The TV Zone

There are plenty of tributes floating around at the moment, but this is one that I think merits nine minutes of your time - put together by MomentbyMoment1978.

Sorry, MomentbyMoment1978 - I don't know your real name, but you did a fine job here. Seems to me what's so good here is that you get a pretty nice overview of the career - with some notable omissions, like "Double Exposure: The Story of Margaret Bourke-White," "The Apostle," "Cannonball Run," "Murder in Texas," and "Small Sacrifices."

I'll try to locate some clips of those, and post on the jump. Point is, she WAS a good actress who DID do some good, even very good, work through the '80s.

Some of the clips below from "Angels," otherwise, the credit list:

"Somebody Killed Her Husband" with Jeff Bridges, "Sunburn" co-starring Charles Grodin and Art Carney, "Saturn 3" with Harvey Keitel and Kirk Douglas, "The Burning Bed" with Paul LeMatt & Richard Masur, "See You in the Morning" with Jeff Bridges (co-starring with FF), and "Extremities" with Alfre Woodard, Diana Scarwid, and James Russo.

Continue reading "Farrah Fawcett Tribute: "Farrah-Thon"" »

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People Mag has posted statements from Kate Jackson, Cheryl Ladd, and Jacklyn Smith.

And here they are:

"Farrah had courage, she had strength, and she had faith. And now she has peace as she rests with the real angels," said Jaclyn Smith after the death of her friend and Charlie's Angels costar Farrah Fawcett.

Cheryl Ladd, who replaced Fawcett says: "I'm terribly sad about Farrah's passing. She was incredibly brave, and God will be welcoming her with open arms."

"I will miss Farrah every day," says Kate Jackson. "She was a selfless person who loved her family and friends with all her heart, and what a big heart it was. Farrah showed immense courage and grace throughout her illness and was an inspiration to those around her. When I think of Farrah I will remember her kindness, her cutting dry wit and, of course, her beautiful smile."

Added Jackson, "Today when you think of Farrah remember her smiling, because that is exactly how she wanted to be remembered."

>> Photos: Farrah Fawcett through the years.

Now NBC News has a Farrah special...ABC will air its own tonight at 10 as well. The details on NBC:

"Dateline NBC" will air "Farrah Fawcett: The Life and Death of an Angel," a very special tribute to Farrah tonight from 10-11 PM ET. In addition to a look at Farrah's life and her battle with cancer, the hour-long tribute will share recent interviews with Ryan O'Neal, Alana
Stewart, her dad, sister, fellow "Charlie's Angel" Kate Jackson, and never before aired parts of a 1997 interview with Stone Phillips.

On Friday, June 26, 9-11 PM ET, NBC News will re-broadcast "Farrah's Story," a two-hour documentary about Farrah Fawcett's battle with cancer that she shot with her own video camera over the past two and a half years. The special, which first aired last month on NBC, is intensely intimate and emotional. It is Farrah's story in her own words as she explains her battle and her journey with cancer, and it is her narration that tells this story.

>> Photos: Farrah Fawcett through the years.

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Yes, it's over.

Entertainment Tonight posted first, and AP has confirmed... Here's my obit for her, with the Ryan O'Neal statement, supplemented by the AP...

Farrah Fawcett, a reigning symbol of American pop culture who never quite managed to escape the one electrifying role that made her that symbol -- as one of "Charlie's Angels" -- has died. She was 62, and had been suffering from anal cancer, which had recently spread to her liver.

"After a long and brave battle with cancer, our beloved Farrah has passed away," Fawcett's longtime partner Ryan O'Neal said in a statement released by Fawcett's publicist, Paul Bloch. "Although this is an extremely difficult time for her family and friends, we take comfort in the beautiful times that we shared with Farrah over the years and the knowledge that her life brought joy to so many people around the world."

A near-mythic figure of '70s TV screen and pinup poster fame, with her radiant grin and bounteous hair, Fawcett became a cultural star -- at one time adored, then mimicked by fans, and mobbed by paparazzi. She was one of those uniquely Hollywood/tabloid creations who eventually became famous simply because . . . she was famous.

Please head to the jump...

>> Photos: Farrah Fawcett through the years.

Continue reading "Farrah Fawcett Has Died at Age 62" »

Is Farrah about to die?

There were a bunch of reports over the last few hours that are dire indeed: A priest has "reportedly" been summoned to her hospital bedside (per TV media reports) while friends and family are beginning to assemble, too.

Now, that's according to news reports, and her publicist is denying nothing, confirming nothing.

Meanwhile, Barbara Walters said on "GMA" this morning that the priest there for last rites; "I'm not sure if she's going to make it through the day." Per "GMA:" "As Fawcett clings to life, members of her inner circle, Dr. Lawrence Piro and longtime love Ryan O'Neal are gathered at her hospital bedside.

ABC clearly thinks the end is near because the network just moved up its Fawcett special to tonight. "Her Life, Her Loves, her Legacy" was to air tomorrow night on "20/20."

What else to make of the priest? Honestly, not necessarily anything. A common assumption is that priests arrive at bedside only at hour of death, to administer so-called last rites. But that's an oversimplification, and for the sick they have many other roles, too, notably the administering of the sacrament -- it's one of seven and it's called anointing of the sick. He could be there for that. (Just to be clear, and I hope I am, sacrament of the sick can also be extreme unction, and can be administered as last rites. But as mentioned, no one - save, apparently, Walters - seems to know at the moment.)

Or, of course, the priest could be at the hospital for something else too.

That something else? Don't forget: Ryan O'Neal has told ABC that they are about to be married. Priests, you may have heard, also administer the sacrament of marriage . . .

Before we all get in panic, let's see what the REAL story is.

The simple hard and cold fact: It does not look good going forward, whether she is getting married, or preparing to die, or both. We should know more as the day progresses.

>> Photos: Farrah Fawcett through the years.

Here's the news of the minute: Farrah Fawcett - dying from cancer in California - and longtime companion, Ryan O'Neal, plan to marry.

No further details but O'Neal told Barbara Walters they've finally decided to get married. She had the O'Neal interview on Friday's "20/20."

The transcript, via ABC:

"I've asked her to marry me, again and, she's agreed," O'Neal, 68, told Walters.

O'Neal described Fawcett's deteriorating condition, saying the 62-year-old iconic actress is "fighting for her life.

"We will, as soon as she can, say yes. ... Maybe we can just nod her head," he said, with a laugh.

Fawcett and O'Neal began dating in 1980 and lived together with son Redmond....

"I used to ask her to marry me all the time," he said. "But ... it just got to be a joke, you know. We just joked about it."

But O'Neal told Walters that he was confident the two will finally get married. "I promise you, we will. ... Absolutely."

(Pix: Kevin Winter/Getty)

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There's a very interesting story in LA Times this morning about Farrah Fawcett, and if you haven't seen, head here to check it out...

Essentially all based on an interview with then-LA Timesman, Charles Ornstein - held some time ago - and goes into considerable detail about her battle to unmask someone at the UCLA Medical Center who was selling her records to the National Enquirer.

And guess what? Far short of it being some sad sort of quixotic venture, Fawcett won! She found out that the leaks were in fact coming from UCLA and that the center, initially, did nothing about it, while trying to get her to donate millions to a foundation in her own name.

Here's a pull-out: "Fawcett said she decided to speak up about the ordeal because she wants to see the Enquirer charged criminally for inducing UCLA workers to invade her records. "They obviously know it's like buying stolen goods," she said. "They've committed a crime. They've paid her money."

"I'm a private person," she said in the interview. "I'm shy about people knowing things. And I'm really shy about my medical [care]. It would be good if I could just go and heal and then when I decided to go out, it would be OK.

"It seems that there are areas that should be off-limits."

Fascinating piece. Good for Fawcett.

There's a pretty good story on Farrah Fawcett in People right now, and worth reading - interview with Ryan O'Neal about her status - sleeps most of the time, sees a few close friends, on IV's for nourishment. One quote: "She stays in bed now. The doctors see that she is comfortable...The treatment has pretty much ended." Another: "I told [Redmond], 'She's rebounding.' I lied to him. I lie to her. It's the best thing."

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Farrah Fawcett - struggling with cancer, as you're aware - sold her story several weeks ago to NBC via an independent production deal. Now...here comes the special.

It'll air Friday May 15, 9 to 11, under the NBC News banner. Here's outtakes from the press release, posted on the jump:

"'Farrah's Story' chronicles the actress' two and half year battle with cancer. Intensely intimate and emotional, the footage becomes Farrah's video diary in which she not only shares her thoughts and feelings but also her treatments in the U.S. and Germany. This is Farrah Fawcett's story in her own words as she explains her battle and her journey with cancer, and it is her narration that tells this story.

"This film is very personal," Fawcett said during filming. "At the time, I didn't know if anybody would ever see it. But at some point, the footage took on a life of its own and dictated that it be seen."

Continue reading ""Farrah's Story:" May 15" »

This wire story crossed a few hours ago, but just in case you haven't yet seen...The producer who's working on Farrah Fawcett's documentary says she is "not on death's door," per indications earlier today, while she was hospitalized for a "blood clot..."

And...her doctor told Extra: "It turned out that the procedure caused a small amount of bleeding in one of the muscles of her abdomen, making a hematoma, which was quite painful."

Full AP story on the jump...

(Pix: AP)

Continue reading "Fawcett "Fine:" Producer " »