The ladies depicted above were both gals who made a name for themselves through the display of their remarkable physiques, yet proved in time that they were far, far more than that after one scratched the surface. We recently suffered the loss of both Stella Stevens and Raquel Welch. Not only were these ladies beloved stars of the 1960s, '70s and beyond, but they were key components of films from my childhood which, for better or worse, helped form the person I am and became indelible parts of my psyche. A cursory glance at this site would reflect how important
The Poseidon Adventure (1972) is to me and there was no greater influence on my childhood than
The Three Musketeers (1973) and its sequel
The Four Musketeers. Some of you may not have dug that far back, but did you know that the
third post here (out of the 924 which make up this site) was devoted to my obsession with
Musketeers? The
twelfth post of mine described the impact of
Poseidon and how I came to use that moniker online. There have been individual tributes to both
Stella and
Raquel here, but their recent passings demand that I mention one more time how much their iconic roles meant to me.
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As the gentle, yet hopelessly clumsy, Constance de Bonacieux, Welch continued the trend of utilizing what nature gave her. Yet she infused the part with a relatable amiability and reality amid all the farce. And for her trouble she was granted a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Comedy. It was really the only notable acting award she ever received, though she proved time and again after that that she possessed true performing ability.
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As the hard-as-nails ex-prostitute Linda Rogo, Stella was a brash, foul-mouthed, bossy virago. Yet, unlike the one-dimensional bitch in the book (which Irwin Allen forbid her to read), she infused the role with a degree of pluckiness and caring for her husband along with a general willingness to support the other survivors (so long as they weren't overweight!) Stevens (who won a Golden Globe as Best Newcomer in 1960) was never given her due as an actress when it came to bestowers of awards. But she was a busy working actress, a fan favorite and even did some directing.
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Constance was willing to go to the mat in order to do what was right. Raquel's tussle with Faye Dunaway in Musketeers gave me a lifelong affection for catfights, which reached their zenith on Dynasty.
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| Linda
was more prone to bellyaching, though she could prove resourceful such
as when she helped the Reverend kick his way out of a tunnel and when
she shared her makeshift rescue strap with Mr. Martin as water began to overtake
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When Welch joined the cast of The Three Musketeers, she was rounding out a stellar ensemble of skilled performers who vividly and memorably brought the famous novel to life on screen.
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When Stevens joined the cast of The Poseidon Adventure, she was nestled among multiple Oscar-winning performers and craftsmen who unforgettably brought the popular novel to life on screen.
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Constance (although in this rendition already married to an elderly spouse!) was devoted to the dashing D'Artagnan (Michael York) who came to her (and the Queen's) aid.
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Though not above the occasional screaming match, Linda dearly loved her police detective husband Mike (Ernest Borgnine.)
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Constance faced serious peril when enemies of D'Artagnan and the Queen kidnapped her and when the vengeful Milady de Winter (Dunaway) wanted to do away with her.
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Linda faced significant peril when the ocean liner she was on capsized and she had to try to claw her way out of it from the bottom top up.
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We hoped against hope that Constance would survive.
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Likewise, we clenched our teeth in fear that something might prevent Linda from escaping. We ought to have read the books first...!
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They tried their best to make it.
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And we were rooting them on.
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But art, and life, had other plans.
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This is the way Raquel Welch looked when I first laid eyes on her in 1973 as a wide-eyed 6 year-old moviegoer. I later saw other countless examples of her work, but she will always be Constance in my mind and heart. Miss Welch passed away on February 15th, 2023 at age 82 following a brief, undisclosed illness.
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My first exposure to Stella Stevens came during the initial television broadcast of The Poseidon Adventure in October of 1974 when I was 7. (The event earned a rating of 39, which was massive.) I later saw her in countless other projects, but she will always be Linda in my mind and heart. Miss Stevens passed away on February 17th, 2023 at age 84 from complications of Alzheimer's disease.
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Undeniably beauties both, but so much more... We announce a Disastrous Demise and bid a Fond Farewell to these lifelong favorites.
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Poseidon,
ReplyDeleteAmazing that we've lost Gina Lollobrigida, Raquel Welch, & Stella Stevens just since the new year...
Beautiful tribute to two undisputed ultra-vixens.
ReplyDeleteA very lovely tribute to two lovely ladies.
ReplyDeleteSo sad to lose both of these lovely ladies, and thanks for this tribute!
ReplyDeleteOne of the things I most loved about Raquel was that she seemed to enjoy making fun of her "sex symbol" status, such as this moment where she presented the 1970 Oscar for Best Visual Effects, and throws that "Seriously?" expression into the scripted (and obvious) gag:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ky0VQxNr2go
And one of my favorite things she did in this vein was this "beauty tips" musical number on LAUGH-IN with Ruth Buzzi's Gladys Ormphby:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iuN-rSI0MQ
Thanks for all you do, Poseidon! Love to all and be safe and well, everyone!
I'm surprised how sad these made me.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the post!
A lovely tribute to two very beloved ladies who each left quite a legacy behind.
ReplyDeleteAs I said before Raquel's passing hit me harder than Stella's because of the suddenness of the event as opposed to Stella's years long decline but both tore at me in a visceral way. Both were such vivid presences onscreen and tied to my youth, it was a gut punch to see them leave us. Raquel especially was infused with that elusive thing called star quality which she worked assiduously to highlight. Her ambition often to the detriment to her personal reputation garnering the dreaded "difficult" label. But I have to wonder just how difficult she could have been and sustained a 60 year career as an important name?
While it's a bit shocking that Raquel never managed more than a Golden Globe win it's downright appalling that Stella during her prime years received bupkis from any award body. She was usually excellent, often the best thing in her films yet somehow was ignored. I guess the writing was on the wall when her fantastic work in "The Ballad of Cable Hogue" elicited nothing, in my opinion that's where she should have made a steady progress picking up every one of the year's awards on her way to the podium to collect the Oscar. Maybe it was thought that her moment had passed and she had to settle for the best of whatever came along, though her ill-considered decision to turn down the role of Hot Lips when M*A*S*H went to series was unfortunate. That's not a knock on Loretta Swit who more than made the role her own but I can see Stella being memorable in the part as well.
They will both be missed.
This was very sweet and thoughtfully written. I have never seen Raquel better than in the Musketeer movies, she is so funny and endearing that I remember being really upset when she is dispatched. Same with Stella. I have gotten a lot more respect for her reading various obits. I saw her in such trash that I confused the roles with the Actress. She is so good as Linda, you wonder how much more she could have done if she hadn't been, by her own account, so typecast. it still happens, I was reading an interview with Blake Lively, who was great as a drug addict skank in "The Town" she said she got great reviews and was only offered hookers after that.
ReplyDeleteI hope you don't mind if I skyjack the comments section for a minute...TCM had Skyjacked" on and thank goodness it had a mention I could look up from 2010. The lipstick thing was so WEIRD, I thought there was going to be a bomb in the lipstick tube the way the camera kept focusing on it, and then the pipe smoking in the cockpit, crazy.
Let me end by saying I love this tribute to these fun and fine actresses and thanks for the archives, very useful for when I get a bee in my bonnet.
I've been a little under-the-weather this past week and had missed hearing of Stella Stevens' passing. Sad. Her role as Linda Rogo was iconic but my first exposure to her was as Sister George in Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows.
ReplyDeleteWhat a cool woman Stella was. Meeting her was one of the high points of my celebrity autograph phase. She and Borgnine were at the same convention and kept shouting their Poseidon names at one another across the room. I complemented her on her great commentary she did on one of the special edition dvds of TPA, where she mentions hating the fact that she had to wear a bra under her "husband's" dress shirt, despite clearly stating she didn't have one on. She also mentioned working with her hair dresser herself to design her hair so that it would fall apart in the underwater swimming sequence; both an attention to detail I was impressed by. She was so intelligent and quick when I met her, so tragic that Alzheimer's took her. One of the great miracles of film is the immortality of it, captured on celluloid forever young and beautiful. In a way we never really know these people but we can visit them anytime we want to, no matter how much time passes.
ReplyDeleteRick, the hits have been coming... and then add in the younger people like Lance Kerwin and Adam Rich. Sometimes I'm not sure what I'm going to see when I wake up!
ReplyDeletebitter69uk, thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed this.
Forever1267, thanks. It was a pretty personal sort of tribute, but I had covered them before with more photos and info from their careers.
hsc, I recently caught RW at the 1967 Oscars when her fame was just about to explode and she was so breathtaking. Her co-presenter Dean Jones said, "I'll open the envelope and you read the name, my eyes will be busy!" LOL Thank you!
A, it was making me pretty sad as I was putting it together, too! Thanks.
joel65913, I have to say I didn't expect to hear that Raquel had passed away either. People just seem to live longer these days in general and any time I saw her she seemed so well (though some recent, unflattering, photos did come out after her death.) I was watching some recent "In Memorium" tributes and SAG used RW from "The Three Musketeers" while Stella's was a clip from "The Nutty Professor" and she did look glorious in it. BAFTA had a photo, not a clip, a photo of RW and no mention of Stella whatsoever after 50 years on screen... I dunno...
Gingerguy, I watched "Skyjacked" again myself not two weeks ago! Sometimes I just NEED to revisit these movies. I considered doing another, more in-depth post about it, but didn't. I think I covered most of the bases 13 years ago. Ha ha! Thank you!
Scooter, these things can slip by because most contemporary news outlets don't really give a hoot! :-(
Ptolemy1, so AWESOME that you met Stella (and Ernie, who I adored, too!) And, yes, her work will truly live forever. "Poseidon" fans will see to that. Most of us are crazy. LOL Thanks for sharing your experiences and memories about her.