Classic TV Heroines: Farrah Fawcett in Charlie’s Angels

Every once in a while, a TV personality comes along who makes us rethink what to do with our hair. In the fall of ’76, there was Farrah Fawcett Majors. (She was hooked up with the Six Million Dollar Man star Lee Majors in those days.)

Given the role of Jill Munroe (aka the athletic one), Farrah was the last of the three beautiful detectives cast by ABC in their crime drama series Charlie’s Angels. Heck, they needed the blonde to go along with brunette stars Kate Jackson (the smart one) and sultry Jaclyn Smith (the sophisticated one).

Going undercover to fight crime wherever they could show a lot of skin–beaches, spas, casinos, etc.–the detective “drama” quickly caught on as the number one place to see babes in action on the number one network at the time, ABC.

But in no time at all, the tall, feathered Fawcett wasn’t just bigger than Jackson, she had outgrown the show. Her nipple-fronted cheesecake poster transformed millions of adolescent bedrooms into shrines to Her Hairness–and Farrah’s likeness also graced T-shirts, lunch pails, dolls and, south of the border, even tortillas.

When Fawcett abruptly walked off in 1977 to pursue her feature career, ABC recruited Cheryl Ladd to play Munroe’s sister, Kris–the first of numerous Angel swap-outs to come. The show went on after Farrah’s departure, but it was never quite the same.

And one question will always remain: With Farrah, Jackson and Smith around, why the hell wouldn’t Charlie make at least one of those strategy meetings in person?