Fawcett Photographer Recalls an Iconic Shoot

McBroom, a photographer, snapped the image that made Farrah Fawcett an icon. He tells TIME how an innocuous photo shoot — in which Fawcett posed at her Hollywood home in a red swimsuit — resulted in the 1976 poster that wound up plastered on millions of bedroom walls.



Farrah was a good friend. She was from Texas, and when I met her, she still had her little Texas accent. She was just beautiful in a really innocent way. She had no idea that she was that good-looking. At the time, I was shooting stills for ABC. I became friends with her through Lee Majors from The Six Million Dollar Man, whom she was dating. I did some headshots for her and was sent by Fox to shoot photographs for the pilot of Charlie's Angels.



A few months later I got a call from a guy in Cleveland, who said, "Farrah insisted I call you." He had solicited all the Angels to do a poster in a bikini, which he would sell and give the star a percentage of the profits. My understanding is that the other two turned him down. Farrah had made a deal in which she had control of the image — she got to pick the picture and kill everything that wasn't used — and this guy said, "I've hired two photographers, had two photo shoots, spent all this money, and she hates the pictures. She said, 'Call Bruce McBroom.' "



Like any photo shoot, we did a lot of different stuff. But it was just Farrah and myself. It was before the days where you had to have stylists and hair and makeup and background art directors and assistants. It was just me and Farrah and my Nikon, at the home she shared with Lee Majors, a house on Mulholland Drive overlooking Hollywood, with a beautiful view.

Farrah didn't like the way she looked in a bikini and didn't have one on her. So she would go in the house and come out in a swimsuit and say, "What do you think of this?" Any photographer will tell you that when you're given an assignment, it's like going fishing — you know when you got the pictures, and you know when you missed them. I shot rolls of film, and it just wasn't happening. She's a beautiful woman, but there wasn't anything that I would put on a poster. I just didn't feel it. By now we're running out of backgrounds — we used the swimming pool, etc. I said, "Farrah, are you sure you don't have a bikini? Something different?"



She went in to look around and came out of the back door and stood in the doorway in this red suit, and she said in her Southern accent, "Well, is this anything?" And I literally said to myself, "Oh my God." I knew that was it. I had an Indian blanket from Mexico that served as the seat cover for my beat-up 1937 Chevy pickup with colors that, it just popped into my head, would match the suit. I'd like to make it sound like it was all planned. But it was a spontaneous, happy intersection of coincidence. I didn't do anything. I just put her in a spot and asked her to turn it on. When I saw the film processed, I knew we'd gotten it — somewhere in these 36 frames, there's a poster. I went back over to her house, and I showed her all the pictures. She told me later that she had picked out her top two favorites and marked them on the slides. I've since heard that when the guy in Cleveland got the pictures, he went, "First of all, where's the bikini?" He told me he wasn't ever gonna pay me, because he hated the pictures. But I guess he showed them around to people in his business and they changed his mind. It was Farrah's pose, Farrah's suit, Farrah's idea. She picked that shot. She made a lot of money for him and for herself, and made me semifamous.

Why it was so iconic I don't know. If you think back, no one knew who Farrah Fawcett was. Charlie's Angels didn't come out until six months later. But this poster came out and sold millions of copies at, I think, $3 a pop. I think the reason it was such a success is that Farrah had such a fresh face. She was the girl next door. So if you were a teenager, you could bring this in the house and put it up in your room — as long as Mom didn't look too closely. Once her poster became such an overnight success, the other actresses from Charlie's Angels contacted the guy and wanted to do posters too. There were many that followed. And none of them came close.

— As told to Alex Altman

Total Still Seeking Iran Gas Project

TEHRAN (Press TV) - A spokesman from Total says the French company is still seeking involvement in Iran's giant South Pars gas field after Iran replaced it with a Chinese firm.

"Total is interested in continuing its activities in Iran's gas and oil sector," Paul Floren told IRNA.

Earlier this month Iran signed a $4.7 billion deal with China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) to develop the upstream sector of South Pars Phase 11, saying it replaced Total because of the French company's repeated delays. But the French company says it is still involved in the development of the project.

Floren added that Total's officials are in talks with Iranians on the subject.

The managing director of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) Seifollah Jashnsaz, who signed the deal in Beijing with his CNPC counterpart, said Total could continue negotiations with Iran for the development of Phase 11's downstream sector and LNG production.

Total was officially commissioned to develop Phase 11 of South Pars. However, Iran announced in March that it had found a partner to replace Total in the project. The French company has been under US pressure to abandon cooperation in Iran's energy projects.

AMSTERDAM (AFP) – Russia is ready to significantly reduce its nuclear arms, President Dmitry Medvedev said Saturday ahead of scheduled talks on the topic with US President Barack Obama.

"We are ready to decrease the number of our strategic defence arms several times compared to START 1," Medvedev told journalists in Amsterdam, referring to the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty Russia is re-negotiating with the United States.

The number of warheads should be "lower than in the Moscow agreement" he said, referring to a 2002 treaty that requires each side to limit its arsenal to a maximum of 1,700 to 2,200 deployed warheads by 2012.

Medvedev was speaking through an interpreter after meeting Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende on the last of a two-day official visit.

The president said he was looking forward "very optimistically" to the July US-Russia summit, hopeful of a revival of ties that "in previous years corroded quite a bit".
"We want new, binding agreements" on the START treaty, Medvedev said, adding that international security "depends on relationships between states with nuclear potential".

"We want a verifiable and real reduction of such arms."

The 1991 US-Russia treaty, which limits the deployment of each country's nuclear arsenals, is due to expire on December 5.

But negotiations on replacing or renewing the pact have hit several snags, including disagreement over US plans to deploy elements of a global missile shield in eastern Europe.

A third round of talks between officials of each side will take place in Geneva on June 23 and 24, the Russian foreign ministry said on Thursday.

"The talks are proceeding in a constructive and businesslike tone. We are working from the assumption that at the July summit the presidents will be able to announce the interim results," a ministry spokesman told reporters in Moscow.

Medvedev and Balkenende said they had discussed issues of economic cooperation, particularly in the field of energy. Both countries are big natural gas producers.

"We discussed energy security and how this should be strengthened in Europe," said Medvedev.

"We agreed to do that by strengthening the legal framework," he added, without elaborating.

Later, the Russian president was to meet Dutch Economic Affairs Minister Maria van der Hoeven and the chief executives of several Dutch companies, including airline KLM, bank ING, electronics giant Philips, natural gas provider Nederlandsche Gasunie and oil concern Shell -- some of the biggest investors in Russia.

The president would be flanked at these talks by Viktor Zubkov, vice prime minister and chairman of energy giant Gazprom.

The Netherlands is the biggest foreign investor in Russia as well as Moscow's biggest export destination -- at 11.9 billion euros (16.6 billion dollars) about eight percent of the global total in 2008, mostly petroleum products.

Moscow imported 6.6 billion euros worth of goods from the Netherlands in 2008, mainly vehicles and specialised machinery.

"Our important task is to maintain the same level of trade despite the economic crisis," said Medvedev.

The Russian president and Dutch Queen Beatrix on Friday inaugurated the revamped Hermitage museum in Amsterdam, a satellite of the Saint Petersburg-based original.
A Russian Topol-M intercontinental ballistic missile drives through Red Square during the nation's Victory Day parade in Moscow.

U.S. Admits More Afghan Civilian Deaths

WASHINGTON (Dispatches) -- The long awaited U.S. military report on the airstrikes in the Farah Province were finally released and though the U.S. would only officially confirm having killed 26 civilians in the strike Afghan government officials have said killed as many as 140, they acknowledged that it was possible they killed as many as 86, adding an exact toll would likely never be known.

The report goes on to describe the use of B-1B bombers against the villages, which were apparently responsible for the single deadliest incident since the 2001 invasion. It also insisted that troops didn’t follow the guidance on when to call in such an air strike.

Finally, it made some recommendations, including a review of the rules governing air strikes. Admiral Michael Mullen has insisted that despite the apparently disastrous consequences of troops violating the existing rules, it is unlikely anyone will face any disciplinary action over the killings.

US senator admits having affair

US senator John Ensign, considered a rising star in the Republican Party, has admitted to an extra-marital affair with a member of his campaign staff.

Senator John Ensign, of Nevada, said in a statement to the Associated Press news agency: "I deeply regret and am very sorry for my actions."

An aide in Mr Ensign's office said that the affair took place between December 2007 and August 2008.

The staff member was married to an employee in Mr Ensign's Senate office.

Neither has worked for the senator since May 2008, the aide said.

The Washington Post described Mr Ensign as a rising star in the Republican Party who may be considering a 2012 presidential bid.

The aide, speaking to AP, declined to comment on Mr Ensign's political future.

Paris scores with Ronaldo

Paris Hilton (left) and Cristiano Ronaldo (far left) reportedly spent hours kissing after they met at Los Angeles club, MyHouse, on Wednesday night. --PHOTO: AP

LOS ANGELES - CELEBRITY socialite Paris Hilton has been photographed kissing soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo less than 24 hours after splitting up with her boyfriend Doug Reinhardt, said media reports on Friday.

The pair were then seen going home together, in the company of Hilton's sister, Nicky Hilton.

According to X17Online, Hilton and Ronaldo reportedly spent hours kissing after they met at Los Angeles club, MyHouse, on Wednesday night.

Pictures of the pair have also been published on gossip website, TMZ.com.

"Cristiano and Paris were all over each other swapping spit the entire night!" a source told celebrity website Bang Showbiz.

However, earlier reports had Hilton 'visibly pining' for her ex-boyfriend, The Hills star, Reinhardt.

"Paris wasn't her usual chipper, chatty self - she looked absolutely miserable," one onlooker at eatery Nobu was reported as saying.

"She was clearly flying under the radar with her sister. She had a couple of cocktails and she was fiddling with her phone throughout the entire meal."

Still other reports said Hilton made a 'beeline' for the soccer star on reaching the nightclub, reported news.com.au.

The pair were caught by the paparazzi leaving the club at 3am with Hilton's sister.

Ronaldo - who is moving from English team Manchester United to Spanish club Real Madrid in a reported 80 million pounds (S$190 million) transfer - was photographed leaving the mansion at 5am, reported news.com.au.

Men prefer Miss Average

SYDNEY - A SURVEY in New Scientist magazine has found that men actually prefer average size women, reported the Herald Sun on Friday.

According to the report, researchers asked 100 male students to rate the attractiveness of more than 200 drawings of female torsos of different sizes.

The most attractive women were then compared to the vital statistics of eight groups, including models, Playboy centrefolds and typical members of the population.

The real women came closest to the ideal body shape identified in the first part of the study.

The most attractive women's measurments were equivalent to a size 14, reported New Scientist.

Most attractive of all is Miss Average who stands at 163cm, with a 76cm waist and 102cm hips, reported news.com.au.

However, the study did not take into account bust sizes, and researchers from the University of New South Wales in Australia, said that adding this information into the mix could alter the result.

Research from the University of Regensburg in Germany, however, found that an hourglass figure wase more attractive than one of average proportions.

Curvy women were also judged more appealing than either athletic types or long-legged, big-chested "Barbies", said the report.

Many missing in landslide

Rescuers search for survivors at the landslide site in the Jiwei Mountain area of Wulong county, Chongqing municipality on Saturday. -- PHOTO: REUTERS

BEIJING - HUNDREDS of rescue workers and volunteers were on Saturday searching for dozens of people feared buried alive when part of a mountain collapsed in south-west China, officials said.

Seventy-four people were still missing after the disaster struck on Friday afternoon in the mining country of Wulong, Chongqing municipality, a spokesman for the municipality government said.

China Central Television reported that 19 miners and seven staff members of a mobile phone company were killed. Rescuers have pulled out eight people from the debris, three of whom were seriously injured.

Vice-Premier Zhang Dejiang arrived at the site early on Saturday to supervise the rescue effort and comfort relatives of the victims, television images showed.

About 3.5 million tonnes of mud and rock from the Jiwei Mountain area had crashed hundreds of metres down into the valley, burying houses and an iron ore mine where 47 miners were at work, official media said. The debris covered an area of 600m by 300m and was at least 40m deep.

Around 500 rescue workers were dispatched from neighbouring districts to help 400 firefighters, police and medical staff, according to the local communications department.

However, rescue work had to be halted at times because boulders as large as 15m in diameter were hurtling down, China News Service quoted a soldier as saying.

The authorities were also concerned about the threat of flooding in the region after the landslide blocked the Wujiang, a tributary of the Yangtze. An investigation has begun into the cause of the disaster, which cut power lines and communications in several areas.

Densely populated Chongqing is rich in iron ore, natural gas and other mineral resources, and industrial accidents are common.

Similar landslides have been reported around China. Last year, at least 277 people were killed when a shoddy holding reservoir burst and a three-storey wave of mud and iron-mining waste inundated a valley in northern Shanxi province.

AFP, Xinhua

Japanese Eye Energy Cooperation with Iran

TEHRAN (FNA) - Japanese corporations will be heading Iran soon in a bid to increase energy cooperation.

Iranian Oil Minister Deputy for International Affairs, Hossein Noqrekar Shirazi, told ISNA on Saturday that Japanese delegation will travel to Iran in next two months for talks on optimizing energy system.

Iran and Japan will have more expanded cooperation in up-stream and down-stream oil industries, the Iranian students news agency quoted him as saying.

Japanese companies are eager to take part in Iranian oil projects, he said and continued, the companies had not held talks with Tehran previously because of the pressures imposed on them for cooperation with Iran.
Hossein Noqrekar Shirazi

Celebrations as Germany Turns 60

BERLIN (AFP) – Saturday was a big day for Germany with celebrations marking 60 years as a democracy, the election of a president and perhaps most importantly for many people, the climax of the football season.

A quarter of a million Germans gathered in Berlin to celebrate 60 years since the country emerged from the ruins of the Nazi era and World War II to lay the foundations for a democratic, peaceful and prosperous nation.

Meanwhile MPs and public figures were due to choose who will hold the largely ceremonial post of German president for the next five years, with the conservative incumbent Horst Koehler tipped to secure a second term.

Last but not least the country was on tenterhooks to find out which football team would clinch the Bundesliga title, with Bayern Munich, Stuttgart and Wolfsburg all in the running to be crowned champions.

A newly felt sense of good-humoured patriotism was expected to be on full show around the historic Brandenburg Gate for a celebration of all things German, six decades since the foundation of the federal republic in 1949.

"We Germans all have a reason to be happy about the German Federal Republic turning 60 and to celebrate together its birthday on May 23," Chancellor Angela Merkel said in a podcast ahead of the celebrations.

Specifically, the events celebrate the 1949 creation of a democratic nation that still bore the shame of the Nazis' horrors and was struggling to rebuild after total defeat and destruction in 1945.

The constitution that was drawn up for this country -- West Germany as it was -- has been used a model for other young democracies, primarily in eastern Europe after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Other events to mark this milestone are planned across Germany in 2009, which also sees the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall before the unification of West and East Germany in 1990, and is an election year.

Being patriotic is something of a new phenomenon here, however.

For decades, deep psychological scars from the war kept such feelings at bay, summed up by West Germany's then-president Gustav Heinemann who in 1969 famously declared that he loved his wife, not his country.

But in recent years, Germans have become more comfortable with patriotism, as seen in an orgy of flag-waving national pride when Germany hosted the football World Cup in 2006.

It is not all roses, however, with Germany's worst recession since World War II shaking many people's trust in the country's cherished social market economy.

The slump, with the accompanying rise in unemployment and huge increase in national debt, is expected to figure highly in campaigning for general elections on September 27 when Merkel is standing for a second term.

Convincing voters that she and her conservative bloc can get Germany on the road to recovery is a tall order -- as it is for the other parties.

The selection by 1,223 MPs and public figures of the next president should be a shoo-in for Koehler, a former head of the International Monetary Fund with the backing of Merkel and massive public support.

But the fact that the vote is held by secret ballot could produce an upset and see left-wing academic Gesine Schwan as the new head of state -- a result that would be of considerable embarrassment to Merkel.

But perhaps what will be capturing most people's attention is the final day of the football season.

Wolfsburg are two points clear of holders Bayern Munich with just Werder Bremen between them and their maiden Bundesliga title. But if they lose, Bayern or Stuttgart -- facing off in Munich -- could clinch the title instead.