'One Million Years BC' Actress Raquel Welch Dies at 82

FILE PHOTO: Actress Raquel Welch arrives for the 9th season finale of 'American Idol' in Los Angeles May 26, 2010. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Actress Raquel Welch arrives for the 9th season finale of 'American Idol' in Los Angeles May 26, 2010. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni/File Photo
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'One Million Years BC' Actress Raquel Welch Dies at 82

FILE PHOTO: Actress Raquel Welch arrives for the 9th season finale of 'American Idol' in Los Angeles May 26, 2010. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Actress Raquel Welch arrives for the 9th season finale of 'American Idol' in Los Angeles May 26, 2010. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni/File Photo

Raquel Welch, the US actress who became an international sex symbol after appearing in a deerskin bikini in "One Million Years BC," died Wednesday, her manager said. She was 82.

Welch "passed away peacefully" after "a brief illness," her manager said in an emailed statement to AFP, without providing further details.

The Golden Globe winner starred in more than 30 films -- including "Fantastic Voyage" and "The Three Musketeers" -- as well as some 50 television series in a career spanning five decades.

But she would be forever associated with "One Million Years BC." The fantasy movie's poster of Welch's bikini-clad cavewoman became part of cinema history.

In her 2010 autobiography "Beyond the Cleavage," Welch admitted she had struggled to avoid being typecast, writing that her acting career became "eclipsed by this bigger-than-life sex symbol."

But in a rare 2018 interview, Welch said she was at peace with being forever associated with her prehistoric bombshell heroine.

"I'm often asked if I get sick of talking about that bikini but the truth is, I don't," she told The Sunday Post.

"It was a major event in my life so why not talk about it?"

Welch, born Jo Raquel Tejada in 1940, grew up in California, and won several beauty titles in her teens.

She launched her acting career with a string of walk-on parts in minor films, including the 1964 musical feature "Roustabout" starring Elvis Presley.

Her break came when she was picked by the 20th Century Fox studio to star in the 1966 science fiction film "Fantastic Voyage".

Her leading role in "One Million Years BC" came later that same year, cementing her global sex symbol status, despite the film itself receiving mediocre reviews.

She went on to star in Hollywood's first interracial sex scene with Jim Brown in "100 Rifles," and as a transgender heroine in the explicit "Myra Breckinridge" (1970).

Welch won the Golden Globe for best actress in a comedy or musical for "The Three Musketeers" (1973), in which she plays the queen's dressmaker.

While filming "Cannery Row" in 1982, Welch was fired for insisting on doing her hair and make-up at home. She sued MGM studios for breach of contract, ultimately winning a $15 million settlement.

- 'Glamorous beyond belief' -
A lover of yoga, Welch later launched herself into the business of wellbeing, publishing her "Total Beauty and Fitness" program in 1984.

Having long hidden her Latino origins, she took on Hispanic roles in the "American Family" series on PBS in 2002 and "Tortilla Soup" in 2001.

She also appeared opposite Reese Witherspoon in hit 2001 romantic comedy "Legally Blonde."

"So sad to hear about Raquel Welch's passing. I loved working with her on 'Legally Blonde,'" tweeted Witherspoon on Wednesday.

"She was elegant, professional and glamorous beyond belief. Simply stunning.

"May all her angels carry her home. Sending love to her family and her many fans."

In later years, Welch continued to act in occasional films, such as 2017's ensemble comedy "How to be a Latin Lover" with Rob Lowe and Salma Hayek.

She also developed her own line of wigs, hair pieces and hair extensions.

Welch married four times. She divorced her fourth husband Richard Palmer -- who was 14 years her junior -- in 2008.

Welch is survived by her son Damon Welch and her daughter Tahnee Welch.



Reel Tensions: Trump Film Trade War Looms over Cannes

President Donald Trump has added a trade war to the cinema industry's list of concerns. Jim WATSON / AFP
President Donald Trump has added a trade war to the cinema industry's list of concerns. Jim WATSON / AFP
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Reel Tensions: Trump Film Trade War Looms over Cannes

President Donald Trump has added a trade war to the cinema industry's list of concerns. Jim WATSON / AFP
President Donald Trump has added a trade war to the cinema industry's list of concerns. Jim WATSON / AFP

Donald Trump's threat of tariffs on foreign-made films risks stoking tensions between the European and American film industries and dominating conversations at the Cannes film festival this week.

The US president has added a trade war to the sector's list of concerns that already included competition from streaming platforms.

The already tricky commercial outlook for big-screen owners and film producers darkened considerably last Sunday when Trump said he wanted 100-percent tariffs on movies "produced in foreign lands", AFP said.

Even if most observers think the proposal is unworkable, it risks destabilizing an industry that is highly globalized and depends on open trade.

"It'll be one of the big issues in Cannes," said Eric Marti from US-based media measurement agency Comscore.

He said statements from another American leader -- the co-CEO of Netflix, Ted Sarandos -- had also focused minds.

Sarandos said recently that cinema-going was "an outmoded idea for most people", pointing to the fact that audience numbers worldwide have not rebounded since the Covid pandemic.

The festival in Cannes from Tuesday will see directors, actors and distributors try to make sense of Trump's intentions and those of his Hollywood advisors, actors Jon Voight, Mel Gibson and Sylvester Stallone.

"We're a bit perplexed," Marti told AFP. "We don't know how it's going to work in practice."

- Extortion? -

Trump's tariff salvo is part of a picture of growing tension between Europe and the US over the film and TV industries since the former reality TV star returned to the White House in January.

As part of his ultra-nationalist "Make America Great Again" agenda, Trump's Republican administration also has EU regulations that protect and promote European cinema in its crosshairs.

The regulations take many forms but typically include measures such as taxing cinema tickets to fund independent filmmakers, quotas for European or non-English-language productions, or forcing major studios to fund domestic productions.

In France, American streaming platforms Netflix, Amazon and Disney have to invest in French-language films or series in order to operate in the country.

In a February 21 memo, Trump took aim at what he called "overseas extortion", with a particular mention of laws that "require American streaming services to fund local productions".

American film industry groups such as the Motion Picture Association and the Directors Guild of America (DGA) have also lobbied the Trump administration to protest against European regulations.

A group of leading French film figures, including "Emilia Perez" director and Cannes winner Jacques Audiard, fired back with an open letter to the DGA last month.

"At a time when the gap between the United States and the rest of the world is widening, we believe it is more important than ever for European and American filmmakers to remain united," they wrote.

French Culture Minister Rachida Dati vowed last week to defend French films "whatever the cost", noting that "on the other side of the Atlantic, powerful players in this industry are hostile to the French cultural exception".

Critics

Cannes has always championed independent arthouse films but it also reserves part of its program to Hollywood blockbusters made by major American studios to attract audiences.

This year will see Tom Cruise return for the world premiere of the latest and last instalment of his "Mission: Impossible" series, three years after he lit up the Riviera while promoting "Top Gun: Maverick".

While he can be expected to steer clear of politics and controversy, there will be plenty of Trump critics in attendance.

"Taxi Driver" star Robert De Niro, who is set to receive an honorary Palme d'Or, is one of the most outspoken, often struggling to find words harsh enough to condemn Trump.

Fellow New Yorker Spike Lee, who will present his film "Highest 2 Lowest" with Denzel Washington, raged against him in Cannes on 2018 after Trump refused to denounce violent far-right protests in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Trump's lawyers called the film "garbage" and "pure malicious defamation" when it came out on the eve of last November's presidential election.

Strong is set to return to Cannes this year as a jury member.