Farrah Fawcett: sex symbol who defined 1970s dies

Farrah Fawcett: sex symbol who defined 1970s

LOS ANGELES (AFP) – Farrah Fawcett, 62, who died Thursday following a long battle with cancer, shot to fame in the 1970s following her starring role in the hit television series "Charlie's Angels."


But it was her appearance in an iconic poster just as her acting career was taking off that cemented her status as a full-fledged international sex symbol and pop culture icon for her times.


Fawcett was a little-known actress and model when she was approached by poster company Pro Arts Inc. in 1976 to take part in a photo shoot.


The subsequent photos of Fawcett -- wearing a red swimsuit,flashing a dazzling smile, blonde hair cascading over her shoulders -- would come to be the actress's defining image.


The poster went on to sell an astonishing 12 million copies and saw women the world over flock to hairdressers seeking to emulate the actress's distinctive layered, tumbling tresses, which came to be known as "Farrah Hair."

In 2007 GQ Magazine named the poster "the most influential piece of men's art of the last 50 years"; Fawcett's official website says the image has been bootlegged more than one billion times.


The release of the poster came just as "Charlie's Angels" was broadcast for the first time.


The series -- created by legendary television mogul Aaron Spelling -- became one of the most successful shows of the decade and broke new ground in featuring women in the crime-busting lead roles.


Fawcett left the series after 29 episodes but never successfully made the leap into major Hollywood films.


However, her performance as a battered wife in television movie "The Burning Bed" would later earn her Emmy nominations, she she also earned critical praise for her depiction of a rape victim in the stage and film version of "Extremities."


During the 1970s, Fawcett was married to "Six Million Dollar Man" star Lee Majors, from whom she separated in 1979. In 1982 she began a long romance with actor Ryan O'Neal and the couple had a son together, Redmond in 1985.


After splitting from O'Neal in the 1990s Fawcett dated producer-director James Orr. Orr was later given three years probation for beating up the actress at his Bel Air mansion in 1997.


Speculation over Fawcett's personal life reached fever pitch in 1997 when she made a rambling incoherent appearance on David Letterman's talk show.


She continued to work however, appearing in Robert Altman's 2000 comedy "Dr T and the Women" in a star-studded cast that included Richard Gere, Helen Hunt, Laura Dern and Kate Hudson.


In recent years Fawcett's health was the subject of intense scrutiny by a voracious tabloid media.


News of her cancer fight broke in October 2006, sparking an outpouring of support from fans and well-wishers.

In 2007 she declared that months of gruelling chemotherapy had seen her beat the cancer despite "excruciating pain and uncertainty." "It never occurred to me to stop fighting -- not ever," she said.


However, in April this year it emerged that the cancer had returned and the actress was gravely ill.


In an interview with the Los Angeles Times published in May, Fawcett criticized the media frenzy over her health, saying she would have preferred to have kept details of her illness private.


"It's much easier to go through something and deal with it without being under a microscope," Fawcett said.


"It was stressful. I was terrified of getting the chemo. It's not pleasant. And the radiation is not pleasant."


"I'm a private person," she continued. "It would be good if I could just go and heal and then when I decided to go out, it would be OK."

This one is hard. She and I are the same age. She seemed to have a lot of character. I hope she is at peace. Sure wish the media would take it easy on her family...but they won't.

Media is relentless in all things! I am so tried of the non-stop coverage of Michael too! It is sad and unexpected but they just repeat the same stuff over and over and over again! 4-6 weeks before the toxic screen results? Then it will all be drug up again!

I had the "Farrah Flip" in high-school! I will have to find a picture of me with it and post it!

Why Every Woman Wanted a "Farrah Flip"

By Katherine Lanpher
Guest: April Barton

Farrah Fawcett died yesterday after a long fight with cancer. She had a face that launched a million lunch boxes and a smile (and figure) that sold over 12 million posters. And a haircut—“The Farrah Flip”—that inspired generations of 'dos. It wasn't just a hairstyle, it was a way of living your life. Joining The Takeaway this morning is April Barton. She’s a celebrity hairstylist and owner of the hair salon Suite 303 in New York's Chelsea Hotel. Click through for the full transcript

Transcript

Katherine Lanpher: Before the news of Michael Jackson’s death hit the nation, we were already mourning another cultural star. Listener [on tape]: And on a different note, also Farrah Fawcett passed away and it’s a shame that it’s being eclipsed by Michael Jackson. But she was also a phenomenal woman and I hope that’s acknowledged today.
Katherine Lanpher: We’re going to do our best. The actress Farrah Fawcett passed away yesterday afternoon after a long battle with cancer. She had a face that launched a million lunchboxes, a smile that launched 12 million posters (and if you’re of a certain age, you remember that poster in the dorm room). And a haircut that has inspired generations of 'dos. Joining me this morning is April Barton. She is a celebrity hairstylist and owner of the salon Suite 303 in the Chelsea Hotel here in New York. Alright, not that anyone could ever forget Farrah’s hair, but could you describe what Farrah’s hairstyle was? What’s it called? What’s its impact?
April Barton: Oh the Farrah. Good morning, everybody. Farrah Fawcett the legendary, legendary fashion icon. The smile that would just ice over the world. The legendary haircut of Farrah Fawcett. She had naturally curly hair. And at that time I believe it was Jose Eber, a French hairstylist, you know he didn’t have a celebrity following. She was his first and he was pursued by Saudi Arabian women, and Beverly Hills, and "We want the Farrah Fawcett!"
Katherine Lanpher: I love the fact that when you see a picture of her, you instantly see an entire history of hair.
April Barton: Yeah.
Katherine Lanpher: Now when I look at a picture of Farrah Fawcett I think of generations of women who ended up getting that funny little flip that they did with the curling iron, the bangs, which was sort of the low-rent approximation of the Farrah 'do. So explain to me the good that Farrah’s hair did for a nation of hairdos.
April Barton: The nation of the hair. She had naturally curly hair so it wasn’t like somebody with light fine hair doing this big blowout. That was the minimal that her hair would do, given, I believe that she possibly tried to fit in with the other girls on Charlie’s Angels. She had to blend and by blowing out her hair she ended up being the biggest, and the baddest, and the most popular of the Charlie’s Angels due to that hair.
Katherine Lanpher: Now what did her looks say about her? What was the message that she gave off with her hair and that smile and also the fact that she was in shape?
April Barton: Sexy, confident, comfortable in her own skin. Even her hairdresser gave the credit to her. The way that she smiled, the way that she moved, the way she was so free and confident and free with her hair.
Katherine Lanpher: What was it about her hair that made so many women want to just do it? When, let’s get real, even if you give yourself the bangs you’re not going to look like Farrah Fawcett.
April Barton: Exactly, that’s why I have to say that’s what I do for a living and it’s really external. It’s what you see. But I’ve got to tell you it’s from within. If someone really feels confident, it portrays on the outside.
Katherine Lanpher: Okay. In the short time that we have remaining, you walk down on the streets of America, what vestiges of Farrah’s hair do you see?
April Barton: You always see a little Farrah in somebody. Even in the middle of a blowout, you’ll be like “that’s very Farrah” and then it takes one twist for a change and it’s out of the Farrah and into something different or contemporary.
Katherine Lanpher: You talked about the internal, again we have a few seconds here, but we’re talking about her hair, but we‘re really talking about something a little deeper here.
April Barton: Ya. It is. It’s her beauty on the inside. I mean, I think any hairstyle that she would’ve worn would have probably taken off because she was so magnetic and had so much to share.
Katherine Lanpher: April, thank you so much. April Barton, celebrity hairstylist. And rest in peace, Farrah Fawcett.

And here is the famous "swimsuit" poster!!!

Photographer of Farrah Fawcett swimsuit poster: 'It was Farrah's pose, Farrah's suit, Farrah's idea'

June 25, 5:12 PM


One of the sweetest, if most unimaginable, things about Farrah Fawcett is that she honestly didn't realize she was so pretty. Bruce McBroom, the photographer who shot her iconic red swimsuit poster, told TIME: "She was just beautiful in a really innocent way. She had no idea that she was that good-looking."

The gorgeous photograph was taken at her home, by her pool, with one of the photographer's old Mexican blankets as a backdrop. No stylists, no assistants, no art directors. Mr. McBroom said: "Farrah didn't like the way she looked in a bikini and didn't have one on her.So she would go in the house and come out in a swimsuit and say, "What do you think of this?" ... I shot rolls of film, and it just wasn't happening. She's a beautiful woman, but there wasn't anything that I would put on a poster. ... I said, "Farrah, are you sure you don't have a bikini? Something different?" She went in to look around and came out of the back door and stood in the doorway in this red suit, and she said in her Southern accent, "Well, is this anything?" And I literally said to myself, "Oh my God."

That was 1976. The poster has sold 12 million copies, according to a CNN report. Other reports place the sales number at around 6 million or more. Any way you figure it, the poster is a record-setter that still graces many dorm walls after more than three decades. That's what you call an icon.

Farrah Fawcett died in a Santa Monica hospital Thursday morning after a battle with anal cancer that stretched almost four years. She will be sorely missed.

Rest easy, angel.


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