http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20107633,00.html

CHARLIE'S ANGELS

Three provocative private eyes ordered around by an unseen boss. Great drama? Nah. But Jaclyn Smith (Kelly Garrett), Kate Jackson (Sabrina Duncan) and Farrah Fawcett (Jill Munroe) captured the spirit of 1976 and drove their recreational vehicle to the top of the ratings. Charlie's Angels, which ran on ABC until 1981, was more than a hit show; it played a complex role in the pop culture. In one sense, it was in sync with '70s feminism by showing that a woman could crack a murder case as well as any man. Meanwhile, you had clingy costumes, titillating plots—what critics called "jiggle TV."

The original stars have stayed friendly. Smith, 46, now a Kmart spokeswoman and miniseries queen, split from her third husband, filmmaker Anthony Richmond, in 1989; they have two children, Gaston, 11, and Spencer Margaret, 7. Jackson, 45, starred in Scarecrow and Mrs. King and has ended three marriages since her Angels days. Recently she told her old pals about a new boyfriend. "Go slow this time, Kate," warned Fawcett, 47, who divorced Lee Majors in 1982, triumphed in The Burning Bed in 1984 and now lives with Ryan O'Neal and their son Redmond, 9. But slow is not this trio's specialty. Ask national correspondent Lois Armstrong, who listened in on the conversation in L.A. that begins on page 136.

CHARLIE'S ANGELS TODAY
Photographed Exclusively For PEOPLE

Farrah Fawcett, Kate Jackson and Jaclyn Smith

SMITH: I'm much busier now than I ever was! It's the kids with their schedules and the homework. I'm doing these flash cards with Gaston, rooting for him. He gets in the car after school, and I say, "Did we pass?"

FAWCETT: I work with Redmond. He won his spelling bee last year, but then he missed, and I said, "This is unacceptable—because you know those words." Somebody said to me, "Don't ever say that to your child!" and I said, "But it is unacceptable."

JACKSON: Farrah, I read that you were getting married.

FAWCETT: Well, the press is wrong. We weren't fighting, so they didn't have anything else to write. I feel married. Maybe we'll do it someday, but no one is going to tell me when, [Changing the subject] What's Spencer Margaret doing?

SMITH: Dancing and showing signs of wanting to bean actress.

JACKSON: Whatever you do, don't let her be an actress.

SMITH: But we were never typical actresses. We never competed for close-ups and costumes. The National Enquirer said we were vying with each other, but what we were really thinking about was getting some sleep.

JACKSON: Yeah, we'd beg to get more sleep. We'd say, "Isn't she featured in this shot? Couldn't I just sit down over here, out of camera range—wouldn't that work?"

FAWCETT: And that "jiggle" thing—what was that about? Look at that show compared to what's on today. There was nothing that sexy in our shows.

JACKSON: Some people criticized us for the bikinis and whatnot. But we understood that we were three powerful women who were stars of the No. 1 show on television.

FAWCETT: But we never really used that power. Our characters were the same in every show, and we never were able to change that. Why couldn't I have been depressed on one show? Why couldn't I have cried? Once I went into [executive producers] Aaron [Spelling] and Len [Goldberg] and I said, "Wouldn't it be great if in one show I took Kate and Jaclyn home with me, and they met my parents, and we explored the possibilities of these girls as friends..."

SMITH: We were experimenting.

FAWCETT:...and they said, "We have a show. It works. We're not changing it." And that's when, in my heart at least, I was out of there. They didn't appreciate what we had and what was so special.

SMITH: We've always had a wonderful rapport. It was never the same after Farrah left. [Cheryl Ladd joined the show in 1977, replacing Farrah, who did guest appearances thereafter; Shelly Hack replaced Kate in '79 and was herself replaced by Tanya Roberts in 1980.]

FAWCETT: Whenever I would come back, it was much more competitive. It was weird.

SMITH: The three of us always stood together. Remember when they wanted us to pose for a TIME cover during lunch hour? Don't rest—just pose. They could walk all over me, but Kate, she's smart. She says, "I've got to eat." Then she goes in her trailer, closes the door and says, "Oh, my goodness. It's jammed."

JACKSON [innocently]: God-danged if I wasn't locked in there for 45 minutes. Held everybody up.

FAWCETT: It would be nice if we could do a series or a movie together now. But we'd have this obstacle to overcome. People would say, "Isn't that Jill? Sabrina? Kelly?"

SMITH: That's the way a lot of people still see us.

FAWCETT: That show made such a great impact. Remember when they told us the numbers, and we're going, "Yeah?" We were the No. 1 show in the ratings, and we're saying, "So, isn't that the norm?"

JACKSON: If we'd known what a phenomenon we were. . .

FAWCETT: ... we might have appreciated it.

SMITH: We might have been overwhelmed.

As they part, the women hug each other in a tight circle. Then Kate speaks.

JACKSON: Hey, we've got to get together again soon. I want you to meet my boyfriend.

SMITH: Okay, I'll call you.

FAWCETT: How 'bout next week?

Great article! Nice to know they got along so well in real life! RIP Farrah.

It's also sad reading this knowing what would happen to Redmond and all the trouble he'd find himself in. :( As far as I know, Jackie's kids stayed on the straight and narrow (her son is almost the exact same age as my sister), but other than that, I have no idea what they are up to these days. Kate never had kids.