POP CULTURE: FARRAH FAWCETT REMEMBERED

Here’s a look back at the wonderful life of farrah fawcett

Farrah Fawcett Remembered

By Kati Johnston

Special to MSN Entertainment

February 2, 1947 - June 25, 2009

Farrah Fawcett was a pretty girl with great hair, whose spectacular golden moment came in 1976, with the debut of the megahit "Charlie's Angels" and the simultaneous release of the most popular pinup poster ever. And thus was born the biggest sex symbol of the 1970s.

Fawcett, who died after a long, public and courageous battle with cancer, was 62.

It wasn't really that Fawcett had that "approachable" kind of beauty -- her genetic gifts were breathtakingly unique -- yet her persona was all girl-next-door, gorgeousness with a wink right at the camera. Men wanted to be with her, and women just wanted to have that hair. That she was loved and admired by both sexes is testament to Fawcett's underlying earthiness and deft gifts as an actress, as well as her ability to work seamlessly with an ensemble, if "Charlie's Angels" can be considered a typical "ensemble."

The Texas-born beauty had gained popularity in TV shampoo commercials in the '70s and was wed to popular actor Lee Majors, the "Six Million Dollar Man." Then, in 1976, she was cast as Jill Munroe, one of the three original "Charlie's Angels."

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The series, derided by some critics as a mere "jiggle" show, became an instant sensation. The plots were a bit thin, and the concept was a bit behind the women's liberation movement of the time: The gals would often solve crimes by posing as strippers, bikini models, or, a particular favorite, disco roller champs.

But the cheery good nature projected by Fawcett and her co-stars, Kate Jackson and Jaclyn Smith, as well as their confident banter, proved to be a potent formula for prime-time success. They had each other's backs (now that's girl power!), and they always got their men.

As for being a sex symbol, the affable Fawcett once said, "The reason that the all-American boy prefers beauty to brains is that he can see better than he can think."

Fawcett's pinup poster, shot before "Angels," with the photographer reportedly hanging his own Indian blanket as an impromptu backdrop, showed that Fawcett could also work a red one-piece, while effortlessly tossing back the golden layers that would inspire thousands of copycats.

The Farrah poster sold a still record-holding 12 million copies -- and counting.

Fawcett's low-key acting style was perfect for the creamy cheese of "Charlie's Angels," yet she also possessed accomplished dramatic chops. Her memorable TV roles, post-"Angels," included "The Burning Bed" (1984), in which she played a battered wife, and "Small Sacrifices" (1989), based on the Ann Rule best-seller about Elizabeth Diane Downs, the sociopathic mother who shot her own children. Fawcett was deservedly nominated for Emmys for both performances. Her third Emmy nomination came in 2004 for her work in "The Guardian."

What many fans don't know is that Fawcett's experience working in "Burning Bed" inspired her to a lifetime of charity work, done far outside the limelight, for victims of domestic violence, including serving as a board member for the National Domestic Violence Hotline.

Other intense and memorable performances included "Extremities" (1986), "Poor Little Rich Girl: The Barbara Hutton Story" (1987), and "Nazi Hunter: The Beate Klarsfeld Story" (1986).

In 1997, she turned in a heartbreaking performance in the film "The Apostle," for which she earned an Independent Spirit Award nomination. Her delicate, lived-in performance as a weary wife to a charismatic preacher nearly eclipsed the scenery-chewing of her co-star, Robert Duvall. "You don't want to mess up your lines with Bobby Duvall," she said afterward. "Especially when he wrote the lines himself." Her haunting performance suggests she needn't have worried.

The same year, in which she turned 50, she bared all in a memorable DVD for Playboy, titled, appropriately, "All of Me." She seemed loopy in an appearance on the "Late Show With David Letterman" that same year, spawning her own library of YouTube videos. Earlier this year, when Letterman had an even more peculiar interview with Joaquin Phoenix, Letterman quipped, "Joaquin, I'm sorry you couldn't be here tonight ... We owe an apology to Farrah Fawcett."

Over the years, Fawcett's longtime fans rooted for her: when she stood by longtime companion Ryan O'Neal with his battle with leukemia several years ago, and when their troubled son (and, later, O'Neal himself) battled drug addiction and arrests. Because for all their imperfections, they always seemed like one of the tightest Hollywood families, with bonds lasting beyond any earthly struggles.

In recent months, as she battled the return of cancer, her fans rallied for her, hoping, along with her family, for a miracle. Fawcett's longtime friend Alana Stewart began making a documentary on Fawcett as she went through treatment over the past year; the film, "Farrah's Story," which aired on NBC on May 15.

O'Neal recently told People, "I can't hear a song, I can't pass places that we were together, without being stabbed in the heart ... I won't know this world without her."

Neither, sadly, will we.