Celebrity Mound

The University of Texas system and Ryan O’Neal are sparring over ownership of an Andy Warhol portrait of the actor’s longtime companion, Farrah Fawcett.

The system’s board of regents sued O’Neal in federal court in Los Angeles on Friday, asking a judge to order the Oscar-nominated actor to turn over the painting. The portrait is one of two that Warhol made of the “Charlie’s Angels” star and the university claims the actress bequeathed it to their Austin, Texas campus.

O’Neal’s spokesman Arnold Robinson blasted the lawsuit in a statement, saying the university has known for more than a year that the actor has painting. “This is completely ridiculous lawsuit,” Robinson wrote.

“Ryan O’Neal’s friendship with Andy Warhol began 10 years prior to his meeting Farrah Fawcett,” Robinson wrote. “When Ryan introduced Andy to Farrah, Mr. Warhol chose to complete two portraits of her, one for Ms. Fawcett and one for Mr. O’Neal. Mr. O’Neal looks forward to being completely vindicated in the courts.”

The university’s lawsuit claims O’Neal may be holding onto other pieces from Fawcett’s art collection that she wanted the university to have after her June 2009 death. Fawcett attended the University of Texas at Austin in the 1960s, according to the complaint.

“The enduring value and public interest in the Warhol portraits is a testament not only to Mr. Warhol’s talent and artistry, but also to Ms. Fawcett’s status as a cultural icon,” the lawsuit states.

Warhol created the portraits in the 1980s and they were only publicly displayed once, the lawsuit states.

The University of Texas wants O’Neal to purchase insurance for the painting and properly preserve it so that it can be turned over to the university if the lawsuit succeeds. It also seeks undetermined financial damages from O’Neal, but states the Fawcett portrait is priceless.

“The Warhol portrait is an irreplaceable piece of art for which legal damages could not fully compensate,” the lawsuit states.

Farrah Fawcett’s closest friends marked the first anniversary of her death by dedicating a cancer-research foundation in her name.

Alana Stewart, Ryan O’Neal, Tatum O’Neal and Redmond O’Neal were among guests at an intimate gathering Friday at the new offices of the Farrah Fawcett Foundation, which funds alternative cancer research and treatment methods and aims to improve the quality of life of those with the disease.

Fawcett, the “Charlie’s Angels” star who detailed her battle with anal cancer in the 2009 documentary, “Farrah’s Story,” died at 62 on June 25, 2009.

Stewart said Fawcett started her namesake foundation during her own struggle with cancer, and Stewart was determined to keep her friend’s efforts alive.

“If I can help carry on Farrah’s mission for the foundation, it’s an honor for me,” Stewart said. “I feel almost like she’s a guardian angel watching over me, and I feel like she’s smiling down on us and very happy that she died for a cause.”

“She felt that she could help a lot of people and she could give a lot of people inspiration, courage and hope,” Stewart continued. “That’s why she did the documentary and that’s why she started the foundation.”

Ryan O’Neal said the first anniversary of Fawcett’s death had been an emotional one for his family. Their 25-year-old son, Redmond, who has been dogged by drug problems and was jailed during his mother’s final days, visited Fawcett’s grave for the first time Friday.

The soft-spoken redhead said he is now clean and sober.

Ryan O’Neal said he still worried about his son, especially since Fawcett is gone: “He lost her, and he’s fragile.”

But, O’Neal said, her mission will continue.

“Farrah was extremely loved around the world,” he said. “We will try to keep that feeling in play.”

Visit the foundations official website:
http://www.thefarrahfawcettfoundation.org/

The “Love Story” star claims he and longtime lover Farrah Fawcett agreed he shouldn’t get a dime from her living trust and that nearly all the money should go to Redmond O’Neal: “Farrah’s and my relationship was based on a deep love and respect for one another and for our son Redmond. After discussing how her financial affairs would be handled in the event of her passing, we agreed that our son Redmond would be the primary beneficiary of her estate.

These were Farrah’s wishes, and I am perfectly happy with them. I sincerely hope that everyone will remember and celebrate the legacy that Farrah left behind, and will now let her rest in peace.”

(source)

Lost in his memories, the 68-year-old actor visited the ‘Charlie’s Angels’ actress’s headstone after their son, Redmond, was ordered by a judge in Los Angeles to go into drug rehab for at least a year.

Redmond, 24, was in jail for Farrah’s final days and was only released for a few hours to attend her funeral after she died from cancer on June 25.

On Friday, he pleaded guilty to possessing heroin while on bail in April for another drug offence.

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge ordered him to spend at least a year in a residential drug treatment programme and suspended a six- year prison sentence.

Ryan O’Neal, had made a deathbed promise to Farrah to take care of their troubled son.

The couple had a tumultuous relationship, but remained close since their romance began in 1980.

The ‘Love Story’ actor said he asked Farrah to marry him as she fought a losing battle with anal cancer, but she became too weak to go ahead with the ceremony.

In interviews after Farrah’s death, O’Neal characterised himself as ‘a hopeless father’ and said he even tried to chat up his own daughter, actress Tatum O’Neal, at the funeral.

‘I had just put the casket in the hearse and I was watching it drive away when a beautiful blonde woman comes up and embraces me,’ he told Vanity Fair.

‘I said to her, ‘You have a drink on you? You have a car?’ She said, ‘Daddy, it’s me, Tatum!’

‘I was just trying to be funny with a strange Swedish woman, and it’s my daughter. It’s so sick.’

The iconic actress was buried in a private service at Westwood Village Memorial Park in Los Angeles on June 30.

Her simple granite headstone has just her name spelled out in big letters across the front. She died in Los Angeles on the same day as Michael Jackson.

She documented her brave struggle with cancer in the film, ‘Farrah’s Story’ using footage shot by her best friend, Alana Hamilton, ex-wife of Rod Stewart.

(source)