10 Things You Might Not Have Known About ‘Charlie’s Angels’

We all love Angels, and especially the ’70s Charlie’s Angels. The series ran for five seasons on ABC from 1976-81.

Charlie’s Angels will celebrate the 48th anniversary of the series on Sept. 22, 2024. The series made overnight stars of Farrah Fawcett, Kate Jackson and Jaclyn Smith. It became a worldwide hit and was pegged as “jiggle TV.” The series includes a few cast changes, which replaced leaving Angels: Cheryl Ladd, Shelley Hack and Tanya Roberts. The show broke barriers and made overnight rockstars of the stars of the show.

Here are 10 things you might not know about Charlie’s Angels from book author (Angelic Heaven: Angel Case Update, A Fan’s Guide to Charlie’s Angels) and Angelologist Mike Pingel.

1Producers originally wanted a blonde, brunette and a red head

Once the producers saw Jaclyn Smith together with Kate Jackson and Farrah Fawcett during her audition, they decided to forgo the red-headed Angel. However, in 1980, when Tanya Roberts joined the cast, the producers had Roberts change her hair color to red.

2Cheryl Ladd was the only Angel to sing on the show

She sang on two episodes, “Angels in the Wings” and “Angels in Vegas.” Ladd released six LPs along with a video album in the ’70s and ’80s. She had a top 40 hit in the U.S. with “Think It Over” in 1978 (which peaked at No. 34). Ladd had a huge singing career in Japan along with many No. 1 songs. She also toured in Japan in the ’80s.

3Farrah Fawcett was only on the series for the first season

Fawcett had never signed her contract and wanted to negotiate a merchandise/toy deal. When she announced that she was not coming back for the second season, the producers, Aaron Spelling and Leonard Goldberg, took Fawcett to court. They had her blacklisted in Hollywood, and she was unable to film Coma and Foul Play. After the court case ended, Fawcett agreed to make six guest appearances, which were filmed during Seasons 3 and 4.

>> ‘‘Charlie’s Angels’ Star Cheryl Ladd Hoping to Release Tell-All Book

 

4Shelley Hack was the only Angel NOT to work in an Aaron Spelling/Leonard Goldberg production prior to becoming a Charlie’s Angel:

Kate Jackson (Sabrina Duncan) – played nurse Jill Danko in the TV series The Rookies and appeared in the TV movies Killer Bees, Death at Love House and Satan’s School for Girls (with fellow future Angel Cheryl Ladd).

Farrah Fawcett – appeared in the TV movies The Great American Beauty Contest, The Girl Who Came Giftwrapped and Murder on Flight 502.

Jaclyn Smith – made a guest appearance on the TV series The Rookies.

Cheryl Ladd (Kris Munroe) – made two guest appearances on the TV series The Rookies and was in the TV movie Satan’s Schools for Girls with future fellow Angel Kate Jackson. During this time, Ladd worked under her maiden name, Cheryl Stoppelmoor.

Tanya Roberts (Julie Rogers) – guest-starred on the TV series VEGA$. Roberts played opposite Michelle Phillips in a two-episode arc, which was to be a backdoor pilot called “Ladies in Blue,” but never made it to series. And Roberts starred in the TV movie Waikiki.

5Shelley Hack was the model who promoted the perfume “Charlie” long before she became an Angel

Hack was well known worldwide for her print and commercial work for the perfume. She continued to promote “Charlie” for several years after she was let go from Charlie’s Angels in 1980.

6Charlie’s Angels was mostly Kate Jackson’s idea

Jackson was in her final year of The Rookies, and since she got the most fan mail on that show, the producers Aaron Spelling and Leonard Goldberg wanted to spin her off into her own series. All three got together for the meeting. Jackson saw a picture of three Angels above Spelling’s desk and came up with the idea of “Angels” who work for a faceless boss named Harry. She then saw a speaker phone on Spelling’s desk and suggested that they get their assignments via speaker phone.

7The original show was to be called The Alley Cats

Then it was changed to Harry’s Angels and then finally to Charlie’s Angels, since there was a show already named Harry O.

8Jaclyn Smith was the only actress to be in every episode of Charlie’s Angels

Kate Jackson was on the shows for the first three seasons. Farrah Fawcett was on the series for the first season, and for six guest appearances in Seasons 3 and 4. Cheryl Ladd, who played Jill’s little sister was on the show for four seasons. Shelley Hack, who played Tiffany Welles, was on for one season, and Tanya Roberts was on the final season. And let us not forget David Doyle, who played John Bosley, was also in every episode along with John Forsythe, who was the voice of Charles Townsend.

9Farrah Fawcett’s infamous swimsuit poster was produced before Charlie’s Angels

 

The poster was printed and released prior to the series and was not part of the series’ merchandise. It was her own poster she produced in conjunction with Pro-Arts, which was one of the biggest poster producers in the 1970s. The poster turned out to be the bestselling poster of all time, selling over 12 million copies. Farrah’s poster was reproduced in 2023 and is currently being sold today at Spencer’s Gifts.

10Kate Jackson was originally cast in the role of Kelly Garrett

Jackson read the script and really wanted to play the role of Sabrina Duncan instead, so the role of Kelly Garrett went to Jaclyn Smith.