Farrah's death brings to mind another childhood relic trampled by the Internet age--the iconic poster.
In "Saturday Night Fever," we instantly identify with Tony Manero because of the Farrah and Bruce Lee posters in bedroom.
Before any 9-year-old could print out 50 pictures a day from the Internet, posters were something that kids could afford, but required enough money and effort to require a commitment that seemed substantial from a child's perspective.
"The Dr. J." was probably the sports equivalent to Farrah in the red bathing suit. I still remember poring over the Sports Illustrated page with all of the options deciding who would decorate my wall for the next year or so.
As your obit notes, Farrah was only on Charlie's Angels for only a year.
Her film debut was in the awful, loopy "Myra Breckenridge." After "Charlie's," she made a few instantly forgettable features and made the transition into lower-profile vehicles, where she received some critical acclaim.
Still, nothing ever approached the cultural impact of those posters, and I'm convinced they're the reason why she held the public's interest through the rest of her life.
C',mon Alan, Farrah had her year of greatness in 75 (I met her in '74, I was 12 and sent a weekend following the "Beer Shampoo" girl around Nassau,) but how about the Jackson Five cartoon...especially the Rashoman episode? The summer variety show was sick too.
actually the Jackson 5 had a summer replacement tv variety show that I just barely remember as being actually funny.
I was just finding out Farrah was dead last night, realizing i'd missed all the entertainment news shows and casting around for scraps when they started talking about Michael Jackson in the past tense.
Farrah was yesterday's news.
If I'd paid attention to Barbara Walters (or wanted to record Private Practice reruns) i'd have noticed that ABC was right on top of it, and had a show on Farrah at 10.
As for the hairdo - I should thank Farrah. Not all my hair is "styled" that way, but I've worn my bangs like that since 79. (it hide my big forehead without leaving me with hair sitting uncomfortably on my face).
Last night I spent a good bit of time watching the 5 live feeds from LA. My favorite was the chopper pilot cirling the house, now & then talking to someone back at the studio. But then I'm a TV nerd.
The only person whose comment on MJ I really want to hear is Donny Osmond.
Here's a link to Donny Osmond's reaction: http://www.lvrj.com/news/49334897.html This is from the piece: When Jackson's megahit "Thriller" came out in 1984, "I went to see him to see if he could help me get my career back on track.
"I asked him, 'How do I get back on the charts?"
"Change your image," said Jackson, "and your name." Speaking of Fawcett, in the south suburbs of Chicago you see plenty of women still wearing the Farrah hair-do.
If Farrah had come along, well, now when gorgeous actresses like Cameron Diaz, Angelina Jolie, and Charlize Theron can stretch their wings and play ugly, or tough or mean or crazy, you wonder what her career might have looked like. But it was one hell of a season.
Over at NJ.com, my Farrah Fawcett obituary.
The headline came up as "Charlie's Angles"
ReplyDeletefyi
I didn't post it myself, but I'll pass the correction along. Sigh...
ReplyDeleteFarrah's death brings to mind another childhood relic trampled by the Internet age--the iconic poster.
ReplyDeleteIn "Saturday Night Fever," we instantly identify with Tony Manero because of the Farrah and Bruce Lee posters in bedroom.
Before any 9-year-old could print out 50 pictures a day from the Internet, posters were something that kids could afford, but required enough money and effort to require a commitment that seemed substantial from a child's perspective.
"The Dr. J." was probably the sports equivalent to Farrah in the red bathing suit. I still remember poring over the Sports Illustrated page with all of the options deciding who would decorate my wall for the next year or so.
As your obit notes, Farrah was only on Charlie's Angels for only a year.
Her film debut was in the awful, loopy "Myra Breckenridge." After "Charlie's," she made a few instantly forgettable features and made the transition into lower-profile vehicles, where she received some critical acclaim.
Still, nothing ever approached the cultural impact of those posters, and I'm convinced they're the reason why she held the public's interest through the rest of her life.
The Rule of Threes appears to be holding:
ReplyDeleteEd McMahon
Farrah
... Michael Jackson?!?
C',mon Alan, Farrah had her year of greatness in 75 (I met her in '74, I was 12 and sent a weekend following the "Beer Shampoo" girl around Nassau,) but how about the Jackson Five cartoon...especially the Rashoman episode? The summer variety show was sick too.
ReplyDeleteactually the Jackson 5 had a summer replacement tv variety show that I just barely remember as being actually funny.
ReplyDeleteI was just finding out Farrah was dead last night, realizing i'd missed all the entertainment news shows and casting around for scraps when they started talking about Michael Jackson in the past tense.
Farrah was yesterday's news.
If I'd paid attention to Barbara Walters (or wanted to record Private Practice reruns) i'd have noticed that ABC was right on top of it, and had a show on Farrah at 10.
As for the hairdo - I should thank Farrah. Not all my hair is "styled" that way, but I've worn my bangs like that since 79. (it hide my big forehead without leaving me with hair sitting uncomfortably on my face).
Last night I spent a good bit of time watching the 5 live feeds from LA. My favorite was the chopper pilot cirling the house, now & then talking to someone back at the studio.
But then I'm a TV nerd.
The only person whose comment on MJ I really want to hear is Donny Osmond.
One season? Really?
Here's a link to Donny Osmond's reaction:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.lvrj.com/news/49334897.html
This is from the piece:
When Jackson's megahit "Thriller" came out in 1984, "I went to see him to see if he could help me get my career back on track.
"I asked him, 'How do I get back on the charts?"
"Change your image," said Jackson, "and your name."
Speaking of Fawcett, in the south suburbs of Chicago you see plenty of women still wearing the Farrah hair-do.
If Farrah had come along, well, now when gorgeous actresses like Cameron Diaz, Angelina Jolie, and Charlize Theron can stretch their wings and play ugly, or tough or mean or crazy, you wonder what her career might have looked like.
ReplyDeleteBut it was one hell of a season.
she seemed like an extremely decent person in addition to loving what she did for a living; RIP
ReplyDelete