When someone thinks of Farrah Fawcett, they picture her billowy hair, the famous poster of her in a red swimsuit with a beaming smile, and her role on “Charlie’s Angels” — one of the best television shows of the 1970s. But you may be surprised to know that she was only in one of its five seasons. Fawcett left “Charlie’s Angels” in 1977 because she felt “creatively stifled” and wanted to take on more challenging roles outside of television
Another aspect of her “Charlie’s Angels” fame that bothered her was the massive commercialization of her sexy detective persona, with an endless stream of merchandise released to capitalize on her image. “I think what has bothered me the most was all of the merchandising,” she told the Dallas Times Herald. “Things over which I had no control: the bedsheets and things like that. I didn’t like any of that, but there wasn’t much that could be done about it,” she continued (per MeTV).
Marketed primarily toward women, who were seen as the ultimate consumers of beauty products, fans could buy everything from a dresser set and hair dryer to a board game, paper dolls, a handbag, bubble-gum cards, and jewelry. But Fawcett did not get a big piece of the merchandising pie. According to Vanity Fair, she wanted 10% of the merchandising sales, as opposed to the 2% she was offered.
While, to some actors, having their likeness be so ubiquitous around the world might seem like a dream opportunity, Fawcett found it creepy — especially if she wasn’t going to profit from it.
How Farrah Fawcett’s colleagues responded
Leonard Goldberg, who co-produced the show alongside Aaron Spelling, told Vanity Fair, “I was never able to figure out why she left — whether it was her manager or her husband or the fact that she wanted to do movies or what.” Goldberg was angry about what he considered to be a foolish decision: “We made her a star, and she walks out after one year. We had a valid contract with her, and no major studio or production company would hire her. Producers don’t like people who walk out on contracts.”
And he wasn’t entirely wrong. Farrah Fawcett’s career, which began with small roles on popular 1960s and 1970s shows like “I Dream of Jeannie” and “The Andy Griffith Show,” never quite reached the same heights again.
But Kate Jackson, who played Sabrina Duncan for the first three seasons, insists there was no bad blood over Fawcett’s departure, telling TODAY, “When the first year of ‘Charlie’s Angels’ ended, our friendship didn’t. It just grew stronger and closer through the years. I don’t know what the connection that the three of us have is, but it is there, and it is something extremely special. I think that is the reason the show worked … It was a pleasure and a privilege … She was never a follower; she was always a leader. Her choices were her choices.”
Despite starring in one of the shows that defined the 1970s by putting women at the center of a James Bond-style investigative formula, Fawcett quit “Charlie’s Angels” because she wasn’t getting the fair compensation she deserved. She also didn’t want to be under the shadow of the role that made her a household name for the rest of her career.
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