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Kathie Lee Gifford’s career could have gone very differently if it hadn’t been for one “unnecessary b—-” of a casting agent.
Gifford may be known for being a television personality, but her career in entertainment began with acting. There’s a chance she could have gone further in that particular discipline, but she was turned away from a “Charlie’s Angels” audition because someone thought she wasn’t “pretty” enough for the role.
In a new interview with People, Gifford spoke about her experience, explaining that she’d heard the studio behind the show was replacing one of the main actresses — “Charlie’s Angels” underwent a number of casting changes during its five-year run, but she believes her experience happened when Kate Jackson left in 1979.
Kathie Lee Gifford was told that she wasn’t right for a role on “Charlie’s Angels.” (Getty Images)
Even though she was sick with the flu, her agent encouraged her to travel to the studio, which was where she met the “cruel” casting agent.
“She goes, ‘Let me tell you right now, you’re not right for ‘Charlie’s Angels,'” Gifford said.
She added that the agent then explained that she wasn’t right because “we’re looking for a pretty girl … You know, like Jaclyn Smith pretty, gorgeous, gorgeous.”
Kathie Lee Gifford, left, was told she wasn’t as pretty as Jaclyn Smith. (Getty Images)
Gifford remembered, “It was like kicking me to the gut. I started to think it was funny. I really did. And as I’m walking out, I looked at her and I said, ‘Okay, well, thank you so much.'”
“I said, ‘When you’re casting a cartoon,’ and I threw up my leg. ‘When you’re casting a cartoon, let me know.’ I left thanking God that I could laugh about it.”
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Even though she was able to find the humor in the bad situation, she still remembers to this day how the woman made her feel.
Kathie Lee Gifford may have been turned away from “Charlie’s Angels,” but she went on to have a remarkably successful TV career anyway. (Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images)
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“I started to see, first of all, what a b—- she was,” she told People. “What an unnecessary b—- she was. She didn’t say ‘Sorry, honey, have a nice life. You’re not what we’re looking for.’ She had to be cruel. She had to be the exact opposite of what my dad taught me to be. The fact that I remember her name to this day is because she was so cruel.”
“Charlie’s Angels” began airing in 1976, and its first season starred Farrah Fawcett, Kate Jackson and Jaclyn Smith. Smith was the only actress that stayed with the series until its finale in 1981.
From left: Jaclyn Smith, Farrah Fawcett and Kate Jackson starred in the first season of “Charlie’s Angels.” (Getty Images)
Gifford’s first credited acting role was in a 1975 episode of “Days of Our Lives.” From 1978 to 1979, she appeared on the show “Hee Haw Honeys,” a spinoff of the popular variety show.
In the early 1980s, she began working as a “Good Morning America” correspondent, and in 1985, she joined Regis Philbin to host “The Morning Show” on a local New York City station. Three years later, the show was launched nationally as “Live! With Regis and Kathie Lee,” and she’s been a household name ever since.
Emily Trainham is an entertainment editor for Fox News Digital.
