Kathie Lee Gifford hopes to inspire people to remember their self-worth and never give up on dreams with her new book, I Want To Matter: Your Life Is Too Short And Too Precious to Waste.
Among the dozens of stories used as anecdotes in the pages, the author, actress and television personality recalled an incident in which she used comedy and laughter as a means of dealing with a “cruel” casting agent in the summer of 1979.
In a recent interview with People, Gifford (born Kathryn Lee Epstein) revealed that she once found out that producers wanted to replace one of the three main actresses of Charlie’s Angels, who she thought was Kate Jackson.
Although she was sick in bed with the flu at the time, her agent persuaded her to go to the studio, which she did, but the casting agent was told she wasn’t pretty enough to star in ABC’s hit crime action series . which originally starred Jackson, Farrah Fawcett and Jaclyn Smith.
“She says, ‘Let me tell you right now that you’re not right for Charlie’s Angels,’” she recalled of the surprising moment the woman told her she wasn’t good enough within seconds of meeting her.
Kathie Lee Gifford, 70, revealed how a casting agent told her she wasn’t pretty enough to star in the original Charlie’s Angels in her new book. Gifford tried to audition for a new lead role on the show in the summer of 197
When she asked why, the casting agent told Gifford, who was about 26 at the time, “Because we’re looking for a pretty girl.”
To make matters worse, the studio agent launched into a passive-aggressive tirade while describing the type of actress they were looking for.
“You know, just like Jaclyn Smith, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful,” the officer said.
Although she confessed that the words gave her “a punch in the gut,” the Paris-based talk show host, who grew up in Bowie, Maryland, now finds humor in the situation.
‘I started to think it was funny. “I really did,” she said. “And as I was walking out, I looked at her and said, ‘Okay, thank you very much.’”
Instead of just leaving, Gifford turned back to the woman, then threw up one of her legs in a funny gesture and said, “If you cast a cartoon, let me know,” and then walked out the door .
“I left thanking God that I could laugh about it,” she remembers thinking as she left with her dignity intact.
In retrospect, Gifford could see how that casting agent made the choice to be mean when he didn’t have to.
“First of all, I started to see what a terrible woman she was. What an unnecessary b**** she was,” she said of the woman, whom she still remembers by name to this day.
When she asked the casting agent why she wasn’t Charlie’s Angels material, the woman said “Because we’re looking for a beautiful girl” before adding: “You know, just like Jaclyn Smith beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.”
While she confessed that the cruel words “kicked her in the gut,” she found humor in the situation, throwing up one of her legs in a funny gesture and saying, “If you cast a cartoon, let me know”; Gifford hoped to replace Kate Jackson (front) after season three
“She didn’t say, ‘Sorry, honey, have a good life.’ You’re not what we’re looking for.’ She had to be cruel,” Gifford continued. “She had to be the exact opposite of what my father taught me to be. The fact that I remember her name to this day is because she was so cruel.”
The role for a replacement for Kate Jackson eventually went to Shelley Hack, although she was subsequently replaced by Tonya Roberts after one season due to another decline in ratings after an initial peak.
Although the show ended after season five, it did help inspire a film franchise starring Cameron Diaz, Lucy Lui and Drew Barrymore as the new Charlie’s Angels (2000), leading to the trio returning for Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle (2003 ).
The franchise was rebooted in 2011 with a television series of the same name starring Minka Kelly, Annie Ilonzeh and Rachael Taylor, but was canceled after just seven episodes.
Another film reboot for Charlie’s Angels was released in 2019 and stars Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott and Ella Balinska. But after less than stellar box office numbers, the studio opted not to make a sequel.
With I Want To Matter: Your Life Is Too Short And Too Precious To Waste, Gifford is on a mission to remind people of what is important in their lives.
“I hope it’s a blessing for everyone. It’s a sweet little book,” Gifford said Peoplewhile also sharing how she believes humanity has taken a major turn.
‘People feel hopeless right now. They feel terribly hopeless. They are afraid. I have never seen so much fear in my life,” she said of the state of the world.
Although her career as an actress never earned her A-list status, Giffords did become a successful talk show host with Live! With Regis and Kathie Lee (1985-2000) with Regis Philbin
Gifford also had a successful run as co-host of NBC’s Today show (2008-2019) with Hoda Kotb, as well as being a New York Times bestselling author.
“When I was growing up, cruelty was rare,” Gifford added. “And it just broke your heart and you cried at these stories on the news about cruelty. What is rare are stories of kindness. There is cruelty every minute. We have everything wrong now. We need to get back to what really matters.”
Her new self-help book is a follow-up to the New York Times bestseller It’s Never Too Late: Make The Next Act Of Your Life The Best Act Of Your Life (2020).
Over the years, Gifford has published seven other biographical novels, two cookbooks, three Christian faith novels, and six children’s books.
She is best known for co-hosting the talk show Live! Starring Regis and Kathie Lee (1985–2000) alongside Regis Philbin, and as co-host of NBC’s Today show (2008–2019) with Hoda Kotb.
