What Happened to Charlie and His Angels?
Once upon a time (1976) there were three beautiful actresses (Farrah Fawcett-Majors, Kate Jackson and Jaclyn Smith), a pudgy personal assistant (David Doyle), all playing private eyes. They worked for a mysterious producer (Aaron Spelling) and an unseen actor (John Forsythe) who talked via a speakerphone. It was a big, jiggly hit.
After one season its biggest star (Fawcett) left and was replaced by a bubbly blonde (Cheryl Ladd). Then the smart one (Jackson) split in the third season and was replaced by another gal (Shelley Hack). That actress barely made it through one season before being replaced by another beauty (Tanya Roberts).
Then the ratings dropped and the show was canceled, in 1981. But 'Charlie's Angels' lives on in our hearts -- and our Farrah Fawcett poster. -- By Ed Tahaney
Hulton Archive, Getty Images (2) / Ron Galella, WireImage (2)
Jaclyn Smith
Kelly Garrett
Then: The Houston hottie auditioned for the show at the age of 30 after working as a makeup model for Max Factor and hawking shampoo as a Breck Girl. The street-wise angel with big brown hair was the only original cast member (along with the fourth angel, David Doyle) to make it through all 113 episodes of the series. She was also the only 'Angel' to take a bullet during the show's entire five-season run.
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Hulton Archive, Getty Images
Jaclyn Smith
Kelly Garrett
Now: Smith, 63, became the queen of the miniseries, appearing in more than a dozen of them in the '80s. She made a cameo in the big-screen sequel, 'Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle.' But Smith is best known nowadays for her collection of clothes at K-Mart, where 100 million women have bought her apparel since 1985. She even has her own home furnishing line and just added a line of wigs into the mix. Like her fellow 'Angel' Kate Jackson, she has suffered from and fought breast cancer. She had a successful recurring role on CBS's 'The District' and today she's the hostess of the hairstyling reality show 'Shear Genius.' The multi-hyphenate business titan also has her own website.
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Charles Eshelman, FilmMagic
Cheryl Ladd
Kris Munroe
Then: South Dakota sweetheart, Cheryl Ladd sang backup as Melody on the '70s 'Josie and the Pussycats' cartoon. She had hundreds of commercials under her belt before becoming Farrah Fawcett's replacement as Jill Munroe's younger sis, Kris, after season 1. The cheerfully bland angel recorded two albums during the series, 'Cheryl Ladd' and 'Dance Forever,' sang on 'Don Kirshner's Rock Concert' and competed in the 'Battle of the Network Stars.'
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Ron Galella, WireImage
Cheryl Ladd
Kris Munroe
Now: Ladd, 57, played a desperate housewife in the teen flick 'Poision Ivy' with future movie 'Angel' Drew Barrymore. She penned an autobiographical book, 'Token Chick: A Woman's Guide to Golfing With the Boys' and was also seen in national menopause ads. Recently Ladd was playing James Caan's wife on NBC's 'Las Vegas.' She lives in Santa Ynez, Ca., with her second hubby Brian Russell, and recently put up their 7,000 sq. ft. home for sale, complete with a horse facility, tennis court and swimming pool, for $5,795,000. Ladd also keeps her own website.
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Jon Kopaloff, FilmMagic
Kate Jackson
Sabrina Duncan
Then: The brainy babe from Birmingham, Ala., was the first 'Angel' to receive her wings for the show and the second one to leave after Fawcett took a bow. Prior to 'Angels,' she landed a role on producers' Aaron Spelling and Leonard Goldberg's 'The Rookies,' playing a nurse. When that ended, Jackson helped develop 'Angels' with Spelling -- no wonder then she was known as the smart angel. Spelling later refused to let her go when she was offered the lead in 'Kramer vs. Kramer,' which went to Meryl Streep as well as a Best Supporting Actress Oscar. However, Jackson received two Emmy and three Golden Globe noms during her three seasons before Sabrina left to get married and raise a family.
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Ron Galella, WireImage
Kate Jackson
Sabrina Duncan
Now: Jackson, 60, went on to star in another hit, 'Scarecrow and Mrs. King' playing a snooping housewife, married to a spy and raising two boys. She took a break from acting when she was diagnosed with breast cancer and joined the campaign to promote mammograms. Recently she voiced an episode of the 'Family Guy' as Mrs. Amanda King in a 'Deep Throats' episode and has a recurring role on 'Criminal Minds' as Ambassador Elizabeth Prentiss. Last year she reunited with fellow 'Angel' Smith when they re-created their famous '70s hairdos for 'Shear Genius.'
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Tony Barson, WireImage
Farrah Fawcett
Jill Munroe
Then: Who didn't have a Farrah Fawcett-Majors swimsuit poster on their wall? C'mon you know you did. The titillating Texan and college dropout, was paid a reported $10,000 per episode to appear on the show about the time her poster started to sell -- 12 million have sold around the world to date. The iconic sex symbol was the first 'Angel' to leave (after only one season) to pursue a movie career. Her character Munroe was written off the show to become a Grand Prix racer but came back after a well-publicized lawsuit with Spelling. She reluctantly returned to appear in a number of guest spots over two seasons.
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Hulton Archive, Getty Images
Farrah Fawcett
Jill Munroe
Now: Fawcett, 62, never made it big in the movies but has remained an enduring pop culture icon. She received several Emmy noms for playing a battered wife in 'The Burning Bed' and also did well playing a rape victim on stage and in the film versions of 'Extremities.' Her marriage to Lee Majors ended after nine years, after which she hooked up with actor Ryan O'Neal. They had a son, Redmond, now 24, and making headlines of his own. The couple broke up but got back together and have been in the tabloids ever since. She did a Playboy spread in December 1995 at the age of 50 and another one two years later. Her memorably incoherent 1997 appearance on 'Late Show With David Letterman' is one for the ages. Recently Fawcett was diagnosed with cancer and is reportedly undergoing stem cell treatment in Germany.
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Kevin Winter, Getty Images
Shelley Hack
Tiffany Welles
Then: Model Shelley Hack made the cover of Glamour magazine at the age of 14. By the late '70s she was one of the most celebrated supermodels of the day and was best known as Revlon's Charlie Girl. She made her brief film debut in Woody Allen's 'Annie Hall' before being hired to replace Jackson during the fourth season. She was the only 'Angel' to get fired -- after 25 episodes she learned of her demise when she did not receive a Valentine from the show's producers like her fellow operatives.
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David Mcgough, Getty Images
Reader Comments (42)
Muscleman at 10:46AM on Apr 6th 2009
Charlie's Angels to this day is still held in comparison to ANY show featuring numerous beautiful women in a law-enforcement genre! A truly ground-breaking show that was orginally regarded as mere fluff. Considering whats going on with Farrah right now the interest in this show will only increase, but my thoughts are with Farrah and Farrah only. I pray that she will get thru this rough patch and be with us for many years. I have adored this woman for so many years and Im heartsick with her current situation. God speed.
Florence Barfield at 12:31PM on Apr 6th 2009
Dear farrah,
I hope and pray for your speedy recovery. I have always loved watching you on Charlies Angels. You are in our hearts and our prayers. Take Care and May God Bless you in your time of need.
FLO
Nrthdude1 at 12:15PM on Apr 6th 2009
TV women in the 1970s lead the way for proactive roles in which they did not depend on men to bail them out of situations but did it themselves. And yet, they are still described as "jiggly." It's reall a shame because they were a lot classier than a lot of current women on TV. There was Angie Dickinson of "Police Woman, Lynda Carter of "Wonder Woman," Lindsay Wagner of "The Bionic Woman, and Jaclyn, Kate, Farrah and Cheryl of "Charlies Angels." They were all good role models and when you watch the shows today, these women were not slutty or offensive nor were their roles.
fav1247 at 8:42PM on Apr 12th 2009
God speed for women of my time, we love you & honor you. thanks for thinking of us!
Cheryl at 8:03PM on Apr 21st 2009
There are tricks that the super models use that keep them looking wrinkle free for their close-ups. As a former model I'll share a couple of their insider secrets with you. For long term smooth, healthy looking skin it's Caracol Cream http://cli.gs/AgeDefyingCaracol If you go to that web site and read about the ingredients in Caracol Cream you'll see why it is in a class by itself when it comes to reducing the appearance of wrinkles and giving the skin an amazingly healthy appearance.
They also use Belisi Skin Tightener http://cli.gs/BelisiRX which has a reputation for being better than botox. It's made out of medical grade ingredients and instantly tones and tightens the skin. Don't think that it's just genetics when you see their amazing skin. These two insider products are responsible for much of what you see.
Laurie at 9:04PM on Apr 21st 2009
Do I remember Kate Jackson. For one thing she had a brain tumor not breast cancer. I remember that fact because my sister died at the age of 17 due to a brain tumor. You guys could at least get your facts straight. Farrah hang in there. You have alot of fans praying for you, there is alot of power in prayer. You have many blessings being showered upon you. With God ANYTHING is possible. Love you.
BEVERLY at 9:07PM on Apr 21st 2009
MY THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS ARE WITH FARRAH FOR A SPEEDY RECOVERY. MAY GOD BLESS ALL THREE. THEY WERE AND ARE GREAT
joseph g mattera at 11:43PM on Apr 23rd 2009
who cares where they are; yesterday's papers!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tom Thatcher at 9:11PM on Apr 21st 2009
Kate jackson a wonderfull actress, she shines no matter what role she plays, i never remember anything she did that i disliked.
Mark at 9:31PM on Apr 21st 2009
I remember Farrah's famous commercial most of all. "You wanna see my new XR7? she was definitely the shit back then and on the cover of all the magazines, and then the bikinni poster. I never will forget back in the 70's my mom and I were poor and her car tore up. And guess what? we got an xr7. OMG! i'm talking ooh la la! the whole town would just stop what they were doing and staring at us driving by in that 1977 royal blue xr7.
All three original angels are from the south. And i've always been proud of Kate Jackson, since she's from my homestate Alabama. "You Go Girl" and seeing that current picture of her she favors Natalie Wood.
And last but not least there's Jaclyn Smith, who is the sophisticate and has maintained her good looks througout all these years.
ps. my heart goes out to Farrah during these times that try the soul and I wish her well.