Joe Namath's body is sleek and wet, his grin sly. "I just took a shower with Farrah Fawcett," he smirks. Holy Rona Barrett! What's going on? But look closely: The ex-jock's towel-draped torso is glistening with spray from a makeup man's spritz bottle, the intimate scene is being witnessed by a battery of TV cameras, and Farrah's response is far from seductive. "He just took a shower with Farrah Fawcett Shampoo," she corrects.
The world will get to share this tender moment next March when the Fawcett-Namath commercial for Faberge's latest hair-care creation makes its television debut. It was Farrah's inspired notion to team up again with Namath. Eight years ago, in her pre-Angel days, he was the star attraction in their famous "I'm going to get creamed" commercial for Noxzema.
This time 10 hours and 48 takes in a cold, damp Manhattan set left the 38-year-old Namath's notoriously fragile right knee aching, and Farrah's steadfast lover, Ryan O'Neal, 40, exhausted from a hard day of chaperon duty. Wary of the censors, the toothsome duo also taped a more modest version of the 30-second ad—with Joe in a robe and Farrah in jogging clothes.
Fawcett's real cover-up came at the Studio 54 wrap party that evening. She arrived wearing an Everest-sized diamond on the third finger of her left hand but was noncommittal on whether she was about to become Tatum O'Neal's stepmother. Instead, the 34-year-old blonde opted to talk about her career. "I'm reading a lot of scripts now," she announced. "I want to do something good as an actress."
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