An Angel Leaves a Legacy, Farrah Fawcett Succumbs to Cancer
June 27th, 2009 Filed under: Uncategorized — Movie Critic
Farrah Fawcett, the blond-maned actress of “Charlie’s Angels” fame has died of colon cancer at age 62. During her career, she graced the cover of numerous magazines and became one of the most famous faces in the world.
A photogenic icon, with a dazzling blue-eyed smile, Farrah Fawcett embodied many of the role shifts that women were going through during the 1970s and 1980s. She sported a wild mane of sculpted curls that flipped back and millions of women followed suit, getting rid of their more conservative bobs. As one of three “Charlie’s Angels,” she was able to karate chop a bad guy without messing her makeup or breaking a nail. This, in a time when ordinary women were pushing for empowerment in their own lives.
She was nominated numerous times for the Emmy and Golden Globe awards. Best known for playing bubbly Jill Monroe in the 1970s TV hit series “Charlie’s Angels,” her character (along with two other angels) led secret lives as super-sleuths. When her “Angels poster” sold twelve million copies she became the last of the classic pin-up girls, a sweetheart sex symbol.
She was a pioneer in how a pretty face could resuscitate a failing career. She took a role whereby she looked awful, really bad. “The Burning Bed” was based on a true story about a severely abused woman who killed her husband by burning him while he slept. This stark role showed she had real acting ability and garnered her a nomination for the Emmy. It made a real social statement and catapulted her toward her stage and screen role in “Extremities,” in which she played a rape victim who turns the tables on her attacker, terrorizing him.
Farrah Fawcett’s career marked a good many milestones. She pursued a career in acting after a photo when she was a student at The University of Texas at Austin won her a spot as “One Of The Ten Most Beautiful Coeds.” In 1974, she guest appeared four times in “The Six Million Dollar Man” and married the TV show’s star, Lee Majors, almost ten years her senior. In 1976, she debuted as Jill in “Charlie’s Angels, but left after one season. She had the lead in the 1989 ABC miniseries, “Small Sacrifices,” for which she received her second Emmy nomination. In 1991, she starred opposite her long time love, Ryan O’Neil in the short-lived CBS sitcom “Good Sports.” Their tumultuous and enduring relationship produced one son, Redmond O’Neil who struggles with a drug problem.
Farrah Fawcett was a free spirit, rather than a feminist. She appeared in Playboy twice. The second time was in 1997 when she turned 50. That could be seen as something of a post feminist statement. In 2002 she had a recurring role in the CBS series “The Guardian,” which earned her an Emmy nomination for her Guest starring role.
She will appear in “A Wing and a Prayer,” the story of Farrah Fawcett’s fight for life which will air in 2009.
Nike Chillemi is an advocate for realistic Christian fictrion and Christain crime fiction. She is a wife and mother, animal lover, also an urban dweller, living in coastal Brooklyn, a short distance from the Atlantic Ocean. She’s crazy about the ocean. Nike can be found on Twitter and Facebook. Her blog is Crime Fiction and Faith. http://crimefictionandfaith.blogspot.com/
