Whatever Happened to Kate Jackson?
WHATEVER HAPPENED TO KATE JACKSON?
Growing up when I did, I became aware of television as a child in the late ’60s and early ’70s. I had an aunt who loved the gothic soap opera Dark Shadows, and after watching it a few times with her, I got hooked on it myself and ran home from school to watch it at 3:00. My mother objected, but her objections were overridden by the fact that her sister-in-law introduced me to the show.
The dawning of awareness of television coincided with the rise of a young actress named Kate Jackson, who played Daphne in Dark Shadows — and later in one of the spin-off films, which my brother and I begged my parents to bring us to the local Drive-In theater to see. I don’t remember much about that film, but I did remember Kate Jackson who, even then, had an unusual beauty, along with brains.
Soon after, she starred in The Rookies, a police drama in the mid-70s. I was sorry that was canceled, but she bounced back big-time with Charlie’s Angels, one of the biggest television hits of all time. Jackson was considered the star, the only known actress among the three. When the show became a hit, it was expected to catapult her career, but today, Farrah Fawcett is remembered for some dramatic triumphs in television films in the ’80s, most prominently The Burning Bed, and for her well-documented decline and death to cancer in 2009 (she died the same day as Michael Jackson). Jaclyn, considered a great beauty but not a great actress, later made a fortune as an entrepreneur and businesswoman, mainly through her clothing line. Today she is worth $150 million.
To me, Charlie’s Angels does not hold up well. I saw it recently on one of those free TV channels. The plots (pretty much the same in every episode) are absurd and the writing is terrible. Farrah shows her teeth and Jaclyn’s voice never rises above a whisper. Kate did her best to bring some flavor to her role and, in fact, was nominated twice for an Emmy during her three seasons with the show.
After that, she went on to a successful run in another series, The Scarecrow and Mrs. King. I was busy in college during those years and never saw more than an episode or two. However, I was a fan of Baby Boom, a spin-off from the Diane Keaton film. Sadly, it only lasted one season.
All during her television series years and beyond, Jackson starred in several made-for-TV movies, many of which did well. As a film actress, she is best remembered for the 1973 film Thunder and Lightning with David Carradine, Loverboy, notable for being Patrick Dempsey’s first film, and Making Love. The latter was mostly panned when it was released, but I think it stands out today as a groundbreaking film about a married man with homosexual longings falling for a promiscuous gay man. Jackson was excellent as the shocked wife.
As a fan, the story that haunts me most is that, apparently, Dustin Hoffman wanted her to play the Meryl Streep role in Kramer vs Kramer. However, Aaron Spelling wouldn’t let her take time off from Charlie’s Angels to make the film. It was a supporting role! How could Spelling be so heartless? Streep went on to win her first Oscar for the role. My feeling is that Streep was already on her way to a film career at that point and would have gone on to do all the great films she did. But when I think of Kate Jackson, I can’t help asking, “What if . . .?” That film really could have given her a trajectory in an entirely different direction. I wonder if she still occasionally tosses and turns at night saying, “What if . . . ?”
In the end, as successful as Charlie’s Angels was, I think it ruined what could have been a brilliant career. It was a short-term gain and a long-term loss.
Kate Jackson has not made any television or film appearances since 2009 and is now 72 years old. In recent years, she sued her financial advisor and settled on an undisclosed sum. I’ve read that she now lives in her home state of Alabama and her fortune has dwindled to next to nothing. For years, she has supposedly been working on a memoir, but it hasn’t yet materialized.
Surely, there is a producer or director who could find a juicy part for her in an acclaimed Netflix series or a character part in a feature film. If she indeed wishes to work.
Kate, wherever you are, you still have a solid and loving fan base out here. You have worked hard and you owe us nothing. But we’d sure like to see you make the comeback of all comebacks and be our Golden Girl for the next decade or so. We wish you well.
