FARRAH FAWCETT: 1947-2009

TV angel radiated beauty, strength

Start at UT turned into super-celebrity during the 1970s.

By Michael Barnes
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Friday, June 26, 2009

After an extended and public medical struggle, Farrah Fawcett, Texas model, actress and global celebrity, died from cancer early Thursday. She was 62.

"It's a huge void for all of us who cared about her," said Nina Seely, the Austin boutique manager who organized a tribute party for Fawcett in May. "It's too soon. Way too soon."

Fawcett grew up in Corpus Christi and, during the 1960s, trained as an artist while a popular student at the University of Texas. In the 1970s, she conquered Hollywood with shampoo commercials, pin-up posters, a hit television action series and eventually serious movies, primarily about abused, battered or lonely women.

After a decade of white-hot celebrity, Fawcett's star gradually faded. During the past two decades, her reputation was smudged by Playboy photo spreads, rambling interviews and various health issues. She also was plagued by the tabloid press for the legal and drug problems of companion Ryan O'Neal and their son Redmond O'Neal.

She wrote one final chapter in that story before her death. For the past two years, Fawcett allowed friends to film her cancer battle for a controversial documentary, "Farrah's Story." Although some observers said they were revolted by the spectacle of her illness and questioned her medical choices, the burst of publicity proved she still commanded legions of fans, including an active coterie in Austin.

"She was extremely bright," Karen Spellings, a long Fawcett friend, said at the tribute in May. "Lots of fun. A wonderful person."

Ryan O'Neal and Fawcett's close friend Alana Stewart were at Fawcett's side when she died.

"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," O'Neal said.

Born Feb. 2, 1947, in Corpus Christi, she was named Mary Farrah Leni Fawcett by her mother, who said she added the Farrah because it sounded good with Fawcett.

Fawcett arrived at UT in 1965. She studied art and became a frequent model for student and faculty artists. She kept up her sculpture and painting after leaving Austin and remained in contact with mentor Charles Umlauf, namesake for the Umlauf Sculpture Garden and Museum. Fawcett donated $10,000 to the building of the well-trafficked institution on Robert E. Lee Road.

"So much of Fawcett's connection to Austin over the years has been centered around art," museum curator Nelie Plourde said. Arrangements for a local exhibition of her sculptural work, organized by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, are moving forward at the Umlauf. "We are so sorry that our plans to exhibit her art here at the Umlauf did not happen during her lifetime," Plourde said.

While at UT, movie publicist David Mirisch tempted Fawcett to Hollywood after she was named one of the university's 10 most beautiful students and her photograph appeared in the newspaper. She played bit parts on TV shows and appeared in commercials before dating Lee Majors, who starred in the hit TV series, "The Six Million Dollar Man." They married in 1973. She dropped his last name after they divorced in 1982.

In 1976, Fawcett reached the pinnacle of celebrity as part of the crime-fighting team on "Charlie's Angels." A poster of her in a dampened red swimsuit sold millions of copies and became a ubiquitous wall decoration in teenagers' rooms.

Former series cast members mourned her death with the rest of the country. "Farrah had courage, she had strength, and she had faith. And now she has peace as she rests with the real angels," Jaclyn Smith said.

Fawcett quit "Charlie's Angels" after one season — she was replaced by Cheryl Ladd — to pursue feature films, at first with little luck. Fawcett fared better with television movies such as "Murder in Texas," "Poor Little Rich Girl" and as an abused wife in 1984's "The Burning Bed." The last earned her an Emmy nomination and the long-denied admission from critics that she really could act.

As proof of her acting credentials, Fawcett appeared off-Broadway in "Extremities" as a woman who is raped in her home. She repeated the role in the 1986 film version. She was inducted into the Texas Film Hall of Fame in 2003.

Fawcett's most unfortunate career moment might have been a 1997 appearance on David Letterman's show, when her disjointed, rambling answers led to speculation that she was on drugs. She denied that, blaming her strange behavior on questionable advice from her mother to be playful and have a good time.

In September 2006, Fawcett, who at 59 still maintained a strict regimen of tennis and paddleball, began to feel exhausted. She underwent two weeks of tests and was told the devastating news: She had anal cancer.

This week, O'Neal revealed that he and Fawcett intended to marry "as soon as she can say yes," he said. No ceremony has been reported.

In the early days of women's liberation, Fawcett used her femininity, but also her brains, to mount a multi-stage career. Young Texas women were watching; the cultural and social residue remains.

"I really admired what she did in her life," said Mary Pat Mueller, president of Austin's Door Number 3 advertising agency. "When you'd see how she turned men's heads, you'd say 'Oooo ... How'd she do that.' Rightly or wrongly, she made a great impression on girls growing up in that era."

Information from wire services was used in this story.