Thursday, June 25, 2009

Farrah Fawcett, 62, Was America's '70s Pinup

Farrah Fawcett has died.

The Los Angeles Times has an obituary, "
Farrah Fawcett dies at 62; actress rose above 'Charlie's Angels'":

Farrah Fawcett, who soared to fame as a national sex symbol in the late 1970s on television's campy "Charlie's Angels" and in a swimsuit poster that showcased her feathery mane and made her a generation's favorite pinup, died today. She was 62.

Fawcett, whose celebrity overshadowed her ability as a serious actress, was diagnosed with a rare anal cancer in 2006, died about 9:30 a.m. at St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica, said Paul Bloch, her publicist.
Three months after she was declared cancer-free in 2007, doctors at UCLA Medical Center told her the cancer had returned, spreading to her liver, and she repeatedly sought experimental
treatment in Germany.

As an actress, Fawcett was initially dismissed for her role as Jill Munroe in "Charlie's Angels," one of the "jiggle" series on ABC-TV in the late 1970s.

But she transformed her career and some popular perceptions in 1984 with "The Burning Bed," a television movie about a battered wife that brought her the first of three Emmy nominations. She further established herself as an actress in the play and later feature film "Extremities," about a rape victim who takes revenge on her attacker.

For many, the poster of her wearing a wet one-piece swimsuit and a blinding smile endured.
More here. A photo slideshow is here.

Photo Credit: Times of London.

7 comments:

Tim said...

Sad news indeed, as she did suffer from this. I was never a Charlie's Angels fan, nor did I see many of her TV movies or even have the infamous poster in my bedroom, but I certainly respected her beauty.

shoprat said...

Physically she was beautiful. It's a shame that she let the Hollywood mindset control and define her. May she find peace.

Tim said...

Jesus, even in death you have to have a dig at something perceived as liberal. (Which it is not entirely, believe me.)

Right Truth said...

I'm sure she suffered with both bouts of cancer, it's a terrible disease. She is at peace now.

I remember having my version of her hairdo, only my hair is brown. Most girls that age with long hair tried to take her "do". I'm sure none of us ever perfected it as she did.

Debbie Hamilton
Right Truth

Serr8d said...

Yes, this is a day for sadness. Many of us who started dorm life in '76 had that remarkable pinup (and hated Lee Majors, that insufferable prick!)

Dave said...

As someone who "came of age" in the '70's, Farrah was truly special. I even held her in higher esteem than either Susan Dey or Maureen McCormick, and that is saying something.

I never missed an episode of Charlie's Angels that she appeared in.

LOL-And yes, I had the famous poster of her, too.

RIP Farrah, as you stomped on the Terra like no other.

-Dave

Ottavio said...

I could simply say that I was saddened upon hearing the news but it was more than that. Something within was affected. Farrah was part of my teenage years, she was also the female face of all that was great about the US of A, young, bountiful, exciting, opportunistic, beautiful and unashamedly forward looking. In Pop culture terms, America's inner id of the day. Yes we are older today and Jacko's passing hours later made it hit home. I can almost picture Farrah now reminiscing with Aaron Spelling ...The most enduring image for mine is she on that skateboard with those famous Nikes. May she find peace...