The Fame Flame

Vogue’s September issue revisits Beverly Johnson’s historic cover (about which we already posted!)

thefameflame — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 19:14:27 +0000

Great minds think alike. We at The Fame Flame are particularly pleased when a leading member of the media elite covers a topic that our humble blog has touched on. The latest example of this is the all-important September issue of Vogue, which features a nostalgic look back at Beverly Johnson’s historic achievement of being the first African-American model to grace its cover in 1974. The article is penned by Johnson herself and of course features the famous cover shot, which we included in our story about the passing of pioneering black supermodel Naomi Sims and the legacy of black models throughout fashion’s history. Here’s a link to the original post if you missed it: http://thefameflame.wordpress.com/2009/08/06/black-beauty-america%e2%80%99s-first-black-supermodel-naomi-sims-dies-as-fashion-struggles-to-better-integrate-images-of-racial-diversity/

Aussie hunk Eric Bana goes for a summer-movie triple play in “The Time Traveler’s Wife.”

thefameflame — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 14:34:12 +0000

Australian actor Eric Bana is one of the busiest actors in Hollywood these days. After appearing as the Romulan villain in the hit “Star Trek” reboot in May and taking a comedic turn in last month’s Judd Apatow flick “Funny People,” Bana shows his romantic side alongside Rachel McAdams in “The Time Traveler’s Wife,” which opens August 14. The film’s unique premise has Bana playing a Chicago librarian who can travel back and forth through time. Unfortunately he cannot control his time shifts, which presents a daunting obstacle to his passionate love affair with Clare, an unusually patient artist, played by McAdams, struggling with their unorthodox romance. Bana, who became famous in Australia as a stand-up comedian and a star of the popular 1993-1996 sketch comedy series “Full Frontal,” is known more in America for action-oriented roles in “Troy,” “Hulk,” and “Black Hawk Down.” His last outing as a romantic lead, albeit an unsympathetic one, as King Henry VIII in “The Other Boleyn Girl,” bombed at the U.S. box office, taking in just $27 million, according to online box office tracker The-Numbers.com. This summer has been relatively hit-and-miss for him. “Star Trek” is one of the year’s top moneymakers with a domestic take of $255 million while “Funny People” hasn’t lived up to Apatow’s recent efforts, bringing in just $41.7 million since July 31.

Bana was captivating as the villainous Nero in "Star Trek."

Pairing Bana with McAdams may work in the film’s favor, however, since she’s emerged as a versatile young leading lady with a skill for selling romantic sagas. After memorable “sexy girl” roles in “The Hot Chick” and “Mean Girls,” McAdams broke out in the 2004 tearjerker “The Notebook,” which grossed $81 million stateside and is widely regarded as a classic contemporary romance or, dare we say it, the ultimate chick flick. She returned to comedy the following year as the romantic interest in “Wedding Crashers,” which earned a whopping $209 million and put her in high demand. McAdams radiates an appealing combination of brainy vulnerability and feisty sturdiness, traits she showcased as the hotel manager unwittingly dragged into an assassination plot in the tense 2005 thriller “Red Eye” and as the caustic sister in the quirky comedy “The Family Stone.” Matched up with Bana’s brooding sex appeal, she is likely to make audiences swoon mightily for this romantic tale based on a best-selling novel. Bana fans unfamiliar with his zanier side, meanwhile, should check him out as Poida, one of his popular characters from “Full Frontal” in the footage below.

Black Beauty: America’s first black supermodel Naomi Sims dies as fashion struggles to better integrate images of racial diversity.

thefameflame — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 16:02:52 +0000

Naomi Sims' groundbreaking Life magazine cover in 1969.

Long before Naomi Campbell was celebrated on the cover of Time magazine as a symbol of the supermodel phenomenon of the 1990s, another black model named Naomi made waves in the fashion industry. Naomi Sims, who died from cancer August 1 at the age of 61, was widely regarded as the first black supermodel thanks to her groundbreaking success as a runway and editorial model in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. Sims’ ascension to the top of the modeling hierarchy coincided with the Black Pride movement. She personified the motto Black is Beautiful, literally, when she graced the cover of Life magazine in 1969 for a story about the popularity of black models. Sims, who also appeared on the cover of Ladies’ Home Journal in 1968, paved the way for black models to take center stage on the fashion scene in the 1970s as designers became enamored with their special flair on the runway. Graceful catwalkers such as Pat Cleveland and Alva Chinn became industry stars, but Sims’ appeal translated into mainstream fame, so much so that she was offered the title role in the 1972 cult action film “Cleopatra Jones,” which she rejected because she objected to the film’s depiction of black people, according to The New York Times. By this time Sims had become bored with modeling and, true to her pioneering nature, leveraged her status as a beauty icon for black women to launch an eponymous wig line and cosmetics brand that grew into an empire that exists to this day. Sims’ achievements were followed by the further mainstreaming of black beauty in the fashion and media spheres by Beverly Johnson, who was the first black model to appear on the cover of American Vogue, and Iman, the Ethiopian beauty who launched her own line of cosmetics for women of color after her legendary run as a top model in the ‘70s and ‘80s.

Beverly Johnson landed her famous Vogue cover in 1974.

It’s telling that Sims and Iman chose makeup as post-modeling career moves given the limited attention women of color have long received from mainstream cosmetics companies. Revlon featured Iman and Johnson together in its long-running “Unforgettable Women” campaign and in the early ‘90s signed runway star Veronica Webb to an exclusive contract to represent its ColorStyle collection for women of color only to relegate her to supporting player status in core Revlon brand campaigns showcasing Cindy Crawford and Claudia Schiffer. Cover Girl did a better job running ads featuring Lana Ogilvie in mainstream magazines as well as African-American targeted media. Revlon improved its integrated multicultural marketing approach by signing film star Halle Berry as a brand ambassador across all its product categories in 1996. Thirteen years later, Berry continues as a leading Revlon face while pop diva Beyoncé fronts the L’Oreal brand. Both of these stars have celebrity firepower that crosses racial lines, but black fashion models have seen their visibility within the industry shrink in recent times. Bethann Hardison, another pioneering black model who now runs her own talent agency and made Tyson Beckford a modeling star, spearheaded a campaign to raise awareness of the diminishing presence of black models, particularly during Fashion Week runway shows in New York City. Hardison harnessed her fashion connections to assemble a Who’s Who of top black models for industry events that brought media attention to the issue. Her efforts seem to be yielding early signs of progress.

Johnson and Iman appeared in Revlon's famous "Unforgettable Women" campaign in the late '80s.

Vogue Italia won international attention last year for exclusively dedicating the editorial images in its June issue – dubbed the Black Issue — to the world’s top black models, instantly becoming a collector’s item. Chanel Iman, a favorite of recent runway shows, has also emerged as an editorial and advertising star while her contemporary Arlenis Sosa scored a Lancôme contract. Mass-market brands have had black spokespeople for more than a decade, so the Lancôme announcement, like Estee Lauder’s now-concluded deal with Ethiopian beauty Liya Kebede in 2003, reveals how slow upscale beauty companies have been to invest in the marketability of black women as brand icons. Fashion is cyclical by nature and these recent high-profile milestones may or may not signal a permanent change for the better when it comes to the visibility of black beauty in fashion and media. However, Sims’ passing, coming just as her seminal career moments are featured in The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s “Model as Muse” exhibit in New York City, gives one food for thought. Rome may not have been built in a day, but it’s been 40 years since Sims was featured on the cover of Life.

The incomparable Naomi Campbell on the cover of Time magazine.

Liya Kebede added color to Estee Lauder's history of faces in 2003.

Italian Vogue's popular Black Issue showcased a stellar lineup of black models.

Almost Famous: Hot Scotsman Gerard Butler takes another shot at Hollywood stardom in “The Ugly Truth.”

thefameflame — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 15:41:54 +0000

This weekend Katherine Heigl will try to make good on predictions by showbiz pundits that she is the new Julia Roberts with the opening of her latest romantic comedy “The Ugly Truth.” Heigl and her leading man, Gerard Butler, have their work cut out for them since “Truth” is coming up against the Harry Potter juggernaut ($185 million and counting in less than two weeks). Early reviews have been decidedly mixed with accusations arising that the movie’s coarse tone, reflective of the frat-boy sensibility so prevalent in recent “rom-coms,” saps the stars of their natural charm. This, combined with an egregiously predictable plot, even by Hollywood’s assembly-line movie standards, will render it yet another instance where Heigl racks up one more IOU on her early film star promise and will likely thank her stars she held on to her day job at “Grey’s Anatomy.” Butler, meanwhile, finds himself in a similar fix. A ruggedly handsome Scottish-Irish import who Hollywood has been trying to mold into an A-list star for nearly a decade, he’s the guy mainstream moviegoers kinda -sorta-maybe recognize from notable performances in a wide range of films. Timing doesn’t seem to be his strong suit. He played a long-haired, bare-chested Count Dracula terrorizing contemporary Los Angeles in Wes Craven’s “Dracula 2000” way before the sexy vampire trend reached fever pitch.

Butler as a long-maned Count Dracula in "Dracula 2000."

In 2003 he had his biggest early break as the romantic foil to Angelina Jolie’s Lara Croft in the Tomb Raider sequel “The Cradle of Life.” Although sharing chemistry with Jolie in a sexy, competitive dynamic that foreshadowed her interplay with Brad Pitt in “Mr. and Mrs. Smith,” Butler’s charisma was muted by Jolie’s superstar presence. Casting agents had nevertheless taken notice and continued to gamble on him in roles that harnessed his Alpha-male sex appeal. Romancing Emmy Rossum as the title character in 2004’s “The Phantom of the Opera” did little for him other than surprise moviegoers with his vocal skills. However, Gerard’s next role, as the Spartan King Leonidas in the CGI epic “300,” brought him into the A-list sphere. A special effects groundbreaker that told a compelling story while remaining true to the popular graphic novel that was its source, “300” was the sleeper hit of the summer of 2006. Gerard’s chiseled physique was a technological marvel in itself and his rigorous workout regimen was feverishly documented in the press, cementing the 39-year-old’s sex symbol status. His recognition factor, however, remains debatable. His biggest box-office performance to date was in a period piece where his appearance was heavily altered by CGI. Can movie fans make the connection between the heroic King Leonidas and Butler’s newer roles?

Chiseled in CGI as King Leonidas in the 2006 hit "300."

His follow-up to “300,” as Hilary Swank’s deceased husband in 2007’s “P.S. I Love You,” tanked. His role as a cocky TV reporter generating sexual tension with Heigl’s producer character in “The Ugly Truth” continues the film industry’s insistence on making him a romantic leading man, but he may be better suited to the action genre. Butler falls within a group of foreign actors whose bankability lies mainly in a rugged sex symbol appeal. It’s no coincidence that his name was brought up as an early contender for the James Bond role that went to Daniel Craig. Gerard, like Craig and fellow Bond hopefuls Hugh Jackman and Clive Owen always seem to score better when they’re scruffy and in full action hero mode. While all these actors are well respected for their work on stage and in independent films, it seems that American movie audiences prefer their romantic leads be more boyishly approachable like Judd Apatow favorite Paul Rudd and Ryan Reynolds, who scored recently in Sandra Bullock’s comeback vehicle “The Proposal.” This weekend’s box office numbers for “The Ugly Truth” should reveal whether Butler can buck the trend.

Butler sizzled with Angelina Jolie in "Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life" (2003).

"P.S. I Love You" was a romantic miss for him in 2007.

The Fame Flame scoops Newsweek on the sexy vampire trend.

thefameflame — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 18:37:45 +0000

There’s an interesting article on Newsweek.com that explores why vampires hold such allure for women in the current pop culture. It mentions “True Blood,” “Vampire Diaries,” and “Twilight,” of course, and quotes vampire novelists and professors of pyschology and psychiatry to dissect the growing appeal of hunky vampires. We at The Fame Flame posted on the trend back in May, so they could’ve checked in with us about it. If you missed it, here’s our original scoop. It’s good to the last drop. http://thefameflame.wordpress.com/2009/05/26/blood-relations-vampires-are-the-new-sex-symbols/

A super-hot Fergie’s career goes “Boom Boom Pow.”

thefameflame — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 14:46:42 +0000

Life is good these days for Stacy Ferguson, better known as hip-hop star Fergie. She is gracing the cover of the August issue of Marie Claire magazine, which follows her appearance on the cover of Allure’s July issue. While Fergie’s lovely lady lumps are getting showcased in fashion magazines, her powerful pipes are all over the airwaves. After the huge success of her 2006 solo album “The Dutchess,” Fergie surprised fans by reuniting with her band mates in The Black Eyed Peas for “The E.N.D.,” yet another smash CD for the group that spawned “Boom Boom Pow,” a monster hit that was perched on Billboard’s singles charts at number one for 12 consecutive weeks. Things are looking pretty good for her on the home front, too. Her handsome husband, actor Josh Duhamel, is currently riding the box-office success of the megahit “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen,” which has grossed more than $700 million worldwide to date. Ca-Ching, Ca-Ching indeed. Meanwhile, Fergie’s idiosyncratic beauty is fronting the latest ad for M.A.C. cosmetics’ AIDS fundraising beauty line Viva Glam. Bathed in a liberal dose of trendy lilac, the ads, true to both M.A.C. and Fergie’s edgy appeal, stop you in your tracks.

Looking Fergalicious in Allure's July issue.

As if all this exposure weren’t enough, Fergie fans can look forward to seeing her regale Oscar winner Daniel Day Lewis as the prostitute Saraghina in the upcoming film adaptation of the Broadway musical “Nine.” Trailers for the film currently playing in movie theaters show Fergie stealing the spotlight from heavy hitters Nicole Kidman and Penelope Cruz with a lusty rendition of “Be Italian.” The only cast member who matches her sultry appeal is the legendary film icon Sophia Loren; but then who could compete with her? Fergie may not be Italian but she’s certainly living la dolce vita.

Feathered in lilac for M.A.C.'s Viva Glam campaign.

Harry Potter Gets Hotter in “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.”

thefameflame — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 13:14:04 +0000

The wizards-in-training at Hogwarts are growing up fast. When “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” opens July 15 fans will be served a heaping helping of romantic intrigue along with the usual magical mayhem. “Half-Blood Prince,” the sixth installment in the popular film series based on the J.K. Rowling novels, sees Harry Potter and his sidekicks Ron Weasely and Hermoine Granger on the brink of saying goodbye to their teen years. On screen, Ron is no longer as weaselly and gets a new girlfriend, Lavender Brown, played by newcomer Jessie Cave. Hermoine, in turn, feels like a third wheel with Lavender around. Will this new development make the brainy beauty realize her true feelings for the red-haired Romeo? Fans will find out soon. In the meantime, Harry Potter’s terrific trio, Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grit and Emma Watson, grace the cover of this week’s Entertainment Weekly, which offers a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the production of the film and looks into what’s in store for the young actors. Although all three are currently filming “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” the next installment in the series that will be shown in two parts – “Lord of the Rings”-style — in 2010 and 2011, it appears cultivating a more grown-up image is on the agenda for all three.

Emma Watson goes glam for Elle in the U.K.

Watson, 19, is featured on the August cover of the U.K. edition of Elle magazine working a rocker chick vibe that brings to mind Avril Lavigne before she went glam. Watson reportedly will next star in a film called “Napoleon and Betty,” while the 20-year-old Grit will appear alongside Rupert Everett and Emily Blunt (“The Devil Wears Prada”) in an action-comedy titled “Wild Target.” Radcliffe, who turns 20 on July 23, has the most at stake since his former “Harry Potter” rival Robert Pattinson went on to headline his own teen-movie series based on the “Twilight” vampire novels, effectively becoming his real-life box-office competition.

Radcliffe bared all in the 2008 stage production "Equus."

The boyish Radcliffe, who is arguably more charming than the tall, brooding Pattinson, tackled a meatier role last year when he appeared in the London and Broadway stage revivals of the drama Equus in which he had a memorable nude scene that was well documented on the Internet. Posters for the production featured Radcliffe looking lean and rugged in the intense role of a disturbed teen who blinds horses in a small town near London. Radcliffe makes another dramatic departure in his next non-Potter role. In “The Journey is the Destination,” he plays Dan Eldon, a British reporter for the Reuters news service who was killed while on assignment in Somalia in the early 1990s. Fans of “Harry Potter,” however, can still look forward to more wand-waving action from Hogwarts’ favorite wizard for a few years to come.

Sacha Baron Cohen returns to terrorize and tantalize moviegoers as a flamboyant fashionista in “Brüno.”

thefameflame — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 13:07:25 +0000

Don’t ask, don’t tell? Don’t bother. Sacha Baron Cohen will be letting it all hang out when “Bruno,” the follow-up to “Borat,” his outrageous 2006 hit about a Kazakh reporter exploring American culture, hits movie theaters July 10. The boorish Borat ticked off everyone from Jews and Arabs to feminists and Pamela Anderson. This time around, the button-pushing comic has set his sights on gays, or at least the rest of the world’s discomfort with them, as flamboyant Austrian fashion reporter Brüno, who travels the world in leather hot pants and animal-print tops on an endless quest to find the next big, trendy thing. His adventures, which take him from the high-fashion runways of Paris and Milan to the sales aisles at Sears, serve as a sociological expedition of sorts as he innocently tests America’s tolerance for anyone who deviates from the “respectable” norm. Based on a recurring character from Cohen’s 1990s HBO sketch program Da Ali G Show, “Brüno” arrives in timely fashion as America struggles with the issue of gay marriage. Brüno, you see, is very, very, very gay. As a fashion reporter, Brüno’s over-the-top extravagance parodies the mainstream media’s penchant for exploiting the jester-like vibe of male fashion commentators such as Steven Cojocaru, Carson Kressley and Robert Verdi. Brüno is like a hybrid of these high-profile fashionistas topped with a Zac Efron haircut. Cohen cannily raised the stakes even further by making Brüno a Euro fashionista who brings to mind Dieter, the sexually ambiguous German talk-show host played by Mike Myers on Saturday Night Live during the 1990s.

Most conversations with Brüno wind their way back to the topic of homosexuality, which provides a powder keg for Cohen’s signature confrontational style in scenes where Brüno encounters soldiers, hunters, politicians and salesclerks. To stoke interest in the film, Cohen has carried out a string of publicity stunts in character as Brüno, crashing the fashion shows of designers Stella McCartney and Agatha Ruiz de la Prada, and falling into the lap of rapper Eminem at the MTV Video Awards in May. His appearance on the cover of the July issue of GQ, as Brüno in a nude pose that pays homage to the famous one by Jennifer Anniston from last year, was covered up when displayed at a newsstand at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport, a move usually reserved for soft-porn magazines. The incident made national headlines, giving “Brüno” its best exposure yet. When it comes to generating buzz, it appears Cohen has things… covered.

Final Cut: Nip/Tuck’s Ten Most Shocking Storylines

thefameflame — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 19:43:53 +0000

The recent announcement that F/X’s Nip/Tuck would permanently cease production after filming wrapped in June disappointed the legion of fans hooked on the over-the-top storylines, graphic surgery scenes and twisted characters the pioneering show has offered up since 2003. The completed episodes set to air over the next two years are bound to have their share of twists and turns, but we thought it appropriate to take a fond look back at the most memorable “Oh, my God” moments of the past six years. Believe us when we tell you it wasn’t easy limiting it to just ten.

Christian thawed Dr. Wolper's chilly facade.

The Psycho Therapist

When Christian (Julian McMahon) was tormented by homoerotic dreams about Sean (Dylan Walsh) he turned to therapist Dr. Faith Wolper (Brooke Shields), who promptly informed the shocked doc that he was suppressing a desire for his best friend. Cool and sophisticated in her chic ensembles, Dr. Wolper pressed Christian’s buttons with her haughty manner, when she wasn’t bent over her desk with her skirt pushed down around her ankles, that is. Leave it to Christian to be the one to finally come between Brooke and her Calvins.

Gina (Jessalyn Gilsig) went out with a bang.

Gina Falls for Christian

Potty-mouthed nymphomaniac Gina Russo could never get Christian out of her system. She would pop in and out of his life over the years, but he finally found a way to drop her permanently, albeit unintentionally, when she lured him into an illicit round of rooftop sex so vigorous that poor Christian literally banged her off the side of the building to the street below. He always did consider himself a lady killer.

Ava Moore (Famke Janssen) was suspicously tall, dark and handsome.

The Lady is a Dude!

Pushy life coach Ava Moore (Famke Janssen) arrived on the scene to help Julia put her life in order. Her unorthodox methods included seducing Julia’s vulnerable son Matt and slowly turning him against his parents. After a bit of “probing” between the sheets, a crafty Christian discovered that the manipulative Ava was in fact the recipient of the world’s most successful sex change operation. Ava promptly skipped town in a stylish ensemble that RuPaul would have indeed envied.

Organ dealer James Lebeau coveted Michelle's heart, figuratively speaking.

The Organ Player

Poor, lonely Liz couldn’t believe her luck when a gorgeous girl picked her up in a bar. Her disbelief proved prophetic when she woke up the next day in a tub full of ice with one of her kidneys missing. An organ harvesting ring using pretty women as bait had hit town, led by James Lebeau, a mysterious woman paying down big-time debt played by the still sexy ‘70s film siren Jacqueline Bisset. James wreaked all sorts of havoc, swiping organs and blackmailing people left and right, all the while nursing a Sapphic crush on one of her former stable girls, Christian’s latest bedmate (and boss) Michelle Landau (Sanaa Lathan).

Phony talent agent Colleen had a fatal attraction for Sean.

The Right Stuff

When Sean started consulting on a plastic surgery series loosely based on the shenanigans at McNamara/Troy, his overly maternal agent Colleen Rose (Sharon Gless), who in reality sold teddy bears for a living, got rid of some competition from a rival talent agent by stuffing him to death, turning him into a human teddy bear. When Sean wised up to her deception and banished her from his life she pulled a Glenn Close in “Fatal Attraction,” taking several stabs at killing him until meeting her own grisly demise.

Dr. Logan Taper (Richard Burgi) turned Christian's couch into a love seat.

In the Hot Seat

“Desperate Housewives” actor Richard Burgi made a brief pit stop at McNamara/Troy as Logan Taper, a seemingly perfect surgeon who showed an unusually earnest appreciation for Christian’s office decor. It turned out that the good doctor had a romantic fetish for inanimate objects, which Christian and Sean discovered upon walking in on him as he was molesting Christian’s couch, giving new meaning to the term love seat.

Dawn Budge (Rosie O'Donnell) was left speechless, for a while, anyway.

Rosie Zips It

As if paying Christian $400,000 to sleep with her weren’t enough, loudmouth lottery winner Dawn Budge (Rosie O’Donnell) returned to McNamara/Troy in need of some work after an unfortunate run-in with an angry bird. In a scenario that would’ve pleased O’Donnell foil Donald Trump to no end, the pugnacious Rosie found herself confined to a bed with her mouth sewn shut. The sight had us in stitches.

Quentin and Kit were Nip/Tuck's slasher siblings.

Twisted Sister

After months of gruesome attacks on McNamara/Troy’s patients, friends and ultimately Christian and Sean themselves, the serial rapist-slasher known as The Carver was revealed to be the surgeons’ new partner, bisexual eunuch Dr.Quentin Costa (Bruno Campos). Even more shockingly, sexy detective Kit McGraw (Rhona Mitra), who was sleeping with Christian while investigating the slashings, turned out to be Quentin’s sister and accomplice in his vendetta against McNamara/Troy. Crazy Kit even let Quentin slash her face to throw everyone off the trail. When last seen, the sicko siblings fled town to terrorize the vain throughout Europe.

Donna Mills guest-starred as a socialite with a purr-fect new face.

The Cat-astrophe

When 1980s soap stars Donna Mills, Joan Van Ark, Shari Belafonte and Deborah Shelton showed up as plastic surgery-addicted socialites, Christian found his dance card quite full with the libidinous ladies. After administering certain procedures to each — then operating on them — he wound up literally bringing out a kittenish quality in Mills’ character, who was revealed to be off psychiatric medications when she requested a torn-from-the-headlines feline makeover that her livid friends demanded Christian promptly reverse.

Will Julia go back to men now that Olivia is gone?

It’s a Girl Thing

After years of shuttling between ex-husband Sean and ex-lover Christian, Julia (Joely Richardson) discovered that the perfect man for her was… a woman. She found love with attorney Olivia Lord (Portia De Rossi), barely surviving multiple attempts on her life by Olivia’s psycho-nymph daughter Eden, only to lose Olivia on the operating table during routine surgery performed by Sean. An understandably upset Eden threw Olivia’s still-warm ashes in Sean and Julia’s faces as a parting gesture.//
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Farewell, Farrah: An angel gets her wings.

thefameflame — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 03:09:01 +0000

Charlie has lost one of his angels and the world seems like a much less sunny place. When Farrah Fawcett succumbed to cancer on June 25 at the age of 62, the world had been bracing itself for the news, but the emptiness felt by her fans was no less profound. Unlike the sudden passing of fellow icon Michael Jackson the same day, Farrah’s impending death had hovered over the ‘70s golden girl and those who loved her ever since her condition became public three years ago. It became eerily tangible to her fans when NBC aired her self-produced documentary “Farrah’s Story,” in May, earning the network huge audience numbers, as expected. Even in her final days, Farrah made for captivating television, the medium that launched her and would document her darkest moments. It’s telling that she chose to give the public such intimate access to her private battle, her appearance a sad shadow of the all-American sex symbol she once was, as she fought valiantly to find a cure for the cancer that would eventually take her life.

The Farrah phenomenon of Charlie's Angels in 1976.

The Farrah viewers saw in the special was more like the strong women she came to embody in memorable TV movies of the ‘80s such as “Margaret Bourke-White” and “Nazi Hunter: The Beate Klarsfeld Story.” While some dismissed the project as a final, desperate grab for glory by a vain pin-up girl past her prime, her fans knew that it was Farrah’s way of sharing her all with them while shining a spotlight on the tragedy of cancer. She was more than a poster girl. She was a strong woman who wrote her own rules and lived life in a big way. She was from Texas after all and they say everything’s big there. It is a larger-than-life quality, an indefinable X-factor, that makes for a pop culture icon and Farrah had it in spades. When she emerged as the most popular of the stars of “Charlie’s Angels” in 1976, it wasn’t because she was the prettiest or the most talented. Kate Jackson was a better actress, at the time anyway, and Jaclyn Smith was arguably the most classically beautiful of the three. Still, it was Farrah who emerged as a brand separate from the “Angels” phenomenon, foreshadowing today’s celebrity product empires with her own line of hair products and Farrah dolls. When people saw that wide Ultra Brite smile and that leonine mane on screen, it hit them like a drug. Farrah was instant happy; sunshine in a red bathing suit. It wasn’t until she rebelled and uprooted her life, quitting “Charlie’s Angels” and divorcing then-husband Lee Majors (TV’s Six Million Dollar Man), that Farrah began to realize her true self, temporarily alienating her fans in the process.

She emerged as a gritty performer in '80s projects such as the film version of "Extremities."

She made a point of pulling her famous hair into a severe pony tail and wearing minimal makeup for her role as a slain socialite in the 1981 TV movie “Murder in Texas,” a project that would set her on the path to gaining respect as an actress. During this period Farrah explored gritty roles tinged with violence: the battered wife in “The Burning Bed,” the woman who turns the tables on her would-be rapist in “Extremities,” and the murderous mother in “Small Sacrifices.” The 1990s ushered in a rocky period for her marked by notable career low points and personal problems. An attempt to buoy the flagging career of her longtime companion Ryan O’Neal by agreeing to co-star with him in the 1991 CBS sitcom “Good Sports” quickly fizzled. Farrah seemed to be careening into a mid-life crisis in 1997. She split with O’Neal and produced an erotic performance-art video for Playboy called “Farrah Fawcett: All of Me.” The video, in which she uses her naked body as a human brush to paint artwork, and an accompanying nude layout in the magazine, at the age of 50, were hugely successful. The same could not be said about her infamous appearance to promote the video on The David Letterman Show. Her incoherent ramblings and fidgety appearance lit a firestorm of media speculation that she was high on drugs during the interview. The criticism shadowed her until she turned in another strong performance in the critically acclaimed film “The Apostle” opposite Robert Duvall the same year. O’Neal, who had reunited with Farrah and stood by her until the very end, told Barbara Walters on 20/20 this week that her David Letterman meltdown was an act she put on to parody a dizzy, middle-aged centerfold. Whether this is true or not, Farrah seemed obsessed with revisiting her ‘70s heyday. As the Playboy video proved, she had admirably maintained her curvy, athletic figure, but tell-tale signs of plastic surgery had the tabloids and Internet gossips buzzing about botched procedures that had robbed her of her storied beauty.

Her final public appearance with Kate Jackson and Jaclyn Smith honored Aaron Spelling at the 2006 Emmy Awards.

Rather than embrace the aging process and mature into character roles, Farrah seemed hell-bent on recapturing her youth, even starring in the TV Land reality show “Chasing Farrah” in 2005. To some the show merely documented how she had become a sad caricature of her former self. Still, it could not have been easy for her to watch her celebrated looks gradually fade over the years. It is the ultimate irony that the most recent images of her burned into the public’s consciousness are those of the emaciated cancer patient, defiantly shaving off her trademark tresses before they fell victim to the side effects of chemotherapy. She tossed aside her vanity and freed herself from the specter of her pin-up glory days. Allowing us to see her worst moments, she showed herself at her best. Rest in peace, Farrah. We’ll remember you as you were: daring, sexy and smiling, of course.

She and Lee Majors were a glamour couple of the '70s.

Her legendary locks spawned a shampoo deal with Faberge.

Mego's Farrah doll was a remarkable likeness.

Her Playboy projects were recordbreakers.

Ryan O'Neal stood by her until the end.

Farrah will be remembered as the epitome of the care-free spirit of the '70s.