Farrah Fawcett Passes Away After Long Cancer Battle

It was only a little more than a month ago, on Friday, May 15th, that NBC News aired Farrah's Story, a two-hour special chronicling actress Farrah Fawcett's battle against anal cancer. It was billed as "an extremely personal look at her battle with cancer," narrated by Fawcett herself.

She arrived on the scene in 1976 as one-third of the crime-fighting trio in TV’s “Charlie’s Angels.” The other two Angels were Kate Jackson and Jacklyn Smith.

She left after a contract dispute in the second season. However, she was always associated with the show and after the dispute was resolved, made a few guest appearances.

In 1973, she married actor Lee Majors. She was billed as Farrah Fawcett-Majors until 1979. She and Majors divorced in 1982.

In 1976, came "the poster."

Pro Arts Inc., pitched the idea of a poster of Fawcett to her agent, and a photo shoot was arranged. The resulting poster, of Farrah in a one-piece red bathing suit, was a best-seller; sales estimates ranged from over 5 million to 8 million to as high as 12 million copies.

In September 2006, underwent two weeks of tests and was told the bad news: she had anal cancer. She eventually went to Germany, as detailed in her documentary, for extensive alternative medical procedures. She was accompanied by Ryan O’Neal, with whom she has had a long on-and-off relationship, and a son.

Her cancer was said to be in remission in early 2007, but recurred in May of 2007.

Farrah Fawcett is survived by her father, James, and her son, Redmond James Fawcett O’Neal, from her relationship with Ryan O'Neal.

Fawcett once said of her celebrity, and of the show "Charlie's Angels", “When the show got to be No. 3, I figured it was our acting. When it got to be No. 1, I decided it could only be because none of us wears a bra.”