 Rifles; Fuzz; Kansas City Bomber; The Three Musketeers; The Four Musketeers; Mother, Jugs & Speed; Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult and Legally Blonde.

Few people make an impact like that of Raquel Welch.  She was without a doubt the sex symbol of the 1960s, 70s and beyond.  It’s impressive that she acted on television, feature films, Broadway. and had her own Vegas nightclub act.  Then she branched out into skincare products.  Whew!

My favorite Raquel Welch film is 100 Rifles.  She more than held her own with Burt Reynold and Jim Brown!

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Raquel Welch’s family, friends and fans.