Charlie’s Angels stars reunite for show’s 50th anniversary

LOS ANGELES – The stars of legendary American crime drama Charlie’s Angels reunited on April 6 at Los Angeles’ PaleyFest to celebrate 50 years since the show catapulted the trio to fame.

Aired over five seasons between 1976 and 1981, the show became a cultural phenomenon that left its mark on television. It starred Kate Jackson, Jaclyn Smith and Cheryl Ladd – who joined after Farrah Fawcett left the show to pursue a movie career.

The series followed three powerful women who left the daily grind of the Los Angeles police force to become private detectives working for a mysterious boss named Charlie Townsend, who spoke to them through an intercom.

It hoped to highlight the strength of women and fight the archetype that women needed rescuing, Smith said on the red carpet at Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre.

“Women came into their own; it was ground-breaking and a game changer for women,” added Smith, who played Kelly Garrett.

“Here we were chasing danger and we were not being rescued. We were not a wife, a nurse, a secretary, a girlfriend. We were these strong women who could take down a 200-pound (91kg) man.”

Jackson, 77, said she had never doubted the show’s potential or that it would become a hit big enough to captivate audiences half a century later.

“It was unique, it was unusual, and the three of us had chemistry. We’re still sisters today,” Jackson, who played Sabrina Duncan, added.

Although the cast of Charlie’s Angels changed several times, Smith, Jackson and Ladd formed the series’ most enduring trio, with Fawcett – who died in 2009 – returning as a guest star in a few episodes as Ladd’s elder sister.

PaleyFest, organised by the Paley Center for Media, celebrates the best of American television. AFP