a closeup of Shelley from a 1979 promo pic
Shelley became Angel no. 5 in 1979 and was quickly hounded by the paparazzi. Who was this Charlie Girl who was now becoming one of Charlie's most beloved cherubs? Shelley was already famous as THE Charlie Girl when she joined the cast of the hit series Charlie's Angels. And many people loved THE Charlie Girl - Oprah Winfrey and Norman Miller were among them. Shelley had this refreshing and wholesome sexiness about her which was just the right image for Charlie's Angels.
Shelley in a 1979 promo pic
But when the season opened, she was given little to say and do (except on the 2nd episode "Angels go Truckin'"). In fact, she was almost forgotten in these first few episodes. They said she couldn't act, which was not true if viewers had seen episode 2. They said didn't mesh well with the other two Angels, which was not true if viewers had seen episode 2. They said she wasn't pretty enough, which was not true if viewers had seen episode 2. Shelley told TV tales in 2002, "It was an awkward introduction. I was hardly in the first couple of shows. I don't know why that is." It seems Shelley didn't get as much support as Cheryl did two seasons back. Anyway, she was let go at the end of the season. In 2002, she said, "I never expected to be there more than a year and I wasn't." Shelley said, "So I did my year and I moved on. That was just fine that was plenty for me." She took the whole thing as a learning experience, a sort of baptism of fire into the world of showbiz.
