Raquel Welch

 by Bruce Shawkey

One of my heart throbs growing up was Raquel Welch. She starred in many movies, but my favorite was Fantastic Voyage, about a submarine crew which is shrunk to microscopic size and venture into the body of an injured scientist to repair damage to his brain.

In one scene, Welch is attacked by antibodies while in her diving suit as she attempts to destroy the brain tumor with a laser gun. Her team members attempt to scrape those antibodies off her suit and I remember thinking 'I wish I could volunteer for that job.'

Jo Raquel Welch (née Tejada; September 5, 1940 – February 15, 2023) was an American actress. Welch first gained attention for her role in Fantastic Voyage (1966), after which she signed a long-term contract with 20th Century Fox. They lent her contract to the British studio Hammer Film Productions, for whom she made One Million Years B.C. (1966). Although Welch had only three lines of dialogue in the film, images of her in the doe-skin bikini became bestselling posters that turned her into an international sex symbol. She later starred in Bedazzled (1967), Bandolero! (1968), 100 Rifles (1969), Myra Breckinridge (1970), Hannie Caulder (1971), Kansas City Bomber (1972), The Last of Sheila (1973), The Three Musketeers (1973), The Wild Party (1975), and Mother, Jugs & Speed (1976). She also made several television variety specials.

She died February 15, 2023, at age 83.

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