a promo pic of Shelley from 1978
Shelley became Angel no. 5 in 1979 when she joined the cast of Charlie's Angels in season 4 as Tiffany Welles, the classy Boston-bred policewoman who was the daughter of one of Charlie's oldest friends. She was handpicked by Aaron Spelling due to her impeccable background. She was a bright young woman with a high I.Q. from upscale Greenwich, Connecticut. She had a history degree from Smith (a classy East Coast college.) And, because of her Revlon Charlie endorsements, she was already one of the most recognizable faces in the world. "We hired her 40 percent from the screen test and 60 percent from the personality test," Spelling told TV Guide, "We decided she was a nice person with sparkle and intelligence."
a clipping about Shelley from Tiger Beat magazine, 1979
Shelley was great addition to the show. Season 3 of Charlie's Angels had already dramatically slipped in the ratings (from #4 in season 2 to #12 in season 3). Shelley's addition brought renewed interest to the series. And the fact that she was Revlon's Charlie Girl brought in a lot of needed and free publicity. Yes, everybody loved THE Charlie Girl, even the show's designer Nolan Miller admitted that. The headline "The Charlie Girl Becomes Charlie's Newest Angel" was a publicity masterstroke. In fact, Shelley's debut episode "Love Boat Angels" topped the Nielsen ratings when it first aired; and it looked like Charlie's Angels was in for another explosive season with the addition of this Supermodel Angel.
Shelley with co-Angels
Cheryl Ladd and Jaclyn Smith
in promo pics for Charlie's Angels, 1979
