Everything Farrah Isn’t Obsession, Just Fascination

COURT HOUSE – Take a walk through the rooms of Ken Strain’s house, and one may not notice the various, miniature Farrah Fawcett heads surreptitiously placed here and there, though he is quick to point them out. 
Strain will say he is not ‘obsessed’ with the 1970s and ’80s actress and pin-up girl, rather, he considers his passion for the late actress a ‘fascination.’
“When I was a kid,” Strain told the Herald, “I would write about Farrah in my creative writing class.” He kept those writings, and when he revisited them later in life, his love for Fawcett was rekindled.
“When I discovered eBay and typed her name in, it started all over again,” he said.
Strain is a collector of all things Fawcett. In addition to the aforementioned tiny, rubber heads (sold in packages called “The Many Moods of Farrah”), he is the proud owner of:
* Stamps
* Hair dryer
* Pillow
* Fawcett’s “Playboy” video
* Jewelry from her jewelry line
* Casino chips
* Tee shirts,
* “Charlie’s Angels” board game
* Larger, plastic Fawcett head of hair called “Glamour Center” (Strain has three of them)
* 2013 calendar depicting her visage a dozen times over – he still flips the pages at the turn of every month.
No collection would be complete without a bit of body ink. Strain sports the likeness of Fawcett in a tattoo on his upper arm.
As to the physical items he has won on eBay, Strain said he always seems to be in competition with one bidder.
“He’d throw out thousand-dollar bids just to get Farrah’s personal stuff,” Strain said.
Though he admits to spending thousands on his collection, he has never spent that much on any single item. He said, in his will, he is leaving his collection to his nephew.
When asked if his nephew is also fascinated with Fawcett, Strain said, “He’s not yet, but he will.”
Strain, who was raised in Villas, recalled he was drawn to the actress/model at a very early age.
“I first noticed her in 1977. I would run down to the local store with my friend and we would buy the magazines she was in. The woman that worked there always wanted us to buy different issues so she wouldn’t be sold out of one particular magazine.”
Another of his prized possessions is a rare photo (framed and hanging on the wall) showing Fawcett in a two-piece bathing suit. In the photo, one can see a midsection scar that was a result of an appendectomy she had when she was 3 years old.
“She was always self-conscious of that scar,” Strain said. “That’s why she wore the red one-piece bathing suit in the iconic poster.
“I know so much about her. Farrah was a wonderful person that just happened to be extremely beautiful. She was sucked into the limelight when Hollywood called her. She didn’t pursue a career in show business. She wanted to be a marine biologist and an artist,” he said.
Fawcett began her career doing commercials. She also had bit parts on shows like “I Dream of Jeannie.”
“Most people know her from ‘Charlie’s Angels,’ but they usually don’t remember she was only on that show for the first season.” Fawcett made guest appearances in subsequent years.
Standing under a large portrait of Fawcett that his friend, a local artist named Jan Bendyna painted, Strain discussed a sensitive subject. Being a member of various groups of like-minded collectors and fans on MySpace and Facebook, Strain has met, over the years, others who share a similar concern.
There is some controversy surrounding Fawcett’s husband, Ryan O’Neal (also an actor). When Fawcett died of cancer in 2009, Strain said, O’Neal was quick to claim certain items of Fawcett’s.
“When she was sick, she was in her condo, heavily medicated and not doing well at all,” Strain said. “He (O’Neal) made her sign over the rights to the documentary she was filming about her cancer. It was supposed to be called ‘A Wing and a Prayer.’ Ryan made her change it to ‘Farrah’s Story.’ Because this was when ‘Love Story’ (a film starring O’Neal) was very popular. Ryan wanted him and Farrah to go down in history as the ultimate love story. I have copies of documents she signed where she spelled her name wrong…It’s a shame.”
The individuals in one of Strain’s fan groups worked together to send copies of these documents to the Attorney General’s office in Los Angeles. “People were stealing her things. O’Neal claimed an Andy Warhol portrait was his. It wasn’t. But he still won it in court after her death. We wanted somebody to investigate this because Farrah was snowed over when she was dying. We’re just a bunch of concerned friends looking after our idol. Nothing came of it. It’s really sad that he took advantage of her like that.”
The Warhol portrait of Fawcett is estimated to be worth as much as $12 million.
Much of Strain’s own, elaborate Fawcett collection is packed away during the year, but occasionally he will reorganize his prized possessions, read some magazines, and look at photos.
“Some people are very passionate about football or baseball and those that are, are really into it,” Strain said. “The friends that I have that care about Farrah…this is what it’s like for us. It’s just like anything else.” 
To contact Bryon Cahill, email bcahill@cmcherald.com.