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Farrah’s greatest role
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Farrah Fawcett A/P Photo
Nine million viewers tuned in to see Farrah Fawcett’s documentary this past week, A Wing & a Prayer: Farrah’s Fight for Life. Millions more saw repeats of it on various other venues. Although Farrah has performed in many critically acclaimed stage, film, and television shows, in a very real way, this documentary about her battle against cancer could be seen as her greatest role.
Farrah has always been daring and ready to take risks with her career. Her pinup poster in the 1970s when she insisted on wearing a one piece swimsuit sold 12 million copies, a record for such posters. Many people thought Farrah had made a bad choice when she left the cast of Charlie’s Angels as agent Jill Munroe after only one season. But Farrah’s instincts were right as she went on to star in major motion pictures like Logan’s Run opposite actor Michael York.
Still, Farrah was stereotyped as the beautiful girl with the incredible hair, a situation that did not set well with her own self-image. She received critical acclaim for her performance as a battered wife in the 1984 TV movie, The Burning Bed, where both critics and the public realized Farrah Fawcett was much more than a pretty face framed by golden locks. In the off-Broadway production of Extremities, and later in the movie version, Farrah played a rape victim who turns the tables on her attacker, again winning high praise for her dramatic work.
A Wing & a Prayer: Farrah’s Fight for Life is not a film to feature the brilliant actress as an icon of American stage and film. The villain in the documentary is the real specter of cancer that Farrah has fought bravely for years. Her reason for making the documentary in collaboration with her long-time friend, Alana Stewart, was an altruistic act of bravery, providing information to cancer victims and raising awareness of the need for more research on the disease by the medical profession. Once again, the vivacious beauty let herself be seen as a real-life person, taking on the insidious menace of cancer. In the past, Farrah has taken on roles of women in dire circumstances, delivering powerful performances. This time, it is not a made-for-TV movie—it is her actual reality—and may well be Farrah’s greatest role.
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