Farrah Fawcett "was saying [her son’s] name, ‘Redmond'" even in her last moments, a friend said.
Farrah Fawcett and Ryan O'Neal never married but had a son named Redmond in 1985. Tragedy struck when Fawcett lost her cancer battle and passed away in 2009 at the age of 62. The actress left her son Redmond O'Neal a bulk of her wealth, nearly $4.5 million, when she died but she ensured to set up strict parameters on how the money could be spent, according to a copy of her living trust per PEOPLE.
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Her son struggled with drug addiction for years and the actress wanted to make sure he would use the money responsibly. So she put $4.5 million into a trust fund overseen by her business manager and producer, Richard Francis. While Redmond did have access to the interest the money generated but could use the principal amount only for matters relating to his healthcare. "This means Francis can spend as much as he deems advisable for rehabilitation (which would clearly improve Redmond's health), without paying anything directly to him for fear of it being spent on drugs, etc.," Andrew W. Mayoras, a probate attorney not involved in the case, explained in a blog post in 2009. The attorney added, "If this $4.5 million is conservatively invested to generate even a modest 5 percent return, this would mean almost $19,000 per month would be available for Redmond, without ever spending any of the $4.5 million itself."
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Fawcett was concerned about her then-24-year-old son even in her final moments. Fawcett's confidant, Mela Murphy, was at her bedside when she died on June 25, 2009. The concerned mother "was saying [her son’s] name, ‘Redmond’,” Murphy recalled to PEOPLE of the last moments of the superstar’s life. “That was the last thing she said … I told her I’d take care of him, that I’ll always be there for him. I said, ‘You can go now.’ It was just a few hours before she died.”
Fawcett's partner Ryan O'Neal was also at the actress' bedside and reportedly slept in a cot next to her hospital bed. He even proposed to her two weeks before her death. “He never left her side, especially those last few months,” Farrah’s friend Alana Stewart said. “I think they would’ve married if she had made it because he asked her to marry him in the hospital and she said yes. But she took a turn for the worse. This was just a few weeks before the end, so perhaps it wasn’t realistic.”
To this day Ryan O'Neal still honors her in every way he can. Nearly 14 years after her death, on this Valentine's day he paid tribute to her by sharing a picture on Instagram of a rose laid on her Hollywood Walk of Fame star with the caption, "My forever Valentine". The 81-year-old often posts tributes to her on special occasions like her birthday even now.
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References:
https://people.com/tv/farrah-fawcett-final-days-last-words/
https://www.probatelawyerblog.com/2009/11/farrah-fawcetts-trust-provides-a-good-lesson.html
Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Photo by Kevin Winter
