Farrah Fawcett, Hollywood Golden Girl

"An angel in life, an angel in death," said one note. News had not yet broken about the King of Pop, and the focus was solely on Farrah, who had died of cancer at age 62. (And yes, everybody who gathered at the sidewalk shrine called her by her first name, as you would an old friend.)

Tourists from across the country and one group from France took pictures and talked about what they loved most about her. "As a young girl, we always played 'Charlie's Angels,' and everybody wanted to be Farrah," said Tammy Capestro, 38, visiting from St. Louis. "She was pretty and charming and always got the bad guy."

Her wholesome beauty – even in that famous poster shot – was accessible and non-threatening. But she was more than hair and a smile. She downplayed her glamour to play a battered wife in "The Burning Bed" and earned an Emmy nomination for her transformation.

Fans followed her personal and then medical struggles with a greater degree of kindness than usually afforded actors who fall on hard times. Why? "She had a sense of class," said Jennifer Pohlman, 38, from Grand Rapids, Mich. Her 13-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, didn't really get the appeal. But Pohlman, who grew up in the 1970s, said, "Farrah was my icon. . . . She made some poor choices, but we all do. She seemed to have a sweet nature. She never meant to hurt anybody."

The goodwill rubbed off on her longtime partner, Ryan O'Neal. At the end, people were moved by his in-sickness-and-in-health devotion.

When "Charlie's Angels" became a hit television show, Fawcett instantly became a star. At that time, there were only three major networks. It's funny, almost impossible now, to think that a trio of female crime-fighters, who answered to their unseen and mysterious boss, Charlie, could generate feminist debates, monster ratings and a million crushes. Farrah Fawcett was everywhere, especially on the walls of teenage boys around the country. It's difficult to imagine that kind of lightning striking today. Fawcett was a particular star for a particular time.

News reports the day before Fawcett died offered hope for patients with breast, ovarian and prostate cancer. A new class of drugs could lead to a further understanding of cancer treatment, according to a report in the New England Journal of Medicine.

A touch of hope for those – like Fawcett – involved in a very real fight.

Turns out she couldn't defeat the "bad guy," but she left her fans with golden Hollywood memories.