NEWS > ENTERTAINMENT > FARRAH FAWCETT HANGING ON DESPITE DOCTOR’S BEST EFFORTS

FARRAH FAWCETT HANGING ON DESPITE DOCTOR’S BEST EFFORTS

May 13 2009

Los Angeles, CA – In the 1970’s Farrah Fawcett was a star of unparalleled brightness. After appearances in a series of low rung television shows and B movies, her marriage to ‘Six Million Dollar Man’ star Lee Majors and starring role in ‘Charlie’s Angels’ made the blond-haired, blue-eyed Texan a star for the ages. Though never
regarded very highly as an actress, her sex-symbol status put her squarely in the minds and bedrooms of young men all over the world, cementing her place in popular culture.

Recent years haven’t been so kind to Fawcett though. With little or no acting work to be had, a disastrous and embarrassing appearance on ‘The Late Show with David Letterman’, and most recently a diagnosis of potentially fatal anal cancer have all conspired to erode that once luminescent star. Word of Fawcett’s fragile state has been the topic of much rumour and speculation in the recent months, but according to the star herself doctors expect that she will survive this recent bout of cancer, much to the chagrin of many throughout the entertainment industry.

“I’m sure there are many people that still have that poster on their walls. It’s beyond beautiful and beyond simple iconography. It may be overstating it a little, but there are some images that
stick well beyond their context and this is one. The only other that I can think of that has the same level of power is the Mona Lisa,” said Scrape TV Entertainment analyst Tracey Temple. “There are those who remember Fawcett from those days and seeing her in her current state can only be distressing. Not just the cancer, but the decline of this star that held the fascination and fantasies of so many. People today likely don’t even know how big a star she was and regard her only as a joke. For them it will be a sad day when she does eventually die, but a bit of a relief as well.”

Fawcett has been pursuing specialty treatment in Europe which is largely considered lacking in real medical veracity. Last month a spokesperson for the actress confirmed that the cancer had spread to her liver, news that raised hopes for many but has thus far netted no results.

“Farrah Fawcett is the poster child, so to speak, for the starlet made good. All she ever really had was her looks and the ability to speak
without tripping over her words but she has managed to parlay that into a full career. Even her ‘Charlie’s Angels’ co-stars Kate Jackson and Jaclyn Smith haven’t been able to stay in the spotlight. She’s done very well on very little talent,” continued Temple. “When you see cancer claim the life of a truly talented person and humanitarian like Paul Newman you wonder why it doesn’t act faster in with people like Fawcett who really haven’t contributed anything meaningful in decades.”

Fawcett’s last acting performance was in 2004’s ‘The Cookout’ alongside Ja Rule and Tim Meadows. Her last major film has 1981’s ‘The Cannonball Run’.

“Certainly she is an inspiration to many young actors with limited talent but an appetite for success and though she may stand as the greatest example of that, still, I mean she was in ‘The
Lovemaster’ with George Wendt. Why exactly has she stayed in the spotlight?” continued Temple. “It is especially ironic that she has anal cancer considering much of her career has come from the same place. In the end though the real tragedy of Farrah Fawcett’s life isn’t her death, it’s been the fall of this brilliant star to a place of normality. When so many people all over the world die of cancer every day this living tragedy just seems to go on and on and on.”
A documentary about Fawcett’s life will air this Friday on NBC and will her boyfriend

Ryan O’Neal, a fellow former 70’s star who was diagnosed with cancer but has still not yet died.  

Samantha Dryden, Entertainment Correspondent

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