Jaclyn Smith, 80, remains the only original cast member of Charlie's Angels still standing 50 years after the show's 1976 debut. The five-year series, which also starred Farrah Fawcett and Kate Jackson, has endured as a cultural touchstone longer than anyone expected.
Smith has written a memoir titled I Once Known a Guy Called Charlie, in which she reflects on her time on set with candor about both the joys and challenges of the show's production. According to the Guardian, she describes finding love and friendship on set, while also confronting the harassment she faced off it.
The book addresses drug use among cast and crew during production, though Smith treats the subject briefly rather than dwelling on it. She also discusses other personal difficulties, including obsessive-compulsive disorder and men who stalked her during the show's peak popularity. The Guardian notes that Smith maintains an overall optimistic perspective on her experiences, including more than 20 years after being diagnosed with breast cancer. That diagnosis was caught early and successfully treated.
Smith comes across in interviews as sensible, hardworking and pragmatic about her career. She does not seek to distance herself from Charlie's Angels, her defining role. Her memoir touches on her three marriages, though the Guardian notes she handles those relationships lightly in her recounting.
The show's five-year run belies its outsized cultural impact. Smith credits her success partly to supportive parents, agents who offered her work, an early hit, and a talent for maintaining friendships and recovering from heartbreak.
At 80, Smith remains engaged with the legacy of the series and willing to revisit its complicated history.