Farrah Fawcett was "a phenomenon only television could have produced." 'Charlie's Angels' made Farrah a household name, her trademark blonde curls splashed across magazine covers around the world. When 'Charlie's Angels' went on air in 1976, "it was the right thing at the right time" and it "just exploded on the scene." In its first season, some 59% of all TV sets in use were watching the series.
Basia Rossignol, 1983: Does your hairstyle still create riots?
Farrah Fawcett: I changed it. Two years ago (around 1981) Faberge had introduced a line of hair care products with my name and my Farrah Fawcett look. Last year (in 1982) I insisted my photo be removed. My name is still there but no longer the blonde locks. It is very difficult not to become a product, to separate real from false values, to turn down offers ... These are everyday problems for me and the consequences arise when I cannot do anything about them.
One production worker pointed out, "If it wasn’t for the physical appeal of its three stars, particularly Farrah, it would be an also-ran." 'Charlie's Angels' was regarded a "crowd-puller" mainly because of the appeal of its stars' Q rating, which measured a performer's recognizability and likeableness. Farrah Fawcett, Jaclyn Smith, Kate Jackson and Cheryl Ladd all scored high Q rating with the public. The production worker continued, "Frankly, many of us were surprised when in the few weeks of the survey period, it grabbed a 59% share of the market. This means that something like 23 million people were watching – and that's some giant-sized audience."
JoAnna Cameron recounted in 2002, "I got into the business a year or two after Jackie, Kate and Farrah, so between the three of them, they really opened up the business for women who weren't 6 feet tall … That was an amazing period in time to be on television … If I ever do anything, I would like to write a short book about the incredible women in the industry I had the pleasure to meet." At the time, JoAnna played science teacher Andrea Thomas who found an amulet while visiting the Pyramids. Whenever Andrea wore the amulet, she would turn into Isis - an Egyptian goddess with powers over time and space.
Fred Silverman acknowledged, "'Seinfeld' which was the biggest hit of the decade, you know, the '90s, averaged about a 31, 32 share. ('Charlie's Angels') got a 55."
Nolan Miller expressed, "All of a sudden, almost overnight, ('Charlie's Angels') became hysteria. I mean it's just like an explosion." The network decided to rerun the pilot and still attracted big audience. However Cheryl Ladd maintained, "When you want to do a certain project and have impact with a certain idea, you pretty much have to develop it yourself. Very rarely does the script you've been waiting for all your life walk in the front door."
Jaclyn Smith noted, "I was a kid when I went on 'Charlie's Angels'. It was like three college kids in a dormitory. We didn't know what was up, and it totally changed our lives. It was a wonderful education for all of us, and opened doors. 'Charlie's Angels' got so much media hype ... It had an audience and it was a training ground ... It wasn't Shakespeare."
Farrah Fawcett "just happened to be at the right place, at the right time to get on a good product like 'Charlie's Angels' and take it from there." Cheryl Ladd remembered, "Farrah was a big deal. Suddenly within a year, she became the US sex symbol, and created the most excitement since Marilyn Monroe. Viewers fell for Farrah in a big way." Dr Clancy McKenzie, then director of Philadelphia Psychiatric Consultation Service, made the comment at the time, "Everyone from a women's libber to a red-blooded male can sit down and be entertained by this show. And when you have that all-round appeal, you have a winner."
Basia Rossignol, 1983: What's your life like?
Farrah Fawcett: Very calm. I don't like to travel. I go to Texas to see my family and to New York for work. (As a Hollywood star) I have certain obligations towards the public and naturally go out sometimes, but I don't like noisy gatherings and large reunions. Often I prefer to stay at home reading or working in my atelier. In fact, I have a double professional life. I learned it in a Texas fine arts school and the day I will no longer want to act or when the public will have had enough of me, I will be able to become a decorator and to hold exhibitions.
Basia Rossignol: You decorated your house alone?
Farrah Fawcett: Completeley. I borrowed ideas from everywhere and the end result is a non-cultural mixture, with all influences harmonising without any rigor of style. I don't like decors. I have a great sense of the practical and of comfort. In this room which leads out to the pool, the floor can take wet feet, as can the sofas. Everything is calculated to withstand wetness without one having to tremble about damaging something. I like to build. But it's exasperating to police the workforce. Workers never come on time – and rarely finish work on time!
On 'Charlie's Angels', Farrah, Kate and Jaclyn reportedly put in a 12-hour day, seven days a week to satisfy the booming demand. In its original run, 'Charlie's Angels' went on air once a week. The show did not take long to become compulsive TV viewing. Kate Jackson expressed, "I knew from the beginning the show would do well but I didn't expect it would be quite as big a hit as it is. The best thing about a hit series is that it gives you the financial independence to pick and choose good roles later on."
In 1977, Farrah Fawcett was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Acting on 'Charlie's Angels'. Jaclyn Smith told the press at the time, "It was hard to realize that 'Charlie's Angels' was a success because we were working such long hours and on the first interview people would ask, 'What is it like? What is it like to have the show so popular?' and I really didn't realize it."
Basia Rossignol: Is it difficult to live with an actor?
Farrah Fawcett: Oh, you know it's difficult to live with any other person, with any man. Some like loud music, others prefer silence. Some like the TV loud, while another would like it low. A non-actor husband would hardly accept his wife coming home at midnight every day, completely exhausted. Ryan (O’Neal) understands. Yesterday (back in September 1983) for example, he made me rehearse the play I’m preparing for New York for four hours. He listened to me, corrected me, in short, he helped me a lot, because he’s an actor.
Basia Rossignol: What are your professional dreams?
Farrah Fawcett: To act in great roles for great directors of course. My favorites are Stanley Kubrick and Claude Lelouch. Several years ago when he was in Los Angeles, Lelouch asked me to participate in a film. I did not speak a word of French. It was my first experience of the kind. He does not impose anything on actors. He wants a certain impression that he alone knows how to use. It's very difficult.
At the time, Basia Rossignol made the point Farrah's features were smooth and relaxed. Farrah contributed it to "a certain rigor in life. No alcohol, but long nights, plenty of exercise, squash and swims in the pool everyday. We (Farrah and Ryan) are light eaters, but not vegetarians." Farrah also spoke out about marriage, "It's mainly a question of children. It is certain that the child needs the father and it's better if he is married to the child's mother. The family break up here is almost total. I have kept my Texas girl side. I hope to someday have white hair at the same time as Ryan and to see together our grandchildren growing up."
Leonard Goldberg maintained, "We didn't set out to change the world. What we had in mind was a 33 share basically. That's all we had in mind. People to this day think that Farrah stayed for 3 years and Kate and Jackie stayed for 5 years. That's their memory of it … because their memory of 'Charlie's Angels' is so strong, they imagine (Farrah, Kate and Jackie) stayed much longer than they did."
Jaclyn Smith noted, "I was a kid when I went on 'Charlie's Angels'. It was like three college kids in a dormitory. We didn't know what was up, and it totally changed our lives. It was a wonderful education for all of us, and opened doors. 'Charlie's Angels' got so much media hype ... It had an audience and it was a training ground ... It wasn't Shakespeare."
Farrah Fawcett "just happened to be at the right place, at the right time to get on a good product like 'Charlie's Angels' and take it from there." Cheryl Ladd remembered, "Farrah was a big deal. Suddenly within a year, she became the US sex symbol, and created the most excitement since Marilyn Monroe. Viewers fell for Farrah in a big way." Dr Clancy McKenzie, then director of Philadelphia Psychiatric Consultation Service, made the comment at the time, "Everyone from a women's libber to a red-blooded male can sit down and be entertained by this show. And when you have that all-round appeal, you have a winner."
Basia Rossignol, 1983: What's your life like?
Farrah Fawcett: Very calm. I don't like to travel. I go to Texas to see my family and to New York for work. (As a Hollywood star) I have certain obligations towards the public and naturally go out sometimes, but I don't like noisy gatherings and large reunions. Often I prefer to stay at home reading or working in my atelier. In fact, I have a double professional life. I learned it in a Texas fine arts school and the day I will no longer want to act or when the public will have had enough of me, I will be able to become a decorator and to hold exhibitions.
Basia Rossignol: You decorated your house alone?
Farrah Fawcett: Completeley. I borrowed ideas from everywhere and the end result is a non-cultural mixture, with all influences harmonising without any rigor of style. I don't like decors. I have a great sense of the practical and of comfort. In this room which leads out to the pool, the floor can take wet feet, as can the sofas. Everything is calculated to withstand wetness without one having to tremble about damaging something. I like to build. But it's exasperating to police the workforce. Workers never come on time – and rarely finish work on time!
On 'Charlie's Angels', Farrah, Kate and Jaclyn reportedly put in a 12-hour day, seven days a week to satisfy the booming demand. In its original run, 'Charlie's Angels' went on air once a week. The show did not take long to become compulsive TV viewing. Kate Jackson expressed, "I knew from the beginning the show would do well but I didn't expect it would be quite as big a hit as it is. The best thing about a hit series is that it gives you the financial independence to pick and choose good roles later on."
In 1977, Farrah Fawcett was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Acting on 'Charlie's Angels'. Jaclyn Smith told the press at the time, "It was hard to realize that 'Charlie's Angels' was a success because we were working such long hours and on the first interview people would ask, 'What is it like? What is it like to have the show so popular?' and I really didn't realize it."
Basia Rossignol: Is it difficult to live with an actor?
Farrah Fawcett: Oh, you know it's difficult to live with any other person, with any man. Some like loud music, others prefer silence. Some like the TV loud, while another would like it low. A non-actor husband would hardly accept his wife coming home at midnight every day, completely exhausted. Ryan (O’Neal) understands. Yesterday (back in September 1983) for example, he made me rehearse the play I’m preparing for New York for four hours. He listened to me, corrected me, in short, he helped me a lot, because he’s an actor.
Basia Rossignol: What are your professional dreams?
Farrah Fawcett: To act in great roles for great directors of course. My favorites are Stanley Kubrick and Claude Lelouch. Several years ago when he was in Los Angeles, Lelouch asked me to participate in a film. I did not speak a word of French. It was my first experience of the kind. He does not impose anything on actors. He wants a certain impression that he alone knows how to use. It's very difficult.
At the time, Basia Rossignol made the point Farrah's features were smooth and relaxed. Farrah contributed it to "a certain rigor in life. No alcohol, but long nights, plenty of exercise, squash and swims in the pool everyday. We (Farrah and Ryan) are light eaters, but not vegetarians." Farrah also spoke out about marriage, "It's mainly a question of children. It is certain that the child needs the father and it's better if he is married to the child's mother. The family break up here is almost total. I have kept my Texas girl side. I hope to someday have white hair at the same time as Ryan and to see together our grandchildren growing up."
Leonard Goldberg maintained, "We didn't set out to change the world. What we had in mind was a 33 share basically. That's all we had in mind. People to this day think that Farrah stayed for 3 years and Kate and Jackie stayed for 5 years. That's their memory of it … because their memory of 'Charlie's Angels' is so strong, they imagine (Farrah, Kate and Jackie) stayed much longer than they did."
