NEW YORK, Sept. 16, 2000 — Back in the 1970s, Farrah Fawcett was the blonde bombshell who captivated everybody.
Women copied her feathered and layered blonde hair, while her sexy poster graced the walls of males young and old. The Texas beauty became an instant star of TV’s “Charlie’s Angels,” but disputes over money cut her tenure on the show after only one year.
To make matters worse, the spotlight on her personal life overtook her work after she left her husband, TV’s “Six Million Dollar Man” Lee Majors, for golden boy Ryan O’Neal.
Fawcett would emerge in the ’80s as a gifted actress after a stunning Broadway debut in “Extremities” (later a feature film with her in the lead) and critically acclaimed performances in “The Burning Bed,” “Blood and Money” and “The Apostle.”
Her latest film is “Dr. T & the Women” with Richard Gere.
Fawcett sat down with Hollywood.com and gave us the scoop on Playboy, Gere, “Charlie’s Angels” and the now infamous David Letterman incident.
Hollywood.com: Robert Altman said you made a personal sacrifice to do this film. Why?
Farrah Fawcett: It was Robert Altman. I was starting another film but I thought something could be worked out. There were difficulties because of the insurance, and I had to rent a private plane. But he has this extraordinary spirit and love for every phase of what it takes to make a film. He makes you think that you’re so important. … You don’t have dread. You don’t have fear. He encourages you to collaborate, to inspire him, to surprise him.
Hollywood.com: Did you have any trepidation about doing the mall scene?
Fawcett: I think it was gutsy. But you know what, it would be so much harder to do if it wasn’t justified. I can remember when my agent was going to send me in for “Basic Instinct.” He said, ‘You’ll be making love and it will be full frontal nudity.’ I just knew that I couldn’t do it.
Hollywood.com: Then why did you do Playboy?
Fawcett: I don’t say, ‘Why did I do it?’ I say, ‘Why have I not settled yet?’ Because I still haven’t collected my money because I have final cut but they went ahead. Playboy was disappointed, but my regret — I hating it when I don’t do what I set out to do. We’ve got some settling up to do.
Hollywood.com: When did you meet Richard Gere?
Fawcett: We’ve met over the years just in passing at parties, but I don’t think we ever just stood and talked to each other. He’s so disarming. I finally [understood] what people said about me — that when they met me, their whole perception would be changed. They thought I would be one way. I think I was guilty of thinking that he was going to be this cocky, sexy guy because you hear the stories. But he’s so kind and so generous as an actor — and so sweet and very spiritual — but not to ad nauseam that he goes around talking about that all the time. He really is very respectful. I asked him about some scenes that he did with someone else, and he was very careful. He doesn’t put people down. You know how some people love to gossip — he’s not like that at all. I love his work in this film.
Hollywood.com: People think you’re ditzy, but you’re not.
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Fawcett: No, I’m very professional. I think before– let’s say, David Letterman — but before that [they thought], ‘OK, she was one of the most beautiful.’ So, they already think of you in a certain way. It’s like Richard Gere. I’m sure they think I’m inaccessible and they are afraid to talk to me. They usually say, ‘Oh you’re so nice and down to earth.’
Hollywood.com: Do you ever regret “Charlie’s Angels”?
Fawcett: No, I don’t. It would almost be sinful to say that I regretted doing “Charlie’s Angels” because it did so much for my career. Yes, maybe my career would have gone in a different direction because I’ve always said that in the first couple of years in Los Angeles, I could’ve done “The Burning Bed.”
Hollywood.com: But no one would’ve given you that chance.
Fawcett: No, I had to go to New York to do “Extremities” on Off Broadway. And only then would the network give the greenlight because they said who wants to see a movie about a woman being beaten up — especially Farrah Fawcett? They really think that people want to see you in a certain way and that’s what they are going to do.
Hollywood.com: Did you intend to prove something to yourself or Hollywood?
Fawcett: Probably both. But I can’t say I was doing it all for Hollywood because I didn’t know how it was going to turn out.
Hollywood.com: There was talk that you and the two other ladies were going to make a cameo in the new film version of “Charlie’s Angels.” Is that true?
Fawcett: I think they wanted us because they did call about it. I didn’t want to! Lynn Goldberg kept calling and I said I know how I’ll do it. I’ll be with Charlie so you’ll hear my voice because I finally got him. Remember my character was always after Charlie? And they said, ‘What will the other two do? I said, ‘That’s not my problem. They can work it out anyway they want.’
Hollywood.com: So you’re not in the new film?
Fawcett: No, but that would’ve been good.
Hollywood.com: Are you really happy now?
Fawcett: Yes. I made a lot of changes. For a while, after the ’94 earthquake, I was really burdened with destruction of property. Then I separated from Ryan, and I had a big, big place with two houses and a lot of responsibility. I don’t know if anyone has experienced it, but God, the planets up there, etc. Things are going wrong, and it’s your time to be in that tornado. I moved and did some cleaning out — closets, people, etc. I think that was probably just a cycle.
Hollywood.com: Are you amazed at the interest you provoke especially since this business is so tough on women?
Fawcett: Absolutely! That’s what I was trying to say on David Letterman when they wouldn’t let me finish a sentence. They said I was incoherent. But the audience was so loud.
‘Dr. T and the Women’ comes to theaters on October 13, 2000.
— Veronica Mixon
