Shelley with Jaclyn Smith
and Cheryl Ladd in a promo pic
for Charlie's Angels, 1979
In 1979, Shelley joined the cast of the mega-hit TV series Charlie's Angels for its 4th season... taking over from Kate Jackson who left after the 3rd season. The announcement of Shelley as Charlie's newest Angel made her a Hollywood superstar overnight. And her face appeared on virtually every magazine in the world and was even mentioned in the evening news. "I couldn't believe it. What was I doing in the evening news?" Shelley exclaimed. Everyone was excited to see THE Charlie perfume Girl in action as Charlie's newest Angel. Shelley photographed really well with her new co-Angels Jaclyn Smith and Cheryl Ladd. Plus, she had good rapport with both of them, as well as with her new other castmate David Doyle. Jaclyn Smith said, "I feel good about her. I think the three of us are going to get along great." Cheryl Ladd said, "Shelley seems like a terrific girl. I think she's good and I'll do everything I can to make her feel at home." And Shelley's debut episode "Love Boat Angels" topped the Nielsen ratings.
Charlie's Angels season 4
solo episodes, 1979-1980
But changes were made during the 4th season. Due to the request of the retained cast members for more time off, solo episodes were produced. These episodes focused on just one Angel, with the other Angels popping up here and there throughout the entire episode. Each Angel had three of these solo episodes, including Jill Munroe, Farrah Fawcett's character (Farrah had three episodes to complete for the 4th season - as part of the settlement she had with the producers of the series). Jaclyn Smith's and Farrah's solo episodes were aired early in the season... as well as one of Cheryl Ladd's. Shelley's first solo episode was aired almost two and a half months after her debut episode. After all that hype upon the announcement of her casting, Shelley was sadly reduced to mere decoration early in the season. She was given little to say or do. Angels director Allen Baron said, "I felt bad for her because she wasn't integrated into the group." It's a pity because Shelley did really well as the series approached mid-season. In fact, she did really well in her three solo episodes. Unfortunately though, as the mid-season approached, many viewers had lost interest in the show. Upon so much anticipation after the announcement of her casting, the extremely disappointed fans didn't get to see enough material on her (during those crucial initial episodes) to embrace her character Tiffany like they did Cheryl Ladd's Kris Munroe character two years earlier.
Charlie's Angels season 4
team episodes,1979-1980
