Friday, October 13, 2023

Glamourous New Angel

a glamourous promo pic of Shelley, 1979

Shelley became Charlie's newest Angel in 1979, and she jumped from being THE Charlie Girl to becoming Charlie's latest Superstar Angel. Supermodel Shelley's casting signaled a new glamorous era for the Angels. Series executive producer Aaron Spelling proclaimed, "We’re bringing back the glamour." Nolan Miller, the wardrobe designer of the series, said, "I was impressed with her Charlie perfume commercials and how she could create a look just by turning her collar up and putting her hands in her pockets." The clothing budget per episode was raised to $20,000 with each Angel going through eight outfits per episode; and Charlie's latest Angel trio (Shelley with Jaclyn Smith and Cheryl Ladd) was molded into a sophisticated-looking team.

a writeup about Shelley from 1979

Shelley was cast as the glamorous Angel Tiffany Welles, the daughter of one of Charlie's closest childhood friends, a police chief in Connecticut (later changed to Boston). "I still have not really recovered from the surprise of landing the part," Shelley said at the time. "I scarcely have time to breathe or eat," she said of her first two weeks as the newest Angel. "It's exhausting work creating a new person, a new image for Charlie's new Angel," she said. "I went shopping for five days buying new outfits in boutiques and got so exhausted I fell asleep in one department store." But on her own, Shelley preferred the simple life. "When I was living in New York City, at 4 o'clock every Friday, I would get in my car and drive to my farm (in Catskill, New York) and it was great. I'd take all my makeup off and put on an old pair of overalls and an old sweatshirt, put my hair in a ponytail, and put an old pair of socks with holes in them and start right in." Charlie's glamorous new Angel loved spending her "me" time, gardening, chopping wood, baking bread and making jellies.

a glamourous promo pic of Shelley, 1979