God has one more angel in Heaven as brave beauty Farrah Fawcett, 62, succumbs to cancer.
Multiple Golden Globe and Emmy Award winner the Corpus Christi-born Farrah shot to fame as PI Jill Munroe in Charlie’s Angels in 1976, launching a pop cultural phenomena whose hairstyle was slavishly copied by girls and iconic red swimsuit poster adorned walls internationally.
Some of Farrah’s early TV appearances included commercials for Ultra Brite toothpaste, The Dating Game, I Dream of Jeannie and with future husband Lee Majors on The Six Million Dollar Man. They later separated and then divorced.
In a 1977 interview Farrah said, "When Charlie’s Angels was number three, I thought it was our acting. When we got to be number one, I decided it could only be because none of us wears a bra." She left the hit show after the first season, hitting the big screen in Logan’s Run and Saturn 3 (in which she appeared topless).
Farrah’s many triumphs include the 1983 off-Broadway hit Extremities in which she played a would-be rape victim who turns the tables on her attacker, describing the role as "the most grueling, the most intense, the most physically demanding and emotionally exhausting" of her career. She reprised the role on film in 1986 earning crix kudos.
In 1986 she starred in the fact-based made-for-TV film The Burning Bed about a battered wife which earned Farrah the first of 3 Emmy noms. It was the highest rated show of the season and the first to provide a 800 number for victims of domestic abuse.
Fawcett generated controversy anew when she appeared nude in the December 1995 Playboy which sold over 4 million copies.
In 1982 Farrah met Ryan O’Neal and their own again-off again relationship produced their only son, Redmond, 24
Farrah was first diagnosed with anal cancer in 2006 and initial treatment included chemotherapy and surgery. On her 60th birthday Associated Press reported she was cancer free but within months the cancer returned and had spread.
The two-hour documentary, Farrah’s Story, which chronicled her fight for life was filmed by Farrah and long-time pal Alana Stewart, aired on NBC on May 15, 2009, and was watched by nearly 9 million viewers.
On June 24, 2009, Fawcett’s publicist issued a Twitter post saying Farrah had received last rites.
Farrah died this morning at 9:28 a.m. PST at St. John’s Heath Center in Santa Monica, Calif. with Ryan O’Neal by her side.
"After a long and brave battle with cancer, our beloved Farrah has passed away," Ryan said. "Although this is an extremely difficult time for her family and friends, we take comfort in the beautiful times that we shared with Farrah over the years and the knowledge that her life brought joy to so many people around the world."
Au voir, Farrah.
