“Forgotten Hollywood”- Bold and Beautiful…
Manny P. here…
“`For many baby-boomers, Raquel Welch was a cultural icon. She was more than an actress, she remains a part of our memories that included Laugh-In, Woodstock, The Graduate and Andy Warhol. And Welch redefined the traditional image of the Hollywood sex symbol with her portrayals of strong women in dozens of movies in the 1960s and 1970s.
“`Born Jo Raquel Tejada in Chicago, her family moved to California and she studied ballet before entering a series of beauty contests. Welch briefly earned a living as a model and cocktail waitress before applying for film roles and breaking into the movie business with cameo parts, including in Elvis Presley’s Roustabout.
“`Welch burst onto the scene after appearing in Fantastic Voyage and One Million Years B. C. Still photos and posters of her clad in a deer-skinned bikini made her a best-selling pinup and a global icon of beauty. Other movies include Bedazzled, Bandalero!, The Magic Christian, Kansas City Bomber, Mother Juggs and Speed, Legally Blonde and The Last of Sheila.
“`She was not above taking chances by accepting roles turned down by other actresses. In Myra Breckinridge, she portrayed a trans-woman. And she displayed delightful villainy in the Musketeers series of movies. Critics applauded her range and she took home a Golden Globe for The Three Musketeers.
“`On television, Welch guest-starred in Bewitched, The Virginian, Saturday Night Live, McHale’s Navy, Mork and Mindy, The Muppet Show and Seinfeld. In 1994, she earned her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
“`She became an entrepreneur was involved in a successful line of wigs HairUWear, as well as a collection of jewelry and skin-care products. Playboy ranked her #3 in its 100 Sexiest Stars of the 20th Century. Though she posed for the magazine in 1979, she never did a nude photo shoot. She wanted to be remembered for her body of work and not just her… body!
“`Raquel Welch was eighty-two… I officially feel old.
Until next time> “never forget”
This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 15th, 2023 at 5:33 pm and is filed under Blog by Manny Pacheco. You can follow any comments to this post through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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