Vanity Fair magazine is paying tribute to the late Charlie’s Angel Farrah Fawcett and the late King of Pop Michael Jackson on the cover and in the pages of the September issue of their mag (on newsstands August 11). Both Farrah and MJ will share equal coverage on the magazine cover as 50% of the printing run will feature Farrah on the cover and 50% will feature MJ on the cover, subscriber copies are also split 50/50 with random covers arriving subscriber mailboxes:

Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson are getting equal attention in September’s Vanity Fair. Half of the copies will feature a cover photograph of Fawcett by Bruce McBroom; the other half will feature a cover photograph of Jackson by Annie Leibovitz. Subscribers will get one of the two at random, but the magazines, which will include the same content, will be on newsstands nationwide Aug. 11. USA TODAY runs down talking points from the articles on the two celebrities, who died June 25.

Here is Farrah’s VF magazine cover along with excerpts from the coverstory:

Love. About her relationship with longtime companion Ryan O’Neal: “She’s always been the real love of his life and he’s always been the real love of her life. She never stopped loving him.” — BFF Alana Stewart

Family. On O’Neal’s “devotion” to Fawcett: “My dad’s only goal was to make sure he would be in the will. It was so disgustingly transparent as soon as she found out she was terminal. I consider him a vulture presiding over a carcass.” — Griffin O’Neal
“I hate him! He knows I have money. I made a tremendous amount of money on real estate, more than I deserve.” — Ryan O’Neal’s response

After the jump, check out Michael Jackson’s VF coverphoto and read some excerpts from his coverstory as well …

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Family and friends of Farrah Fawcett convened together at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in downtown Los Angeles, CA yesterday to pay their last respects to the late actress who passed away at age 62 last Thursday. The private service was attended by Farrah’s long-time companion Ryan O’Neal, her only child Redmond (who was allowed to attend his mother’s funeral service altho he is currently serving a jail sentence for violating his probation) and a gathering of close friends and family:

A tearful Ryan and Redmond O’Neal joined Farrah Fawcett’s closest friends and family for the actress’s private funeral Tuesday afternoon at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in downtown Los Angeles. Fawcett’s Charlie’s Angels costar Kate Jackson, Marla Maples, Joan Collins and Tatum O’Neal were among the 200 guests attending the hour-long Catholic service, where longtime pal Alana Stewart and Fawcett’s doctor Lawrence Piro delivered the eulogies. “Goodbye sweet girl,” said Stewart. “[Farrah] never felt sorry for herself during her illness … she fought cancer furiously.” “She’s the most beautiful angel in heaven,” Stewart added. “She always seemed so indestructible.” With city police and private security lining the streets, a hearse drove up just a few minutes before the funeral began. Ryan and son Redmond served as pallbearers carrying Fawcett’s casket, adorned with yellow and orange flowers. A man in a kilt played “Amazing Grace” on a bagpipe at the beginning of the service, which also included Bible readings and prayer. “The funeral was really just beautiful and so sweet,” Lisa Fawcett, the actress’s cousin, told PEOPLE. A special moment during the service came when “everyone just embraced [Redmond],” she says about Fawcett’s 24-year-old son, who was allowed to leave jail and attend.

I understand that letters written by Farrah Fawcett to her loved ones were read aloud at her service which expressed how much she loved and cared for those closest to her:

A friend read out Farrah’s letter to Ryan, which addressed the ups and downs of their on/off 30 year relationship: ‘When I figure out what it is all about, I can tell you.’ Redmond, who was given three hours release from jail to say goodbye to his mother, was also given inspiration to conquer his drug problems. Farrah’s letter to her 24-year-old son said: ‘The greatest gift of my life was to be your mother. By leaving you behind I hope you will be able to work out all your troubles and grow as a person.’ The friend also read a letter addressed to Farrah’s beloved father James Fawcett: ‘You gave me life and you were the greatest dad around.’ During the hour long service, Ryan, Redmond and James joined Hollywood stars, friends and family paid tribute to the former Charlie’s Angels star who died of cancer last week … Redmond, who was allowed to visit his mother at her bedside before she died, read a passage from the Old Testament book Lamentations while his father read from the book of Wisdom.

Guests were given an order of service booklet which had a glamorous image of Farrah on its cover. Giving one of her famous smiles she was seen wearing a sequinned dress. The order of service also included a few lines of the James Joyce poem At That Hour. The funeral was held just five days after the 62-year-old lost her long battle against cancer.

At last, Charlie’s Angel can now rest in heaven where she belongs. I truly hope that peace and serenity comes to Farrah’s loved ones and that they will be able to heal from their terrible loss. I’m sure it’s of some comfort to know that her painful suffering has ended. Rest well, Farrah Fawcett.

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Whew … what a crazy 24 hours it’s been, huh? While many of us, me included, were merely trying to process the loss of Farrah Fawcett we were shocked to learn of the death of Michael Jackson yesterday afternoon. My immediate response was shock and awe … and the only way I knew how to process was to put on my fave Michael Jackson songs in remembrance. Of course, I was also reminded by just how many of his songs were faves of mine (Rock with You, hands down, is my fave Michael Jackson song of all time). Because I needed to get away from all of the media that was playing nonstop since word of MJ’s cardiac arrest broke, I met up with my good friend Dino for a bite to eat and some friendly personal interaction. He was so kind as to give me one of the new military-style DSC Helmet Bags which are available for sale starting today:

Altho the helmet bag is really designed for air force pilots to carry around their helmets, I think I can find other uses for it :) Dino and I had a great time together but, invariably, I had to return home to the media dirge of newsreports. I managed to watch both hour-long 20/20 specials on ABC last night … one for the late Farrah Fawcett and one for the late Michael Jackson:

Farrah’s special really educated me on her final years … it was very painful to see the way she wasted away in her final months but very heartening to see how hard she fought to live. MJ’s special reminded me that while the man was a musical genius and is owed much for his contributions to pop culture, he had many problems and was really a very troubled man for most of his life. Time magazine published an honest piece on the death of Michael Jackson, titled The Death of Peter Pan, and I’d like to share an excerpt that really puts his troubled life in perspective:

Jackson’s profound weirdness — not just the glove or the seaweed hair striping his face but the blanched skin, the pained eyes, the tremulous soul — hinted that Peter Pan was the wrong role for him. Wasn’t Jackson really one of Peter’s Lost Boys, stranded between childhood and adolescence, loved by the public yet feeling caged and abandoned, and searching, groping for the Edenic innocence he believed was any child’s birthright? Or, to pick an image from another Disney cartoon classic, Neverland could also be Pinocchio’s Pleasure Island, where careless lads were transformed into slaves and donkeys. And this pop-star Pan could instead be the Pied Piper, the musician who lured children into a cave as their parents gasped in fright.

We really cannot forget the troubled life that MJ lived … because it was troubling for us to bear witness to. I recall the interview he did with journalist Martin Bashir, Living with Michael Jackson, where in his own words and by his own admissions he did the most damage to his persona. There are many ways to remember Michael Jackson … he was a hero to many, a villain to many and a sad, lost little boy who never really grew up to pretty much everyone. In the end, tho, I choose to remember the good things … his amazing body of music that will ensure that the best parts of him will live on for all time. Thursday June 25, 2009 is a day that a great many of us will remember for a long, long time. Some are dubbing it “The Day the Pop Music Died“. I think yesterday will always be one of those days where you’ll remember where you were when you heard that Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson died. I know, for sure, I will always remember.

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In all the hoopla over Michael Jackson’s surprise passing, I think it’s important to also remember and acknowledge that brave Farrah Fawcett passed away yesterday as well. Fans have been leaving their tributes to the most famous “Angel” of all at her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame as well. Additionally, her family and friends have released statements of their own concerning her passing:

“She’s gone. She now belongs to the ages,” Ryan O’Neal tells PEOPLE, also confirming that she received the last rites of the Catholic Church. “She’s now with her mother and sister and her God. I loved her with all my heart. I will miss her so very, very much. She was in and out of consciousness. I talked to her all through the night. I told her how very much I loved her. She’s in a better place now.” Added O’Neal: “She was with her team when she passed … Her eyes were open, but she didn’t say anything. But you could see in her eyes that she recognized us.” Though O’Neal recently said that he and Fawcett had planned to wed, they did not tie the knot. “There just wasn’t time, and Farrah wasn’t in any condition to do it,” says O’Neal. Friends and family plan to honor Fawcett with a funeral service at a Catholic cathedral in Los Angeles in the next few days. Like so much about Fawcett’s life – including her bumpy relationship with O’Neal – her heroic struggle to beat the disease was closely followed by her legion of fans. “I’ve watched her this past year fight with such courage and so valiantly, but with such humor,” Fawcett’s Charlie’s Angels costar Kate Jackson told PEOPLE in November 2007 … Redmond was not there at Fawcett’s side when she died, but spoke to his mother on the phone and told her “how much he loved her and asked her to please forgive him that he was so very, very sorry,” O’Neal tells PEOPLE.

This brave, brave woman fought cancer to the very end … her struggle, unfortch, is being overshadowed by MJ’s sudden death so I do want to take one more moment to remember and pay tribute to Farrah Fawcett. I watched the 20/20 special on her life on ABC last night and was literally moved to tears by the tribute. I really hadn’t been aware of how hard she fought the cancer that ravaged her body. The woman lived in agony for the past few months but remained resolute that she would fight on until her last breath. I cannot imagine the pain that her family must feel right now. I hope and pray that they find solace that she is no longer suffering and I hope they are able to heal from this sad, sad loss. Farrah Fawcett was an icon — she will be remembered, loved and dearly missed.

[Photo credit: Splash News; Source]

Very sad news today … Farrah Fawcett, our beloved Charlie’s Angel, lost her battle with cancer today and sadly passed away just a short while ago. As some of you may be aware, Farrah was diagnosed with anal cancer three years ago and really took a turn for the worse in the last few months after the disease spread to her liver. It is my sad duty to pass along the report that Farrah has died at the age of 62:

Farrah Fawcett, whose stunning looks and blinding smile made her a pop icon of the 1970s, has died. She was 62. Her spokesman, Paul Bloch, says Fawcett died Thursday morning in a Santa Monica hospital. Her 2 1/2-year battle with cancer was depicted in the TV documentary “Farrah’s Story.” She burst on the scene in 1976 as one-third of the crime-fighting trio in TV’s “Charlie’s Angeles.” A poster of her in a clingy swimsuit sold in the millions. She left the show after one season but had a flop on the big screen with “Somebody Killed Her Husband.” She turned to more serious roles in the 1980s and 1990s, winning praise playing an abused wife in “The Burning Bed.”

I understand that Farrah passed away at 9:28AM PT earlier today in the ICU ward at St. John’s hospital in Santa Monica, CA. Ryan O’Neal was at her bedside. This is such sad news … expected but so very sad. I absolutely remember Farrah from her stint on the hit 70’s/80’s TV series Charlie’s Angels but was most touched by her stunning performance in The Burning Bed. I was very young when I saw that movie about spousal abuse and it had a profound effect on me. It is always sad when someone passes away but to lose someone as pop culturally iconic as Farrah Fawcett seems especially tragic. My thoughts and prayers go out to her family … she will be sorely missed.

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