Charlie's Angels at 50

How many television shows are still fondly remembered after 50 years? Quite a few around here, I know – but among the non-tv obsessed? That thins the herd to a much smaller number. But I think Charlie’s Angels belongs in that company – and apparently so do the folks at The Paley Center for Media, who recently hosted a 50th anniversary celebration of this iconic series at Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre.

I cowrote The Charlie’s Angels Casebook back in 2000 so it’s been a long time since I’ve been in the company of the show’s stars. Was it worth the trip to see Kate Jackson, Jaclyn Smith and Cheryl Ladd together again? I thought so, but after it was over I left the theater with mixed feelings.

Just as an aside – “Hollywood” gets more awful every year. I feel for the tourists, especially those from overseas expecting something glamorous as they stroll the Walk of Fame. And I’d also like a word with whomever scheduled this event on a Monday when Musso & Frank Grill was closed. If the reunion turned sour, at least I’d have had a decent steak to salvage the evening.

There was indeed a chance that things could have gotten tense, as this was likely the first time Kate and Cheryl were in the same room since the series ended. The Casebook detailed their strained relationship, and some of the stories shared were too incendiary to print without risking a lawsuit.

The good news is that it wasn’t acrimonious. But it wasn’t joyful either. The moderator - apparently chosen because he won five Emmys and not because he knew anything about the show - did not do a great job. Some of his questions were silly and merited the polite cold shoulder they received. Any real fan (or anyone who even read the book) could have better focused on where the nostalgic sweet spots were, while avoiding the minefields.

The video clips selected to highlight why the show is worth remembering were poorly chosen. There was no mention of David Doyle, who provided able support throughout the series’ five-season run while Angels kept coming and going.

Shelley Hack and Tanya Roberts were included in the film clips (to appreciative audience applause) but were likewise ignored in the discussion.

Perhaps most disappointing was a lack of warmth among the trio of stars. Questions that should have been easy to answer, if their memories were happy and vivid, received almost no response. There wasn’t much laughter over shared recollections, favorite moments or favorite episodes. Only one episode (“Angels in Chains”) was specifically mentioned, and Cheryl Ladd wasn’t even in that one.

As a result, what should have been a celebration came off more like an obligation among three coworkers who once shared the same office. They were happy with the show’s success but not eager to fully embrace it beyond the opportunities it provided later.

Disappointments were mentioned but not deeply explored or felt – Jaclyn missing out on Moonraker, Cheryl on Family and of course Kate with Kramer vs. Kramer. Maybe I was too close to the real stories to appreciate the PG versions that helped preserve the illusion of a happy production.

That said, there were a couple of memorable moments, such as the discussion about how all three Angels received a breast cancer diagnosis – what are the odds? But here they had something more substantive to talk about than an old TV show, and opened up about fear, and faith, and the importance of early detection and exams.

I also enjoyed Kate Jackson relating how, in 2000, she received a check for the use of her likeness on the hundreds of dolls, toys, games, and other licensed merchandising of Charlie’s Angels. The amount – about 80 bucks.

Fifty years is a long time – a point repeatedly expressed from the stage when the guests of honor were unable to recall a favorite scene or a favorite outfit. But the fanfare for this event and the attention it received is a testament to how deeply this show impacted our popular culture and the television landscape. The reunion garnered headlines in all the trades, magazines, entertainment websites, and was even a featured story on ABC World News Tonight.

This was not a series that was respected, including it would seem by those who were in it. But it was, by whatever measuring stick we use to assess such things, a big deal. And a half-century later it proved that again by drawing a packed theater to pay tribute. The fans – some dressed to the nines, others in Charlie’s Angels t-shirts bearing images that had faded from decades of spin cycles, all seem to have left satisfied.

My happiest memory of the evening was when the Angels first took the stage to a long and loud standing ovation, and that alone almost made it worthwhile.

It’s one thing to know a show delivered huge ratings, it’s another to feel the love from a live audience and to know that, however the cast or critics felt, it was a show that meant something to a lot of people. I’m glad its stars got to experience that. I hope they were too.

My 50 Favorite Classic TV Characters: Kate Jackson as Sabrina Duncan

 

Recently Kate Jackson made her first appearance at one of those collector’s shows where fans pay for a couple of minutes of conversation with a celebrity, and take home a photo or an autograph as a memento of the occasion. 

 

 

I heard from two people at the show who described how Jackson was not at an open table on the convention floor like the other attendees, but ensconced behind a curtain, with a representative advising fans on what they could and could not do when they entered.

 

This was not an arrangement I’d seen at any show like this that I attended, but it will not surprise anyone who has followed Jackson’s career. “Difficult” is the word most often used to assess her deportment, and at 75 she has yet to mellow with age.

 

When I co-wrote The Charlie’s Angels Casebook back in 2000, I interviewed co-stars, producers and crewmembers, and heard quite a few disparaging stories, some too inflammatory to print without risking a lawsuit. And yet, to a person, every one agreed that the series would not have been as popular or successful without Jackson’s Emmy-nominated portrayal of Sabrina Duncan. 

 

 

Talent trumps shortcomings in television. That is why, despite her reputation, Kate Jackson enjoyed a successful career in series TV, from Dark Shadows to The Rookies to Charlie’s Angels to Scarecrow & Mrs. King, and still had fans lined up decades later for a few moments of her time.

 

She wasn’t just good in these shows – she was exceptional. When she was on screen your eyes were automatically drawn to her. A standard, even clichéd, line of scripted dialogue came alive when she spoke it in a flinty but still melodic voice that impelled viewers to pay attention, and to believe what she was saying.

 

It’s hard to quantify why we like to watch some actors more than others, but such has always been the case with television, and Kate Jackson belongs in that elite class of the medium’s most engaging stars. She had an indefinable charisma that many of classic television’s most revered performers possessed, from David Janssen to Diana Rigg, Elizabeth Montgomery to James Garner.

 

Charlie’s Angels has been derided as exploitative jiggle TV, and lauded as a proto-feminist breakthrough in popular culture. Maybe it was both, or neither. But it was extremely popular, drawing ratings that would be beyond the imagination of any series now. In its first season it was featured on the cover of Time magazine, back when that publication only put entertainment stories on the cover when the subject had transcended its genre. 

 

 

Sabrina was, it was said at the time, the only employee at the Charles Townsend Agency who was believable as a private investigator. But while that may have been true it should not be taken as disparaging of Jackson’s costars, whose contributions were equally valuable. I’ve lost count of how many times Charlie’s Angels has been rebooted, but the only time it really worked was with Jackson, Jaclyn Smith and Farrah Fawcett (and later Cheryl Ladd). 

 

 

Which is why the show was never the same after Sabrina left.  In retrospect it’s surprising how easily it survived Farrah’s departure after just one year, given how ubiquitous she was in the culture at that time. But there was no coming back once Kate Jackson was gone. Ratings plummeted during the Shelley Hack season, and by the time Tanya Roberts arrived in season five everyone else was ready to leave.

 

To understand what made Jackson irreplaceable, one must acknowledge that not a lot of thought was put into Charlie’s Angels beyond its premise – three beautiful woman detectives. On a show like this, what actors bring to their roles is far more essential to success than it would be on a series with better scripts and more clearly defined characters.

 

No detailed backstories were provided for Charlie’s trio of investigators before they joined the police academy. Kelly was an orphan who had a rough childhood; Jill was a sunny California girl who loved fast cars; Sabrina was married once unsuccessfully. That’s about all we got. If the audience found them credible and appealing, the cast deserves all of the credit. 

 

 

When Sabrina shined, it was because Kate Jackson imbued her with qualities beyond what were provided by writers and directors. In “Target: Angels” we meet her ex-husband, a police detective (Michael Bell) and in just a short scene together we believe the history they shared and the affection that remains in their relationship. In the book I wrote how she switches effortlessly “from comic banter with her ex-husband to a touching scene with her father, to a no-nonsense detective grilling a tough mercenary.”

 

In the fan-favorite episode “Consenting Adults” she elevates a standard kidnapping scene through the power of her personality. In “Dancing in the Dark,” Sabrina goes undercover as a neurotic heiress to set herself up as bait to expose a blackmail scheme, and makes a convincing case that the show worked best when it didn’t take itself too seriously. 

 

However, in “Angel Baby,” a grim tale about baby brokers, Jackson plays it deadly serious as a cold, brittle would-be adoptive mother. Whatever tone was established by widely varying scripts, she made it work, probably better than it should have.

 

I could go on, but if you know the show you get it. Even if you were a teenage boy, as I was when the show debuted, getting the vapors from Farrah’s dazzling smile or Jaclyn Smith wearing a bikini like no one before or since, you also noticed Kate Jackson, and you liked her. 

 

And it was hard to imagine Charlie’s Angels without her. Her co-workers may not have missed her, but viewers certainly did and probably still do. Had I been at that collector's show, I'd have happily waited to get inside the curtain and tell her so.

 

 

 

 

 

Top TV Moments: Cheryl Ladd

One of the customary career trajectories in the Comfort TV era was to break into television doing guest spots on established series. Even if the roles were small, doing enough of them could put an actor on the radar of series producers and casting directors. If it worked, one day they would land a series of their own.

Cheryl Ladd is one of many who followed that career path. And the series she was offered was...Family. She was this-close to landing the role of Nancy Maitland, but at the last minute producer Aaron Spelling chose Meredith Baxter-Birney. When he asked her to join Charlie's Angels instead, she turned him down. Thankfully, she changed her mind.

Ladd is still known almost exclusively for her four seasons as Kris Munroe  – but she played a lot of guest spots before that, and kept busy for decades after hanging up her halo.

These are some of her most memorable TV moments.

Josie and The Pussycats (1970)

How bizarre that the first television credit for one of the most gorgeous TV stars of the 1970s would be one where viewers would never see her. Jackie Joseph provided the voice for the character of Melody in this musical cartoon trio, but Cheryl Ladd provided her singing voice for the songs featured in every episode. 

Viewers finally got to see what she looked like if they bought the Josie and the Pussycats album, which holds up as well as the series if not better. 

The Partridge Family (1973)

Keith lands a date with Johanna Hauser (Ladd) “the most desirable female at San Pueblo JC” (that would be “Junior College”). 

Unfortunately, he already has another date for that same night. Will Keith do the honorable thing? Of course not. Despite his sister Laurie’s catty comment that Johanna “goes steady with the basketball team,” Ladd doesn’t play her as promiscuous. But she clearly knows that with one smile at a hapless guy she can get whatever she wants.

Satan’s School for Girls (1973)

Charlie’s Angels wasn’t Ladd’s first Spelling-Goldberg production – she also appeared in this macabre TV movie, which also featured her future co-star Kate Jackson. 

It’s fun to see the two future Angels playing coeds together in several scenes. The movie itself is a bit like Suspiria. Of course it doesn’t have the visual flair of Dario Argento’s famed giallo, but at least it’s a lot shorter.

Happy Days (1974)

Richie wins the chance to escort Hollywood star Cindy Shea to his high school dance. This is by far the best of Ladd’s roles while she was still billed as Cheryl Stoppelmoor. The easy route would have been to make Cindy a spoiled brat who is only visiting schools to promote her new movie. But before this series became The Fonzie Show it was still capable of nuance. 

Charlie’s Angels (1977)

To the extent that Charlie’s Angels has become a globally familiar brand that inspired multiple remakes and reboots over the past four decades, much of the credit rightly belongs to Cheryl Ladd. 

Of course the series made a huge pop culture splash in its first season when Farrah Fawcett-Majors’ face and form were on every magazine cover in the country (as well as a poster that sold more than 12 million copies). But Farrah was gone after that one season, and the show’s legacy would have been very different had she taken a sizable segment of the show’s audience with her.

Fortunately (and perhaps surprisingly), that didn’t happen. Season two actually posted higher ratings than it did with Farrah, and the show ran for another three years. 

As Kris Munroe Cheryl was not Farrah - but she was beautiful and likable and fit in well with her established costars. Relations off-screen with Kate Jackson were less than cordial, but when the trio tackled cases together their camaraderie was believable. That was not always the case when Shelley Hack replaced Jackson.

Battle of the Network Stars (1977)

This is just the third installment of what became a semi-annual competition, and they had not yet settled on the right mix of events. Ladd is under-utilized in the early events, which seems understandable after you watch her bowl. But she helps the ABC team win the running relay, taking the baton from Penny Marshall and passing it on to Kristy McNichol. Her team finished second, because Robert Conrad was captain of the NBC team, and he wasn’t about to lose again. 

The Cheryl Ladd Special: Souvenirs (1980)

Cheryl Ladd starred in three music/variety specials on ABC. The first one had a storyline about her going back home to South Dakota and hanging out at a truck stop where one of the waitresses is played by Melanie Griffith. The message was that for all her fame she’s just a downhome country girl at heart. I doubt anyone bought that.

“Souvenirs” played more to her strengths – big, splashy song and dance numbers instead of country music, and colorful costumes that enhanced her stunning appearance. She also sings a duet with Joyce Dewitt, so what more could you want?

When She Was Bad (1979)

Ladd never found a prestige drama after her Angel days, like Farrah Fawcett did with The Burning Bed. This one aired while she was still playing Kris, and might have been a tough pivot for the ABC prime time audience. Ladd played a young wife and mother who takes out the stress in her life on her preschool daughter, verbally and physically. Stuff like this is always tough to watch. Ladd and Robert Urich do their best with an earnest but cliché-heavy script.

Grace Kelly (1983)

There was a lot of fanfare surrounding this TV movie biography of the movie star turned princess, and landing the part was a big coup for Ladd. It even landed her back on the cover of TV Guide. 

No one could blame her for taking on such an iconic role, but…it just wasn’t a very good fit. It’s not Jennifer Love Hewitt-as-Audrey Hepburn bad, but Ladd doesn’t look or sound like Grace Kelly, so it’s difficult to focus on the character and not on who is playing her. Still, it’s not dull, and it’s not a poor reflection on its subject.

The Hasty Heart (1983)

Now this is more like it. John Patrick’s play was originally performed in the 1940s, and was staged for the Showtime network in 1983 starring Ladd, Gregory Harrison, and Perry King. The story is set in a British military hospital in Burma during World War II. 

Ladd plays Sister Margaret, a British nurse tending to the wounded, including Harrison as a bitter Scot who finds himself surrounded by people who accept him despite his temper – though he won’t know the reason until…well, that would be telling. Though Cheryl Ladd has continued to work steadily (she did a couple of Hallmark Christmas movies that aired last year), this is my favorite of her post-Angels credits.

The Vegas Episode

 

What happens when you take classic TV characters out of their familiar surroundings and send them to Las Vegas?

The question has been posed in countless writer’s rooms over the past 50 years, resulting in enough Vegas episodes to fill a week-long marathon.

However, a distinction should be drawn between shows that say they’re going to Vegas, and those that actually do it. It’s just a 50 minute flight from L.A., but the logistics of moving a show that far for one or two episodes was obviously too daunting for most budgets and shooting schedules. 

Of all the series with a Las Vegas episode, 90-95% relied on a stock montage of Strip resorts and Glitter Gulch neon, followed by an interior establishing shot of characters entering some sorry-looking fictional casino, hastily assembled on a soundstage, with one blackjack table and five slot machines.

It could work when it was done right – Perfect Strangers had a hilarious show that pretended to be set in – let’s all say it like Balki – “Vay-gaaaaaaaaas.” But usually the most memorable episodes are those where you actually see the characters in the city.

Let’s take a look at four stand-outs from this much smaller sample size. Having lived in the Las Vegas area since 1982 I have a particular affinity for these shows. They captured a moment in time before recent building booms robbed the resort areas of so much of their colorful heritage.

That Girl (“She Never Had the Vegas Notion, Pts. 1 & 2”)

Ann Marie gets a job in a Vegas show supporting headliner Marty Haines (Jack Cassidy, as always playing Jack Cassidy). Strait-laced Donald Hollinger has too much to drink, and Marty tricks him into believing he married another of the star’s entourage, as a way to prove to Ann that even the most virtuous man can lose himself in Vegas.

The episodes were filmed in 1969, a great time in the city’s history. You’ll see Ann and Donald dodging cars while crossing Fremont Street (no longer necessary as it’s now closed to traffic), and riding a merry-go-round outside Circus Circus. But most of the filming was done at the legendary Sands, where the Rat Pack reigned throughout the 1960s. If you love that era of show business, it’s a thrill to see the lush hotel grounds and the lavish casino, and a sign outside the showroom that promotes an upcoming appearance by Louis Prima. 

The Partridge Family (“What? And Get Out of Show Business?”)

Nothing like starting at the top: in the first episode of this classic series, the Partridge Family appears at Caesars Palace.

As their iconic bus approaches the resort’s main entrance, we see their name in huge letters across the marquee; below, in smaller letters, two other shows are promoted – one for some guy named Duke Ellington. As this was the pilot, filmed before anyone had heard of the series, I can only guess how many passers-by wondered about this group that was top-billed over one of the legendary jazz composers and bandleaders of the 20^th century. You can also make out the marquee for the Flamingo Hilton across the street, where Sonny & Cher were appearing.

The performance that follows this scene was not shot in the resort’s famed Circus Maximus Showroom or anywhere else in the city. In fact, the Vegas footage comprises just one minute of the episode. But the sequence adds an authenticity to the family’s show business success. 

The Bionic Woman (“Fembots in Las Vegas, Pts. 1 & 2”)

In which Jaime goes undercover (but not much cover) as the strongest showgirl in Las Vegas history, and chases a Fembot past the fountains outside Caesars Palace. If you couldn’t tell from the title alone, this is a classic slice of Comfort TV cheese.

The casino sequences were filmed at The Maxim, which was located across the street from the original MGM Grand. It closed in 2001. 

Charlie’s Angels (“Angels in Vegas, Pts. 1 & 2”)

The series’ season 3 debut had something for everyone – a cameo from Las Vegas’s most famous detective (Robert Urich as Dan Tanna), Kris Munroe singing with Darren Stephens (Dick Sargent), Kelly Garrett joining the famous Folies Bergere revue, and Sabrina Duncan romancing a casino owner played by Dean Martin, who between takes was romancing Kate’s stand-in, Camille Hagan.

Granted, the whodunit payoff at the end is pretty weak, but there’s much fun to be had along the way, including a great speedboat chase and shoot-out at Lake Mead. Most of the action was shot at the Tropicana Resort, which is still here, and the Dunes, which sadly is not. 

Classic TV Two-Part Episodes: Hits and Misses

 

Theoretically the two-part episode is an option that should be utilized only in conjunction with a major milestone in a series (births, deaths, new character introductions, weddings, big name guest star) or when a writer comes up with an idea that is so good, it deserves a little extra breathing room to be fully explored.

But think back over the hundreds of two-parters presented in the Comfort TV era – how many of them really needed more time to tell their stories?

Having conducted my own informal study, I would say the results are about 50/50. Too often, these shows were a marketing ploy to leverage the built-in ‘event’ status afforded to super-sized episodes. That’s why they were used so often to open or close a season.

When there is legitimate reason for a “continued next week” freeze-frame, the result is often one of the most memorable moments in a series – think “The Menagerie” on Star Trek, “Fearless Fonzarelli” on Happy Days or “Carnival of Thrills” on The Dukes of Hazzard.

And when there is not enough content to justify a second episode, we’re left with a story that might have worked as a single show, padded and stretched to fill out a longer running time.

This is a big topic and one that may be revisited in a future blog, but for now here are five examples of when TV got it right – and five underwhelming misses.

Good: Family Ties: “The Real Thing”

Alex Keaton had no shortage of girlfriends in the first three seasons of Family Ties, but when he meets Ellen Reed early in season four, the show wanted to make sure we knew this was going to be different. Their opposites-attract romance, bolstered by the strains of Billy Vera’s “At This Moment,” was a major turning point for Alex and for Michael J. Fox, who is still married to the girl that played Ellen, Tracy Pollan. 

Bad: Charlie’s Angels: “Terror on Skis”

A typical Angels plot – protect a government agent from foreign radicals – is hampered by scene after scene of monotonous stock footage of people skiing during the day, at night, and in freestyle competitions. I had a little inside information on this one, having interviewed the episode’s writer, Ed Lakso, for my Charlie’s Angels book. He readily confessed to padding out the story to justify a location shoot in Vail, Colorado, because his wife wanted to go skiing. 

Good: The Dick Van Dyke Show: “I Am My Brother’s Keeper/The Sleeping Brother”

These episodes introduced Dick Van Dyke’s brother Jerry, playing Rob Petrie’s brother, Stacy. The bizarre plot has Stacy trying to break into show business but only being able to perform while he’s asleep (due to a rare, advanced form of sleepwalking). Despite that contrivance the shows are smart and funny, particularly during the cast performances at those Bonnie Meadow Rd. house parties that always made the suburbs looks so cool and sophisticated. 

Bad: Eight is Enough: “And Baby Makes Nine”

Flashbacks are a convenient way to stretch a story, but no two episodes abused that privilege more than the Season 5 opener of Eight is Enough. The saga of Susan’s difficult delivery of her baby not only offers numerous looks back at her romance with and marriage to Merle, it also reprises scenes that aired just ten minutes earlier in the same episode. Why not just play the theme song again while you’re at it?

Good: Get Smart: “A Man Called Smart”

The only thing tougher to pull off than a great two-part episode? A great three-part episode. But the laughs never fizzle in “A Man Called Smart,” an adventure originally conceived for theatrical release but re-cut for the series. One physical comedy sequence with a stretcher and a revolving door is as funny as anything that’s ever been on television. 

Bad: Mission: Impossible: “The Contender”

For all its many outstanding qualities, M:I never got a two-part episode right. I chose “The Contender” because the plot was particularly weak – capturing a guy who fixes prize fights seems beneath the IMF – but I also could have gone with “The Slave” or “The Council” or “The Controllers.” Viewers were accustomed to seeing the team solve any problem in an hour, and writers could never dream up any good reason for some missions to take longer.

Good: The Bionic Woman: “Doomsday is Tomorrow”

Where Mission: Impossible struggled with the two-part format, The Bionic Woman flourished. From the irresistible “Fembots in Las Vegas” to “Deadly Ringer,” the shows that earned Lindsay Wagner an Emmy, the series was always at its best with multi-episode storylines. My favorite is “Doomsday is Tomorrow,” in which Jaime must figure out how to shut off a computerized weapon (with a HAL 9000 voice) capable of destroying all life on earth. 

Bad: The Facts of Life: “Teenage Marriage”

So many shows have built two-part episodes around potential crises that cannot possibly come to pass, lest it mean the end of the series. Here, Mrs. Garrett and the Eastland girls try to prevent Jo from marrying her boyfriend. Had Nancy McKeon announced she was leaving the show, we might have bought into the conflict; but this was her first season, and we all knew she wasn’t going anywhere, extra episode or not.

Good: Little House on the Prairie: “I’ll Be Waving as You Drive Away”

The Ingalls family face their darkest hour when Mary loses her sight after a bout with scarlet fever. The scene where Charles must tell his daughter the diagnosis, while barely able to control his own heartbreak, is devastating. Mary attends a school for the blind, where she gradually comes to terms with her fate in a hopeful finale.  

Bad: Laverne & Shirley: “The Festival”

When a two-part episode is inspired by a road trip, it helps if we actually see the characters go somewhere. Here, Laverne, Shirley, Lenny, Squiggy, Frank and Edna all “travel” from Milwaukee to New York, but all they really do is visit a different part of the studio backlot. Not much fun to be had, unless you enjoy watching Penny Marshall climb a greased metal pole.

From the Batcave to the Brady House: The California Comfort TV Tour

 

Most of the places you see on TV shows are located on studio lots. But there are many others scattered throughout southern California that you could see any time, though you might get in trouble knocking on the door. This has become a hobby of mine (visiting, not trespassing), and during my several yearly trips to Los Angeles I’ll usually schedule at least an hour for one drive-by of a landmark that is part of our television heritage.

Here are some of my favorites, as well as one that I finally plan to cross off my to-do list later this year.

The Brady Bunch House

This was the first classic TV site I tracked down. Though more than two decades have passed since my first visit, I can still recall what a strange sensation it was to actually stand before a home that I only knew as part of a fictional world. I’ve been back several times since, and every time, for the briefest of moments, it still feels like stepping into TV land. The house doesn’t look the same as it did on the series – there’s a wrought-iron fence surrounding the front to keep weirdos like me at a safe distance, and the upstairs window you see on the show was never actually there. But the shape of the Studio City dwelling, especially when framed by the mountains in the background as it often was on The Brady Bunch, remains unmistakable.

If you’d like to check it out, head west on Ventura Blvd. to Tujunga Ave., turn left and then make a right on Dilling St. You’ll know it when you see it. 

Townsend Investigations

I wonder how many people who drive by 189 N. Robertson in Beverly Hills even realize they’ve just passed the office where Charlie Townsend summoned his Angels. The two-story red brick edifice was shown in almost every episode of Charlie’s Angels, though you’ll never seen any of the Angels (or even Bosley) entering or exiting the building. Whenever I’m doing research at the nearby Margaret Herrick Library, I always take Robertson back to Wilshire, hoping to see Jill Munroe’s Cobra parked out front.  

Walton’s Mountain

Last year I was enjoying a deep-dish pizza at actor Joe Mantegna’s Taste of Chicago restaurant. I was seated at the window facing south, when my friend asked, “See anything interesting?” I took another look at the CVS across the street and told him I didn’t. Then he started whistling the Waltons theme, and suddenly it dawned on me – the mountain behind the condos and shopping centers was Walton’s Mountain. Perhaps it took longer to register because one doesn’t expect a peak associated with Depression-era Virginia to be looming majestically over Burbank. 

Squad 51

I used to love watching Emergency on Saturday nights. Paramedics John Gage and Roy DeSoto reported for work at Squad 51, a real fire station (actually Station 127) located in Carson, California. The site has since honored its TV connection with a plaque dedicated to Emergency writer and producer Robert A Cinader, who also created the series. You’ll find the station at 2049 E. 223^rd St., just off the San Diego Freeway. 

Fantasy Island

No need to charter a plane to a remote island to see where Mr. Roarke and Tattoo greeted their guests. The building where Tattoo rang the bell at the start of each episode is the Queen Anne Cottage at the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden. It’s in the city of Arcadia – take the 210 Freeway to the Baldwin St. exit and follow the signs. Even without the classic TV connection, it’s a beautiful place to spend a day. 

The Batcave

Near the beginning of almost every Batman episode, you’ll see the Batmobile speed through a hidden passageway before making the 14-mile drive to Gotham City. What you’re looking at is the Bronson Caves in LA’s Griffith Park.  This is one of those instances where the reality of the location falls far short of its fictional fame. Once you’ve made the quarter-mile hike from the parking lot on Canyon Drive, you’ll a rather undistinguished cave entrance, basically a mouse hole-shaped opening leading into a short tunnel. The surrounding scenery is nice, though. 

General Hospital

For more than 20 years, General Hospital opened with a shot of an ambulance speeding toward a stately white building. This one is really easy to find – it’s the old Los Angeles County General Hospital, now a wellness center of the Los Angeles County-University of Southern California Medical Center. Get on the 10 Freeway and look to your right, just before the 10 turns into the 101. The address is 1200 N. State St.

The Hooterville Cannonball and Water Tower

I haven’t visited these yet, as they are located in the Railtown 1897 State Historic Park in Jamestown, California. That’s a 6-hour drive from Los Angeles and almost 3 hours from San Francisco. But I love Petticoat Junction. It’s everything that Comfort TV is supposed to be – simpler times, kinder characters, and optimistic, uplifting messages. So this fall I plan to climb aboard that little train, and think about a time and place where life was like that, even if it never really existed. 

 

Different Eras, Same Careers: Farrah Fawcett and Marilyn Monroe

 

Writers have one common trait: they disregard good reviews and obsess over criticism.

Entertainment Weekly gave The Charlie’s Angels Casebook a “B” in its review – not bad. But 13 years later the only line I remember was the one that disputed my claim that Farrah Fawcett was a sex symbol comparable to Marilyn Monroe in global impact. 

I stand by that statement. And now that I have this blog I can finally plead my case that the two actresses had more in common than alliterative names.

One Name is Enough

Granted, this was easier in Farrah’s case, as that name did not gain any traction until she made it famous. We’ve had other Marilyns over the past 50 years – Manson, Munster, McCoo – but if there was a Family Feud question asking you to name a famous Marilyn, the number one answer is still indisputable.

An Iconic Image

Few movie images are more iconic than Marilyn Monroe standing over a subway grate in The Seven Year Itch, her white dress billowing upward from the draft. Farrah’s red swimsuit poster sold 20 million copies at a time when sales of one million were exceptional. 

More than Looks

Their faces were so dazzling it took longer than it should to have recognized their talent. Long after achieving sex symbol status, Marilyn Monroe earned the positive reviews she received for Bus Stop and The Misfits. Farrah also appeared in several forgettable films before taking on such challenging roles as those in The Burning Bed and Extremities.

Immortalized by Warhol

Turbulent Private Lives

It’s not pleasant to think about how many unhappy and even abusive relationships both Farrah and Marilyn had to endure.

Teamwork

Farrah and Marilyn both appeared in star vehicles designed to show them off to best advantage. These projects failed because they had nothing else going for them. Their most memorable credits were those in which they complemented an equally talented ensemble. Farrah spent just one season on Charlie’s Angels but it remains her most indelible role. Marilyn Monroe’s two best films are Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (opposite Jane Russell) and the comedy classic Some Like it Hot with Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis. 

The Cover of Playboy

Gone But Not Forgotten

Search “Marilyn Monroe merchandise” at amazon.com and you’ll get more than 700 results – key chains, t-shirts, posters, mugs, puzzles, tote bags, calendars. While Farrah’s image may not be as ubiquitous, new products bearing her likeness are still being made long after her 1970s heyday. Mattel recently unveiled a Barbie Classic Farrah Fawcett doll, inspired by her 1976 poster. And earlier this year there appeared a new die cast model of the white Mustang Cobra II she drove in Charlie’s Angels. It was so successful that a second version is forthcoming that will include a new Farrah figure. 

Finally, both Marilyn Monroe and Farrah Fawcett left us far too soon. The work they leave behind is both a comfort and a reminder of how much we lost.