FARRAH FAWCETT - FAWCETT LAID TO REST

FAWCETT LAID TO REST

RYAN O'NEAL paid tribute to his beloved partner FARRAH FAWCETT in an emotionally "stirring" funeral service for the CHARLIE'S ANGELS star.
The actress' son Redmond also gave a moving reading during the ceremony at Los Angeles' Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels on Tuesday afternoon (30Jun09).
The 24 year old and his father were pallbearers who held the star's casket aloft as it was carried into the Roman Catholic church ahead of the service.
Redmond O'Neal - who was granted a three-hour release from jail, where he's serving time on drug charges - gave the first speech of the ceremony in memory of his mother.
Ryan O'Neal sported a gold band on his wedding finger, despite never marrying Fawcett, as he read a verse from the Bible shortly after his son's tribute.
The star's longtime pal Alana Stewart gave a self-prepared eulogy about Fawcett, as did her doctor Lawrence Piro.
Fawcett's Charlie's Angels co-stars Kate Jackson and Jaclyn Smith were also at the ceremony to pay their last respects to the actress, who lost her battle with anal cancer last week (25Jun09) aged 62.
The church and the coffin were decorated with orange and yellow flowers - the actress' favourite colours - and the funeral program featured a photograph of a smiling Fawcett in her hey-day, with a full head of her trademark curly hair and wearing a silk and sequined dress.
Around 500 people were at the service, according to entertainment journalist Eliot Tiegel, who attended with his wife, Bonnie.
He says, "It was one of the most musical funerals I've ever been to, and that's what happens when you go to a show-business funeral. Overall, it was very stirring."
The intimate service lasted for an hour and the street outside the church was flanked with fans wanting to pay their last respects to Fawcett.
As the star's family and friends left the church after the funeral, Fawcett's 90-year-old father James had to be helped to a waiting limousine as he struggled to contain his grief.