Shooting Stars

Shelley with Jaclyn Smith and Cheryl Ladd

in a promo pic for Charlie's Angels, 1979

Shelley became Charlie's newest Angel in 1979, and she jumped from being Revlon Charlie's Supermodel to becoming TV's latest Superstar Angel, joining incumbent Angels Jaclyn Smith and Cheryl Ladd. "It has been quite a whirl," said Shelley. She was instantly propelled to international superstardom; and her face appeared on magazines, tabloids and newspapers all around the world. Télé-Junior, a youth-oriented magazine that was produced from 1977 to 1983 in France, featured all the Angels (Kate Jackson, Farrah Fawcett, Jaclyn Smith, Cheryl Ladd, Shelley Hack, and Tanya Roberts) in their September 1981 issue. The issue featured a short history about the hit TV series and a catch up on what each Angel has been up to since. Anyway, the writeup translates as follows:

CHARLIE'S ANGELS

Shooting Stars

You'll find the famous Charlie's Angels team in comic-strip form, embarking in crazy adventures. As you might have noticed in the strip published in this issue, while Cheryl Ladd and Jaclyn Smith are still around, Shelley Hack has left the team. As you know, in the United States, Shelley has already been replaced by Tanya Roberts, who plays Julie in the series. So, we're publishing the adventures of this new trio as a preview, before they air it here on television.

Just as it is in fairy tales, the every Angels episode begins with the line "Once Upon a Time..." And once upon a time, indeed, there was a beautiful love story between TV viewers and a series that began airing in our country on January 8, 1978, on the second channel. Charlie's Angels, renamed Funny Ladies in France, made its debut on Jacques Martin's The Little Reporter and caused an avalanche of phone calls from the show's viewing audience.

So, who were these astonishing detectives in real life, whose beauties were only surpassed by their humor, their poise, and, of course, their efficiency?

Shelley with Kate Jackson, Farrah Fawcett,

Jaclyn Smith, Cheryl Ladd, and Tanya Roberts

on the pages of Télé-Junior,

September 1981

IMMEDIATE FAVORITE

Of the three leads, it was Jill Monroe who immediately garnered the most fans. Indeed, the youngest of the three actresses, Farrah Fawcett-Majors was destined for fame. Legend has it that, faced with the enormous Hollywood machine, this Bogart in a skirt could very well hold her own against the Hollywood establishment.

The former superwoman of the small screen, fighting against the bullies, announced to any journalist who would listen that "money will never force her to do anything", a statement she immediately put in practice.

Even better, when her salary was increased from $5000 to $75,000 a week, she went as far as to sue her producers for damages. The tempestuous Farrah then divorced Lee Majors and relentlessly pursued just one goal: to make movies.

CURSED MOVIE CAREER

But in support of the series' producers, major American production companies refused to work with the flamboyant star. Numerous male stars, including Al Pacino, Harrison Ford, Roger Moore, and Dustin Hoffman, vehemently declined offers to act alongside Farrah.

Furthermore, despite the significant promotional campaigns for her films Sunburn and Saturn III, Farrah's feature films proved to be resounding failures.

She later returned to the series as a guest star, as stipulated in her settlement. This led to her reappearance in "Fallen Angel" with Jaclyn Smith, Cheryl Ladd, and Shelley Hack. Six additional episodes were filmed, allowing her agents to sell 5 million T-shirts bearing her image.

As for her acting skills, a well-respected American newspaper provides a categorical response: "Farrah Fawcett should keep her mouth shut. She should take some acting lessons before aspiring to take on a role!" a columnist from The New York Times coldly stated.

FROM FARRAH TO CHERYL

Meanwhile, the series moved on, and Kris Monroe stepped in at the last minute to replace her sister Jill, they (questionably) swapped Farrah Fawcett's character with Cheryl Ladd's. It was reported that the first day of filming was a very trying time for new Angel Cheryl. She had a hard time being accepted as a full-fledged member of the trio. For her part, Jaclyn Smith is the only one to keep her role, that of Kelly Garrett, a sensitive and sweet orphan, more sentimental compared to her co-Angels.

a closeup of Shelley

from a Charlie's Angels promo pic,

1979

FROM KATE TO SHELLEY

Of the original trio, Kate Jackson, daughter of a real estate developer, played the role of intellectual Sabrina Duncan, a character that would later disappear entirely (replaced by Tiffany Welles, as portrayed by top model Shelley Hack). It was in August of 1978 that tensions quickly rose between Kate and Cheryl Ladd on set.

To make things worse, American critics harshly lambasted her replacement Shelley, publishing scathing articles describing her as "too thin, not pretty, and a bad actress." Within weeks, Shelley was sent packing and returning to her 250-acre family farm in upstate New York.

FROM SHELLEY TO TANYA

As Shelley writes her memoirs about her brief stint with Charlie's Angels, it appears that Tanya Roberts is the latest recruit in this constantly evolving team. But the end of their adventures is on the horizon, and it's rumored that the newest Angel will only have a short run.

But going forward, unemployment isn't a problem for any of them. Because as we go to press, we've learned that Farrah Fawcett will star in Murder in Texas, a TV movie where she will play the wife of a sadistic doctor. Jaclyn Smith will bring to life former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, in a TV movie entitled Self Portrait. And finally, Cheryl Ladd will portray the late Jean Seberg in another TV movie.

With Shelley Hack retired and Tanya Roberts seemingly brimming with new projects, all the actors who played gangsters, drug traffickers, and thugs of every stripe are going to be out of work with the disappearance of these tough detectives, who certainly gave them a hard time.

But American television is no stranger to sequels, so they will most certainly continue their adventures. It's up to you to choose which actress (from among the six lovely ladies who graced our TV screens) you'd like to see again.