Good morning, Angels:
By Jennifer Lord / News Staff Writer
Thursday, March 4, 2004
Once
upon a time, three little girls went to the police academy...and Jack Condon
fell in love.
The three girls tired of '70s-era female cop duties --
answering the switchboard, escorting children across the street -- and became
television's "Charlie's Angels," private detectives whose undercover
work always seemed to involve bikinis.
Condon, then 10, followed their adventures avidly. He
gave up his lunch money to buy a People magazine with the Angels on the cover.
He bought their posters, dolls and bubble gum cards, keeping everything in
pristine condition.
It was a love affair that continued into adulthood,
culminating, he thought, in the 2000 publication of his "Charlie's Angels
Casebook," an in-depth look at the seminal TV series.
Then he got the call. The Angels, it seemed, needed
their Number One fan.
"Isn't it every author's dream to be the TV
movie-of-the-week?" asked Condon, a
Yes, the book about the TV show has become the TV
movie about the book about the TV show -- introducing "Behind the Camera:
The Unauthorized Story of Charlie's Angels," premiering on NBC Monday at 9
p.m. Condon not only sold the rights to his book, but also served as a creative
consultant, working closely with screenwriter Matt Dorff
and even having a say in the Angels' casting.
"As a child growing up in
A movie about the drama behind "Charlie's
Angels" was a no-brainer -- the series was a '70s phenomenon, remade
recently into two blockbuster movies. The departure of icon Farrah
Fawcett-Majors after the series' first year, behind-the-scenes lobbying by Kate
Jackson for more intelligent scripts and the current nostalgia for old series
all added up to a potential ratings winner.
For Condon, it was the realization of a dream he never
knew he had: Working on "Charlie's Angels" gave him the opportunity to
be like legendary TV producer Aaron Spelling. He was consulted on the script,
had a hand in casting and counseled the actresses chosen for the roles: Lauren Stamile as Kate Jackson (Sabrina), Tricia Helfer as Farrah Fawcett-Majors
(Jill) and Christina Chambers as Jaclyn Smith (Kelly).
"It was exhausting!" Condon said. "All these beautiful women! It's a hard life."
Condon brought the actresses to see his famous
"Charlie's Angels" collection, which takes up an entire room in his
home. Walls, floor, even the ceiling are packed with memorabilia ranging from
posters and dolls to the very first TV Guide he saved at the age of 10.
"I gave the actresses old videos of the early
episodes and reminded them they were playing these actresses when they were
still novices, not when they were all polished," Condon said. "I
think they nailed the actresses, not just in how they looked but in the voice
inflections."
Back in the '70s, Condon's friends were also Angel
fans. But they moved on, offering Condon their collectible discards. He hoarded
his treasure, adding a lunchbox here, a pinball machine there, finding items
that even the original actresses didn't know existed.
As a longtime fan, he's proud to have met all six of
the women who graced the series. Photos of him grinning alongside his Angels,
as well as his collection, are on his Web site, www.charliesangelsfan.com.
What's missing from his collection? Essentially anything having to do with the recent movies starring
Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz and Lucy Lieu. While the movies' success
did revive interest in his pet subject, they failed to recreate the series'
magic for Condon.
"For a 10-year-old boy, these three beautiful
women, larger than life -- I was smitten," Condon said. "And it's
stayed with me for all these years."
