Supermodel of the '70s

Shelley, Cheryl Tiegs, Chris Royer, Karen Bjornson,
Halston, Anne Holbrook and Shelley Smith 

in a pic for Harper's Bazaar, 1977

After her schooling, Shelley signed on full-time at her modeling agency, Ford Models Inc., and became one of the top models in the United states. In 1976, she jumped to Supermodel status via a Revlon commercial for Charlie Perfume. She was one of first batch of models  who were able to negotiate previously unheard of, lucrative and exclusive deals with giant cosmetics companies. The worldwide popularity she gained as THE Charlie Girl brought her to the attention of Aaron Spelling  who cast her in his hit series Charlie's Angels in 1979.

a closeup of Shelley from a modeling pic for Halston, 1977

McCall's 1980 B

Shelley from a spread for McCall's Jan 1980 issue

an outtake of her wearing the same coat and clothes

that appeared in the Japanese fan mag Roadshow, Feb 1981

Shelley appeared on the cover and pages of McCall's magazine in January of 1980. In a spread called "Light, Bright Ways to Keep Warm", she modeled three lightweight but warm  cold-weather coats that could be made by anybody. All made from McCall's pattern number 6754, the coats looked like high-priced designer originals. They were made from fluffy quilted fabric and were guaranteed to keep anyone warm during the cold months. And of course, Shelley looked fabulous in all of them.

Shelley Hack, Leading Lady 2

Shelley in 1978

In 1978, Shelley got her first leading lady role opposite screenwriter, director, producer, and composer Joe Brooks in the film If Ever I See You Again (which spawned the hit single with the same title - as interpreted by Roberta Flack). "A bomb!" she would later admit. When she walked in to audition for the role, she was immediately hired. Brooks thought she was perfect for the role. He also insisted she wore her glasses.

1000 Hints

a modeling pic of Shelley from 1965

Shelley began modeling in late 1964 when she was 17. One of her first covers was 1000 Hints For Teens magazine in 1965, a magazine that contained writeups catering to teenage girls, their emotions, dating, parents, school, moods clothes and their future. Shelley was new to the modeling world at the time. "I was brought up not to close doors," she said, "Modeling was a great summer job. It beat waitressing."

Shelley on the cover of 1000 Hints For Teens magazine, 1965

The Stepfather Interview

screen captures for Shelley from a 1987 interview 

about her movie The Stepfather

Shelley appeared in the 1987 horror flick The Stepfather in 1987. In the movie, she played Susan Maine, the woman who marries Jerry (Terry O'Quinn in the title role) and looks past the cracks she's beginning to notice about him. Jill Schoelen played Stephanie, Susan's daughter by her first marriage. Shelley didn't have to audition for the role, because director Joseph Ruben thought she was easy on the eyes and had a naturalness that was perfect for the role.

more screen captures for Shelley from a 1987 interview 

about her movie The Stepfather

Shelley was interviewed in 1987 about the movie. In the interview, which was aired in the UK, she revealed how she approached her role as Susan, how she reacted when she saw the finished movie and a few anecdotes from filming it in Canada. She talked about Terry O'Quinn and Jill Schoelen and how much they got along and had fun doing the movie. Watch it at:

The Stepfather (1987) UK Promotional Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ms8nzH66Zww

   (highlight the link, right click
and choose "Open Link in New Tab" option)

even more screen captures for Shelley from a 1987 interview 

about her movie The Stepfather

Shelley got some of her best reviews from her role in this movie. Entertainment Weekly magazine said, "Shelley Hack also puts in a fine turn as a woman who loses patience with her psychopath husband and wayward daughter. Check out the scene where she smacks her teen across the face and shrieks, ‘He's your father now and you'll respect him!’" Shelley got the role because director Joseph Ruben had seen her, not on Charlie's Angels, but in the 1982 Martin Scorsese film The King of Comedy and thought she did a great acting job (Shelley got great reviews for that role as well).

Snazzy Bits A

a closeup of Shelley from a 1972 modeling pic

Shelley appear in many modeling spreads throughout the 1960s and 70s. In 1972, she appeared in the spread Snazzy Bits  It featured fashion pieces that could add a bit of jazz into any girl's wardrobe. She modeled two variations of Simplicity pattern 5175 - as a tunic length topper and as a midriff topper. The midriff topper was a shrink top in red and navy stripes and had a ribbed midriff. It looked great when worn over a shirt and tie combo. Matching pants finished her look. And Shelley looked FAB-U-LOUS.

a pic of Shelley from a 1972 modeling spread

Charlie's Angels, 2019 Reboot

All the official Spelling-Goldberg Angels,

so far

Shelley joined the cast of the phenomenal TV hit Charlie's Angels in 1979. She was the fifth Angel to join the Townsend Agency. She appeared in the 4th season alongside Jaclyn Smith and Cheryl Ladd and they were occasionally joined by Farrah Fawcett. She took over from Kate Jackson who left the show after the 3rd season. And when Shelley left, Tanya Roberts took over in the 5th season. The original series was produced by Aaron Spelling and Leonard Goldberg and it ran from 1976 to 1981. Many reboots soon followed - in 1988, in 2000 and 2003, in 2011 and now in 2019.

Charlie’s Angels, the original TV series:

Kate Jackson …as Sabrina Blaylock Duncan

Farrah Fawcett (then Majors) …as Jill Munroe

Jaclyn Smith …as Kelly Garrett

Cheryl Ladd…as Kristine Munroe

Shelley Hack …as Tiffany Welles

Tanya Roberts … as Julie Rogers

Charlie's Angels debuted in 1976, with Kate, Farrah and Jaclyn as the original Angels. The series broke new ground as it was the first series with a cast led by women with no men around to "bail them out" - they bailed each other out instead. Another groundbreaking element of the series was how the leads were portrayed. They weren't backstabbing each other, trying to get to a man (as women were portrayed in films previously). They had each others backs and were actually good friends. It was the very first show that perpetuated Girl Power. Cheryl, Shelley and Tanya came in subsequent seasons. This blog's favorite is Shelley Hack, of course!!! Second fave? Jaclyn Smith.

Angels '88:

Karen Kopins …as Trisha Lawrence

Claire Yarlett …as Connie Bates

Sandra Canning …as Pam Ryan

Téa Leoni …as Bernie Colter

In 1988, an attempt to reboot the series was in the works, with Angels '88. This series holds a lot of significance in Angels history as it was produced by Aaron Spelling himself. Casting was finalized and Karen Kopins, Claire Yarlett, Sandra Canning and Téa Leoni were announced as the new Angels in a press conference. This new iteration was to be an updated version of the original. There was to be no Charlie as the girls would put the agency up themselves. But after casting was done, the series went through many setbacks including a writers strike. It was postponed, renamed Angels '89 and was finally shelved. The cast organized a Fallen Angels party to commemorate the show's demise. Among the Angels '88 cast, Téa Leoni is this blog's favorite. Second is Sandra Canning - love the hair.

Charlie's Angels

and Charlie's Angels Full Throttle:

Cameron Diaz …as Natalie Cook

Drew Barrymore …as Dylan Sanders/Helen Zaas

Lucy Liu …as Alex Munday

Demi Moore …as Madison Lee

In 2000, the series was finally brought back to life, this time on the big screen, with Charlie's Angels the movie. The big budget reboot was produced by Leonard Goldberg and Drew Barrymore. Drew along with Cameron Diaz and Lucy Liu became the newest Angel team and they karate chopped their way to the top of the box office that summer. In 2003, a sequel was released, Charlie's Angels Full Throttle, with the addition of a new "bad" Angel, played by Demi Moore. Jaclyn Smith reprised her role as Kelly Garrett. This blog's favorite is Lucy Liu. Demi Moore comes in a close second.

Charlie's Angels 2011:

Annie Ilonzeh …as Kate Prince

Minka Kelly …as Eve French

Rachael Taylor …as Abby Sampson

Nadine Velazquez …as Gloria Martinez

In 2011, the TV series was again reboot; this time with an updated TV series also produced by Leonard Goldberg and Drew Barrymore, dubbed Charlie's Angels 2011. The new Angels were Annie Ilonzeh, Minka Kelly and Rachael Taylor. A fourth Angel was also introduced in the series- Nadine Velazquez, who played Gloria Martinez, probably the Angel with the shortest screen time as she was killed in the first act of the first episode. The series had a hard time finding an audience and was cancelled after seven episodes with one episode left unaired. This blog's favorite is actually Nadine Velazquez as Gloria - love her kick-ass scene on the beach. Second fave is Annie Ilonzeh, no-nonsense and fab outfits.

Charlie's Angels 2019:

Kristen Stewart ...as Sabina Wilson

Naomi Scott ...as Elena Houghlin

Ella Balinska ...as Jane Kano

This 2019, Charlie's Angels has again been rebooted, another big screen version has finished filming and will be on screen this November. Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott and Ella Balinska are the newest Angels. In the movie, the agency goes international (But didn't it already go international in the original series? In 1981, the plaque in the Hawaiian office read "Townsend Agency Beverly Hills Paris Hawaii"). Let's see how the movie will fare and how many former Angels will be in this version.