Sea - Boo! - Er
Telly Talk Warrior
Yes, I remember that being heavily reported at the time. She went on to appear in the 1981 Caveman and then marry her co-starr, Ringo.
-
Click here for the details
Appreciating Charlie's Angels
- Thread starter Piggyrella Sanderson
- Start date
- Copy link Copy link
ClassyCo
Telly Talk Warrior
This blogger makes a strong argument about Cheryl Ladd as Kris Munroe being the most underrated Angel on the show.
hillplace.blogspot.com
Charlie's Best and Most Underrated Angel
I admit that I've always been a big fan of "Charlie's Angels" (1976-81), which I already discussed in the early days of my blog. As I'v...
hillplace.blogspot.com
ClassyCo
Telly Talk Warrior
You know, it's hard for me to disregard Farrah as my favorite, but Cheryl is definitely my favorite once Farrah's out of the picture.
So, as of this posting, Jaclyn Smith as Kelly Garrett is coming in as the favorite Angel. She was the only original cast member that stayed with the show for its entire five-season-run (of the angelic trio, that is) and often won over fans because of her warm sensitivity.
The favorite angelic trio is the longest-running line-up of Sabrina (Kate Jackson), Kelly (Jaclyn Smith), and Kris (Cheryl Ladd). I can understand why the longest-running trio of angels would come out as the favorite. It's the most familiar (when judging by the total number of episodes they're together) and the most defined.
Jaclyn Smith is supposedly one of the nicest people in the business. I read a blog from a Kmart worker who was with the company when they had product lines with Jaclyn Smith and Martha Stewart. Both visited the store where this writer worked. Jaclyn was super friendly and spoke to the employees. Martha, not so much.
ClassyCo
Telly Talk Warrior
I remember seeing Jaclyn's clothing like at Kmart after I started watching CHARLIE'S ANGELS and being thrilled to see her face on clothing racks in the store. I've also heard that she is very friendly and kind to her fans.
DallasFanForever
Telly Talk Supreme
I would tend to agree. I always felt Kelly had the most depth to her character out of all of them.
And I would have to agree with this also. No disrespect to Farrah but I felt these three had the best chemistry amongst all the girls.
Spooky Owl!
Telly Talk Supreme
Not that I was big fan of the show (I found hard to sit through it after Season 3 and Kate left) but I've always rather liked these pictures, taken before the series even premiered (but after the pilot, I think); they're très, très 1976 in their breezy way -- two dark, witchy Scorpionic cookies wafers surrounding the frothy Aquarian filling in the middle:
ClassyCo
Telly Talk Warrior
The bottom picture of the trio in the trees is probably my favorite picture of them.
I told my supervisor today at work that my dream car would be Farrah's (and later Cheryl's) Cobra II:
ClassyCo
Telly Talk Warrior
Kate Jackson had been instrumental in the development of CHARLIE’S ANGELS. She was the first actress hired, and she was the one that gave Aaron Spelling and Leonard Goldberg the idea of having three women working for a man they never see but communicate with via a speakerphone. Jackson spent a lot of time on the show fussing over the quality of the scripts and refusing to wear skimpy outfits.
The final nail in her decision to leave CHARLIE’S ANGELS came when she was offered a starring role in the movie KRAMER VS. KRAMER with Dustin Hoffman. The producers of the show would not (or could not) reorganize her shooting schedule and informed her she was not going to be able to accept the movie role. This infuriated Jackson, who knew the film role was something she wanted to do. That part eventually went to Meryl Streep, who ended up winning an Oscar.
Producers have sent it “was not a pleasant time” on the set during these days, with Jackson infuriated with her bosses and determined to leave CHARLIE’S ANGELS. She made the decision official soon enough and left the show after three seasons in 1979.
The producers were worried about losing another of the original Angels (have lost breakout star Farrah Fawcett after the premiere season in 1977), but they quickly threw themselves into the gimmicky shenanigans of finding a new actress to incorporate into their hit show. They went to the drawing board and invented a new character, Tiffany Welles, a WASPy New Englander with a flair for fashion that would bring an element of East Coast class to the show.
Let’s talk about the actresses, models, and other would-be hopefuls that were considered potential Tiffanys:
One of the directors of CHARLIE’S ANGELS, Allan Baron, really liked newcomer Michelle Pfeiffer. I’m not sure how much, or even if he did, campaign for her, but a casting call sheet from 1979 shows Pfeiffer’s name highlighted among several other actresses. She received her big break in SCARFACE in just a few years.
Catherine Bach was considered, but passed over, and ended up playing Daisy Duke on THE DUKES OF HAZZARD. This made her a poster pin-up cutie throughout the 1980s as DUKES ranked just behind DALLAS in the ratings for a couple of seasons.
Connie Sellecca was familiar with Aaron Spelling, or so I think, and she was brought in to read for Tiffany. They ultimately decided she was not the right fit, but Sellecca did end up on another Spelling-produced series, HOTEL.
Former Bond girl, Barbara Bach, who starred in THE SPY WHO LOVED ME in 1977, became a Tiffany dark horse quickly. There was a misbelief that Bach was English, however, and producers moved away from her. It was wrongly reported by the Daily News that she had been selected for the part. In an interview with Johnny Carson, Bach said the producers thought she was “too sophisticated in attitude and look” for the show.
Future television personality Kathie Lee Gifford was also interviewed. She spoke of her experience in jokingly unflattering terms in 2001. Apparently, the lady doing the casting calls told Gifford right from the start that she was “not right” for CHARLIE’S ANGELS and that they were “looking for a pretty girl,” which, I guess, indicates said lady did not find Gifford pretty.
Daytime soap opera actress Judith Chapman auditioned to play Tiffany as a gateway into primetime television. She was not a serious candidate.
Future DALLAS cast member Deborah Shelton read but was passed over.
Susanne Reed and Debra Feuer, two working television actresses, were also considered.
Dian Parkinson (one of the models on THE PRICE IS RIGHT) was considered but not cast.
Model and former PLAYBOY playmate Claudia Jennings read for the part just shortly before her untimely death in a car accident in 1979.
For those of you that have followed my posts over the past years, you will know that I take an interest in those things that happen behind-the-scenes of television shows. I have, for a while, dug into the production of the fourth season of CHARLIE’S ANGELS and just how strenuous the producers were in finding their successor to Kate Jackson. The names that I have finally been able to assemble apparently do not even scratch the surface of the ladies that were considered for this job.
Shelley Hack came into the running because of the Charlie perfume ads. Apparently, Spelling asked, “How could we hire anyone else but the Charlie girl?” Costume designer Nolan Miller also advocated for Hack to Spelling, commenting on her sense of style and training as a model that would make it easy for the wardrobe department to dress her. There were some concerns by ABC about Hack’s lack of formal acting experience, but the network stepped back and gave Spelling his way, believing he knew best.
Of course, we all know the tenure of Shelley Hack was misguided and brief. She refused acting lessons, brushed off questions from reporters about her inexperience, and eventually became fussy about her wardrobe, which annoyed Nolan Miller. “That magical click,” said Leonard Golberg, “just seemed to be missing” from the fourth season. Cheryl Ladd and Jaclyn Smith (the two Angels that stayed on from the third season) also felt there was “something missing” from season four. Eventually, the powers-that-be decided it was Shelley Hack that threw the season off, and she was fired in early 1980. The whole situation was handled shabbily. Shelley just simply was not invited back for another season.
“I never expected to be there for more than a year, and I wasn’t,” said Shelley Hack in a 2001 interview, “I did my year and moved on.” Smith and especially Ladd have come to Shelley’s defense in interviews, with the latter commenting, “It certainly wasn’t all Shelley’s fault.” Smith’s responses are vaguer, but she also seems to believe Shelley got a raw deal. Producers, directors, script people, and wardrobe designers have all given their anecdotes as to why Shelley Hack did not work out. I have literally heard it all—she was too inexperienced, she was not curvy enough, she demanded too much of the wardrobe department, she never had fun with her role, she denied help from network drama coaches, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Even so, Shelley has never appeared disheartened by being booted out of CHARLIE’S ANGELS. She went on to have a successful career in film and television, both before and behind the camera.
The final nail in her decision to leave CHARLIE’S ANGELS came when she was offered a starring role in the movie KRAMER VS. KRAMER with Dustin Hoffman. The producers of the show would not (or could not) reorganize her shooting schedule and informed her she was not going to be able to accept the movie role. This infuriated Jackson, who knew the film role was something she wanted to do. That part eventually went to Meryl Streep, who ended up winning an Oscar.
Producers have sent it “was not a pleasant time” on the set during these days, with Jackson infuriated with her bosses and determined to leave CHARLIE’S ANGELS. She made the decision official soon enough and left the show after three seasons in 1979.
The producers were worried about losing another of the original Angels (have lost breakout star Farrah Fawcett after the premiere season in 1977), but they quickly threw themselves into the gimmicky shenanigans of finding a new actress to incorporate into their hit show. They went to the drawing board and invented a new character, Tiffany Welles, a WASPy New Englander with a flair for fashion that would bring an element of East Coast class to the show.
Let’s talk about the actresses, models, and other would-be hopefuls that were considered potential Tiffanys:
One of the directors of CHARLIE’S ANGELS, Allan Baron, really liked newcomer Michelle Pfeiffer. I’m not sure how much, or even if he did, campaign for her, but a casting call sheet from 1979 shows Pfeiffer’s name highlighted among several other actresses. She received her big break in SCARFACE in just a few years.
Catherine Bach was considered, but passed over, and ended up playing Daisy Duke on THE DUKES OF HAZZARD. This made her a poster pin-up cutie throughout the 1980s as DUKES ranked just behind DALLAS in the ratings for a couple of seasons.
Connie Sellecca was familiar with Aaron Spelling, or so I think, and she was brought in to read for Tiffany. They ultimately decided she was not the right fit, but Sellecca did end up on another Spelling-produced series, HOTEL.
Former Bond girl, Barbara Bach, who starred in THE SPY WHO LOVED ME in 1977, became a Tiffany dark horse quickly. There was a misbelief that Bach was English, however, and producers moved away from her. It was wrongly reported by the Daily News that she had been selected for the part. In an interview with Johnny Carson, Bach said the producers thought she was “too sophisticated in attitude and look” for the show.
Future television personality Kathie Lee Gifford was also interviewed. She spoke of her experience in jokingly unflattering terms in 2001. Apparently, the lady doing the casting calls told Gifford right from the start that she was “not right” for CHARLIE’S ANGELS and that they were “looking for a pretty girl,” which, I guess, indicates said lady did not find Gifford pretty.
Daytime soap opera actress Judith Chapman auditioned to play Tiffany as a gateway into primetime television. She was not a serious candidate.
Future DALLAS cast member Deborah Shelton read but was passed over.
Susanne Reed and Debra Feuer, two working television actresses, were also considered.
Dian Parkinson (one of the models on THE PRICE IS RIGHT) was considered but not cast.
Model and former PLAYBOY playmate Claudia Jennings read for the part just shortly before her untimely death in a car accident in 1979.
For those of you that have followed my posts over the past years, you will know that I take an interest in those things that happen behind-the-scenes of television shows. I have, for a while, dug into the production of the fourth season of CHARLIE’S ANGELS and just how strenuous the producers were in finding their successor to Kate Jackson. The names that I have finally been able to assemble apparently do not even scratch the surface of the ladies that were considered for this job.
Shelley Hack came into the running because of the Charlie perfume ads. Apparently, Spelling asked, “How could we hire anyone else but the Charlie girl?” Costume designer Nolan Miller also advocated for Hack to Spelling, commenting on her sense of style and training as a model that would make it easy for the wardrobe department to dress her. There were some concerns by ABC about Hack’s lack of formal acting experience, but the network stepped back and gave Spelling his way, believing he knew best.
Of course, we all know the tenure of Shelley Hack was misguided and brief. She refused acting lessons, brushed off questions from reporters about her inexperience, and eventually became fussy about her wardrobe, which annoyed Nolan Miller. “That magical click,” said Leonard Golberg, “just seemed to be missing” from the fourth season. Cheryl Ladd and Jaclyn Smith (the two Angels that stayed on from the third season) also felt there was “something missing” from season four. Eventually, the powers-that-be decided it was Shelley Hack that threw the season off, and she was fired in early 1980. The whole situation was handled shabbily. Shelley just simply was not invited back for another season.
“I never expected to be there for more than a year, and I wasn’t,” said Shelley Hack in a 2001 interview, “I did my year and moved on.” Smith and especially Ladd have come to Shelley’s defense in interviews, with the latter commenting, “It certainly wasn’t all Shelley’s fault.” Smith’s responses are vaguer, but she also seems to believe Shelley got a raw deal. Producers, directors, script people, and wardrobe designers have all given their anecdotes as to why Shelley Hack did not work out. I have literally heard it all—she was too inexperienced, she was not curvy enough, she demanded too much of the wardrobe department, she never had fun with her role, she denied help from network drama coaches, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Even so, Shelley has never appeared disheartened by being booted out of CHARLIE’S ANGELS. She went on to have a successful career in film and television, both before and behind the camera.
Spooky Owl!
Telly Talk Supreme
Everybody knows what Kate is like.
But they needed a vivacious black angel by Season 4 (and Shari Belafonte wasn't it). Aaron and Nolan were out to lunch to cast Shelley Hack, a boring non-looker who didn't "fit" the show, simply because they thought the Charlie-parfum tie-in was cute, and also believed she'd bring in an east coast Hepburn quality (???). So then they fire her and go in the opposite direction with crass, street-ho Tanya Roberts, goddess bless her.
Casting CHARLIE'S ANGELS couldn't be that hard, nor that easy.
So what were they thinking??
ClassyCo
Telly Talk Warrior
Well, Spelling and Goldberg apparently wanted to go a new direction for the fifth season. I've heard both of them use the word "ethnic" to describe what they wanted to do when bringing in yet another actress to play yet another new Angel.
They created the Julie Rogers character to be grungier and edgier, a reformed-Angel-of-sorts that would hopefully revive the show and introduce a new dynamic to an increasingly stale police procedural.
Shari Belafonte was apparently the first actress they had in mind. I've even heard that Julie was written with Shari in mind for the part. Contrary to what's commonly stated, Shari was not considered as a replacement for Kate Jackson, but instead a replacement for Shelley Hack.
The network didn't want Shari, though, or Spelling backed out. I'm not sure what happened. Some producer politics probably. As we know, Shari rebounded -- I guess you could say -- and ended up HOTEL, another Spelling drama.
But Spelling and Goldberg still wanted an "ethnic" Angel to be incorporated into the fledgling CHARLIE'S ANGELS in 1980. Black actress Jayne Kennedy and Indian actress Susie Coelho were also considered for Julie, but they weren't cast.
The producers eventually settled on former dance instructor Tanya Roberts. Goldberg described Roberts as being "very sexy" and as providing "something different" in terms of angelic personality.
But what they basically used Tanya for was bikini photo-ops, even though I'd admit that they introduced her better than they did Shelley the year before.
Spelling failed to realize, though, or probably didn't realize or care to be more specific, that CHARLIE'S ANGELS had frankly ran out of stem. It probably wouldn't have mattered who they cast in 1979 or 1980. The show was novelty and mostly a throwaway piece of pop culture bubblegum -- in terms of the scripts and acting, that is -- that had just out-worn its welcome.
Part of the reason the turnover of Farrah into Cheryl Ladd for the second season was so successful was because audiences were still entranced with the newness of the show itself. The ratings decline for the fourth and fifth seasons shouldn't really be blamed on Shelley Hack or Tanya Roberts, but instead on the failure of the show runners to give CHARLIE'S ANGELS some life, some room to breathe so they show could "evolve" into something a little more substantial.
But, alas, it's CHARLIE'S ANGELS we're talking about.
Spooky Owl!
Telly Talk Supreme
Jayne Kennedy would have been another disaster; she read as cold and snobby on screen. I'm not familiar with the other actress.
Likely, ABC was afraid to infest their pasty-white ANGEL pad with someone of color in 1979 or '80.
Oh, sure it would have made a difference. CHARLIE'S ANGELS probably wouldn't have run any longer than five seasons, as most '70s 'detective' shows tended to lose the mojos after that amount of time, but the last two seasons could have remained at least watchable in a way the first three were. And they didn't.
Even with vapid material like ANGELS, the details -- like casting -- matter.
ClassyCo
Telly Talk Warrior
I had to look both of them up. I had never even heard of them.
This definitely seems to be the most plausible answer.
You're right. Most shows -- regardless to the genre or quality -- rely heavily on the likability of their cast. That's what made the first three seasons of ANGELS work. It had good, likable actresses playing the leads, and that bled through on-screen (even though Jackson and Ladd "weren't that close").
A good little rundown on the pilot:
Had the replacement for Kate Jackson been at least better executed -- because Shelley Hack really wasn't really that bad, or at least not to me -- and had the writer's strike hadn't happened in 1980, I do think CHARLIE'S ANGELS might've had another season in it. Another season could've been squeezed out, even in the ratings dipped.
Spooky Owl!
Telly Talk Supreme
It wasn't so much Hack's acting, but she just had the wrong demeanor. The Angels all needed a certain token vivacity, and Hack was too stiffly reserved -- and not in a way that exactly conveyed regal bearing.
Last edited:
ClassyCo
Telly Talk Warrior
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/Jaclyn-Smith-and-Kate-Jackson-080323-e66c1e92923c42e09ef41dc3a9e48399.jpg)
Jaclyn Smith on rare 'Charlie's Angels' reunion with Kate Jackson: 'A friend for the ages'
Jaclyn Smith and Kate Jackson had a mini 'Charlie's Angels' reunion at a family wedding. 'We couldn't stop hugging each other,' Smith tells EW. 'It was like no time had passed.'
Nice to see them together. I guess Shelley Hack didn’t get an invite. 
BTW, Kate Jackson didn’t decide to leave without Spelling/Goldberg allowing her to go. Look at how they sued Farrah Fawcett when she quit after one year. Kate had a five year contract. And Spelling announced at the time that he was letting her go “for the good of the show.” I remember Kate at the time saying it was mutual: “I was sick of them and they were sick of me.”
BTW, Kate Jackson didn’t decide to leave without Spelling/Goldberg allowing her to go. Look at how they sued Farrah Fawcett when she quit after one year. Kate had a five year contract. And Spelling announced at the time that he was letting her go “for the good of the show.” I remember Kate at the time saying it was mutual: “I was sick of them and they were sick of me.”
Last edited:
Spooky Owl!
Telly Talk Supreme
Maybe Kete will some day get to speak to Cheryl Ladd.
One of the producers said that Kate Jackson "derived great pleasure" from her own remoteness. And I don't think he was referring to her sense of privacy.
That said, once she was gone, ANGELS lost their wings and died.
One of the producers said that Kate Jackson "derived great pleasure" from her own remoteness. And I don't think he was referring to her sense of privacy.
That said, once she was gone, ANGELS lost their wings and died.
ClassyCo
Telly Talk Warrior
I'm too lazy to scroll back through the replies this morning, but have we ever toyed with the idea of Lynda Carter being one of the Angels? I mean, WONDER WOMAN was probably cancelled by CBS in time enough back in 1979 for Carter to succeed Kate Jackson on CHARLIE'S ANGELS.
Would Lynda have been "too identified" with Diana Prince to have been Tiffany Welles, or possibly another one of Spelling's creations?
This thought sprung into my mind this morning. I don't know if it would've worked -- and it probably wouldn't have -- but it's something to think about at least. At the very least, Carter could've maybe succeeded Shelley Hack instead of Tanya Roberts doing so in 1980.
What say you?
Would Lynda have been "too identified" with Diana Prince to have been Tiffany Welles, or possibly another one of Spelling's creations?
This thought sprung into my mind this morning. I don't know if it would've worked -- and it probably wouldn't have -- but it's something to think about at least. At the very least, Carter could've maybe succeeded Shelley Hack instead of Tanya Roberts doing so in 1980.
What say you?