A Terrific Opportunity

Shelley in a promo pic

for Charlie's Angels, 1979

"I think it's a terrific opportunity," Shelley said of her casting as Charlie's newest Angel in 1979. In May of that year, she was chosen by producers Aaron Spelling and Leonard Goldberg to replace Kate Jackson in the hit TV series. Spelling and Goldberg were looking for someone long and lean like Kate. They were looking for a girl with "the right bubble and intelligence." The new Angel, Tiffany Welles, was written as a Smith College graduate, a girl from the East who was not a voluptuous sexpot... and Shelley fit the bill perfectly. She's a Smith College graduate (with a degree in history), she was born in New York and she grew up in Connecticut, and she had that classic model shape and beauty. Moreover, not only did she photograph so well with her new co-Angels Jaclyn Smith and Cheryl Ladd, she was welcomed by both. Jaclyn said, "I feel good about her. I think the three of us are going to get along great." Cheryl said, "Shelley seems like a terrific girl. I think she's good and I'll do everything I can to make her feel at home." Shelley was a gorgeous, smart, fast-talking blonde and was just what the show needed. "Shelley is a very bright young lady," said Goldberg. "The one thing that stood out was that she was totally likable."

a writeup about Shelley joining

the cast of Charlie's Angels, 1979

Also, by 1979, she was already a world-famous million-dollar Supermodel. She was THE world-renowned Charlie Girl; and she catapulted the Revlon Charlie brand to worldwide success. Shelley told Playboy magazine, "Once, on a promotional tour, I was talking with a guy at a radio station and he wanted to know why my Charlie perfume commercials for Revlon were so successful. I suggested we make it the call-in question, because I was curious myself. The women respondents said that this girl walking into a restaurant alone - which most women are afraid to do - looking chic, but not too chic, seemed like somebody they would like to know or to be. I was their idea of a modern, liberated but not threatening woman. The men thought I was someone they would like to go out with; again, modern, not brassy and someone who, if they met me, would talk to them." And this association with the Revlon Charlie brand actually played in her favor. The headline "THE Charlie Girl Becomes A Charlie's Angel" was just what the show needed to gain even more viewers and popularity.

Shelley in a promo pic

for Charlie's Angels, 1979