Not having been on social media lately, I just learned that Raquel Welch passed away at the age of eighty-two. Talk about an icon. Raquel was a renowned Hollywood sex symbol for two decades; a name to conjure with. A look at her career demonstrates that she played more roles that fit within the DMR wheelhouse than most bombshells of her stature.

Born Jo Raquel Tejada in 1939, she spent a decade studying ballet, but was then informed that a girl with her figure had no future in classical ballet. She retained a cat-like grace for the rest of her life. Raquel had an aeronautical engineer for a father and an architect for a maternal grandfather. Unsurprisingly, she graduated with honors from La Jolla High School in 1958.

Raquel married her high school sweetheart, James Welch, in 1959. They divorced in 1963, at which point she began pursuing a film career in earnest. Her breakout role as ‘Cora’ came in the sci-fi thriller, Fantastic Voyage (1966). Immediately afterward, she burst upon the screen as ‘Loana’ in One Million Years B.C. Clad only in her iconic doe-skin bikini and her smoldering sexuality, Raquel became an instant pin-up queen for the ages.

Several gritty Western films followed, with Bandolero and Hannie Caulder being the best of the bunch. Hannie Caulder almost has a Red Sonja feel to it. In addition, the film features Raquel rising out of a washtub in leather pants. Good stuff, even today.

Welch had a certain presence about her that was unlike anything seen in Hollywood up to that point. Undeniably American, she had the cheekbones of a queen and the smoldering sensuousness of a femme fatale, all in one buxom, leggy package. There was also a steely intellect behind those dark eyes. Unfortunately, her sex appeal was so incandescent that it basically excluded her from many roles.

The last movies Raquel made which could be considered within the ‘exotic adventure’ category would be The Three Musketeers and The Four Musketeers. In both, she played Constance Bonacieux. The role let her display both her comedic chops as well as her formidable physical assets.

Raquel continued appearing in various roles up until 1982. The production company behind Cannery Row attempted to throw her under the bus to obfuscate their own role in the film's budget problems and delays. Welch took them to court and won, but she was effectively blackballed after that. Ain’t Hollywood grand?

Raise a glass in memory of Raquel, sword-brothers. Besides being a world-class beauty, she was a woman of class who made movies worth watching.