From an iconic poster to a hit television series to an infamous appearance on a popular talk show, Farrah Fawcett was in the public eye for more than three decades.

 

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A best-selling poster. An oft-copied hairstyle. A single season on a 1970s detective show.

 

These were the signature elements of Farrah Fawcett's career, but to reduce that career to those bullet points is, perhaps, missing the point of the huge impact she had on popular culture in the mid-'70s.

 

Farrah Fawcett, who died today at the age of 62 after a long battle with rectal cancer, was just another working actress in 1976. She'd gotten some attention as the wife of Lee Majors, then a huge star as "The Six Million Dollar Man," and her for her work opposite David Janssen on the private eye drama "Harry O." Then came two separate but conveniently-timed jobs that briefly made her one of the biggest stars in the world.

 

The first was the poster. Tame by today's standards, it featured a very tan Fawcett lounging in a one-piece bathing suit, running a hand through her wavy blonde manes and flashing a sexy but innocent thousand-watt smile at the camera. The second was the job on "Charlie's Angels," a drama about three beautiful (and frequently bra-less) female detectives that ushered in a wave of what came to be called "jiggle TV."

 

The poster was released around the same time as the "Charlie's Angels" premiere, and together turned Fawcett into a phenomenon. She wasn't a classic beauty like "Angels" co-star Jaclyn Smith, nor (at the time) the acting talent of "Angels" lead Kate Jackson, but something about her Southern California look -- inviting yet oddly wholesome, playful and down to earth -- on both the show and the poster spoke to that moment in time. "Angels" was an enormous hit from the start, and thanks to the poster (still one of the best-selling ever), Fawcett became its breakout star.

 

Fawcett, 62, died after a battling cancer.Her image was everywhere -- even when Fawcett herself wasn't. The feathered hairstyle she wore on "Charlie's Angels" became known as The Farrah Flip and was copied by women worldwide. (Only The Rachel, Jennifer Aniston's hairdo from the early seasons of "Friends," can be considered as influential a TV haircut.)

 

Women wanted to look like her, men wanted to get to know her better (assuming they didn't fear a bionic beatdown from Lee Majors), and even the critics who accused "Charlie's Angels" of being the end of Western civilization couldn't stop watching it.

 

Then, after only one season on "Charlie's Angels," Fawcett decided she wanted out of the show that had made her a global icon. Whether she was doing it out of ego and ambition, or because she felt the workload (and popularity) of "Angels" was hurting her marriage to Majors, the move backfired. She and Majors separated in 1979 (though their divorce wasn't final until 1982) and Fawcett proved unready -- either as a performer or as a canny selector of material -- to be a movie star.

 

Time Magazine dinged her performance in 1978's "Somebody Killed Her Husband" by claiming she "gets into serious trouble every time she opens her mouth to speak. Giggling and shrieking fits aside, her voice is flat and expressionless; her face cannot convey any emotion other than blissful self-absorption." Her other two post-"Angels" vehicles -- the 1979 thriller "Sunburn" and the 1980 sci-fi disaster "Saturn 3" -- did no better with either critics or moviegoers, and Fawcett's brief window of superstardom slammed shut.

 

After becoming an easy punchline for jokes about both '70s fashion and overly-ambitious celebrities, Fawcett reinvented herself with the 1984 telefilm "The Burning Bed." Playing vengeful spousal abuse victim Francine Hughes, Fawcett showed that she had grown leaps and bounds as an actress from her "Somebody Killed Her Husband" days, and was rewarded with the first of her three career Emmy nominations.

 

Fawcett used "The Burning Bed" as a springboard for a second career as a serious actress, following it up with critically-acclaimed performances in both the stage and film versions of "Extremities" (as another victim of sexual violence who turns the tables on her attacker), "Small Sacrifices" (as a mother who tries to murder her three children while blaming an imaginary attacker), "Nazi Hunter: The Beate Klarsfeld Story," and more. For the most part, her medium was the made-for-TV movie, though she occasionally returned to the big screen. (Robert Duvall cast Fawcett as his wife in "The Apostle.")

 

Though Fawcett never again approached her "Charlie's Angels"-era fame, she remained in the public eye thanks to her relationship with actor Ryan O'Neal, with whom she had son Redmond in 1985.

 

In 1997, while promoting, at age 50, her first appearance in a Playboy video, Fawcett was a guest on "Late Show with David Letterman," where she appeared both skeletal and mentally unbalanced. Letterman made it into a running gag in the years since -- when Joaquin Phoenix had a similarly bizarre guest stint a few weeks ago, Letterman said, "We owe an apology to Farrah Fawcett." -- but when I asked Fawcett about it two years later, while she was promoting the TV-movie "Silk Hope," she shrugged it off, saying the weird behavior was her mother's idea.

 

"She's the one who said, 'Just go and have fun, have a sense of humor,'" Fawcett insisted. "I think it got blown out of proportion... I mean, maybe I was guilty of being a bad talk-show guest."

 

The naked video and the Letterman appearance (and maybe her short-lived celebreality show "Chasing Farrah") are all that TV viewers among a certain age may know of Fawcett. But for a brief period, thanks to that poster, that hair and that show, she was as "it" an It Girl as Hollywood has ever seen.

 

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This is so, so sad.... it's a shame Farrah will be remembered for Charlie's Angels and the best selling poster of all time..... I'd rather remember her amazing performances in The Burning Bed and Extremeties. Often underrated.... she was my first childhood crush. And postergirl. Rest in peace :(

I heard about this on the news, it's so sad. Charlie's Angels is one of my all-time favourite shows and although she was only in it the one season she left a lasting impression. She's going to be greatly missed :(

One of my fave TV series was Charlie's Angels, so sad, a great icon in the acting world.

Knew she had been very ill but its still a shame when they pass on

 

An iconic figure for anyone growing up in my era, shame she has died

 

RIP

2 icons of my childhood dead in one day.... yikes.... :mellow:

Very saad day and as you said 2 iconic people die in the one day,

Very sad news, she dealt with her cancer with dignity. RIP

sad news indeed.... never much liked her tbh, but i had nowt against her either.

it's sad though 2 people from entertainment world leave for good..

although I have yet to hear a word about her death on the news...

Wow both Michael and Farrah die on the same day. RIP to both. Shame her death's being rather overshadowed though.

although I have yet to hear a word about her death on the news...

 

 

Really? How weird.... it's front page news here - and headlined on the national news programmes, too.

 

Perhaps Portugal didn't get Charlie's Angels in the 70s? :huh:

Of course it did. I asked my mum yesterday if she remembered the actress from Charlie's Angels in the 70s and she immediately told me who she was, who she married, her daughter, that she had cancer, pretty much more than I thought she knew. Its just MJ's death has hogged the spotlight and this has gotten very little coverage, especially on TV.

a few weeks ago there was a documentary on US telly about Farrah and her every day struggle.

her strength and courage struck a cord with me. i hope she's in a better place now. may her spirit rest in peace.

 

Sad... RIP

RIP Farrah Fawcett

 

I didn't really know of her that much since I'm only 18 but I've seen one or two of the old charlie's Angels shows.

 

It's really sad that her death is being overshadowed by Michaels :(

Of course it did. I asked my mum yesterday if she remembered the actress from Charlie's Angels in the 70s and she immediately told me who she was, who she married, her daughter, that she had cancer, pretty much more than I thought she knew. Its just MJ's death has hogged the spotlight and this has gotten very little coverage, especially on TV.

So sad that the cancer won the battle. Even though her death has been overshadow by MJ, tonight is airing her cancer special on TV.

Edited June 27, 200916 yr by Nimbus

Funny how Farrah only stayed for one season of "Angels" (she was then replaced by Cheryl Ladd) and she was by far the most remembered angel.

 

(My personally favourite was Jacklyn "Kelly" Smith: hot and glamorous)

Funny how Farrah only stayed for one season of "Angels" (she was then replaced by Cheryl Ladd) and she was by far the most remembered angel.

 

(My personally favourite was Jacklyn "Kelly" Smith: hot and glamorous)

 

Oddly enough - it was Farrah who proved that she was by far the better actress than either of her two original co-stars. If anyone wants to see Farrah really showing her worth - try and catch The Burning Bed, Between Two Women and Small Sacrifices for drama. For one of her more comedic turns - try and catch The Substitute Wife with Peter Weller. She had a lot to give and, from what I have read of her personal life - she seemed to be a darned good wife, sister, daughter and mother.

 

As far as Charlie's Angels goes - my favourite was Shelley Hack!

 

Norma