Sex Symbol, Angel, Actress Farrah Fawcett Dead at 62
Farrah Fawcett, a sex symbol and icon of the 1970s, star of TV’s Charlie’s Angels and stage veteran, died of cancer on June 25 in Los Angeles. She was 62.
A Texas native, Fawcett began her career as the breakout star of the original Charlie's Angels trio, a role that put her fit form on numerous magazine covers and posters and made her feathered hairstyle famous (and copied around the world), though Fawcett left the series in 1977 after just one season. Directly following her exit from the show, Fawcett turned her attention to the silver screen, appearing in the films Somebody Killed Her Husband, Sunburn and Saturn 3.
In 1980, the actress crossed over to the stage, making her professional stage debut in Butterflies Are Free at the Burt Reynolds Dinner Theatre in Jupiter, Florida. Three years later, Fawcett enjoyed a well-received off-Broadway debut in Extremities, recreating her role for a 1986 film adaptation of the play. She made a successful return to television in 1984, earning an Emmy nomination for her performance in the small-screen movie The Burning Bed and following up with additional nods in 1990 and 2002. Though the early 1990s saw her falter with the short-lived television series Good Sports (co-starring on-again-off-again partner Ryan O'Neal), Fawcett’s popularity was resurrected in the mid-1990s when the sex symbol posed for Playboy before going on to star in a pay-per-view special for the Playboy Channel. She received her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1995. In 2003, the actress made her Broadway debut as the title star in Bobbi Boland. The comedy played just seven previews at the Cort Theatre between November 4 and 9 of that year. It closed before it officially opened.
Fawcett’s battle with anal cancer was made public in 2006, leading to a TV documentary about her rounds of treatment called Farrah’s Story, which aired on NBC on May 15, 2009.
Early reports state that the actress’ longtime love, former co-star O’Neal, and friend Alana Stewart were at her bedside when she passed. She is survived by her son Redmond O’Neal.