Jaclyn Smith has revealed that she turned down the chance to play a Bond girl in Moonraker because she grew up in Texas.
“I had a contract[for Charlie’s Angels]. I was raised in Houston, so I live up to the contract,” the 80-year-old actress said at the Charlie’s Angels 50th Anniversary Reunion at PaleyFest. “And Aaron[Spelling]was the first to invite me to the party, so I kept my contract.
“And I don’t think it was meant to be. I think things happen for a reason, and I really do, so I’m not complaining.”
Smith was offered the role of Dr. Holly Goodhead in the 1979 Bond film starring Roger Moore. The role ultimately went to “The Way We Were” actress Lois Chiles.
Smith also revealed that he had been considered for “Beetlejuice,” but admitted that he “didn’t understand” the concept.
“I understand, it’s sad. My husband regrets it,” she added, responding to the audience.
“But when you read a script, it doesn’t always apply to you. What matters is what you can bring to it,” she explained.
Smith did not say which role she was being considered for in “Beetlejuice.” The film’s female leads ended up being Catherine O’Hara, Geena Davis, and a young Winona Ryder.
Smith added that at one point, she and John Travolta were scheduled to co-star in the erotic romance film 9 1/2 Weeks.
“But I really didn’t deserve it either,” she admitted. “So, it was Kim Basinger and Mickey Rourke. You know, it happens. But, you know, certainly, I look at my life as it should be, and it’s been a good journey. A really good journey.”
She also appeared in the acclaimed 1988 TV movie “Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy,” the “Bourne Identity” miniseries, and had recurring roles on “Becker,” “The District,” “CSI: Forensic Investigations,” and “All American.”
Smith also said that “Charlie’s Angels” was originally broadcast as a two-part movie, and that even as viewership grew, the network “didn’t believe in the show.”
“It went through the roof,” Smith said of the pilot episode, “and they thought, ‘This is a fluke, we have to do it again, it can’t be like that, no one does it, we can’t stand this.'”
The network aired the pilot on its second night, where it drew even higher ratings, she said.
“That’s Aaron’s genius,” she mused. “I think he had a gut feeling about what the public wanted to see.
“So, I didn’t understand the network. His track record was amazing. They just thought a woman would play a man’s role and this wouldn’t work. They didn’t even order a full season of episodes.”
It wasn’t until the show stayed in the top 10 that the network finally realized it had a hit, she said.
Kate Jackson also lamented the loss of Meryl Streep’s role in the 1979 film Kramer vs. Kramer, for which she won her first Academy Award.
“They rescheduled the movie four times,” Frank Jackson told host George Pennacchio after asking him, “Do you want the truth?”
“And every time Aaron would look at the ‘Charlie’s Angels’ schedule and say, ‘Oh, we had to change the schedule. It doesn’t work here, here, or here right now. So he wouldn’t let me do it. So I decided then, ‘I’ll do it this year, I’ll do it then.'”
