Rest in peace Raquel Welch (dance number w/Jimmy Stewart on Dean Martin Show '68)

Film actress and beauty icon of the 1960s and 1970s, Raquel Welch, died yesterday, February 15th after a brief illness; she was 82.

Ms. Welch had a long and successful career in both film and television spanning over fifty years, beginning with a series of films in the mid 1960s, including Fantastic Voyage and One Million Years BC in 1966, and Fathom and Bedazzled in 1967. These four films brought her stardom and she became a house-hold name.

Born in Chicago on September 5, 1940, Jo Raquel Tejada attended San Diego State on a theater arts scholarship and got started in 'the business' as a local television weathercaster. Ms. Welch then began her career on television, making guest appearances (small roles) on The Virginian (1964), McHale's Navy (1964) and Bewitched (1964). She also was one of many young actresses who audition for the role of Mary Ann on the television series Gilligan's Island.

As she gained experience and notoriety and box-office success, she began making films with Hollywood icons. She worked with Hollywood stars and legends Jimmy Stewart and Dean Martin in Bandolero! in 1968 and Lady in Cement that same year with Hollywood legend Frank Sinatra. Around this same time, she appeared on The Dean Martin Variety Show, which this video clip is sourced.

In the 1970s, she starred in a variety of films, some more successful than others, including Myra Breckinridge (a perhaps too much before its time box office failure), Hannie Caulder, Fuzz (w/Burt Reynolds), Kansas City Bomber, The Last of Sheila (a terrific who-done-it film with a wonderful cast), The Three Musketeers (in which she received a Golden Globe Award) and Mother, Jugs and Speed.

By the 1980s, she began to segue onto television, with many made for television movies: The Legend of Walks Far Woman, This Girl's Back in Town, Right to Die (she received a Golden Globe nomination) and Scandal in a Small Town. She also made guest appearances on many television series including Mork & Mindy, Evening Shade, Lois & Clark, Spin City and Seinfeld.

Throughout the years she appeared on various Academy Award and Tony Award shows, as well as talk shows including The Late Show with David Letterman, The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, The Dick Cavett Show, Mike Douglas Show and Merv Griffin Show. She also guested on Bob Hope NBC television specials over the years, including trips to Vietnam with the Hope team, and starred in her own television specials.

She appeared in the PBS television series American Family in 2002 with Edward Olmos, Sonia Braga and Esai Morales. The series ran for two seasons.

She also appeared on Broadway; first filling in for Lauren Bacall in Woman of the Year in 1981, and then Victor/Victoria in 1997, replacing Julie Andrews.

A remarkable career, spanning the decades of film, television and the theater.. and becoming an American icon and sex symbol along the way.

Raquel Welch is survived by her son, Damon Welch, and daughter and actress Tahnee Welch.

Rest in peace Ms. Welch.

This video clip is presented here on YouTube for the entertainment and informational value of the viewer, and no copyright infringement is intended.

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