The Real Reason Farrah Fawcett Left Charlie's Angels

[TMC]

https://www.looper.com/960553/the-re...arlies-angels/

An Angel could never have a normal life

Bear in mind as you read this that "Charlie's Angels" originated in the 1970s. "It was a different time" is never a valid excuse, but there's no denying the era had some pretty specific parameters for gender roles. That reality played out when, according to People, Farrah Fawcett's then-husband Lee Majors (star of ABC's "The Fall Guy") made sure her "Charlie's Angels" contract wouldn't get in the way of her work as his wife. "That way," Fawcett said, "I can be home by 6:30 and have dinner ready—then he doesn't realize I haven't been home all day. I like my marriage and him being the most important thing in my life."

Whether you read that whole situation as sweet or disturbing, the fact remains that Fawcett wanted a home life with her husband. And her career while starring on "Charlie's Angels" got in the way of that. It also interfered with her own life. She found herself walking through the world as an image. People saw her as sexy and beautiful, but that wasn't all of who she was. She had more to offer as a person and as an actor, too.

”I became famous almost before I had a craft,” she told The New York Times. "I didn't study drama at school. I was an art major. Suddenly, when I was doing 'Charlie's Angels,' I was getting all this fan mail, and I didn't really know why. I don't think anybody else did, either.” All in all, the combination of long hours at work on a hit show, the adjustment to her newfound fame, and the challenges of maintaining her marriage to Majors took a toll that led to Fawcett's decision to leave. But there was more going on as well.

[TMC]

Did Farrah's departure set the inevitable "decline" of Charlie's Angels in motion? While it was fortunate enough to last for five years and 115 episodes, the show went out more on a whimper. It's easy to say that Kate Jackson's departure after the third season and they replaced her with Shelley Hack, was really when Charlie's Angels "jumped the shark" but did the show's relevancy really begin to slip after the first season.

After Season 2 (the first without Farrah Fawcett/Cheryl Ladd's first) Charlie's Angels fell out of the top 10 and went into progressive decline from there. The media interest in Farrah was massive in the first year and it was arguably, very much her show.

I wasn't around at the time, but apparently, people tuned in to see Farrah very much and even if the scripts were bad, her presence and star power alone was enough to sell that show and keep it relevant. So without her, it just never worked as well. The producers knew this and tried to up her salary to nearly double but she wouldn't accept.

[Fallon97]

Originally Posted by TMC

Did Farrah's departure set the inevitable "decline" of Charlie's Angels in motion? While it was fortunate enough to last for five years and 115 episodes, the show went out more on a whimper. It's easy to say that Kate Jackson's departure after the third season and they replaced her with Shelley Hack, was really when Charlie's Angels "jumped the shark" but did the show's relevancy really begin to slip after the first season.

After Season 2 (the first without Farrah Fawcett/Cheryl Ladd's first) Charlie's Angels fell out of the top 10 and went into progressive decline from there. The media interest in Farrah was massive in the first year and it was arguably, very much her show.

I wasn't around at the time, but apparently, people tuned in to see Farrah very much and even if the scripts were bad, her presence and star power alone was enough to sell that show and keep it relevant. So without her, it just never worked as well. The producers knew this and tried to up her salary to nearly double but she wouldn't accept.

Actually the ratings were higher in the second season, without Farrah.

[TMC]

I'm admittedly, really fascinated by Farrah Fawcett's career in the immediate aftermath of her leaving Charlie's Angels after only one season. She was offered the Goldie Hawn part in Foul Play and a bigger percentage of Charlie’s Angels merchandise if she stayed on the show.

Farrah was also in negotiations to do Coma when she fled Charlie's Angels, but ABC let it be known around town there could be legal ramifications for hiring a performer presently engaged in an existing contract dispute. Geneviève Bujold ultimately got the part.

This is the reason she was dropped from Foul Play as well - the studio didn't want to take a chance with her while in a legal dispute with ABC / Aaron Spelling Productions.

[MichaelKeith]

Well I've heard the opposite for a long time. That Lee Majors wanted and expected Farrah to be home every evening and to have his supper/dinner ready when he got home from the studio. And Farrah's agent, the infamous Jay Bernstein (who also repped Suzanne Sommers) convinced Farrah to leave the show so she could become a big movie star due to her popularity.

[Fallon97]

Originally Posted by MichaelKeith

Well I've heard the opposite for a long time. That Lee Majors wanted and expected Farrah to be home every evening and to have his supper/dinner ready when he got home from the studio. And Farrah's agent, the infamous Jay Bernstein (who also repped Suzanne Sommers) convinced Farrah to leave the show so she could become a big movie star due to her popularity.

Farrah, herself, has said many times that she grew bored with the show and didn't like her character. And she also had a problem with the pay and the merchandise.