LOS ANGELES – The main living cast members of "Charlie’s Angels" – Jaclyn Smith, Kate Jackson and Cheryl Ladd – will reunite on the 78th Emmys stage Monday (8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT) to celebrate the classic '70s TV series’ 50th anniversary.
Emmy viewers might want to buckle up for this awards-show highlight, since the last time the Angels convened on the Emmys stage, two decades ago at the 58th Emmy Awards in 2006, there was serious behind-the-scenes drama – and a powerful reaction from the star-studded audience.
"It was pretty emotional," Smith tells USA TODAY of the gathering, which became a memorable TV moment 30 years after the first "Charlie’s Angels" episode aired in 1976.
Smith, 80, dishes on all the drama from the 2006 Emmys appearance in "I
Once Knew a Guy Named Charlie: A Memoir" (out now).
The original three Angels – Smith, Jackson and Farrah Fawcett – were invited to the Emmys that year to pay tribute to producer Aaron Spelling, who died in 2006. The top-secret reunion was a major event.
"The Emmys would be the first time we’d appeared on television as a threesome since the late 1970s," Smith writes in her book.
But Smith recalls the reunion nearly coming apart before the Angels ever reached the stage. Jackson initially refused to attend rehearsal – "We don’t need it!" she insisted – prompting Smith to push back. Smith was so adamant about rehearsing that the normally clean-spoken star dropped an F-bomb while talking to Fawcett on the phone as Jackson arrived at her house.
Fawcett, stunned to hear Smith swear for the first time, burst out laughing.
Jackson eventually relented and attended rehearsal.
But the tension escalated on Emmy night. Smith says the director and production staff approached her with stunning news: "We’re taking Kate off." Producers objected to Jackson’s finished remarks for what was intended to be an affectionate tribute to Spelling. Jackson ultimately agreed to rewrite her speech and was still making changes backstage after the broadcast had begun.
The 'Charlie's Angels' appearance was a hit, even after the teleprompter crashed before Smith's speech
The original Angels ultimately triumphantly made it to the stage, walking out hand in hand as the "Charlie’s Angels" theme played. But the drama wasn't over. When Smith's turn came to speak, the stage teleprompter was blank.
"Oh boy, they don’t have my speech up," Smith told Fawcett onstage.
"It was really only the people in the front row who heard that," Smith recalls to USA TODAY. "We were on live television! Fortunately, I had memorized my speech."
Without the teleprompter, Smith dove in: "Miracles do happen, Aaron. I'm sure he's looking down on us right now, knowing that he brought us together as only he could."
Jackson couldn't resist an interruption. "We’re reclaiming the brand, man," she interjected.
Smith writes that the comment was a "not-too-subtle dig" reflecting Jackson's lingering frustration over not being compensated for her key creative contributions to "Charlie’s Angels."
Smith nevertheless finished her tribute to Spelling and stuck an emotional landing without the teleprompter. “Whether it was a birthday, an anniversary, or you just really needed him by your side, Aaron Spelling always remembered," Smith said. "And let there be no doubt, Aaron Spelling will be remembered."
Smith remembers the reunion as "a bittersweet moment" with impact. The appearance, she writes, "put us back in the public eye in a big way."
Why these 'Charlie's Angels' will come to the Emmys
Original Angel Fawcett died at the age of 62in 2009.
This time, Cheryl Ladd will join Smith and Jackson for the 50th anniversary tribute. Ladd joined "Charlie’s Angels" in its second season in 1977 as Kris Munroe, the younger sister of Fawcett’s Jill Munroe, after Fawcett left the series as a regular.
Ladd quickly became an integral Angel, starring alongside Smith for four seasons through the show’s 1981 finale and alongside Jackson for two seasons before Jackson departed in 1979.
The three stars have reunited for several events celebrating the show’s 50th anniversary, including an appearance at the Paley Center for Media in Los Angeles in April.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jaclyn Smith recalls major drama around past 'Charlie's Angels' Emmy Awards reunion
