News of the World

[DerVVulfman]

Sometimes, bad news comes in threes. This week, the news came out of Hollywood.

Raquel Welch,
Star of ‘One Million Years B.C.,’
Dies at 82

Once called "a marvelous breathing monument to womankind," she also was memorable in 'Fantastic Voyage,' 'Lady in Cement,' '100 Rifles' and 'Myra Breckinridge.'

Raquel Welch, the almond-eyed sex symbol who turned a doeskin bikini into one of the most iconic cinematic images of the 1960s, has died. She was 82.

Welch’s management company told The Hollywood Reporter that she died Wednesday morning following a brief illness. Her son, Damon Welch, confirmed that she died Wednesday at her home in Los Angeles.

Her success in Hollywood was due partly to talent, partly to perseverance, but mostly to hitting the genetic jackpot. Although she turned in several respectable performances — as a scientist’s assistant in Fantastic Voyage (© 1966), as Lilian Lust in Bedazzled (© 1967), as a transgender revolutionary in Myra Breckinridge (© 1970) — it was her strikingly photogenic features and voluptuous figure that catapulted her to international stardom.

She is survived by son Damon Welch and daughter Tahnee Welch (Cocoon ©1985).

Stella Stevens,
Starlet of the ’60s and ‘Nutty Professor’ Actress,
Dies at 84

She also sparkled in 'The Ballad of Cable Hogue,' 'Too Late Blues,' 'The Poseidon Adventure,' 'The Silencers' and 'Girls! Girls! Girls!'

Stella Stevens, the screen siren of the 1960s who brought sweet sexiness to such films as The Nutty Professor, Too Late Blues and The Ballad of Cable Hogue, has died. She was 84.

Stevens died Friday in Los Angeles, her son, actor-producer-director Andrew Stevens, told The Hollywood Reporter. “She had been in hospice for quite some time with Stage 7 Alzheimer’s,” he said.

Shining brightest in light comedies, the blond, blue-eyed actress appeared as a shy beauty contestant from Montana in Vincente Minnelli’s The Courtship of Eddie’s Father (© 1963), portrayed a headstrong nun in Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows! (© 1968) opposite Rosalind Russell and frolicked with the fun-loving Dean Martin in two films: the Matt Helm spy spoof The Silencers (© 1966) and How to Save a Marriage and Ruin Your Life (© 1968).

Stevens lived for more than a decade on a ranch in Washington state and had a romantic relationship with Bob Kulick, a guitarist and music producer who worked with Meat Loaf, Lou Reed, Motörhead, Diana Ross and Kiss, from 1983 until his death in 2020. (Kulick’s brother Bruce was in Kiss.)

Survivors also include her grandchildren, Amelia, Aubrey and Samuel.

Richard Belzer,
Extraordinarily Smart-Ass as a Comic and a TV Cop,
Dies at 78
The stand-up legend and 'Groove Tube' actor played Det. John Munch on 'Homicide: Life on the Street,' 'Law & Order: SVU' and eight other shows.

Richard Belzer, the beloved comedian who began as an edgy stand-up performer before finding further fame as the cynical but stalwart detective John Munch on Homicide: Life on the Street and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, has died. He was 78.

Belzer died early Sunday at his home in Bozouls in southwest France, writer Bill Scheft, a longtime friend of the actor, told The Hollywood Reporter. “He had lots of health issues, and his last words were, ‘Fuck you, motherfucker,'” Scheft said.

Belzer made his film debut in the hilarious The Groove Tube (© 1974), warmed up audiences in the early days of Saturday Night Live and famously was put to sleep by Hulk Hogan.

Survivors include his third wife, actress Harlee McBride (they married in 1985, and she played medical examiner Alyssa Dyer on Homicide), and stepdaughters Jessica and Bree.