Whether they were wearing polo necks, crop tops, bell bottoms or sequins, the stars of Charlie’s Angels were always the epitome of ’70s style. There was an unprecedented $32,000-per-episode budget for wardrobe and styling, and the leading actresses were allowed to choose and keep many of their onscreen outfits.
“Every Monday, they’d come in with huge lists of boutiques in Beverly Hills where they had thousands of dollars’ worth of merchandise on hold,” recalled the show’s costume designer Nolan Miller.
“It was a nightmare.”
Alley cats
In early plans for the show, it was going to be called The Alley Cats, and the three female stars were going to live in alleys, and wear whips and chains. Kate Jackson, now 77, who had signed up to play detective Sabrina Duncan, floated the idea of the three characters instead being “angelic” after she saw three angels hanging decoratively in producer Aaron Spelling’s office. The producers agreed and adopted the working title Harry’s Angels before eventually deciding on Charlie’s Angels.
Friends for life
Jaclyn Smith, who played detective Kelly Garrett, and Farrah Fawcett, who played detective Jill Munroe, cemented a friendship on the show that lasted until Farrah’s death from breast cancer in 2009, aged 62. Farrah was the first of Jaclyn’s friends to visit her after she gave birth to her son Gaston in 1982. And Jaclyn supported Farrah through her cancer battle.
“She was in pain and couldn’t stay still,” recalls Jaclyn, now 80.
“The time I spent with Farrah at the end was the best because we appreciated the friendship.”
She’s no angel
In the 1976 episode Angels in Chains, you might see a familiar face. Kim Basinger was 23 when she played the bit part of innocent prisoner Linda Oliver in the hit show.
According to Kim, 72, the producers came calling when Farrah left the show, but the 9½ Weeks star explains, “I just knew I wanted to do film and I wanted to sing. Real simple.”
Cheryl Ladd ended up filling the void.
Farrah’s flight
Farrah was the standout star of the show when it premiered in September 1976, but behind the scenes, the actress felt “stifled” and wanted to do more than play a sexy object of desire. Her decision to quit after the first season led to a breach-of-contract lawsuit and in the end, she agreed to make six guest appearances. She went on to land a number of more challenging roles and earned several Golden Globe and Emmy Award nominations.
Quick switch
As the Angels’ boss, Charlie was an essential character in the show, but no one ever saw his face. Instead, he issued his orders by speaker phone. Actor Gig Young had signed on to voice the part, but when he showed up too drunk to read his lines, Aaron made a desperate call to film star John Forsythe.
Recalled John, “It was 12.30 on a Friday night… I put on a trench coat over my pyjamas and some bed slippers, and went down to 20th Century Fox studios.”
He ended up voicing Charlie for all 108 episodes.
