All Photos: Alan Mercer Lighting: Eric V.
Mike Pingel created CharliesAngels.com in October 1996. The site was quickly picked as the site of the day by Yahoo! and WebTV. Since then, the site has kept fans updated on the current works of the actresses and all the information a Charlie's Angels fan could want.
The web site has been featured on countless TV shows like 'Access Hollywood,' 'Inside Edition' and many more. It has also been seen in the pages of 'Entertainment Weekly,' 'USA Today,' 'Wall Street Journal,' 'Los Angeles Magazine,' 'Los Angeles Daily News,' 'Hollywood Independent,' 'USA Today Online' and 'TV Guide Online.'
Mike was called upon during preparation for the 2000 Charlie's Angels movie as a consultant with producers Leonard Goldberg and Drew Barrymore and director McG. He can also be viewed in the commentary section of 'Charlie's Angels: The Complete First Season' on DVD.
Mike is an avid collector of 'Charlie's Angels' memorabilia. His collection includes rare items such as the original Harry's Angels script, a Charlie's Angels pinball machine, Charlie's Angels dolls, dresses, make-up sets and much, much more. His collection includes over 2,000 cool angel items including the famous Farrah Fawcett "Red Swimsuit" poster.
Mike Pingel was Farrah Fawcett’s personal assistant from 2005-2007. He ran Farrah Fawcett's official website and continues to run Cheryl Ladd & Tanya Roberts official websites. He was with Kate, Farrah & Jaclyn when they made their appearance on the 2006 Emmy Awards show.
Mike was in Farrah Fawcett’s hit reality show, 'Chasing Farrah.' As an actor Mike Pingel has appeared in: Marc Anthony’s 'Ahora Quien' music video, 'American Most Wanted,' 'Unsolved Mysteries,' 'A Few Good Men' and more.
He also released 'The Q Guide to Charlie's Angels' in 2008 which Tanya Roberts wrote the foreword. Other books he has written include 'The Q Guide to Wonder Woman' in 2008, 'The Brady Bunch: Super Groovy After All These Years' in 2009 and 'Works of Pingel' in 2010. He has also written articles for 'TVGuide.com,' 'E! Online,' 'Examiner.com,' 'Hollywoodfyi.com,' and 'Frontiers Magazine.'
AM: Mike, first and foremost you are an actor correct?
MP: Yes that's why I moved to Los Angeles.
AM: Where did you come from?
MP: My father was in the army and we traveled all around the world. I graduated from American University in Washington D.C. and then I came out here. I was actually on the set of 'A Few Good Men' being a stand in.
AM: So you've been in LA for a while.
MP: Since 1992. I've been blessed with some great work that has come to me.
AM: The fact that you're still here says a lot!
MP: Well I do other things. I've done some PR and I've written some books.
AM: That's one of the things I wanted to talk to you about. What was your first book?
MP: My first book was 'Angelic Heaven: The Fan Guide to Charlie's Angels' that took ten years to get published. We are revamping it so hopefully by this fall the revamp will happen.
AM: Is this due to a renewed interest in 'Charlie's Angels'?
MP: Yes with the new series and some new things have happened but also the original publisher screwed up a whole bunch of stuff. There are some things I would like to have corrected.
AM: What was your second book?
MP: I was hired for three books for Alyson books and the second one was 'The Q Guide To Charlie's Angels.' It was basically a gay look at 'Charlie's Angels.' It's just a fun look at the show with fun facts. After that I did 'The Q Guide to Wonder Woman' which was such a fun book to do. I got to learn all about 'Wonder Woman.' The whole book is an homage to Lynda Carter. It should be called the Lynda Carter book! There is a great story about how the show got on the air and CBS didn't want it then ABC wanted it. Then ABC ran it for a season and didn't want it so CBS ultimately got it.
AM: Then you wrote the book on 'The Brady Bunch'? Is there a gay angle to that show?
MP: There was but I ended up taking it out and I should have left it in because it was a lot funnier. I just didn't know if people would get the humor. There were just some things that I didn't know for sure with the general public. I actually feel like I did some disservice to my book. I just think it could have been funnier.
AM: So you are a natural comedian.
MP: Yes I think I'm kind of funny! I think...I don't know. People think I'm funny.
AM: You are funny! Did you write the books before or after working as an assistant to Farrah Fawcett?
MP: 'Angelic Heaven' came out while I was working with Farrah and she wrote the forward for it and so did Cheryl Ladd. Farrah gave me a lot of photos for the book.
AM: In the show 'Chasing Farrah' when she meets you on the street, was that set up?
MP: No, we had only met once before and that was at her book signing at the LA Museum and it was really brief. With 'Chasing Farrah' we knew she was coming and they did drop by and it just happened.
AM: She says she wants to see your collection. Did she do it?
MP: Yes she did. She is the only Angel that has come to my home to see the collection. They came a couple months after the taping. She was here for a couple hours and that's when I became her assistant.
AM: That is so unlikely! Are you aware of that?
MP: Yes it is unlikely. I didn't even want to take the job. They had asked me to go in for an interview and I thought yes I want to go for the interview so I can see her home and see her again but I had no plans to take the job. It's hard to have iconic TV stars and know them intimately. It's a scary thing. I thought there was no way I'm taking that job. I don't even want to be her assistant. It would bust my whole idea of who Farrah was.
AM: But it didn't ruin anything did it?
MP: No, my best friend Charlene Tilton, from the show 'Dallas' said, "You have to take the job!" She's the one who made me take the job for six months. I thought, "OK fine!" I was there for two years. We stayed good friends after I left.
AM: Why did you leave?
MP: To write my books. I needed to move on and she knew I needed to move on.
AM: She supported you moving on?
MP: Yes she did.
AM: Was she already diagnosed at this time?
MP: Yes I was in the room when she was told she had cancer. The real kindness of Farrah is she was worried about how it was affecting me. I was in shock and wondering what just happened. Of course her life changed and my life changed at that instant. That was Farrah. She cared more about what I was going through than what was going through her at that moment. It sank in and we got through it but it was really hard.
AM: Is this how you met the other Angels?
MP: No I had met Cheryl before when she did a book signing and I had been friends with her since 1996. I do her web site. Then I was working in PR when Tanya Roberts was on 'That 70's Show' and I helped promote that. I was with Kate Jackson and Jaclyn Smith at the Emmy's.
AM: I saw that!
MP: I've been really close with Kate now. I see Jaclyn all the time but she's busy with her empire. She created an empire with K Mart and in the beginning people were laughing at her, but she's the one who's laughing all the way to the bank now. It's great to see that she turned her love of decorating into a multi-million dollar business. She makes great clothes and people really enjoy them.
AM: I know that Cheryl Ladd is your favorite. Do you get a chance to work with her?
MP: I do work with her. I do her web site and we have a good rapport. Her husband adores me and I adore him. We all adore each other. I've stayed at their house and had a good time. We're just good buds and I love her.
AM: Are there more books in you?
MP: Yes! I'm writing a book on Betty White right now.
AM: Are you writing it because she's so popular right now?
MP: Yes one of my old editors has a new gig and they wanted a Betty White book. They told me they love how I work and they love my writing.
AM: Does Betty White know about this?
MP: I have not reached out to her yet, but it's happening. It's all about her life and it's all positive. It's a fun book that will look at all her characters. The woman has taken her celebrity and helped people and animals all around the world from the very beginning. She's such an advocate for everything. She's an amazing person who at 89 is still working.
AM: Do you receive a lot of emails asking you questions about all these people?
MP: Yes, mostly 'Charlie's Angels' because of charliesangels.com and the number one question is when is 'Charlie's Angels Season 5' coming out on DVD?
AM: Do you know anything?
MP: Hopefully with the new series starting it will get out.
AM: Is there anything else you are longing to do?
MP: I may possibly do a Farrah book about our relationship. It would be a fun look at our antics. I remember when we were hanging out and something would happen and I'd say, "That's going in my book" and she'd say, "No it's going in my book." We'd laugh about it!
AM: Obviously part of your destiny is to continue and enhance her legacy.
MP: I hope so. She was a dear, dear person and I hope I do right by her in everything I do. She was a wonderful caring person who cared about everybody. Her fight with cancer was to stay with her father and her son who were the lights of her life. They were the people that she loved the most out of everyone in her life. She had great Southern charm but all the Angels have Southern charm. They are all very sweet. Kate and Jaclyn miss her a lot. It's hard. It doesn't even feel like she's gone. I feel like she's in Germany and hasn't returned my phone call.
To learn more about Mike Pingel check out his web site http://www.mikepingel.com/index.html
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