Just like Mike, my partner and I were taken by the show when the series first aired in 1976. We were mesmerized by those angels. They had the full package - natural beauty, brains and style - and could fight crime without messing up their flawless hairdos and makeup. A feat in itself! It's easy to see why Charlie's Angels had such a massive following and continues to appeal to a legion of gay fans worldwide...
“Once upon a time, there were three little girls who went to the police academy…
...um, that's four little girls in this pic!”
The 1970s was a decade of change, forever remembered as the era of bell-bottom pants, platform shoes and hippie hairstyles. While disco was gaining momentum, television was undergoing a major shift and turning stereotypes on their heads. At the time, albeit on different continents, MBH (my better half) and I were both glued to Charlie’s Angels, one of the first series to portray heroines as strong, independent women.
“Back then, the stars of Charlie’s Angels and their characters were an inspiration to so many young girls and women,” says Mike Pingel, former personal assistant to the late Farrah Fawcett and author of ‘Channel Surfing: Charlie’s Angels’.
Action roles were traditionally written for men, so seeing three beautiful private detectives on screen kicking ass was refreshing. “It wasn’t just a jiggle show,” says Fawcett in Pingel’s book. “We were intelligent and a lot of people got that.” Fawcett starred in season 1 of the series that ran from ‘76 to ‘81.
Kate Jackson came up with the idea of Charlie, the mysterious boss that none of the angels ever got to meet. She is also credited with the concept of the desk speakerphone that Charlie (voiced by John Forsythe) famously spoke through. Initially cast as Kelly Garrett, Jackson switched to Sabrina Duncan, a stronger character. The role of Kelly eventually went to Jaclyn Smith whilst Farrah Fawcett played Jill Munroe.
Every week the angels would go undercover to investigate a crime posing as showgirls, prostitutes, belly dancers, preachers or nurses. Many of the episodes involved camp scenes featuring predatory lesbians and swishy queens. It’s easy to see why the series has been so popular with gay audiences over the years.
“There are so many moments that stand out,” says Pingel. “Who could forget the time Kelly got in a cat fight with a drag queen in ‘Angels on the Line’!” Then there’s that iconic scene in ‘Angels in Chains’ when the girls had a run in with a butch female prison guard. Another draw card for gay fans was the number of Hollywood hunks who guest starred, often shirtless, on the show. These include Tom Selleck, Timothy Dalton, Tab Hunter, Dack Rambo, Robert Ulrich and Dirk Benedict.
Mike Pingel would love to get all the angels together for a television reunion to share their favourite memories. One fun anecdote in Pingel’s book involves David Doyle, who played Bosley, mooning the girls when they were having trouble with a scene. An avid collector of Charlie’s Angels memorabilia, Pingel maintains a friendship with all the angels, especially Cheryl Ladd with whom he’s very close.
“These ladies are truly heavenly and have all been super sweet allowing me into their lives,” he says. “I’m the luckiest man in the world.”
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(to be continued)
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