In September 1979, Shelley Hack debuted as Tiffany Welles, replacing Kate Jackson on Charlie’s Angels. But behind the scenes, producers were initially considering another glamorous brunette for the coveted role: a Bond girl who had recently made a major splash on the big screen: Barbara Bach.
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Making her English-language film debut with the 1977 James Bond classic The Spy Who Loved Me, Barbara Bach starred as KGB agent Major Anya Amasova. The breakout role catapulted the Queens, New York native to international fame and global sex symbol status. So in 1979, when casting was happening for Jackson’s replacement, Bach was widely expected to become the next star of Charlie’s Angels.
Unfortunately, she lost out at the finish line to another brunette beauty.
Barbara Bach Was the Favorite to Become the Next Angel
When Jackson, one of the original Angels who starred alongside Farrah Fawcett and Jaclyn Smith, left the ABC hit series after the third season, producers launched a massive search for a new Angel to play the sharp, intelligent group leader. Among the more than 150 top models and actresses who auditioned, Bach became the favorite.
With her casting considered a slam dunk, several magazines and newspapers prematurely reported that Bach had officially won the role. Even Dave Doyle, who played “Bosley” on the show, remarked that he and the cast fully expected Bach to get the job.
“I remember thinking Barbara Bach had the role,” Doyle said, per Bach’s biography. “She was attractive, and she could do the job.”
Why Producers Ultimately Passed on the Bond Girl
Ultimately, producers passed.
According to Bach, they thought she and Smith looked too alike and that having two actresses with similar features would hurt the trio’s distinct visual dynamic. Then, there was another problem, at least in the producers’ minds: Bach didn’t seem “American enough.”
Ed Lakso, a writer and producer on the series, said, “The problem was that she looked very much like Jaclyn Smith, Kelly Garrett on Charlie’s Angels.”
Despite being a native New Yorker, Bach’s sophisticated demeanor and her famous stint as a Russian spy left executives convinced she was European. In an interview with Johnny Carson, Bach confirmed as much, saying producers asked her manager if she could play an American.
She Met Her Future Husband, Ringo Starr, on the Set of ‘Caveman’
Losing the role was a professional disappointment for Bach, but it cleared her schedule to take on other projects, including the 1981 film Caveman. That’s where she met her future husband, Ringo Starr. On the set of the slapstick comedy, the chemistry between the onscreen romantic interests was instant.
“The truth is, we weren’t together until the very end of Caveman,” Bach said. “While we were working, we got along fine—we spent time together—but we each had other people, our respective friends. Then, suddenly, two weeks before the end of shooting, we fell in love.”
She added, “We shifted from friendly affection to being in love, but it was just before we left Mexico. We had an off-camera love affair, and somehow it just spilled over beautifully into real life. It wasn’t quite love at first sight, but it began to grow, wishing for days of meeting each other.”
While they were dating, the couple survived a near-fatal car crash in England when Starr’s car flipped over twice. The traumatic experience seemed to strengthen their bond, and they married less than a year later, on April 27, 1981.
View this post on InstagramBach and Starr Have Been Married for More Than 45 Years
In August, Bach celebrated her 80th birthday. Now retired from acting and modeling, she and Starr, whom she famously called “quiet, sensitive, and intelligent,” have remained together for more than four decades. Between them, they have five children from their previous marriages.
Whatever disappointment she felt in 1979 is now a footnote in a much bigger life story.
As for Hack, her run as Tiffany Welles lasted just one season. Charlie’s Angels did see its Nielsen ranking decline during the 1979–80 season, falling to No. 20 after ranking No. 12 the previous season. But the series continued for another season, with Tanya Roberts replacing Hack, before ABC canceled the show in 1981 after five seasons.
Related: Remember When Todd Rundgren Tried to Turn a ’70s Teen Idol Into a Rock Star 46 Years Ago?
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