Valley of the Barbie Dolls: Even Cowgirls Get The Blues Edition

One in a series of original Barbie Doll art pieces by Los Angeles artist, Bruce Zwinge, paying tribute to Hollywood sex symbols.

Barbie as Myra Breckinridge (Raquel Welch)

To capture that particular 70s allure of Raquel Welch as Myra Breckinridge, artist Bruce Zwinge not only had to break and reassemble the limbs of the original Barbie doll (allowing for the bent knee, elbow joints, and graceful wrist and finger articulation), but seriously had to amplify the hair and bosom. Barbie's original makeup was removed chemically to recreate Welch's very 70s dark-eyed, naturalistic lips, look. The miniature star-spangled, strapless bathing suit, a structural impossibility in real-life for a woman of Welch's dimensions (her hair covers the straps in the photo below) was manufactured by Zwinge as well.

Barbie as "Myra Breckinridge" is not only a tribute to the transsexual heroine of Gore Vidal's satirical 1968 novel, but to Raquel Welch, the actress who portrayed Myra in the 1970 film. The iconic star-spangled cowgirl used as the novel's cover art, and later recreated by Welch on the movie poster, is based on a famous 60s Sunset Boulevard billboard advertising the Sahara Hotel in Las Vegas. More info on that sign available here.

A recreation of the original billboard as it appears in the 1970 film "Myra Breckinridge"

The original Sahara Hotel billboard featured the showgirl cowgirl spinning on a silver dollar.
Located on the Sunset Blvd. Photo courtesy of Classic Las Vegas History Blog

Raquel Welch as Myra Breckinridge

...Of course, "Myra Breckinridge" co-star Mae West was not about to be upstaged.

"And Now, Here's Something We Hope You Really Like!"

1981 photo of the 15-foot Rocky and Bullwinkle Statue on Sunset Blvd. in Los Angeles across the street from the Chateau Marmont Hotel.
In a traffic-stopping ceremony featuring actress Jayne Mansfield, the statue was unveiled in 1961 to promote "The Bullwinkle Show." Situated in front of what was then The Jay Ward Studios, the statue rotated on its base and was a witty take-off of the famous billboard of the rotating cowgirl advertising the Las Vegas Sahara Hotel. Located across the street from the Bullwinkle statue, the billboard and its iconic showgirl figurehead served as the cover and chief advertising image both for Gore Vidal's novel "Myra Breckinridge" and the notorious 1970 Raquel Welch film.

Image courtesy of rathausprojects.com

Although not visible in the photo posted below for "Can't Stop The Music," the Bullwinkle statue is located just a few feet beyond the billboard, not far from the Jay Ward store, "The Dudley Do-Right Emporium" which sits in the forefront of the photo. The statue still exists today, although both Jay Ward's studio and the Emporium are gone.