Saturday, March 21, 2026

Happy 50th Anniversary

Happy 50th Anniversary
to Charlie's Angels TOS
1976 to 1981

2026 marks the 50th anniversary of Charlie's Angels TOS (The Original Series). It took a lot of convincing from executive producers Aaron Spelling and Leonard Goldberg to get the pilot made and for it to be aired on the ABC network in March 21, 1976. It was such an instant hit that it baffled everyone at the network. When the pilot was re-aired and got the same reception, so it was given the green light to go on as a series - and what a phenomenal series it was. It ran from September 22, 1976 to June 24, 1981 - for five fabulous seasons. Initially, it starred three gorgeous actresses as the Angels... Kate Jackson as the smart no-nonsense Sabrina Duncan, Farrah Fawcett as the sporty California girl Jill Munroe, and Jaclyn Smith as the sultry and mysterious Kelly Garrett. But as the series progressed, three more gorgeous Angels joined the series... Cheryl Ladd as the cute and sexy girl-next-door Kris Munroe, Shelley Hack as the classy intellectual Tiffany Welles, and Tanya Roberts as the street-smart tigress Julie Rogers. All the Angels were  bright, independent, and absolutely beautiful. 

the cast pics of Charlie's Angels
from season 1 (1976-1977)
to season 5 (1980-1981)

Other cast members included David Doyle as John Bosley, Charlie's associate and the Angels' link to Charlie... and John Forsythe as the voice of Charles "Charlie" Townsend himself, the Angels' and Bosley's big boss (who was not credited for his role to add mystery to the character). The pilot included David Ogden Stiers as Scott Woodville, the Angels' facilitator and chief backup as well as Bosley's superior (but the character was dropped after the pilot episode to play up the self-reliance and sisterhood of the Angels during the planning and execution of their missions). A couple of recurring characters were Michael Bell as Bill Duncan, Sabrina's policeman ex-husband in season 1... and Soon-tek Oh as Lieutenant Torres of the Oahu Police Department in season 5. Other notable characters were John Agar as Colonel Blaylock, Sabrina's father who appeared in season 1 (hence, implying that Sabrina's maiden name was Sabrina Blaylock)... and Vic Morrow as Lieutenant Harry Stearns, Julie's mentor in season 5.