It's a Bikini World

Arguably the most famous sex symbol of the 1960's and 1970's, Miss Raquel Welch (September 5, 1940) managed to become a pop culture icon and bona fide superstar, despite a string of mostly mediocre (if highly ballyhooed) films. She got her start appearing in bit parts, both on television (Bewitched) and films (1964's Roundabout, with Elvis). A featured role in the beach party B flick, A Swingin' Summer (1965), revealed both a knockout, bikini-clad figure and a nice sense of comic timing, and 20th Century Fox soon came calling. Quickly cast in the well-received sci-fi fantasy, Fantastic Voyage (1966), Raquel became an immediate sensation. A loan-out to the Hammer Studios for a remake of One Million Years B.C. (1966) turned Raquel Welch into a legend.



The iconic image of Raquel in a fur bikini launched a million teenaged boys' fantasies -- the straight ones wanted to bed her, and the homo ones wanted to be her. Indeed, an important part of Raquel's screen persona was her outrageously camp sense of humor and flamboyant style. Never one to play the victimized sex kitten, Raquel was clearly in control and aware of the game, which is why she never appeared to be in the clutches of exploitation, even if most of her films were mere exercises in titillation. Her intense physical allure and charisma also guaranteed that even her most trivial films remained watchable; here at Stirred, Straight Up with a Twist, we're rather partial to her role as a go-go dancer on the run from a deranged stalker in Flare-Up (1970). Of course, Raquel reached the pinnacle of camp when she agreed to star, with Mae West (!), in Fox's lavish adaptation of Gore Vidal's Myra Breckenridge (1970).



Vidal's novel was probably unfilmable, and the finished product certainly gave credence to that theory; as the male-to-female transsexual title character, Raquel certainly gave 100% to her role, but the film was a convoluted mess which appalled mainstream America with its sex change theme, scenes of male anal rape (courtesy of La Welch and a strap-on dildo), and odd inserts of classic B&W film clips from the Fox vaults. (That paragon of virtue, Loretta Young, sued when she found out that one of her clips was included in what she deemed a "pornographic" venture.) A cult classic today, the film stands up as a fascinating document of the schism between the crumbling Hollywood studio system and the counterculture; as well as a pretty fabulous fashion show of over-the-top Theodora Van Runkle costumes. Remarkably, Raquel emerged from the controvery relatively unscathed.



The 1970's were a productive time for Raquel; besides camp classics like Kansas City Bomber (1972), her infamous roller derby flick, Raquel also shone in The Three Musketeers (1973), finally winning critical plaudits for her sharp wit and comic ability -- and earning a Golden Globe in the process. A good vocalist, Raquel also developed a successful nightclub act during this time, and followed Lauren Bacall into the Broadway production of Woman of the Year in 1979. She had also, unfortunately, earned a not-undeserved reputation as a temperamental diva on-set, and, in 1982, she was unceremoniously dumped from Cannery Row and replaced with Debra Winger; the producers claimed that Welch was taking too long to get ready each morning. Welch successfully sued, and won a large settlement, but her film career was effectively ended by the event.


RAQUEL WELCH'S CAMPY 12" DANCE SINGLE, THIS GIRL'S BACK IN TOWN (1987)

Undaunted, Raquel kept busy with a series of acclaimed television movies, and even found time to record her first single, a Paul Jabara-penned piece of fluff called "This Girl's Back in Town" (1987). Not surprisingly, from the writer of Donna Summer and Barbra Streisand's "No More Tears (Enough is Enough)," The Weather Girls' "It's Raining Men" and Diana Ross' "Work That Body," the song is a campy, dance-driven bon-bon. Unfortunately, it had little currency anywhere but the gay dance clubs, and didn't do much for Raquel's career.


RAQUEL WELCH TODAY

In recent years, Raquel has continued to be a presence on television, giving guest star turns on Seinfeld and Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, as well as funny apperances on talk shows. Raquel also had a cameo in Legally Blonde (2001), and seems, at this stage, comfortable spoofing both her sex symbol image, and her temperamental reputation. She also remains, unquestionably, a bombshell of magnificent proportions. Happy Birthday, Raquel Welch!