Spring Break
'Charlie's Angel' Farrah Fawcett dies at 62
LYNN ELBER - AP Television Writer
Issue date: 6/24/09 Section: News
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Fawcett, 62, died Thursday morning at St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica, after being diagnosed with anal cancer in 2006.
The news came just a month after the airing of "Farrah's Story," a documentary in which she made public her painful treatments and dispiriting setbacks - from shaving her golden locks before chemotherapy could claim them to undergoing experimental treatments in Germany.
"Her big message to people is don't give up. No matter what they say to you, keep fighting," Alana Stewart, who filmed Fawcett as she underwent treatment, said last month. NBC estimated the May 15, 2009, broadcast drew nearly 9 million viewers.
In the documentary, she also recounted her efforts to unmask the source of leaks from her UCLA Medical Center records, which led a hospital employee to plead guilty to violating a federal privacy law for selling celebrities' information to the National Enquirer.
On Thursday, Fawcett was with Ryan O'Neal, her longtime companion who returned to her side when she became ill. He is the father of her 24-year-old son, Redmond.
This month, O'Neal said he asked Fawcett to marry him and she agreed. They would wed "as soon as she can say yes," he said, but it never happened.
"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," O'Neal said in a statement.
Other "Charlie's Angels" stars also paid tribute to the actress who stole the series with her winsome smile, tousled hair and unfettered sensuality.
"Farrah had courage, she had strength, and she had faith. And now she has peace as she rests with the real angels," Jaclyn Smith said.
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