Farrah Fawcett Michael Jackson Vanity Fair Covers

Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson covers for the latest issue of Vanity Fair

Vanity Fair has put both Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson on it’s September 2009 cover.

Farrah’s has the title, “Fallen Angel”, and Michael’s says, “Fallen King”.

Vanity Fair’s editor Graydon Carter says here was no other way to do it. “Two covers seemed like the sensible thing to do, given the passing of two major American icons on the same day.”

“Beautiful People, Ugly Choices,” the Farrah Fawcett story, discusses her sudden rise to stardom, her turbulent love affair with Ryan O’Neal (and drugs), and her painfully sad death.

Of course a lot of the article focuses on O’Neal and his version of things, which, I’m sorry, but coming from a drug addict may be a bit skewed. Don’t forget, it wasn’t only his son Redmond who was caught with methamphetamine, it was also Ryan who was busted with the powerful, dirty drug.

To show just how “out of touch” O’Neal is (whether it be because of the drugs or just simply that he is a natural born simpleton), he willingly admits that he didn’t recognize his own daughter, Tatum O’Neal, at Farrah’s funeral. But wait…not only did he not recognize her, he also practically hit on her!

O’Neal has often said his parental skills were sub-par, and this scenario, as played out at Farrah’s funeral service, pretty much supports that.

He tells Vanity Fair:

“I had just put the casket in the hearse and I was watching it drive away when a beautiful blonde woman comes up and embraces me. I said to her, ‘You have a drink on you? You have a car?’ She said, ‘Daddy, it’s me—Tatum!’ I was just trying to be funny with a strange Swedish woman, and it’s my daughter. It’s so sick.”

Yes, it is sick, but I think it is more sad than anything. Sure, one may be at odds with their daughter, but to not recognize her? Unthinkable. And then for him to hit on a woman while at his lover’s funeral? WTF? He must have been smoking some good sh*t that day.

Then there is Michael Jackson’s story, “The Boy Who Would be King.”

Michael’s Vanity Fair story seems to be comprised mostly of interviews done with the singer in the late 70′s. A time when many of us prefer to remember him. Before the surgeries, before the scandals and before he was the biggest star in the world.

A few excerpts of the Michael Jackson interviews:

L.R.: As for reality, do you still enjoy meeting your fans?
M.J.: I enjoy all that sometimes, seeing people who love me, or buy my records. I think it’s fun, and I enjoy meeting my fans and I think it’s important. But sometimes people think you owe your life to them; they have a bad attitude, like “I made you who you are.” That may be true—but not that one person. Sometimes you have to say to them, If the music wasn’t good, you wouldn’t have bought it. Because some of them think they actually own you.

In another interview in 1984, the singer was asked about his album Thriller. He disclosed that just before it’s release that he thought it had “sounded like crap”.

L.R.: What?
M.J.: Oh, it was terrible. And I cried at the listening party. I said, “I’m sorry—we can’t release this.” I called a meeting with Quincy [Jones], and everybody at the [record] company was screaming that we had to have it out and there was a deadline, and I said, “I’m sorry, I’m not releasing it.” I said, “It’s terrible.” So we re-did a mix a day. Like a mix a day. And we rested two days, then we did a mixing. We were overworked, but it all came out O.K.

Vanity Fair’s latest issue will be available on newsstands in New York and Los Angeles on August 5th,  and nationwide on August 11th.

[VF]