Farrah Fawcett’s Famous Red Swimsuit Now in Smithsonian (video)
Posted By Vicki McClure Davidson on February 3, 2011
Farrah Fawcett, wearing her famous red swimsuit in her best-selling 1970s poster
Popular, beautiful 1970s pinup girl and acclaimed actress Farrah Fawcett tragically lost her fight to cancer just a few hours before pop sensation Michael Jackson died of an overdose, on June 25, 2009. Yesterday would have been Fawcett’s 64th birthday.
Now, the memory of “It Girl” from Corpus Christi, Texas will live on in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in Washington. Her famous red bathing suit, an iconic image of the era, is now on display there.
Some have referred to Fawcett as the Marilyn Monroe of the ’70s — she was a favorite sex symbol for millions of young men and teen boys during the decade.
From The Daily Caller, Farrah Fawcett’s red swimsuit goes to Smithsonian:
WASHINGTON (AP) — The red swimsuit that helped make “Charlie’s Angels” actress Farrah Fawcett a 1970s icon became part of the Smithsonian’s collection Wednesday on what would have been her 64th birthday.
Fawcett’s longtime companion Ryan O’Neal presented the swimsuit and other items to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in Washington. O’Neal said Fawcett, who died in 2009 after battling anal cancer for several years, always intended to give the suit to the museum.
“They asked her years ago for the bathing suit,” he said. “So it was always in her plan.”
Fawcett wore the bathing suit for a photo shoot shortly before her debut on Charlie’s Angels in 1976. The resulting poster sold millions of copies and became the best selling poster of all time, according to Smithsonian curator Dwight Bowers. Bowers compared the poster to World War II pinups of Betty Grable and Rita Hayworth, saying it became a symbol of the 1970s era.
Though fans know the bathing suit as red, it is actually a burnt orange color, possibly due to fading. Before it was donated to the museum, Fawcett framed it herself, and it was stored at a Los Angeles warehouse, O’Neal said.
Nels Van Patten, Fawcett’s friend and tennis coach who was with her during the bathing suit shoot, said Wednesday she did her own hair and makeup for the pictures and didn’t have a mirror. She also squeezed a lemon in her hair to get natural highlights, he said.
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Fawcett’s friends and family at the museum Wednesday for the donation included Fawcett’s son with O’Neal, Redmond O’Neal, and O’Neal’s daughter, Tatum O’Neal.
O’Neal, who became choked up during the ceremony, said later he feels Fawcett’s presence every day.
“I’m still having trouble with losing her,” he said.
Associated Press: Museum Gets Farrah Fawcett’s Red Bathing Suit
From E! Online, Farrah Fawcett’s Red Swimsuit Goes to Washington:
The memory of Farrah Fawcett will live forever at the Smithsonian.
During a ceremony Tuesday in Washington D.C., the late actress’s longtime love Ryan O’Neal and nephew Greg Walls donated the swimsuit Farrah wore in the classic ’70s poster to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History—along with a 1977-era doll of the star and scripts from Charlie’s Angels, among other things.
“Farrah Fawcett has made an enduring impression on American popular culture,” museum director Brent D. Glass said in a statement. “We are pleased to welcome this donation.”
From The Vancouver Sun, Farrah Fawcett’s iconic red swimsuit goes to the Smithsonian:
In modern western history, two red one-piece swimsuits have left indelible marks on generations of men: The Baywatch lifeguard uniform as worn by Pamela Anderson and friends in the late 80′s and 90′s, and its 1976 precursor, the scarlet curve-hugger worn by former Charlie’s Angels actress Farrah Fawcett in perhaps the most popular poster of all time.
One of those will now make its way to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.
Several personal items from Farrah Fawcett’s career will be enshrined at the museum Wednesday, including the red bathing suit the actress wore in a photoshoot for Pro arts Posters that went on to sell over 8 million copies worldwide.
The iconic image became a staple of college dorms, teenage bedrooms and auto repair shops, and is one of the most recognizable images of the decade.
Other items going to the Smithsonian include a book of Fawcett’s scripts for the first season of the TV series Charlie’s Angels.
RIP, dear Farrah
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r.i.p. ms fawcet, you where and are an example of how to be a beautifull celebrity woman, without, ‘dress-malfunctions’, and just to be an all round ‘good-person’
who other and younger girls could use as an exemplar.
for me and my mates, across the water, you were the epitome, of THE ALL AMERICAN GIRL, someone who the beach-boys sang about, and we dreamed of.
you died hard, but died well, a fate that all of us should try to emulate.
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