Friday, June 21, 2013

Charlie's Angels: That Fleeting Season

In order to pay the bills, you have to do what you have to do oft times.

Even if times find us employed as bodyguards.


But in the case of the original Charlie's Angels, it was a win-win-win for us.


Yes ... they looked good even in black & white

Ladies, times three. ("Hello, Ladies!") Crime fighting. (Albeit that of the television variety ... no matter.) Paycheck. Bingos all around.

Now ... on several different fronts, I'm not at liberty to disclose any of our body guarding duties where the lovely Farrah Fawcett-Majors (my favorite), Jaclyn Smith (Clark's favorite) and Kate Jackson (it was a terse relationship between she and Jeff ... too bad the details will forever remain secretive) are concerned. But I can tell you this: Jeff had the odd habit of "buddying up" to David Doyle on and off the set in David's spare time. 



Jeff's favorite on Charlie's Angels: David Doyle


And when I say "buddy up" I'm not talking any monkey business; in all actuality, Jeff picked up a few handy, dandy crime busting tips from Dave, not the least of which was an incarnation of the famous Lobster Rage Fist documented in these pages previously.

Yeah ... good times for old "Jiggle TV" as they called it when the Angels came on the scene during the mid-70s. But our stint would only last Charlie's Angels premiere season - coincidentally, so would Farrah Fawcett-Majors. Popular as the show was, Fawcett-Majors left, replaced by Cheryl Ladd. (More replacements on the show would take place in successive seasons.) The reason for our short run as protectors of The Angels? Money, of course. The producers felt our fees a bit exorbitant. Or so they said. I mean ... the show was making a boatload of money for ABC television. It wasn't as if they couldn't afford our services. And we were assured "casual Fridays" on the set weren't a problem. (We were so popular with the cast and crew, we were encouraged to participate.) No ... it was someone, somewhere in the upper echelons of the show who didn't sit well with our being there, so it was out the door we went.

But ... it was a "made-in-heaven" assignment for a season and - much as we might like to chortle about body guard duty being rather gutless - we did stand a little straighter when we were around The Angels ...

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