#myra breckinridge

[ornithorynquerouge]

Raquel Welch rides on a rocket in 'Myra Breckinridge', an American comedy film based on Gore Vidal's novel and directed by Michael Sarne, in 1970

[emeraldexplorer2]

Raquel Welch in Myra Breckinridge (1970)

[numnum-num]

Gore Vidal (1925 - 2012)

[depoteka]

raquel welch in myra breckinridge (1970)

[vintage-tigre]

Raquel Welch, 1970 - photographed by Terry O'Neill in 4th of July costume to promote the release of Myra Breckinridge

[pygartheangel]

[federer7]

Raquel Welch on the set of "Myra Breckinridge" (American comedy film, Michael Sarne, 1970) , 1969

Photo: Terry O'Neill

[bitter69uk]

“Welch was a strong, powerful personality, who didn’t simper or blush but looked permanently amused, as if she could eat any of her admirers for breakfast … But like so many performers stuck with the “sex symbol” job description, Welch had a gift for comedy which was sometimes indulged and sometimes not … Her celebrity in the 1970s was colossal and it’s a pity that no filmmaker could quite bring out of her that combination of drollery and brassy physical strength that could well have produced a tremendous comedy. But she was an icon: a sexy warrior who was more than a match for human or dinosaur.” 

/ From Peter Bradshaw’s obituary for Raquel Welch in The Guardian / 

Farewell to a true glamazon! Considering she was 82, isn’t it weird how unexpected the death of Raquel Welch (née Jo Raquel Tejada, 5 September 1940 - 15 February 2023) feels? Off the top of my head, I admire her deadpan comedic performances in the James Bond spoof Fathom (1967), the adaptation of Gore Vidal’s Myra Breckenridge (1970) - sure, it’s messy and problematic but you can’t fault Welch’s gutsy commitment as the titular character - and The Three Musketeers (1973) and its sequel The Four Musketeers (1974). (I really need to re-visit The Last of Sheila and Kansas City Bomber (both 1972)). I watched her wild song-and-dance TV special From Raquel with Love (1980) recently on YouTube – a mind-boggling camp spectacle. I also love how later in life Welch reinvented herself as the proprietress of her own high-end wig line! (Bradshaw’s reference to “dinosaur” above of course means Welch’s breakout role as a sexy cave girl in One Million Years BC! (1966)!).

[65eatonplace]

Raquel Welch, 1960s 1970s sex symbol has passed away at age 82

Image from the personal archive of https://www.instagram.com/simplysharontate/

[ornithorynquerouge]

Raquel Welch on a table in her knickers in 'Myra Breckinridge', a 1970 American comedy film based on Gore Vidal's novel and directed by Michael Sarne

[fitsofgloom]

"Who is Myra Breckinridge? What is she? Myra Breckinridge is a dish, and don't you ever forget it, you motherf***ers, as the children say nowadays."

[blackros78]

Raquel Welch and Farrah Fawcett in "Myra Breckinridge", 1970

[loveboatinsanity]

[depoteka]

raquel welch in myra breckinridge (1970)

[vintage-tigre]

Raquel Welch, 1970 - photographed by Terry O'Neill in 4th of July costume to promote the release of Myra Breckinridge

[pygartheangel]