Wildwood Daze – The Dolphin Restaurant – Part 1

North Wildwood, New Jersey – Summer, 1978

I was turning 16 years old that summer. I had had great success working as a pool boy the summer before at the El Morro Motel. But I wanted to do something else. So working as a busboy at the Dolphin Restaurant seemed like a good progression. There was a small salary plus tips and free meals so it just made sense.

Now that I think back on my time as a pool boy at the El Morro Motel, I was earning a flat $40 a week. But I worked 7 days a week from 7 am till noon. Then I had to go back every night at 7 pm and bring the cushions in from all of the lounge chairs around the pool. So I roughly worked over 35 plus hours a week there for $40. That’s like a dollar an hour! (As Napoleon Dynamite would say)

It wasn’t a bad job at the Dolphin because I normally worked days and some nights, but the night shift was from around 4 pm until 7 or 8 pm. It would be busy in the morning for breakfast, then quiet down around lunchtime. Everybody would be at the beach so the place was dead from 1 pm until 5 pm.

Then it would pick up again as families and groups came in to grab dinner before heading off to the boardwalk for the evening.

The owners were a nice Greek couple. Bill and Lanie. Bill ran the line in the kitchen and Lanie was the hostess and cashier out front. The Greeks are brilliant people. They start these restaurants, work their butts off and bring their whole family over to work. The Dolphin was also in a great location. Close to the beach and surrounded by motels. So there was always plenty of foot traffic from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

This was the sign on the roof of the restaurant. How cool is that? A life-sized dolphin that rotated on the sign. A creative, retro artifact. That had to be expensive to design and construct. That’s pride, baby.

Here’s the actual feature restored to its original glory. (Photo courtesy of the Wildwood Historical Society)

The job was easy. I liked the people I worked with. The waitresses were all nice and so were the setup girls. Waitresses were normally around 16 or 17, and set up girls and busboys were 14 and 15 years old.

We had a great time working together. We liked and hated all the same things working in a restaurant. Especially when a huge family would roll in and had kids. The dreaded high chairs for babies. We all knew there’d be plenty of food to clean up off the floor! But for the most part it was a fun and lively place to work.

I remember when I turned 16 that summer the girls had a little party for me and got me Supertramp’s latest album, Breakfast in America. Which seemed fitting based on our vocation and the image on the album cover.

I just realized something for the first time. The image is the view from the window of a plane. The waitress represents the Statue of Liberty and the table in the background is New York.

How did I miss this back in 1978? I guess I was too busy listening to my Aerosmith albums!

Anyway, it was nice to have a job where I was surrounded by other people. When I was a pool boy I was an army of one. It was just me working as the entire maintenance crew for the motel.

But now there was a whole cast of characters I worked with every day. There were all the macho Greek guys working as cooks in the steaming hot kitchen, the ladies working in the dining room, and the wait staff.

One afternoon I was walking across the parking lot about to enter through the back door. We all went inside that way. You’d go in, turn right into this little room and find an apron to wear for the night.

Standing outside in the parking lot, leaning against the wall was one of the Greek cooks. I forget his name. Just picture a tan, swarthy-looking, Mediterranean guy with a head full of black curls and a bushy mustache.

He was smoking a really fat joint. He sees me and offers me a toke. He says: “Smoke pot? Here…” and points the joint at me. Not wanting to appear to be the wimp I was, I took it from his fingers and hit it. Just one hit. That was it. I thanked him and went inside. Mission accomplished. I’ve paid the gatekeeper and showed him I’m cool too.

It didn’t hit me until I sat down at the middle table with all of the rest of the wait staff before our shift was to begin. We would all hang there and Lanie would go over any last-minute specials and whatever else we needed to know.

I had this stupid grin on my face and all of the girls instantly picked up on it. They were all laughing at me, and I couldn’t believe that it was instantly apparent I was high. I did my best to hide it from Lanie so she wouldn’t send me home for illegal drug use. During my shift, I confided in one of the other busboys named Grover. He was an older friend of the family but a cool dude. He said he had gotten high once before work and it made him feel like everyone in the restaurant was staring at him.

Since he said that to me, I now thought the very same thing. He had implanted a fresh paranoid thought in my hallucinogenic head. I looked around and everybody WAS staring at me. (They weren’t but I thought they were. They were just glancing over at me because I was part of the staff. But in my stoned brain I thought they were staring and knew I was baked!)

I spent most of the night giggling my way through my shift.

“Why you so silly tonight, Charlie?” Lanie asked in her broken accent.

“I… I don’t know. I just guess… I’m just a silly guy sometimes.”

Totally lame response, but I managed to get through my shift.

Lanie had a sister or a cousin that came to work there for a period of time. She spoke zero English and was sometimes really annoying to be around because no one could understand what she was saying. It was really frustrating. So one night when she was getting on my nerves… anything she would say to me, I would respond with a big smile and say a bunch of nonsense to her. It helped pass the night and I sort of liked that I could say whatever I wanted to her without any repercussions from the owners. I just kept smiling and bussing my tables.

There was usually a rotating cast of clowns that worked as dishwashers. Most notable was this guy named Eddie. He was the classic loser. The guy who resembled something out of a 1950s teen drama. The stained T-shirt, the slicked-back hair. The punk who always wanted to run with the cool guys and outlaws, but was always caught by the cops because he was too dumb to pull off any kind of heist. He had the worst job in the restaurant and the one that took the least skill and finesse, but he seemed happy enough doing his job. Sadly, he was socially inept and everyone just sort of tolerated his presence.

One day he starts going on about this girl he’s in love with. He describes her as the most beautiful girl on the island, and he’s going to make her his girlfriend. We had no idea who he was talking about. We figured he made her up! Also, in a town like Wildwood in the summer, how could anyone make such an assumption? The island was teeming with beautiful women!

But one day he reveals that she’s the ice cream girl from across the street at a shop called The Corner Store.  So we decide to see what’s up. Turns out she’s the eldest daughter of the owner of the Corner Store. Her mother used to work at the Provident National Bank in Philly back in the 70s with my father. I didn’t know any of this at the time, but Eddie was right. Her daughter Susan was a spectacular beauty. Dark tan, tawny hair like Farrah Fawcett and piercing blue eyes. Drop-dead gorgeous but unassuming. She was probably simply doing her job and was cordial to Eddie and he instantly fell in love with her. But I get it…

I had designs on one of the waitresses that I worked with at the Dolphin. Back then and for many years after that, I put women on a pedestal. Actually, I put certain people on pedestals for no reason other than I thought they were awesome. I think it was tied to my low self-esteem. I was just happy to be in the presence of the cool and the beautiful.

There was this guy who would work there sometimes as a dishwasher at night named Chickie Bradley. He was cute but all the girls knew he was a womanizing devil. He had an older brother named Dave who was super cool though. Dave ran an umbrella stand on the beach at 5th street. Dave was cool because he had his own apartment for the summer and would let me and my friend hang out at his umbrella stand with him. He was probably 18 years old at the time so he was basically a man and light years ahead of me in terms of any sort of masculine powers.

I would stop over his apartment and he would put on The Rolling Stones latest album, Some Girls and that’s what really got me into the Stones. He’d always offer me a cold bottle of Miller and I felt like such a big shot just to be in the same room with Dave. He was just so cool. But a nice guy who would let younger guys like me hang out. I knew I couldn’t go on his nocturnal adventures with him because I was too young, but it was just nice to hang.

He once told me that his landlord was talking about throwing him and his brother Chickie out of the apartment they were staying in for the summer. When I asked him why he said that the neighbors were complaining that it looked like they were running some kind of brothel out of the apartment.

I thought this was amazing. Just knowing a guy that could have so many girls and get them to come over all the time. This was beyond my imagination. I barely had the courage to even talk to most girls to try to get a date. But these guys were apparently lotharios that could just pull in the ladies with their wit and charm.

I remember Dave had some sort of problem with his larynx. It gave him this low hoarse voice. But that made him even cooler. When I would appear before him, he’d always say:

“Hello. my friend.” In that dark voice.

Dave was my idol.

A super cool dude, whose cousin I would later date 7 years later. But that’s another story. (Don’t worry. I’ll get to them all!)

However, there was this one special girl with whom I worked at the Dolphin that I found especially appealing.

To be continued tomorrow…

If you liked this story, you’ll love my next book, Down The Shore, coming to a bookstore near you Memorial Day, 2023!

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Celebrity Sightings: Farrah Fawcett – 1947 to 2009 – Life Uncovered – Part 7

Stick Figure Thin

When Farrah was hospitalized, she seemed to fade in and out of consciousness, mumbling incoherent matters in between. She was stick-figure thin, so her dear friend Alana Stewart made every dish on Farrah’s former favorite food list so that she and O’Neal could try to tempt Farrah to eat. She made macaroni and cheese, fried chicken and ginger cookies – but there was no use. Farrah would take a cookie, stroke it gently and hand it back to Stewart with a smile, saying “that’s so beautiful.”

Marriage Wasn’t In The Cards

Fawcett and O’Neal had danced around the idea of marriage since before their son Redmond was born in 1985, with Farrah sometimes pushing it and O’Neal sometimes pushing it. But with three failed marriages between them as well as the difficulties in their relationship, a wedding never happen. One time, O’Neal even proposed to the actress using a cigar band as an impromptu engagement ring, but a flat tire on the way to the shotgun wedding ruined those plans.

O’Neal’s Last Chance

Just before Fawcett’s death, O’Neal decided to ask Farrah one more time to marry him and with tear-filled eyes, she accepted. While speaking about it in an interview, O’Neal said,” The priest at St John’s Hospital arrives to marry us but administered the last rites instead.” The next day, the doctor was ordered to remove the actress’ life support, and Farrah passed away just a few hours later with O’Neal at her side.

In Denial

Before her untimely and saddening death, Doug Vaughan, an NBC senior vice president, worked with Farrah on Farrah’s Story – a type of video diary she made detailing her battle against the disease. Doug was quoted saying: “This is so not the way she thought it was going to go, Farrah was certain that she was going to beat this.” Truth be told, Farrah was so profoundly convinced she was going to make it, the entire point of the video was to show other patients the fight is worth it.

In Sickness And In Health

O’Neal would not leave Farrah’s side during her last days. When he was asked why, he gave a rather unpredictable answer: “She’s never been more lovable,” he said. “There’s a sweetness – she’s skin and bones, but she’s got this beautiful look. I don’t know how long I’m going to get it, but I know why I’ve been around for 30 years for this person.” Although they have certainly had their rough patches over the years, some things never change.

Fighter Right Until The End

For two years Farrah moved back and forth between her comfortable California home and a personal German clinic. In the clinic, she underwent alternative treatments, some extremely painful and invasive. Suffering through the pain and clenching strongly to her mattress, Farrah insisted her best friend Stewart would film every single procedure she had to go through so that the documentary would chronicle her achievement in finding new means of combatting cancer. “She’s had terrible luck,” said O’Neal, “she tried so many different approaches.” Sadly, nothing worked.

 

Rest in Peace, Farrah. I’ll always love you because you were my first.

 

 

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Celebrity Sightings: Farrah Fawcett – 1947 to 2009 – Life Uncovered – Part 6

Mystery Scar

The red, one-piece bathing suit that Fawcett wore during this photo shoot was chosen to cover up a scar she received in her youth. While the exact story behind the injury that caused the scar remains a mystery, sources that were close to her say that it was from an accident while trying to learn to ride her bike. Either way, it all worked out because without the scar to be hidden the red bathing suit wouldn’t have been chosen.

Friends Or Enemies?

After taking a brief break with her former flame, Ryan O’Neal, Fawcett later began dating producer James Orr in 1997, but the relationship almost as soon as it started. In 1998, Orr was convicted of assaulting Fawcett in a highly publicized scandal that was majorly played up in the tabloids. Neither came out from the legal battle unscathed, and since then became enemies. The bad publicity Orr received seriously hurt his name in Hollywood and had trouble finding work.

Kids Before Marriage

Fawcett and O’Neal may have never made it down the aisle, but famously dated from 1979 until 1997 and even had a son together, Redmond O’Neal. Although the couple broke things off more than a decade before her battle with cancer began, O’Neal appeared to be a constant presence in Farrah’s life. While the pair seemed to be picture perfect, their relationship was described by some as stormy and temperamental. There was certainly more than what met the eye.

Sticky Fingers

Just three months after ending her 17-year relationship with Ryan O’Neal, Fawcett began dating James Orr, who directed her in the 1995 comedy Man of the House. Orr’s close friend and sometimes actress Kristen Amber claimed that Fawcett had stolen $72,000 worth of her clothing that she had kept in his home. After a thorough police investigation, and Farrah’s name being dragged through the dirt, investigators failed to substantiate the charge, and Farrah was let off the hook.

‘Til Death Do Us Part

It’s true that hardships can bring people together, and this is especially true in the case of Farrah Fawcett and Ryan O’Neal. The relationship was put to the ultimate test after O’Neal fell ill and Fawcett was there for the whole ride. Although they split up in 1997, Fawcett called Ryan the love of her life, and they but got back together in 2001 after he was diagnosed with leukemia. They remained a couple until Fawcett’s death.

Battle With Cancer

O’Neal wasn’t the only one to fall victim to cancer as in 2006, Farrah was also diagnosed. For three years, Farrah fought hard against the disease and sought various types of treatments, but her efforts were to no avail. Cancer quickly spread to the rest of her body, and she unfortunately passed away on June 25, 2009. Farrah was surrounded by Ryan and her son Redmond at the time of her death as well as the final moments leading up to it.

Kicking And Screaming

The first time O’Neal and Fawcett decided to cease their relationship, back in 1997, was not a pretty sight. The two were screaming, scandals of infidelity hit the fan, and even news of low-level violence would surface in tabloids thirsty for information. However, just because they could no longer keep their cool enough to be interlinked romantically, did not mean they were willing to terminate any further interaction with one another altogether. Therefore, the second and last time the two parted was when Fawcett was on her death-bed.

Photo Fight

In 1980, O’Neal set up a meeting between Fawcett and artist Andy Warhol, where Warhol created two portraits of Fawcett. The one of a kind portraits were later loaned by the actress to The Andy Warhol Museum. After a 2013 court case between O’Neal and the University of Texas, whom Fawcett named as the recipient of her artwork, one of the portraits was deemed the property of O’Neal. During the court case, the portrait was valued between $800,000 and $12 million.

Michael Jackson Overshadowed Fawcett’s Death

Fawcett died at age 62 on June 25, 2009, the same day pop icon Michael Jackson died, at Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, California, with O’Neal and Stewart by her side. Unfortunately, the news of Fawcett’s death was largely overshadowed by the coverage of singer-songwriter Michael Jackson’s death, which occurred a few hours later in Holmby Hills, Los Angeles. Even in her final moments, O’Neal said that Fawcett managed to keep a smile on her face.

Permanently Damaged Their Son

O’Neal was quoted recently explaining he fully understands the extent in which his fighting with Farrah deeply damaged their son. He elaborated: “One of us should have been the grown-up. Instead, we were two single-minded people who gave into our baser impulses…Our moral compass had become submerged in a sea of ego and confusion and our sweet little boy would bear the brunt of the corrosion.” Because of his unstable childhood, Redmond turned to substance abuse.

 

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Celebrity Sightings: Farrah Fawcett – 1947 to 2009 – Life Uncovered – Part 4

Badmouthing Her Besties

When it came to her close friends and former co-stars Kate Jackson and Jaclyn Smith, Fawcett never had a bad word to say about them and reacted well when people would try to pry into any drama that occurred between them while filming. During an interview with controversial radio host Howard Stern, he kept trying to get Fawcett to badmouth Jackson and Smith but she refused, explaining that there was nothing but love between them. Farrah had their backs!

The Farrah-Flip

You know that a star has reached new levels of fame when a haircut is named after them! Fawcett’s signature blonde and feathered hairstyle actually has its own name! If you want to get your hair cut like Farrah’s, all you have to do is say that you want the “Farrah-do” or the “Farrah-flip.” Using these magic words in any salon should get you a cut and or color to match that of the late movie star’s.

The Dating Game

Before Fawcett was famous, she was a contestant on The Dating Game! It was a game show where a woman was given a choice of three single men. She could talk to them, but she could not see them until the end! You can bet that these men were dancing in their seats and trying to make an excellent impression to win their ways into the heart of the blond haired-blue-eyed beauty. Do you really blame them?

Baby Naming

When it comes to picking a name for your baby, especially when it’s a girl, most parents want to choose a name that people will associate with a beauty icon or famous actress. Right after Charlie’s Angels made its big debut, Farrah quickly became one of the most popular baby names in the United States! But you have to admit, Farah is a pretty catchy name. It can also be seen as an alternative to the popular name Sarah.

Contacting The Departed

Just when we thought that Fawcett was close with her former co-stars, her relationship with Tori Spelling proved to be even closer, but in an interesting way. Farrah used to be neighbors with Tori Spelling, and the two had developed such a connection that Spelling was able to contact her even after she left this world. Spelling said that she visited a psychic who helped her talk to Farrah after she had passed away. We wonder what they chatted about.

Cover Girl

Farrah rose to stardom rather quickly, and it was only a matter of time before she was literally everywhere. That means billboards, shampoo bottles, and even a Super Bowl commercial, but some of her favorite work was modeling for magazines. Fawcett has appeared in noteworthy magazines such as Bazaar, Elle, Vogue, Cosmopolitan, and Time, but she stated that being in Playboy was the highlight of her life. We’re sure that her spread in the magazine was also a highlight of other people’s lives as well.

Farrah Went Plastic

It’s every girl’s dream to enter the world of plastic becoming a Barbie doll, literally! After years of fame on both the big and small screens, Fawcett finally joined the ranks of other stars who have had one of the classic dolls modeled after them. The iconic image of Farrah in a red swimsuit was ultimately recreated in a limited edition Barbie doll complete with a gold chain and her signature girl-next-door golden locks. The likeness is uncanny!

Midnight Plane To Houston

Fawcett and her former husband Lee Majors served as the inspiration for the song Midnight Train to Georgia. Singer/songwriter Jim Weatherly, who was a friend of Majors, phoned him, but the call was answered by Fawcett. As Weatherly and Fawcett chatted, she told him she was going to visit her mother and was taking “the midnight plane to Houston.” Although Majors and Fawcett were both successful at that time, Weatherly used them as characters in his song.

Reclaiming Her Fame

Farrah may have been America’s favorite calendar girl when she was on Charlie’s Angels, but her film career was not as successful and eventually began to decline after she starred in Sunburn, Somebody Killed Her Husband, and Saturn 3. Farrah made a remarkable comeback after finding her niche in made-for-TV movies, specifically those based on real stories, and was awarded much praise for her role in the 1984 television movie, The Burning Bed, which tells an emotional tale of domestic abuse.

The Best-Selling Poster In History

You know the picture of Farrah that everybody knows? The one with the famous one-piece red bathing suit? Well, that’s the best-selling poster in history! The photo which was spontaneously taken resulted in the 1976 poster that wound up plastered on millions of bedroom walls. The photographer used a blanket from Mexico that served as the seat cover for his beat-up 1937 Chevy pickup with colors that matched the suit. Original copies of the poster now run anywhere from $299.99 to $399.99 on Amazon.

(I own one in mint condition still rolled in its plastic tube!)

Isn’t it weird she died from cancer?

 

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Celebrity Sightings: Farrah Fawcett – 1947 to 2009 – Life Uncovered – Part 3

The Photoshoot That Caused Major Scandal

There are lines that celebrities draw when it comes to what they will and will not do, and Fawcett was one who usually didn’t cross that line. That is, until she got an offer she couldn’t refuse from a famous adult magazine. While Fawcett had steadfastly resisted baring it all in magazines throughout the 70s and 80s, she made an exception when she posed in the December 1995 issue of Playboy. This caused a major stir, and some even called the actress hypocritical.

 

Fawcett Called Quits On Charlie’s Angels

In 1977, Farrah Fawcett decided to quit ABC’s Charlie’s Angels after the first season, because she did not have a contract and said that she wanted to pursue other career options that had opened up, due to the show’s spectacular success. Spelling-Goldberg Productions filed suit against Fawcett, charging her with breach of contract. The case ended with an out-of-court settlement in which Fawcett agreed to make six guest appearances over a two-year period.

Infamously Unreliable

Her departure from Charlie’s Angels made Farrah seem like a ticking bomb in the industry. In a matter of minutes, all of Hollywood’s hottest names heard about the actress who turned down a gig after succeeding once. Leonard Goldberg, who co-produced the show with Aaron Spelling, said: “We made her a star, and she walks out after one year. We had a valid contract with her, and no major studio or production company would hire her. Producers don’t like people who walk out on contracts.”

Close But No Cameo

What’s a remake of a classic without an appearance from one of the old characters, right? That’s why Fawcett was offered a cameo in the movie version of Charlie’s Angels alongside Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz, and Lucy Lu. While Fawcett was excited to receive the offer and really wanted to do it, she had one condition. Farrah would only agree to take the role if she could be the voice of the new Charlie. Needless to say, there was no cameo for Fawcett.

Love At First Sight

Not many believe in love at first sight, but for the Charlie’s Angels actress and her long time boyfriend Ryan O’Neal, they knew it was destiny the second they locked eyes. O’Neal has been quoted saying that when he first met Farrah he instantly fell in love with her. They met at a friend’s party and he saw her in the driveway. She smiled at him and he said that was the moment, he knew they were meant to be.

Doomed From The Start

By the time Farrah and Ryan met, he already had three children from two wives, one of which was a substance user and addict. To make things worse, his career felt as though it was deteriorating fast. In 1980, he was quoted saying wryly that “Farrah’s visibility is on the rise… Meanwhile, my career is in a slump.” Not providing steady grounds for a stable, supportive relationship, some say their relationship was doomed from the very start.

Attention Seeking

O’Neal was known to be able to throw quite a tantrum if he wanted to. In 1984, he returned home fuming after receiving bad reviews for his new movie. O’Neal was ready to begin his rant, but noticed Farrah was talking on the phone with her press agent. To get her attention, he started pacing around “until she finally pays attention to me,” wrote O’Neal in his memoir. He also wrote that he deeply believes “love is about admiration,” which could explain why Farrah felt never good enough.

Late Show Catastrophe

After appearing on the Late Show With David Letterman in 1997, Farrah was accused of abusing her medications after the disastrous interview. The audience and David noticed that she wasn’t making eye contact and was particularly giggly. Farrah just said that she was nervous and unprepared. O’Neal also rushed to Fawcett’s defense confirming that she was not medicated but was just trying to put on a show. He said, “She was selling Playboy magazine, and she thought she was being Playmate-ish.”

Afraid For Her Life

After Charlie’s Angels, there was such a big hype around Farrah that she needed to hire a security guard, who was attached to her by the hip 24/7. When she started dating O’Neal, he felt slightly overwhelmed by the fact they were constantly accompanied and asked if it was really necessary, teasing that if she were with him, he would be her security guard. Shortly after, O’Neal and Fawcett were spotted, and O’Neal quickly turned to Fawcett: “Remember that security guard? Can we get him back?”

 

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Celebrity Sightings: Farrah Fawcett – 1947 to 2009 – Life Uncovered – Part 2

Whether it was because of her acting and modeling, or her million dollar smile, Farrah will forever remain an icon and we will always remember her. Here are some secrets that you might not know about the blonde bombshell.

Unrecognizable

In a Vanity Fair article, it was reported that Ryan O’Neal, Farrah’s longtime partner, was furious at her before she died because she couldn’t recognize him and kept calling him Steve. Allegedly, Steve is the name of her dealer.

The Origin Of Farrah’s Name

Fawcett once said that her famous name “Farrah” was actually “made up” by her mother, Pauline Alice Fawcett, because it went well with their last name. Another theory behind the well-known name is that her father, James William Fawcett, reportedly thought it would suit her as it’s the Arabic word for “joy.” The spelling of the name which was originally, Farih, was switched after Pauline reportedly asked to change the spelling to “Farrah.” Thank goodness she did!

W. B. Ray High School’s Most Beautiful

Born and raised in Corpus Christi, Texas, Fawcett’s early education was at the parish school of the church her family attended, which was St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church. After grade school, Fawcett attended W. B. Ray High School in Corpus Christi, where she graduated from and was voted “most beautiful” by her classmates during all four years. We can’t blame them, after all, Fawcett was clearly quite the stunner. Farrah was also on her high school’s cheerleading squad.

New Girl On Campus

In 1965, Fawcett enrolled at the University of Texas in Austin, where she planned to study microbiology, but later decided to change her major to art with a focus in sculpting. Farrah opted for off campus housing and lived at Madison House on 22nd Street. During Fawcett’s freshman year, she was named one of the “Ten Most Beautiful Coeds On Campus,” becoming the first freshman in the school’s history to be chosen. Their photos were then sent to various agencies in Hollywood.

College Dropout

After receiving photos from her school David Mirisch, a Hollywood agent, called Farrah and pleaded with her to fly to Los Angeles. Although she turned him down, Mirisch persisted and called her for the next two years. Finally, in the summer of 1968, following her junior year, Fawcett’s parents gave her permission to try her luck in Hollywood and she moved to California. Although this jump-started Farrah’s career, she unfortunately became labeled as a college drop out.

She Didn’t Use A Mirror

In 1976, Pro Arts Inc. requested Farrah for a photo shoot with photographer Bruce McBroom. While getting ready for the shoot, Fawcett styled her own hair and did her makeup without any help or even a mirror! She enhanced her blonde highlights by squeezing lemon juice into her hair. From 40 rolls of film, Fawcett selected six of her favorite pictures and eventually the choice was narrowed to the one which made her famous. The resulting poster, of Fawcett in a one-piece red bathing suit.

The Famous Red Bathing Suit

The red one-piece bathing suit Fawcett wore in her famous 1976 poster was donated to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History on February 2, 2011. The eye-catching swimsuit was designed by CFDA Award-winning fashion designer Norma Kamali and was donated to the Smithsonian by Farrah’s executors. It was Farrah’s longtime companion Ryan O’Neal however, who formally presented the bathing suit to NMAH in Washington, D.C. It’s now on display and can be viewed by the public.

Famous Tennis Partners

Farrah and her ex-husband, television star Lee Majors, were frequent tennis partners with producer Aaron Spelling the man who cast Farrah in the production which made her a star. Spelling and his executives chose Fawcett to play Jill Munroe in their television show, Charlie’s Angels, which aired on ABC on March 21, 1976. The show starred Fawcett, Kate Jackson, and Jaclyn Smith as P.I’s for Townsend Associates, a detective agency run by a multi-millionaire whom the women had never met.

Distance Didn’t Make Their Hearts Grow Fonder

Because her former husband, Lee Majors, was already the star of an established TV show (ABC’s Six Million Dollar Man, which aired from 1974 to 1978) they were both very busy. This ended up putting a strain on their marriage due to filming schedules that kept them apart for long periods of time. The distance was frequently cited as the reason for their split but, Fawcett’s ambition to further her acting abilities in films has also been rumored to be an explanation.

The Inevitable End

Farrah started dating Lee Majors during the late 1960’s. It seemed like a blooming affair that went by the book – they dated for years before finally tying the knot in 1973, and their highly publicized marriage was just short of hitting the 10 years mark. In an interview Lee gave to Fox411 many years later, he explained: “It was quite the extreme. It was probably like Brad and Jennifer when they were together. The press was all over us. Naturally, we really couldn’t go anywhere.”

I just found this while doing research for this series! Check it out!

 

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