Actress turned director-producer Victoria Raquel Racimo, known for appearing in John Frankenheimer’s cult horror film Prophecy and for a six episode arc in the soap opera Falcon crest, passed away on November 29th in Williamsburg, Virginia. Born December 26, 1943, Racimo was trained as a classical pianist at Juilliard and later studied at Columbia University. Her acting career began in the 1960s and continued through the 90s with some credits including Cannon, Mannix, Mod Squad, Kung Fu, Hawaii Five-0, Lou Grant, Doogie Howser, M.D., and Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. She was 69 at the time of her passing.
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On the big screen, Racimo appeared in The Magic Garden of Stanley Sweetheart with Don Johnson, The Day of the Dolphin opposite George C. Scott, Mountain Men with Charleston Heston, and the Jim Varney starring comedy Ernest Goes to Camp. She would go on to begin writing, directing, and producing, combining that with her love for horses to create the documentary One Day, the story of “Kentucky’s Our Mims Retirement Haven,” a home for racehorses that have retired from the sport.
“As actresses get older, there are fewer roles for women and the work didn’t come as often,” Racimo said in an interview with Equine Info Exchange back in 2015. “However, it was acting which led me to what I really wanted to do which was to write and direct and put projects together…While I was finishing up acting in the movie Ernest Goes to Camp, I got involved with the folks in Nashville who produced the Ernest films. They had a deal with Disney and I then became involved developing projects with them. After a few years working with them, I left and went out on my own. I came across several stories which I thought were valuable artistically and felt had merit and something to say.”
She continued, “For $100, I optioned my first project! It was a story about a group of developmentally disabled people. It was a great feel good story. I had my first pitch meeting and three weeks later, NBC bought it! Right then, the bug of producing bit me! I decided that writing, directing and producing are what I wanted to do. Acting moved to the back burner for me. This is where I wanted to be.”
Our deepest sympathies go out to her family, friends, and loved ones, following her passing.
(H/T Deadline)
(Cover Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
