June 25, 2009 was dominated by one news story: the death of Michael Jackson.
But another pop culture icon also died that day: Farrah Fawcett, whose luxurious tresses and blinding smile helped redefine sex appeal in the 1970s as one of TV’s “Charlie’s Angels.” She was 62.
And fascination with the Texan actress, model and artist continues: a documentary, “Farrah Fawcett: Behind Closed Doors” aired on REELZ in the U.S. Monday night (24 JUNE 2019).
Fawcett burst on the scene in 1976 as one-third of the crime-fighting trio in TV’s “Charlie’s Angels.”
She left the show after one season but had a flop on the big screen with “Somebody Killed Her Husband.” She turned to more serious roles in the 1980s and 1990s, winning praise playing an abused wife in “The Burning Bed.”
She had been diagnosed with anal cancer in 2006. As she underwent treatment, she enlisted the help of actor Ryan O’Neal, who had been her longtime companion and was the father of her son, Redmond, born in 1985.
O’Neal, with whom she had a 17-year relationship, again became her constant companion, escorting her to the hospital for chemotherapy.
Her struggle with painful treatments and dispiriting setbacks was recorded in the television documentary “Farrah’s Story.”
NBC estimated the May 15, 2009, broadcast drew nearly nine million viewers.
