Farrah Fawcett was due for a heavenly sendoff at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.
Around 200 friends, colleagues and family members, including Fawcett's otherwise incarcerated son, Redmond, gathered Tuesday afternoon for a private funeral honoring the late actress. The cathedral has the capacity to seat 3,000, but the invite-only service was far more intimate.
First among the mourners to arrive were Ryan O'Neal and Alana Stewart, who were both with Fawcett at the hospital when she died. Farrah's father, James Fawcett; ex-husband Lee Majors and Charlie's Angels costar Kate Jackson also slipped past list-wielding security guards about an hour before the service was set to begin.
Ernie Hudson, Cheryl Tiegs, romance novelist Jackie Collins, Dynasty villain Joan Collins Gary Shandling, Marla Maples, hairstylist Jose Eber, who created the famous feathered Farrah 'do, and O'Neal's daughter Tatum and son Griffin were also in attendance.
O'Neal, who read the 23rd Psalm and several other passages, was one of the pallbearers who escorted Fawcett's flower-draped casket into the church shortly before the funeral's 4 p.m. start time.
Stewart and oncologist Dr. Lawrence Piro delivered eulogies.
"[Farrah] never felt sorry for herself during her illness," Stewart said. "She fought cancer furiously...She always seemed so indestructible. "
The cover of the funeral program depicted a glowing, smiling Fawcett, clad in a slinky dress. One attendee was spotted toting a lifesize blowup of her iconic red bathing suit poster into the service. Pinup icon that she was, a variety photos of her were displayed on easels set up in the back of the church.
A bagpiper played "Amazing Grace" to start the service, after which Redmond, Fawcett's son with O'Neal, gave the first reading of the afternoon. His dad complimented the "beautiful job" he did.
The 24-year-old is serving an 18-month sentence at a L.A. jail specializing in intensive drug treatment and was given three hours to attend his mom's funeral. He was briefly allowed to leave a county lockup to visit Fawcett in April, and he is said to have spoken with her on the phone just minutes before she died last Thursday.
After the funeral, guests were taken by van to a private reception at the Jonathan Club in Santa Monica.
(Originally published June 30, 2009, at 4:35 p.m. PT)