Saturday, November 7, 2026

Most Beautiful Actresses

Shelley with Jaclyn Smith in a promo pic
for Charlie's Angels, 1979

Last February, Comic Basics (a go-to site for everything related to Marvel, DC, & Star Wars) came up with a list called "The Most Beautiful Hollywood Actresses Of (The) 70s" which enumerated the names of the actresses who were not just gorgeous but were also talented and influential in their own unique way. The list contained 49 names which included Raquel Welch, Faye Dunaway, Pam Grier, Lauren Hutton, Meryl Streep, Olivia Newton-John, Catherine Deneuve, Cher, Lynda Carter, Debbie Harry and Suzanne Somers. Charlie's Angels stars Jaclyn Smith and Shelley Hack also made the list.

Shelley and co-Angel Jaclyn Smith
were included in Comic Basics'
"The Most Beautiful Hollywood Actresses Of 70s"
(Thank you SO MUCH to Comic Basics for the post
and for including Shelley and Jaclyn in your list)

Jaclyn Smith rose to fame as one of the original Charlie's Angels and has been considered one of the most beautiful women in the world ever since. She later became the image model and spokesperson for Max Factor, became known as the "Queen of The Miniseries" and became a successful entrepreneur by building a massive, long-standing lifestyle and retail brand that bears her name. Shelley first gained worldwide fame in the 1970s as THE Charlie Girl, Revlon's Supermodel "IT" Girl who won the hearts of many as the brand's image model and spokesperson. She then rose to Hollywood fame when she joined the hit TV series Charlie's Angels. She later created a media consultancy firm that worked internationally in pre- and post-conflict countries called Shelley Hack Media Consultancy (SHMC). She later formed Smash Media Productions (with her husband Harry Winer) where she acts as co-president.

Charlie Girl Fab

Shelley in promo pics
for Charlie perfume and cosmetics,
1978 and 1979

Shelley was THE quintessential Charlie Girl and appeared in many, many ads for the brand around the world. In 1978, she appeared in an ad that promoted "Charlie's Brush Portfolio" dividend. It was a set of seven specialty makeup brushes which included The Blusher Brush, The Lip Brush, The Brow and Lash Brush - makeup tools needed to perfectly apply all those fabulous new Charlie colors. It could be purchased for just $6.50 for any $5.00 purchase or more from the Charlie or Chaz Collections. Charlie Real Live Blush (in just-for-Charlie colors Goldfrost, Raisin and Pure Creme Brown) and Charlie Extra-Extra Shine Lipgloss (in just-for-Charlie colors Raisin and Sheerfrost Cocoa) were an added plus to the already fabulous dividend. And Shelley appeared on the ad, of course, looking Charlie Girl fab as always.

Shelley in a newspaper ad
for Charlie perfume and cosmetics, 1978

1986 Yuppie Series

a closeup of Shelley
from a paparazzi pic, 1986

Shelley's third foray into series television was Jack and Mike in 1986. Aired at the ABC network, the series explored the life of journalist Jackie Shea (played by Shelley) and restauranteur Mike Brennan (played Tom Mason), a married couple with busy careers trying to make their marriage work. The yuppie phenomenon exploded in the 1980s when more and more women began entering the workforce, climbing up the corporate ladder and holding positions previously held exclusively by men in past generations. It debuted to decent ratings and received decent reviews, with a few scathing writeups here and there. After a first order of a pilot and 12 episodes, ABC ordered more episodes; and the series looked like it was in for a long run. Then, it was suddenly canceled to the disappointment of fans, with the final episode aired on Mar 24, 1987.

a paparazzi pic of Shelley, 1986

Natural Wonder Super Skin

a pic of Shelley from an ad
for Super Skin by Natural Wonder, 1972

Shelley appeared in many ad campaigns during her Supermodel tenure. One of them was for Super Skin from the Revlon's Natural Wonder beauty line. In the 1970s, she appeared in ads for Super Skin, a double-action skin cleanser under the Revlon beauty line Natural Wonder. It was a facial cleanser that cleaned the face and kept it looking super all day. Not only did it clean the skin, it kept it in great shape as well. It came in two variants, for normal to dry skin and for oily skin. The normal to dry skin variant cleaned and moisturized the face. The oily skin variant cleaned and normalized oily skin. Clad in a pink Cacharel by Mallory outfit, Shelley showed how Super Skin could keep every girl looking super gorgeous all day long.

Shelley in a newspaper ad
for Super Skin by Natural Wonder, 1977

Saturday, October 31, 2026

A Horror Film For Halloween

Shelley with Jill Schoelen and Terry O'Quinn
in a promo pic for The Stepfather, 1987

Shelley starred in the cult classic movie The Stepfather which was originally released in theaters in 1987. It was directed by Joseph Ruben and had Terry O'Quinn in the title role. Terry played Jerry Blake (the stepfather), a man who has a knack of marrying into the "perfect" family and then killing the family off when he deems that the family is not perfect after all. Shelley played Susan Maine, the woman who marries Jerry and is willing look past the cracks on Jerry's façade. Jill Schoelen played Stephanie, Susan's daughter by her first marriage. Stephanie doesn't like Jerry, finds him creepy and is determined to find out who he really is. The screenplay was written by Carolyn Lefcourt, Brian Garfield and Donald E. Westlake. It was loosely based on the story of John List, the New Jersey man who killed his own family in 1971 and then disappeared.

a newspaper promo ad
for The Stepfather, 1987

Shelley was cast by the film's director Joseph Ruben who was impressed by her work in Martin Scorsese's The King of Comedy. "Shelley didn't have to test," said Ruben, "Shelley got it really off King of Comedy, because I thought she was just so believable and natural and easy. She doesn't strain on camera. And I was just knocked out by her in that movie." The film was shot on location in Canada and when it was released, Shelley told Channel Surfing: Charlie's Angels that she sneaked in alone when the film was being shown in theaters and got pretty scared with what she saw. Shelley received glowing reviews for her performance in this cult classic. The film has been released on DVD and Blu-Ray formats. A Collector's Edition Blu-ray of the film was released in 2024 in 4K Ultra HD format.

Shelley in a promo pic
for The Stepfather, 1987

An Action Thriller for Halloween

Shelley in promo pic for the TV movie
Death Car on the Freeway, 1979

In 1979, Shelley starred in her first made-for TV movie, Death Car on the Freeway. It's an action thriller; and Shelley played a television reporter/news anchor (Janette Clausen) investigating a series of vehicular accidents and murders involving female motorists by a psychopathic driver known as "The Freeway Fiddler." The movie is gripping and suspenseful. Plus, it has great action scenes. It was directed and appeared in by stuntman-turned-director Hal Needham who also directed Smokey and the Bandit and The Cannonball Run. The film also starred George Hamilton, Peter Graves, and Barbara Rush. In supporting roles were Frank Gorshin, Dinah Shore, Abe Vigoda, and Morgan Brittany. The TV movie has been released in VHS format in various countries.

Shelley in a TV Prevue ad/airing sked
for Death Car on the Freeway,
September 1979

A Kiddie Horror Film for Halloween

Shelley in a promo pic
that appeared on the OST album cover
of the movie Troll, 1985

Shelley appeared in the feature film Troll in 1986. The film starred many past and future television stars aside from Shelley. Past TV stars like Sonny Bono (The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour) and Gary Sandy (WKRP in Cincinnati) and future TV stars like Michael Moriarty (Law & Order) and Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Seinfeld) were in the film. Mother and daughter June and Anne Lockhart was also part of the cast, as well as Phil Fondacaro who played Torok the Troll. Jenny Beck and pre-teen superstar Noah Hathaway rounded out the cast. Troll was geared towards children and was kept appropriately wholesome. The film was released in VHS, LaserDisc, DVD and Blu-ray formats. The film's OST (original sound track) was released in cassette, LP, CD and vinyl formats. It contained the movie's score which was composed and conducted by Richard Band.

Shelley on the OST album cover
of the movie Troll, 1985