Good night, Angels.
In honor of Charlie’s Angels milestone 50th anniversary — which kicked off its five-season run in 1976 — stars Kate Jackson, Jaclyn Smith and Cheryl Ladd came together for a conversation at PaleyFest LA on Monday to look back at their groundbreaking series.
Jackson was involved with the show — which followed three beautiful private detectives — from the very beginning, helping Aaron Spelling and Leonard Goldberg put together the idea after her time on The Rookies. She was originally attached to play Jaclyn Smith’s role of Kelly Garrett but would later switch to playing Sabrina Duncan; Smith recalled during the chat that her audition wasn’t her best work and she didn’t think she’d get the role. She also quipped that the producers originally wanted a blonde, a brunette and a redhead, which “they thought was inclusive” at the time.
“This show was different, special and unique. I thought wow, three women chasing danger instead of being rescued from danger,” Smith said when she was offered the part. “It gave women permission to be independent and to break out of the mold and not be defined by men.”
Farrah Fawcett, who passed away in 2009, was originally the third Angel alongside Jackson and Smith, but departed after the first season, which the two admitted to being disappointed by. Ladd was brought in to play Fawcett’s character’s younger sister Kris Munroe, after turning Spelling down three times when he asked her to join the show.
