The Footnoted Legacy of Farrah Fawcett: A Conservative's Tribute

by: david bozeman | published: 06 26, 2009

The entertainment world lost two giants on June 25. The deaths of Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett were both heartbreaking, and Jackson's was indeed a shock. He was always bigger than life, so in death his coverage relegated no less a superstar than Farrah Fawcett to the footnotes of the day's news. Her life and her greatest professional legacy deserve a greater public tribute and the following is written from a conservative perspective.

Farrah Fawcett spent nearly 40 years in the public eye, but it was her single season on Charlie's Angels that still defines her legacy. She wanted to be taken seriously as an actress, giving outstanding performances in TV's The Burning Bed and on film in Extremities, but if she is remembered primarily for Jill, Charlie's sexy private eye, there could be no finer tribute to her professional life.

To dissect Charlie's Angels and delve for hidden meaning is to violate what made it special. Kate Jackson, who played Sabrina, once said (and I'm paraphrasing) that yes, the show was light, it was so light that if you set it on the floor it would rise to the ceiling -- but that was the point of it. It was meant to entertain, not to enlighten. Still, the series as a whole, at this time, deserves a fair appraisal.

Philosopher Ayn Ran admired the series, noting that the girls had a nice spirit (but she failed to elaborate). As sexy as the angels were, it was, indeed, the nobler and livelier aspects of life that the show celebrated, though rarely mentioned. In fact, contrary to public perception, bikini shots were few and far between and complaints about excessive jiggle and cheesecake unfairly dogged the show.

The angels were sexy but never sexual. The few romantic entanglements portrayed were committed and monogamous and they never succumbed to the freewheeling lifestyle of LA in the 70s. They relied on their charm, which they never employed beyond coy flirtation and only in the course of their work. And therein lies the central aspect of the show: these women were bound, first and foremost, to their duties, always bravely, always professionally, never driven by any motive other than justice (though there was the occasional glee at getting even). Every disguise, every exotic locale was but a prop for the case at hand and they were rarely, if ever, encumbered by interpersonal rivalries and subplots. In true angelic nature, they would work some cases gratis, helping abused children, runaways, prostitutes, junkies and even each other along the way.

Some have argued that their characters were never fully fleshed out, but part of the fun for viewers was filling in the empty spaces. You just knew that their off time was as good and clean and exciting as their professional lives. While each character was distinct, each was secure, confident, adventurous and full of humor and goodwill. Jill, the athletic one, lived in a beach house, coached girl's basketball and exuded youth, vitality and a nothing-can-stop-me mindset that was as exciting for young girls as Farrah's famous poster was for young men.

But the show was never about off-duty details. They centered their lives around their work and each other. Some fictional detectives, particularly today, dwell in the dismal world of moral ambiguity, moving in the margins of society, employing questionable methods, but the Angels writers unashamedly avoided those deeper waters. The angels never battled convention or their own natures and fully gave themselves to their covers of the week (however preposterous the plotlines).

In a nutshell, the Angels embodied the notion that the finest aspects of life and human nature need no explaining or justification. In our navel- gazing, self-contemplative culture, the angels resonate as fully- fleshed free spirits not in spite of their spare, simplistic characterizations but because of them. Furthermore, the writers and performers deserve credit for proving that stark, good characters are as rich and interesting and compelling as the villains that actors relish the challenge of playing.

The lovely and talented Cheryl Ladd neatly filled the third slot after Farrah's departure, but the critical ribbing continued. To diehard fans, again, no justification was necessary. Likewise, Farrah's valiant fight to live needed no justification, though, sadly, as euthanasia and right-to-die issues spring up regularly, life today does, too often, require a passionate defense.

Detractors could argue that I am drawing saccharine-coated comfort from a cheesy, dated fluff-fest. Still, it is the numerous angel allusions, far more than her most critically acclaimed performance in The Burning Bed, that live on as her most loving tribute. She is no longer a former angel, she is among them -- someone surely has said that by now. Many thanks to the show's creators and the angels for showing the world honor, grace and purpose one hour at a time. Farrah Fawcett, age 62. RIP

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