RAQUEL WELCH IS READY FOR HER CLOSEUP

No primping or preening required, Miss Welch!

Nobody can fill a bikini like Raquel Welch. Born on September 5, 1940, Jo Raquel Tejada was -- and still is -- one of the world's most recognized sex symbols. Her smokin' good looks are a result of  a mixture of English and Latin blood, as well as a generous dash of God's Gift to Men.

Raquel Welch (she kept the name of her first husband) has the great distinction of being my first serious adolescent crush on a movie actress. I think I bought her famous fur bikini poster before seeing ONE MILLION YEARS B.C., but, after watching the Bolivian Bombshell prancing around in the thing as Loana the Cave Girl, I was hopelessly hooked along with a million or so other guys! Later that same year (1966) saw the release of FANTASTIC VOYAGE, and, besides a role in 1972's BLUEBEARD with Richard Burton, that about covers her work in anything that could be called sci-fi/fantasy/thriller films. That didn't keep this 12-year old Monster Kid with plastering up anything I could find that had Raquel's face (and other obvious attributes) on it alongside my Dracula and King Kong posters. 

The one-and-only famous poster of Raquel in her fur bikini.

Cal Beck thought along similar lines when it came to beautiful women, and ran a short feature on ONE MILLION YEARS B.C. in CASTLE OF FRANKENSTEIN #13 (Spring 1969). The article included a shot of Raquel in s white swimsuit while filming the movie FATHOM that became another famous pin-up poster. Somehow, I managed to find room for it on my wall!

Another well-known shot, this one from SAGA magazine.

A frequently used publicity shot from the 1960s.

No comment needed here.

As close as we'll get to a nude shot of Raquel.

A woman who looks good at any age.

Django, eat your shorts!