Shelley with Cheryl Ladd and Jaclyn Smith in a 1980 French writeup
Shelley was cast as Tiffany Welles in Charlie's Angels in 1979; and everyone was so excited to see THE Charlie Girl become a Charlie's Angel. But by 1980, she moved on. She signed a one-year contract with the show which had a three-year option; and she (as well as the producers) opted to leave the show and move on to other things. Shelley told E! in 2002 that she never expected to be in the show for more than a year - which was already plenty for her. But her leaving the show generated so much more publicity. The show had already significantly slipped in the ratings during the 3rd season (from 5th to 12 over-all) and it slipped further in the 4th season (to 18). The slip was unfairly blamed on her. Everything from her looks to her acting to her rapport with Jaclyn and Cheryl were cited as culprits. Her looks? But she was knockout, and a Supermodel to boot. Her acting? But she wasn't given much to say or do until the latter part of the season (and she was great when she was allowed to talk). Her rapport with Jaclyn and Cheryl? But she worked well with them (their best rapport scenes were left on the cutting room floor - see A Fan Defends Shelley at http://shelleyhack.blogspot.com/2013/06/a-fan-defends-shelley.html for more details). So was it really her? Or was she just the scapegoat?
