Stars of the 1970s: Where Are They Now?

In order to chase her dreams of acting, Kate Jackson ended up dropping out of the University of Mississippi and joined the American Academy of Dramatic Art. In 1971, she locked down her first role on the TV show Dark Shadows. This was followed by a recurring role for four straight seasons on the show The Rookies. As the 70s went on, Jackson starred in a handful of movies and eventually hit the big time with 1975's Charlie's Angels.

Shockingly, the project was originally about the cult leader Charles Manson. Harold Ramis and Douglas Kenney wrote it about Manson's high school escapades. The script was immediately rejected, despite reportedly being hilarious. The president of Universal Studios then, Thom Mount, brought John Landis onboard to supervise a rewrite. Landis focused the plot around the clash between the frat and the dean of students and, despite only having directed B-movies, was offered the job of directing once the screenplay was done.

Despite the partying cast and his reputation for substance abuse, John Belushi was sober throughout the production of the movie. He and his wife, Judy, stayed in a suburban house far away from the temptation of the motel party. He managed to stay clean, even though he needed to deal with the stress of flying back to New York every week to make SNL. John Landis said Belushi wanted to succeed in his first film role so bad that he didn't want to think about any substances.

Many of those who made the film such a success were well-connected with some of the biggest comedic names of the day. Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, and Chevy Chase - all of whom had close working relationships with Belushi, Ramis, Landis, and Reitman - were offered parts in the movie. They all turned it down because of scheduling conflicts, which Landis later said was for the best. He was glad it didn't turn into an "SNL movie" and they all worked together on successful movies like The Blues Brothers and Ghostbusters.

The cast thought it would be a good idea to get in the frame of mind by attending a real frat party. They were invited by a group of girls to a mixer hosted by a "wealthy jock fraternity," but some college football players called them offensive things and actor James Widdoes (Hoover) threw a drink at them. Bruce McGill (D-Day) got a black eye and Widdoes lost some teeth. The frat was lucky Belushi wasn't at the party because he had to be restrained after finding out what happened, vowing revenge.