19 Things Charlie Didn’t Want You to Know About His ‘Angels’

Charlie’s Angels was ratings gold for Aaron Spelling’s TV empire in the late 1970s. Was it because of its scintillating dialogue or intricate crime fighting plot lines – or did it have more to do with its female led cast? The show was responsible for coining the term “jiggle TV,” which was a marketing strategy focused on the sexual appeal of women. They literally made wardrobe changes to maximize that body jiggle. The original trio of Kate Jackson, Farrah Fawcett-Majors and Jaclyn Smith propelled the show to the top ten, but the series lost its stride after multiple cast changes. Here are some things you never knew about Charlie, Bosley, the Angels and the show that became a pop culture phenomenon.

1. The network initially thought the show was a terrible idea

A cast led by women was not a popular concept at the time Charlie’s Angels came around. When producer Aaron Spelling and his partner Leonard Goldberg first presented the idea to ABC, network executives Barry Diller and Michael Eisner they called it “the worst idea we have ever heard.” Aaron however had an existing contract in place that guaranteed him a payday for a script, so he convinced them they couldn’t lose by letting him do it.