Faye-ing Away!

We've amassed a small collection of portraits that feature our favorite actress of the post-1970 era and it's time to show them off. Faye Dunaway was the subject of a tribute here years ago, but it's been a while since I turned the spotlight to her, so here we go with a look at some striking photos of her. This first one, even with a healthy dollop of mascara, seems to show her off at her most natural from the time of her debut on the Hollywood scene.

Her look in the movie that shot her to superstardom, Bonnie and Clyde (1967.)

The retro, '20s-with-a-twist fashions from Bonnie met head-on with the late-'60s mod make-up to create a personal look that was all her own until it took the nation (if not the world!) by storm and gave way to many imitators.

For 1968's A Place for Lovers, she adopted a more classic, sophisticated style (though few viewers likely stayed awake long enough to see everything!)

That same year in The Thomas Crown Affair, she rocked a series of funky late-'60s hats and dresses in what was a big hit.

Experimenting with a long fall @ 1968.

The Arrangement (1969) marked the end of her mod phase as she began to segue into westerns and contemporary dramas.

It was in 1973's The Three Musketeers that Dunaway entered my life and changed it for good. Her bejeweled, scheming Milady de Winter was a mind-boggling presence to my six year-old brain.

The 1974 follow-up (filmed at the same time) The Four Musketeers went even further in generating my awe for the woman and I can still watch every frame of this performance with rapt attention.

She scored big with Chinatown (1974), too, but what really sealed the deal for all eternity with me was being confronted by her goddess-like elegance in The Towering Inferno (1974.) Something clicked the day my seven year-old self saw this movie and I've been obsessed ever since!

Dunaway's own career highpoint came with her Oscar-winning turn as a fire-breathing TV executive in 1976's Network.

Roles were strangely sporadic in the wake of that win from the outre thriller Eyes of Laura Mars (1978) to the tearjerker The Champ (1979), in which her reviews were derogatory (Leonard Maltin said she looked like she wanted to bed down with her son, Ricky Schroeder, pictured with her here!) A somnambulant role in The First Deadly Sin (1980) helped little.

An unbelievably meaty role in Mommie Dearest (1981), portraying allegedly-abusive screen legend Joan Crawford, might have turned the tide in her favor, but instead the unhinged debacle kicked off a phase of high camp which 1983's The Wicked Lady did nothing to halt.

1984's Supergirl, in which she was an evil sorceress, was basically "Mystical Mommie Dearest." As part three of a villainous trifecta, it solidified her image as an over-the-top camp icon and drove her off the big screen for years.

Dunaway, now having resided in England for several years, worked in made-for-TV fare like the negligible Agatha Christie mystery Thirteen at Dinner (1985), which kept her squarely in the glitzy, campy arena as she took on a dual role.

It had to have been rough to wake up one day in 1986 and examine the ravages of time on her once astonishing face. Beverly Hills Madam (1985), again casting her as a dragon lady, but one with a teensy bit of heart, was one of the last times we'd see this face.

After some cosmetic procedures, a tuned-up Dunaway began to focus on a wider array of roles, often in low-budget art films such as Burning Secret (1988.) There had also been a successful stab at serious, dressed-down character acting in 1987's Barfly.

She was, however, still tough to beat when a haughty woman of means and deviousness was called for as in The Handmaid's Tale (1990.) Her new looks helped to keep her viable as a working actress in a town that is unforgiving to those who age.

She continued to nip and tuck, however, and by the time of 1991's Scorchers, she was barely recognizable as her former self!

Nevertheless, once I got used to this new visage, I found myself still drawn to her vivacious, juicy supporting roles such as this one in The Temp (1993.) She looked nothing short of amazing throughout the movie and gave us a nice taste of the glamorous bitch many of us still craved.

A rather rare foray into (intentional) comedy came with Dunston Checks In (1996), an orangutan movie that is often reviled, but which is elegantly appointed and which features a deliciously domineering performance by Dunaway as a glamorous blend of Leona Helmsley and Ivana Trump. Dunaway worked non-stop in a huge array of TV and movie projects through the 2000s, always hoping to gain enough financial backing to craft her dream project (a feature version of her hit play "Master Class"), though that has yet to come to fruition.

I leave you with this rare shot of Miss D. sporting a bikini and looking fabulous!