The Real Story Behind Farrah Fawcett's Iconic Red Swimsuit Poster

Ted Trikilis, meanwhile, after looking into exactly who this blonde bombshell that had captured the country's attention was, reached out to Farrah Fawcett's then-agent Rick Hersh (via Scene). Pitching the idea of featuring his client on a poster of her own, Hersh relayed the proposal to Fawcett, who, according to Scene, felt the idea was "cute" and agreed. As the actress stated in a 1977 interview with The Washington Post, "The reason I decided to do a poster was, well, if you don't sign a deal to do one, somebody does one anyway, and then you get nothing." Her agreement came with certain terms, however. According to Biography, Fawcett retained control over the images due to her displeasure with past experiences with certain photographers. This time around, Fawcett brought her own photographer to the shoot, freelancer Bruce McBroom.

The shoot for the new poster, held at Fawcett's Los Angeles mansion — which she owned with her then-husband Lee Majors — wasn't without its hitches. Pro Arts wanted the actress to wear a bikini and act seductive. Her reaction? As she told The Washington Post in '77, "They wanted me in a bikini. I said no. Then they wanted me looking out from behind a tree, you know, acting seductive. I said, 'No, that's not me.' I wanted to be smiling. Happy." Due to some embarrassment over a childhood scar, the actress took to wearing one-piece bathing suits as a cover-up (via Biography). Fawcett, of course, won out, ditching the bikini idea altogether and opting to go with several different one-piece suits for the shoot.

Buy this poster at Amazon for $12.

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