As Charlie’s Angels marks its 50th anniversary since its launch in 1976, stars Kate Jackson, Jaclyn Smith and Cheryl Ladd reunited Monday night at the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards to present the Outstanding Drama Series Emmy.
The three took the stage and first off, paid tribute to their fallen angel, original series star Farrah Fawcett, who passed away in 2009. “I would like to acknowledge someone not standing with us tonight, and that’s my friend Farrah Fawcett,” said Smith. Ladd replaced Fawcett, who left the show after the first season, playing the younger sister of Fawcett’s Jill Munroe. “As I’ve said many times she didn’t need a second season, she’s here, and she’s here with us and in everyone’s collective memory,” said Jackson.
“She was the shiniest angel of all and she was loved by millions of people all over the world and she still is today and they’ll never forget her and neither will we,” said Jackson. “And her iconic poster lives in the minds and the garages of many a man,” added Ladd.
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Premiering on September 22, 1976, Charlie’s Angels became a pop culture phenomenon that continues to this day. Created by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts and produced by Aaron Spelling, the series originally starred Jackson, Smith and Fawcett. The three crime-fighting women worked at a private detective agency in Los Angeles for their mysterious, never-seen boss Charlie Townsend (voiced by John Forsythe) who directed their crime-sleuthing operations via speakerphone.
And who can forget some of the wacky undercover assignments the trio was involved in, such as the time they got arrested in a Louisiana town where they infiltrated a women’s prison farm to investigate a missing inmate.
There’s also the “Deadly Toys” episode where Ladd’s Kris Munroe impersonated a life-sized Raggedy Ann doll, in the most iconic disguise of the three, at a toy company where deadly and dangerous toys started appearing. They also infiltrated a Roller Derby, a pro football cheerleading squad, and went undercover as streetwalkers.
The series originally aired on ABC for five seasons from 1976-1981. It lived on in syndication, DVD releases and spawned three films: Charlie’s Angels in 2000 and Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle in 2003 with later generations of Angels, and the most recent in 2019, titled Charlie’s Angels, written and directed by Elizabeth Banks. ABC attempted a television series reboot in 2011, which was canceled after one season.