It would have been news when Raquel Welch came to Portland to do anything, but when the Hollywood star landed in the Rose City to make the 1972 movie, “Kansas City Bomber,” it was the talk of the town. Welch, who died Wednesday at the age of 82, ultimately enjoyed a long career, in which she displayed her talent for comedy and drama.
But when she made “Kansas City Bomber,” the film was a major shift from the sex symbol image that had made Welch famous. After admirers had adorned their walls with posters of Welch looking curvy in a prehistoric bikini in the fantasy, “One Million Years B.C.,” Welch had become known for having pinup looks and big-screen glamor.
(You can rent or buy “Kansas City Bomber” on Amazon Prime Video)
So it was a change of pace when, for “Kansas City Bomber,” Welch took on the role of K.C. Carr, a single mother who leaves her roller derby team in Kansas City, Missouri, to join an outfit called the Portland Loggers, located in — you guessed it — Portland, Oregon.
As an article about the film on the Turner Classic Movies website says, “Kansas City Bomber” was both an attempt “to cash in on the then-popular roller derby craze,” and a personal project for Welch, who was one of the producers.
“Welch even performed her own skating and selected stunts,” according to the TCM piece. “Working with professional skater Paul Rupert, Raquel practiced five hours a day for three months, learning how to maneuver the banked oval tracks and how to take falls. Despite all of this, she broke her wrist in a fall during one scene, halting production for six weeks.”
“Kansas City Bomber,” which filmed in such locations as what was officially known as the Multnomah County Exposition Center, also featured a young Jodie Foster in one of her early roles.
As the TCM article says, while some critics praised Welch’s performance, “‘Kansas City Bomber’ didn’t lead to better dramatic roles for Ms. Welch. Instead, she went in a different direction, displaying a rarely seen knack for self-satire (in 1973′s ‘The Last of Sheila,’ playing a Hollywood sex symbol) and comedy (Richard Lester’s version of ‘The Three Musketeers’ (1973) and its 1974 sequel.”
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— Kristi Turnquist
503-221-8227; kturnquist@oregonian.com; @Kristiturnquist
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