How ‘Supermensch’ Shep Gordon Conspired to Extend Raquel Welch’s Career With a Bit of Side Boob
Shirley Halperin Executive Editor, Music Shep Gordon, the longtime manager of Alice Cooper, also known affectionately as “Supermensch” (the title of a 2013 documentary about him), appeared at the Pollstar Live! conference in Los Angeles Tuesday and shared a revealing story about his former client Raquel Welch. The actress, who died last week at the age of 82, was actually quite prudish, Gordon explained, but “her appeal was sex.” The two worked together for five years straddling the end of the 1970s and beginning of the ’80s, a time when Welch’s career had reached a crossroads. The solution seemed to be a Las Vegas show, which Ann-Margret had executed successfully, drawing an audience of wives with husbands in tow. Similarly, what man wouldn’t want to see a scantily clad Welch in the flesh? The formula worked, but after a three-year residency at Caesars Palace, Welch’s contract was close to expiring and Gordon had to step in.