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Raquel Welch

 
Quotes By: Raquel Welch
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Actor: Raquel Welch
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  • Born: Sep 05, 1940 in Chicago, Illinois
  • Occupation: Actor
  • Active: '60s-2000s
  • Major Genres: Comedy, Drama
  • Career Highlights: The Four Musketeers, Bedazzled, Fantastic Voyage
  • First Major Screen Credit: Fantastic Voyage (1966)

Biography

More a sex goddess than an actress, the statuesque Raquel Welch was one of the most popular celebrities of the 1960s and 1970s. While she appeared in dozens of films, they earned little notice, her success depending almost exclusively on her stature as a buxom pin-up. Born Raquel Tejada on September 5, 1940, in Chicago, she began taking dancing lessons as a child and by her teens was already winning beauty contests. At the age of 18, she married high school sweetheart James Welch; the couple had two children before divorcing in 1961. After working in Dallas, TX, as a waitress and model, Welch relocated to Hollywood in 1963; within three days, she had already landed a manager, Patrick Curtis, and soon they formed a promotions company, Curtwell Enterprises. After appearing in Life magazine in a revealing bikini, she began working on the ABC series Hollywood Palace, and in 1964 made her feature debut with an unbilled appearance in the Elvis Presley vehicle Roustabout.

Welch next appeared as a prostitute in 1964's A House Is Not a Home, followed by another uncredited appearance a year later in Do Not Disturb. In 1965, she scored her first lead role in the pop musical A Swingin' Summer, resulting in a contract with 20th Century Fox, which cast her in the sci-fi hit Fantastic Voyage before loaning her to the British horror studio Hammer. There she starred in a 1967 remake of One Million Years B.C.; clad in little more than strategically placed strips of fur, Welch's publicity stills appeared everywhere, and she became a major sex symbol -- still, few went to actually see the movie itself. Despite the publicity, Fox was clearly wary of her talents, and did not ask her to return to Hollywood; instead she remained in Europe, starring with Edward G. Robinson and Vittorio de Sica in 1968's The Biggest Bundle of Them All and with Monica Vitti and Claudia Cardinale in Le Fate. While in Paris, Welch and manager Curtis married, issuing a series of provocative wedding night publicity photos.

After appearing as Lust incarnate in Stanley Donen's seven-deadly-sins comedy Bedazzled, Welch finally returned to the U.S. Fox used her judiciously in pictures like the 1968 James Stewart Western Bandolero! and the Frank Sinatra mystery Lady in Cement. Following in 1969 was 100 Rifles, a controversial Western which paired Welch with Jim Brown, and a year later she earned her first real starring role in the disastrous Myra Breckenridge. Her situation was unusual; she was certainly a star and a household name, yet few people ever went to see her movies -- neither 1971's Hannie Caulder nor the following year's Fuzz did anything to alter the dilemma, and when the 1973 roller-derby melodrama Kansas City Bomber also tanked at the box office, Welch divorced Curtis and returned to Europe to appear in Bluebeard. While both 1973's The Three Musketeers and its sequel The Four Musketeers were well received, she earned little credit for their success, and when the 1976 black comedy Mother, Jugs and Speed failed, Hollywood largely washed their hands of her.

Welch instead turned to nightclubs, concert stages, and television; she also continued making films in Europe, including 1977's The Prince and the Pauper and L' Animal, co-starring Jean-Paul Belmondo. In 1980, she was tapped to star in Cannery Row, but was fired a month into production; she filed suit against MGM for damages, and was awarded 11 million dollars. Welch spent the entirety of the 1980s away from theaters, focusing primarily on television productions like 1982's The Legend of Walks Far Woman and 1987's Right to Die, in which she delivered one of her strongest performances as a woman suffering from Lou Gehrig's disease. After an absence of over a decade, in 1994 Welch returned to cinema in the comedy The Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult. Throughout the decade, she also made a number of infomercials and exercise videos, and in 1995 also starred in the short-lived nighttime soap opera CPW. In 1997, she took over for Julie Andrews in the troubled Broadway musical Victor/Victoria, which closed less than a month after Welch's debut performance. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
Wikipedia: Raquel Welch
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Raquel Welch

Welch at the premiere of Bette Midler's movie, The Rose, 1979
Born Jo Raquel Tejada
September 5, 1940 (1940-09-05) (age 69)
Chicago, Illinois,
United States
Occupation Actress
Years active 1959—present
Spouse(s) James Westley Welch
Patrick Curtis (1967–1972)
Andre Weinfeld (1980–1990)
Richard Palmer (1999–present[1])

Raquel Welch (born September 5, 1940) is an American actress.

Contents

Early life

Welch was born Jo Raquel Tejada in Chicago, Illinois, the oldest of three children and the daughter of Josephine Sarah (née Hall) and Armando Carlos Tejada Urquizo.[2] Her father, an aeronautical engineer, emigrated from La Paz, Bolivia; her mother was American, the daughter of architect Emery Stanford Hall (1869-1939) and wife Clara Louise Adams.[3]

Career

In 1959, Welch played the title role in the famous Ramona Pageant, a yearly outdoor play at Hemet, California, which is based on the novel Ramona by Helen Hunt Jackson and Bob Biloe.

She became a weather forecaster at KFMB, a local San Diego television station. Because of her heavy schedule, she decided to leave college. Her marriage broke up and she moved with her two children, Damon and Latanne, to Dallas, Texas, where she modeled for Neiman Marcus and worked as a cocktail hostess, intending to move on to New York City from there.

Instead, Welch moved back to California and found a place in Los Angeles and started making the rounds of the movie studios. She was cast in bit parts in two films and in the television shows Bewitched, McHale's Navy, and The Virginian, as well as on the weekly variety series The Hollywood Palace as a billboard girl and presenter of acts.

Welch's first featured role came in the beach film A Swingin' Summer, which led to a contract with 20th Century Fox. She was subsequently cast in a leading role in the sci-fi hit Fantastic Voyage (1966), which made her a star. She was the last star created under the studio system[citation needed].

On loan out to Hammer Studios in Britain, Welch starred in the remake of One Million Years B.C. striking an iconic pose in a prehistoric animal-skin bikini. After her appearance as lust incarnate in the hit Bedazzled, she returned to the U.S. and appeared in the Western film Bandolero!, with James Stewart and Dean Martin, which was followed by the private-eye drama Lady in Cement with Frank Sinatra.

Welch's most controversial role by far came in the notorious Myra Breckinridge with Mae West. She took the part as the film's transsexual heroine in an attempt to be taken seriously as an actress, but the movie turned out to be a dismal failure.

Welch became one of the leading sex symbols of the 1960s and 1970s. Her most memorable publicity still for One Million Years B.C. became a bestselling poster. Playboy called her the "Most Desired Woman" of the 1970s.

In 1970, Welch teamed up with Tom Jones and producer/choreographer David Winters of Winters-Rosen Productions[4] for the TV special "Raquel!", considered by some viewers to be a classic pairing together of 1970s pop-culture icons in their prime. The multi million-dollar TV song-and-dance extravaganza was filmed around the world, from Paris to Mexico. The show featured lavish production numbers of classic songs from the era, extravagant costumes, and notable guest performances, including John Wayne and Bob Hope in the Wild West.

Welch at the 39th Emmy Awards - Governor's Ball - Sept. 1987

The actress was due to star in an 1982 adaptation of John Steinbeck's Cannery Row, but was fired by the producers a few days into production (allegedly, she was taking too long to get ready each day). She was replaced with Debra Winger. Welch successfully sued, collecting a $15 million dollar settlement [5]

In addition to her break out special, Raquel!, her television appearances include the TV movies The Legend of Walks Far Woman and Right to Die in which she turned in a stirring performance as a woman stricken with Lou Gehrig's disease, and in the PBS series American Family, about a Mexican American family in East Los Angeles. She has appeared in the night-time soap opera Central Park West and made infomercials and exercise videos.

In 1987, she flirted with a pop singing career, releasing the dance single "This Girl's Back In Town." She has performed in a one-woman nightclub musical act in Las Vegas and has starred on Broadway in Woman of the Year, receiving praise for following Lauren Bacall in the title role, and in Victor/Victoria, having less success following Julie Andrews and Liza Minnelli in the title roles.

In a 1997 episode of the comedy series Seinfeld entitled The Summer of George, Welch played a highly temperamental version of herself, assaulting series characters Kramer and Elaine, the former because he fired her from an acting job and the latter because Welch mistakenly thought that Elaine was mocking her.

She also appeared as a guest on the popular American TV series Sabrina the Teenage Witch, as Sabrina's flamboyant Aunt Vesta.

She appeared in Welcome to the Captain, which premiered on CBS television on February 4, 2008.

Beauty and business career

The Raquel Welch Total Beauty and Fitness Program was published in 1984. The book, written by Welch herself with photographs by André Weinfeld, includes a Hatha Yoga fitness program, her views on healthy living/nutrition, as well as beauty and personal style. As a businesswoman, Welch has had success with her signature line of wigs. She also began a jewelry and skincare line although neither of those ventures compared to the success of her wig collection, the Raquel Welch Signature Wig Collection from HAIRuWEAR.

In January 2007, Welch was revealed as the newest face of MAC Cosmetics Beauty Icon series. Her line features several limited edition makeup shades in glossy black and tiger print packaging.[6]

Personal life

Welch has been married to

  • James Welch (1959–1964), publicist and agent; divorced
  • Patrick Curtis (1967–1972), director and producer; divorced
  • Andre Weinfeld (1980–1990); divorced
  • Richard Palmer (1999), from whom she is currently (2009) separated.[7]

Welch is the mother of actress Tahnee Welch (born Latanne Rene Welch, December 26, 1961). Tahnee followed her mother's December 1979 example and appeared on the cover of Playboy in the November 1995 issue.[8]

Welch is a fan of the British football club Chelsea FC, or was "in the seventies."[9]

Achievements and awards

In 1974, Welch won a Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture Actress in a Musical or Comedy for The Three Musketeers. She was also nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance in the TV drama Right to Die (1987).

Filmography

Television work

References

  1. ^ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-191525/Raquel-Welch-marriage-split.html
  2. ^ Raquel Welch Biography (1940-). Film Reference.com.
  3. ^ Sandra Márquez "Becoming Raquel" Hispanic Online, April 2003
  4. ^ Brown, Les (1971) [1971]. "Raquel!". Television: The Business Behind the Box. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. pp. 187,188. ISBN 9780156884402. 
  5. ^ http://www.lesleyannjones.com, article on Raquel Welch
  6. ^ Pittilla, Mary Jane (2007-02-02). "Raquel Welch becomes MAC beauty icon". http://www.moodiereport.com/document.php?c_id=33&doc_id=13184. Retrieved 2008-03-19. 
  7. ^ Andrews, Emily (2008-02-15). "Stunning at 67: Sixties sex siren Raquel Welch returns to TV". Daily Mail. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/showbiz/showbiznews.html?in_article_id=514411&in_page_id=1773. Retrieved 2008-03-19. 
  8. ^ D'Orazio, Sante (November 1995), Playboy (U.S.) 42 (11): 74–81 
  9. ^ Celebrity Fans Chelsea Football Club Official Site

External links

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Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy

Rosalind Russell (1961) · Rosalind Russell (1962) · Shirley MacLaine (1963) · Julie Andrews (1964) · Julie Andrews (1965) · Lynn Redgrave (1966) · Anne Bancroft (1967) · Barbra Streisand (1968) · Patty Duke (1969) · Carrie Snodgress (1970) · Twiggy (1971) · Liza Minnelli (1972) · Glenda Jackson (1973) · Raquel Welch (1974) · Ann-Margret (1975) · Barbra Streisand (1976) · Diane Keaton/Marsha Mason (1977) · Ellen Burstyn/Maggie Smith (1978) · Bette Midler (1979) · Sissy Spacek (1980)

Complete List · (1950–1960) · (1961–1980) · (1981–2000) · (2001–present)

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