Siren Raquel Welch, of ‘Fantastic Voyage’ fame, dead at 82
Raquel Welch died Wednesday at the age of 82.
TMZ reports, according to family, the actress, who rose to fame as a sex symbol of the 1960s, died after a brief illness.
Welch was married four times throughout her life — James Welch (‘59-’64), Patrick Curtis (‘67-’72), Andre Weinfeld (‘80-’90) and Richard Palmer (‘99-’04) — with 2 children, Tahnee and Damon Welch.
Her resume includes sci-fi themed “Fantastic Voyage,” “Bedazzled” and “Hannie Caulder.” She also appeared on “The Cher Show” in 1975 and performed “I’m a Woman” with Cher.
Welch is a two-time Golden Globe nominee, winning the musical/comedy motion picture award in 1975 for her performance in “The Three Musketeers,” which starred Faye Dunaway and Charlton Heston.
“My first day on set, Faye Dunaway comes over to me all dolled up, and she was so cute. She said, ‘Darling, I just want you to know, I’m a big fan of yours. But don’t you know, they’re all just waiting for us to tear each other’s eyes out. So let’s have fun with them,’” Welch told The Post in 2012.
“Everyone on set was going, ‘Uh-oh, here they come,’ standing there watching. And Faye gets out her fan and starts fanning herself, saying, ‘Darling, I adore your work.’ And I say, ‘Everything you do is genius!’ Everyone was so disappointed.”
She was also named one of the “100 Sexiest Stars in Film History” in a 1995 issue of Empire magazine and was also ranked No. 3 in Playboy’s “100 Sexiest Stars of the 20th Century.”
Mark Heim is a reporter for The Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Mark_Heim.