Raquel Welch, ‘Fantastic Voyage’ Star, Dies at 82

One of many Nineteen Sixties signature display screen stars has died. Raquel Welch handed away on Wednesday morning. Her loss of life was confirmed by members of the family who instructed TMZ she died following a “temporary sickness.” Welch was 82 years previous.

Welch’s breakthrough as a film star got here in 1966, when she appeared within the sci-fi basic Implausible Voyage. Directed by Richard Fleischer, the movie adopted a workforce of scientists and navy officers as they shrink down and enter the physique of an injured man by way of tiny submarine so as to restore his broken mind.

That very same yr, Welch cemented her newfound movie star in One Million Years B.C., a caveman journey image. Welch spoke solely a handful of traces within the movie (she was a cavewoman, in spite of everything), however her distinctive costume — basically only a fur bikini — made her an instantaneous intercourse image of the period. The poster of Welch in her One Million Years B.C. look turned probably the most common of its time.

Welch remained busy all by means of the late Nineteen Sixties and into the Seventies. Her most notable productions embrace the unique model of Bedazzled, the western 100 Rifles, the homicide thriller The Final of Sheila, and the provocative adaptation Myra Breckinridge, primarily based on the novel by Gore Vidal. Enjoying the title function, Welch proved herself a daring danger taker, showing in a movie that tackled controversial material.

Welch stayed busy all by means of the Eighties and into the ’90s, doing an increasing number of TV work, and showing quite a few instances on Broadway. She additionally had a memorable visitor spot on Seinfeld, taking part in a fictional (and surprisingly aggressive) model of herself within the Season 8 episode “The Summer season of George.”

Welch was a Golden Globe winner for her work in 1973’s The Three Musketeers, and she or he acquired a star on the Hollywood Stroll of Fame in 1994. And people signature performances in Implausible Voyage and One Million Years B.C. — and a few of her iconic display screen photographs — can be remembered for a really very long time.