With all the Michael Jackson news, let's not forget that another huge star, Farrah Fawcett, also passed away yesterday. All of the obits I've seen of Farrah pretty much start her professional biography with her breakout role in Charlie's Angels. But Farrah was almost 30 when she landed the role as Jill Munroe. A quick look at her IMDb profile shows that Farrah had a number of guest-starring roles well before Aaron Spelling made her a megastar.
Farrah also starred in a ton of commercials in the early '70s, including this famous spot with Joe Namath. Here, the Jets QB is advertising Noxema shaving cream, and Farrah lustily covers his face in the stuff.
More ads after the jump.
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Farrah slathers Joe Namath (and other early ads)
Continue reading Farrah slathers Joe Namath (and other early ads)
Farrah Fawcett beats Michael Jackson in the ratings
With all the press coverage given to Michael Jackson, you'd think a special about his life would trample the ratings of all the other networks. Apparently, that isn't the case as an ABC special about the life of Farrah Fawcett won in the ratings against a similar Michael Jackson retrospective on CBS.
I think it likely helped that Barbara Walters hosted the ABC special (which was a 20/20 special and therefore had more name value than a generic special), whereas the special on Jacko was simply a CBS documentary. I'm still amazed at the rapid turnaround time that the networks can produce specials like these. They have turned it into an art.
It is debatable over who was the bigger name, although both were icons on their time. Jackson seems to be getting more coverage because his death was more of a surprise than Farrah's. Either way, Thursday was a hell of a day.
Busy night for network news: Michael Jackson tribute to air with a Farrah tribute
Wow. Busy day in celebrity deaths. First we hear that Farrah Fawcett finally lost her battle to cancer, then suddenly we hear that, after being rushed to a LA hospital in cardiac arrest, Michael Jackson also died. He was only 50, and he was about to embark on a comeback concert stint in London that he hoped would revive his career.
ABC News was already scrambling to move up the Farrah special they had planned to air on 20/20 this coming Friday. That special, where Barbara Walters interviews Ryan O'Neal, will be shown tonight at 10 PM ET. They also just announced that they will be airing an MJ retrospective at 9 PM ET.
Other networks are following suit with their own specials, according to THR.com.
It's interesting how most news outlets aside from Fox didn't confirm MJ's death even though our friends at TMZ had the news first. I guess it wasn't legitimate enough for them. Either way, it's a shockingly sad day in the entertainment biz, no matter what you may have thought of Farrah or Jackson.
DVD Review: so noTORIous, the complete series
It's tough being Tori Spelling. She's spent better than a decade living under the spotlight and having every mistake magnified. Granted, she brought a lot of it on herself, but I think she has probably taken more than her fair share. It's just so easy. But given all that, I think she gains a lot of points for being able to make fun of herself, because when you get right down to it, that's what so noTORIous is all about. Laughing at the absurdity that is her life.I think that those years of bad press and bad jokes may have been the biggest problem that this show had. One that it faced before they ever shot a scene, and one that they were never really able to overcome. A lot of people simply dismissed the show for no other reason than it was starring Tori Spelling as herself. And that's too bad, because I'm here to tell you that they made a pretty funny sit-com.
Continue reading DVD Review: so noTORIous, the complete series
Farrah Fawcett has cancer
Not sure how this story didn't catch my attention sooner: yesterday, representatives of Farrah Fawcett announced that the former Charlie's Angels star has been diagnosed with colorectal cancer. Fawcett is currently undergoing radiation treatments in preparation for surgery and chemotherapy. According to Extra, she is apparently trying to keep a normal routine, as the show documents the fact that she worked out with longtime boyfriend Ryan O'Neal on Monday. But I'm sure she's freaking out a little about what she's about to face. I sure would be.The article goes on to point out that Fawcett was the spokesperson for the American Cancer Society in the 1980s. Her older sister died of lung cancer eight years ago.
Does anyone really care about Tori Spelling?
Okay, quick show of hands - who's been waiting with bated breath to see more about Tori Spelling and her fabulous life as the rich daughter of a Hollywood producer?
*crickets chirping*
That's what I thought. And yet, for some reason unknown to anyone outside the hallowed halls of NBC, the network is producing a series titled Notorious - get it? - a fictionalized story of her life as the daughter of megarich producer Aaron Spelling.
Personally, I'd rather sit through a marathon of Lifetime movies headlined by Mother, May I Sleep With Danger, than watch a series about a spoiled little rich girl starring....a spoiled little rich girl.
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