a casual pic of Shelley from 1982
Immediately after leaving Charlie's Angels, Shelley was cast in the Jack Heifner three-character play Vanities and her performance surprised many critics as well as detractors. She received glowing reviews. She then ventured further into theater and was cast in Elizabeth Diggs' play Close Ties. She likewise received glowing reviews. She later landed a coveted role in the Martin Scorsese film The King of Comedy which had Robert De Niro and Jerry Lewis as lead stars. "I couldn't work because I read for The King of Comedy and got the part," she said, "The picture was delayed and I couldn't take a chance of doing anything else."
a writeup about Shelley from 1982
Did she regret doing Charlie's Angels? "Understand," she said in 1982, "I have no regrets about being a Charlie's Angel. It made me well-known, which is an obvious plus. The difficulty, as far as I was concerned, is that I was well-known for having done nothing. A bit confusing." She added, "And, of course, if you're a former model and a former Charlie's Angel, you're looked upon as being a certain sort of person, which I'm not." She further added, "I've turned down quite a few things which would have perpetuated that image. A lot of times, I've sat out here and thought, 'I'm a fool; I could be working at this minute.'" Shelley concluded, "I take the view that you just have to keep your head down and go on trotting along the road you've chosen and eventually you'll get there... with a bit of luck."
