Farrah Fawcett Dead at 62

The actress whose image had graced the bedrooms of prepubescent- and not-so-prepubescent - guys, and one who will forever be associated with the jiggle-fest that is "Charlie's Angels" is gone. Ms. Fawcett had been suffering from cancer for quite some time.

Fawcett first came on the Hollywood scene in the 1960s, guest starring in sitcoms such as "I Dream of Jeannie"; "That Girl"; and "The Partridge Family", and "The Six Million dollar man", where she met future husband Lee Majors. She also appeared on "The Dating Game" as a contestant. Here's a clip from "The Partridge Family":

"The Partridge Family", Sony Pictures Television/ minimaciroc/YouTube

She also made commercials for Ford; and Procter & Gamble among others. Here, she and actress/director Penny Marshall ("Laverne & Shirley") talk about the joys of using P&G's Head and Shoulders shampoo:
jmm96/YouTube



But she made it big in two ways in the mid-1970s. First, there was that icon image of her in the one-piece red swimsuit, flashing her pearliest with a come hither look. and second, on September 22, 1976, on ABC, this show premiered:

"Charlie's Angels", Spelling/Goldberg Productions, Sony Pictures Television/ SigleTelefilm/YouTube

Created by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts, and executive produced by the late Aaron Spelling and Leonard Goldberg, "Charlie's Angels" featured three female former police officers who worked for Townsend Investigations. Their boss, Charlie Townsend was never seen full faced, but instead often heard on a speaker phone, and featuring the voice of actor John Forsythe (who would later be seen full bodied on another Spelling/Goldberg production, "Dynasty"). Critics called the series a "jigglefest", on the account that the actresses' figures- and definitely their cleavages- were very prominently featured (Somewhere, I think some adult film industry types sniffed in the pheromonal scents of "opportunity"...anyway...).Fawcett was on the show for only the first season as investigation Jill Munroe. Of course, thanks to the clingy swimsuit poster (however pretty stained with...ewww!...I am so not going there!). Here's a clip from her time on the show. The episode is "Angels on a String":

Spelling/Goldberg Productions/Sony Pictures Television/raquelsilva17/YouTube

At the time, she was billed as "Farrah Fawcett-Majors", because she was married to Majors at the time. Rumor had it that he wanted Farrah off the set and at home by six so she can fix his dinner. (It has since been confirmed- by Majors himself. I still find myself laughing about this revelation to this day). Fawcett and Majors were married nine years, divorcing in 1982. She would make three guest appearances, reprising her Jill character.

She was considered for the comedy "Foul Play", starring comedian Chevy Chase, before being passed over for Goldie Hawn. She did star in a comedy, "somebody Killed Her Husband", which quickly flopped. Critics said that it pretty much killed her career, but she would make a serious comeback, playing more dramatic roles, such as the 1984 NBC miniseries "The Burning Bed", in which she portrayed a domestic violence victim who later kills her husband. She was nominated for an Emmy for her role. She also played heiress of the Woolworth department store empire Barbara Hutton in "Poor Little Rich Girl" (1987). She won a Cable ACE award in 1989 for her portrayal of Life photographer Margaret Bourke-White in "Double Exposure".

In 1982, she began dating actor Ryan O'Neal, and save for a brief split up, the two have been together for 27 years, and they have a son, Redmond, 24.

In 1997, she was on CBS's "Late Night with David Letterman, supposedly to promote her pictorial in Playboy:

6006oricom/CBS/Worldwide Pants/YouTube

She did not look good in the clip, as she became a butt of jokes after that appearance.

In 2006, Fawcett was diagnosed with anal cancer, and thought she was cured of the disease four months later. However, a malignant polyp was found four months after she thought that she was initally cured. Doctors suggested that she get a colostomy, but Fawcett instead sought alternate forms of treatment, and she went to Germany for such.

In April of this year, she was rushed to hospital after reportedly being found unconscious. By which time, it had been revealed that her cancer had metastasized to her liver. her final TV appearance was last month in the reality special "Farrah's Story", on NBC. The special drew in 9 million viewers on May 15. In the documentary, Farrah is seen shaving off her blond locks as she prepared for chemotherapy.

At 9:28 AM Pacific Time (12:28 PM Eastern), Mary Farrah Leni Fawcett lost her brave fight at Saint John's Hospital in Santa Monica. She is survived by her longtime companion, actor Ryan O'Neal, and their son Redmond. Hollywood and an extensive fan base mourns her loss, as do I. CBS 2 in Los Angeles has continuing coverage of her passing. Just click on the title for the link.

(C)2009 by Darren W. Alexander. All Rights Reserved.