Episode Twelve: Angels on Wheels

Wheeling out of control, it's this week's breakdown!

S1E12: "Angels on Wheels."

Chris skates ahead and takes the lead in this episode, which has: 

Bosley

Beefy managers

Burt Reynolds

Betty (please...pick up)

Bits of Bewitched

Bedknobs & Broomsticks

Breakneck (literally) moves

And bombs

What more could you want?

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Transcript

SPEAKER_07 0:00

Heads up, Angels. While our podcast is suitable for all ages, keep in mind these episodes were produced in a different era and may include scenes of danger, crime, or themes some listeners may find sensitive or outdated. When doing our rewatch, we do our very best to discuss everything with care, context, and compassion, and always with a love for the show and respect for our listeners.

SPEAKER_04 0:29

Last time on Good Morning Charlie, send us a message from somewhere beyond.

SPEAKER_07 0:36

And coming up.

SPEAKER_06 1:14

Who the hell are you? And here with me, as always, is Chris Berryman.

SPEAKER_04 1:20

I can't help it that I'm popular.

SPEAKER_07 1:22

We're gonna talk about season one, episode twelve, Angels on Wheels. We've got Angels in Now we have Angels on Wheels.

SPEAKER_06 1:35

Do we get any more angels on anything? Is it on a plane?

unknown 1:39

Is it a bee?

SPEAKER_07 1:40

Look, I'm just the talent and the brains behind this. You're the Angels on Ghosts. I'll tell you how I am. Thank you for asking earlier. I've been wondering about Chuck Maggione all day. He's been on my mind.

SPEAKER_00 1:54

And I believe I can't believe the stuff that is not, I can't believe it's not butter. Is not, I can't believe it's not butter. And I can't believe that both I can't believe it's not butter, and the stuff that I can't believe is not, I can't believe it's not butter, are both in fact not butter.

SPEAKER_07 2:12

He played multiple instruments, but he became famous with that one song he did, and he played the flugelhorn. Does that sound right? What's a flugelhorn? Your musical.

SPEAKER_06 2:24

I'm not so sure that it exists.

SPEAKER_07 2:25

Yeah, you're musical. You sing in a choir.

SPEAKER_06 2:28

I do sing, yes, that is right. He played the trumpet. He is well known for. Yeah, but on Feel So Good, which was You are absolutely right, an American Flugelhorn player.

SPEAKER_07 2:37

Why do you I know he played a flute, so I'm asking you if you know what a flugelhorn is.

SPEAKER_06 2:41

I'm gonna assume it is like a type of trumpet.

SPEAKER_07 2:44

Okay, well, I've been this has been a burden all day long. And I thought maybe because you're musical you would know what a flugelhorn is. So how am I, Colby? I'm frustrated. How are you?

SPEAKER_06 2:55

You can't look up the things you aren't aware of.

SPEAKER_07 2:57

Well, I haven't had time because my life is devoted to this pod.

SPEAKER_06 3:01

I see. I am fine, except for the fact all I've heard all day long is the sounds of trees being cut down. Every hour or so there's a very large thud that shakes the house. So that's lovely.

SPEAKER_07 3:15

Have you been outside to move something valuable into the path of the tree?

SPEAKER_06 3:19

I have not.

SPEAKER_07 3:20

The Olympics are over, right?

SPEAKER_06 3:22

Are they over?

SPEAKER_07 3:23

I wonder if there's a flugelhorn competition.

SPEAKER_01 3:32

Are you holding things farther and farther away in order to see clearly? Well, if you are, don't worry, you're not alone. Millions of us have trouble focusing up close. It's a natural eye condition called presbyopia, and fortunately, the solution is simple. So have an eye exam today and stop living life at arm's length.

SPEAKER_07 3:53

Today's assignment, Angels on Wheels, is the episode Brave Enough to Ask, what if we Charlie's angel did a bit? But added roller derby.

SPEAKER_04 4:02

Your daddy is about to come in here and tell you that he thinks it's okay for you to go off and play roller derby.

SPEAKER_07 4:08

Fresh from your production dossier, here is your case briefing. We already know Jill is a tennis player, a competitive swimmer, especially in Mexico, an expert skateboarder, and now she's a skilled roller skater.

SPEAKER_06 4:23

The Angels are fancy too.

SPEAKER_07 4:26

Well, she can do everything. Again, as I said in an earlier episode, word is for a faucet end and I begin. The Angels are hired by Barbara Jason, a name that'll come back, to investigate the death of her older sister, Karen. Karen's a member of a local roller derby team, and she was killed when she went over the rails, we've all been there, and broke her neck during a match. Karen believes this was no accident. There are a few suspects. Karen had a boyfriend, Joe Esposito, who Karen believed was into shady business. The coach, Tony Rizzo, seemed awfully close to another skater, Betty. The owner, Hugh Morris, and then insurance agent Jessica Farmer, who manages the owner, Hugh Morris's insurance business, his little side hustle. Can Bosley and the Angels solve the murder before Jill meets the very same fate as Karen. The recurring theme of this episode is another MacGuffin. This time it's a suitcase.

SPEAKER_06 5:30

Here is the super secret intel from behind the scenes. This episode originally aired on December 22nd, 1976.

SPEAKER_07 5:39

Kobe, do you know what it still is?

SPEAKER_06 5:42

It is somehow still 1976. Our nation's bicentennial. This episode is directed by Richard Benedict, actor and director, on and for mini pod faves, including two episodes of Charlie's Angels, this one, and the previously covered The Killing Kind. There is no Alfred Hitchcock or Dark Shadows connections we could find, but he did have an uncredited role in Disney's TV series Zorro, which makes Chris very happy. I love that man.

SPEAKER_09 6:16

Gabe Zorro, the consulting ring.

SPEAKER_06 6:33

Charles Saylor, Jack Fogarty. We've talked about uh Rick Husky before. Charles Saylor is also an actor and director, much like Richard Benedict. Jack Fogarty passed away just recently in 2023. He wrote for lots of pod favorites, including five episodes of Charlie's Angels. Four we have already covered, and this episode. A fun fact. Would you like a fun fact?

SPEAKER_07 7:02

You know I'm sitting on the go for a fun fact.

SPEAKER_06 7:05

This episode gives us the iconic opening credit scene of Jacqueline Smith running away from her Mustang, and then back towards it. Another fun fact, if you can stomach it.

SPEAKER_07 7:17

I want more. Well, I know that your stomach's been a little queasy recently, so I was queasy, you guys, the other day. I had one beer at this local brewery, and I won't name it, but one beer, Colby, it was even a craft beer. It was one of those six-ounce craft beers, and so already I was mad because there wasn't more beer. And I drank that beer and instantly got sick.

SPEAKER_06 7:39

Kelly is comparing one of the episode's characters, uh, the apartment manager Red Loomis, to Burt Reynolds, a reference to Bert Reynolds' almost nude 1972 spread and Cosmo, which we can post in our stories. We are gonna post a picture of that. Is it the same one that I'm thinking of with like a um animal skin fur carpet or something?

SPEAKER_07 8:06

Yes, but he did others where he showed full hiney. That's the medical word for it. She's a doctor now.

SPEAKER_06 8:17

One of the characters.

SPEAKER_07 8:18

Get to this one, get to this one. I'm really excited about this one.

SPEAKER_06 8:21

One of the characters, uh a suspect, in this episode is named Joe Esposito. This is the actual name of an actual person, the a singer, manager, and author. He was Elvis's personal assistant and best man at his wedding. He worked with the Carpenters, who I absolutely loved, the BGs, who I absolutely love, Michael Jackson, he famously sang a duet, Heaven Knows, a wonderful song, with Donna Summer. And Chris got to see him do back up and sing Heaven Knows with Donna Summer in 2007.

SPEAKER_07 9:01

2007. Here's the story.

SPEAKER_06 9:04

Picture it.

SPEAKER_10 9:05

Sicily, 1922.

SPEAKER_07 9:08

There I was in Orlando. Donna Summer came through. I had great seats, maybe tenth row. She said, Everybody, this show almost didn't happen. First of all, I fell down and I really hurt my back. That's why I'm not moving around a lot. I almost canceled. Then one of my backup singers, one of them got sick, so I called in my sister. Everybody, this is my sister, blah, blah, blah. And everybody clapped. And then my male backup singer got delayed, so we almost had to cancel. But I got my good friend to fly in just for this show, Joe Esposito. Because Joe is here, ladies and gentlemen, here is Heaven Knows. And they launched right into Heaven Knows. And I just urinated freely all over myself.

SPEAKER_06 9:54

I really do love this song. I thought that it was Barry White singing with her.

SPEAKER_07 10:02

I can't talk to you when you're like this.

SPEAKER_06 10:05

Well, we'll be moving on. Guest Star Alert. Speaking of the character Red Loomis, he was played by Steve Sander, famous for his voice work in Fire and Ice in 1983, two episodes of Charlie's Angels, this one and season two, episode 18, The Sandcastle Murders. Tons of pod faves, including the original Star Trek. The next guest star is very well known Dick Sargent. He plays the owner of the team. We will see him in more episodes. Season three opener Angels in Vegas and season four opener Love Boat Angels. Dick Sargent is famous for being the second Darren and Bewitched. He played him in 84 episodes out of 254. Dick Sargent was actually the first choice for Darren, but couldn't take it because of contract obligations. Sadly, he passed away in 1994 due to prostate cancer. Famously came out as gay at a time when it was not easy to do so. Elizabeth Montgomery marched in Pride Parades with him and went to fundraising events and spoke out related to gay rights well before most celebrities of her time. She actually sat with Dick Sargent pretty much like on his deathbed because they were so close. We have a couple of location alerts. The roller derby arena is the Hollywood Palladium, used by ABC and Aaron Spelling frequently. It is still around and on the National Register for Historic Places. Same.

SPEAKER_07 12:04

As are my exteriors. No, I just wanted everyone to know that was not on a back lot. That was an actual marina.

SPEAKER_06 12:20

Right. It was real water. Can you believe they didn't put that in the back lot?

SPEAKER_07 12:24

In Long Beach, California, a marina still in existence today. You can go to that marina, and then you can toss a net over a Nair Duel airline pilot, and everyone wins.

SPEAKER_06 12:39

The pool scenes are once again filmed at the home of Aaron Spelling.

SPEAKER_07 12:43

No jury would convict me.

SPEAKER_05 12:45

And immediately we were like, she is so brave and beautiful.

SPEAKER_07 12:50

Before we begin the rundown of today's assignment, here are some quick, classified details you need to know. Number one, real roller derby teams, Colby, I thought this was really cool, were not used. The production on this episode mixed stunt skaters with actresses because the insurance was cheaper that way. And Jill's training montage was written into the script in order to provide rehearsal time for Farrah Fawcett and footage and rehearsal time for the stunt team and justify it in the budget. And if you'll notice, the camera crew worked in some 16 millimeter handheld shots to give the episode the authenticity of on the field, on the playing field of live sports coverage. And on that note, let's take a break, Colby, while I have a little drinky.

SPEAKER_08 13:44

Sunday, a double feature presentation. These girls used to be cocked. Now they're Charlie's Angels. Money, murder, and mystery, they're in it up to their private eyes. They're Charlie's Angels. Then, against the most innocent of women, he commits the most ungodly of crimes. Robert Stack hunts the most wanted. Charlie's Angels, most wanted. Tonight at 9, 8 Central on ABC.

SPEAKER_06 14:13

We are back, everybody, and Chris is going to move us to the debrief.

SPEAKER_07 14:18

The Angels are hired by Barbara Jason, we mentioned her earlier, who believes her sister Karen, the roller derby skater, was murdered during a match that had been rolled an accident. Karen was recently involved with an ex-con, Joe Esposito. Not the singer, who disappeared after obsessing over a mysterious MacGuffin. I mean suitcase. Jill goes undercover as a new skater. She's posing as Karen's real life younger sister, Barbara, coming in to take her sister's place. Kelly's role is to search Karen's apartment for clues, or maybe even that suitcase. And Sabrina is going to pose as a California state insurance investigator because they know the owner, played by Dick Sargent, has this insurance company side hustle.

SPEAKER_06 15:11

This is not the first time, uh, even in season one, we have seen uh a sister come in worried about their sibling. Both cases, it's another sister. This will happen again in future episodes.

SPEAKER_07 15:25

I worry about my sister. You know, my sister I interviewed for Angels in Chains. Do you know why I worry about my sister? Not because of a roller derby, but because her ass is old and gets up on a ladder and cleans out her gutters. She's gonna fall into a hollybush and break a hip.

SPEAKER_05 15:41

She is so brave and beautiful.

SPEAKER_07 15:46

So Jill, posing as Barbara, the younger sister, meets team owner Hugh Morris, Dick Sergeant, and learns not only does he own the tornadoes, the roller derby, and not only the insurance company, but car dealerships.

SPEAKER_03 16:00

You uh you mind if I look you over?

SPEAKER_02 16:03

Oh no. One owner, low mileage, clean.

SPEAKER_07 16:10

Sabrina's investigation takes her to Hugh's insurance company and she meets the manager. Okay, huh?

SPEAKER_06 16:20

She's the president of the insurance company.

SPEAKER_07 16:22

You know what? A cat can have kittens in the oven, but that don't mean you get the call biscuits. Manager president, she's the boss, is what matters.

SPEAKER_06 16:31

She sure is the boss. Oh, that's right. Um, this woman who um plays the president, I believe she was in an earlier episode, uh, The Killing Kind, when Jill introduces herself as a tennis player and speaks with um one of the teachers at the resort. He kind of like insinuates he's leaving with the owner's wife, and you see a very like um thin woman with black hair. I think it is this actress with a different wig on.

SPEAKER_07 17:09

Did you look that up?

SPEAKER_06 17:10

No, because it wasn't credited in the episode.

SPEAKER_07 17:13

Huh. It wasn't on IMDB or anything.

SPEAKER_06 17:16

That's where I would have looked it up.

SPEAKER_07 17:17

Okay, how about you calm down? You need a clean each skater has a huge insurance policy. Not payable to the family, but payable to the team. Since Hugh owns both the team and the insurance company, every injury benefits him. While this is happening, Kelly's role is to break into Karen's apartment and look for clues. She's observed by the apartments, a beefy, hairy manager man who is almost as beefy and hairy as the bodyguard in the Mexican connection. Delightful He catches Kelly, and she recovers and states, Hey, I'm a writer from Women's View magazine. This is a this is a fictional magazine. We, the audience, are supposed to equate with Cosmopolitan. Did you catch that, Colby?

SPEAKER_06 18:11

Women's View? Uh, I mean, it has a very generic name. I don't know that I would have um aligned it with Cosmo.

SPEAKER_07 18:20

Well, we do eventually because she tries to throw him off guard by comparing him to Burt Reynolds and that centerfold spread. And that's when we, the audience, really get it. She says she had permission and the key to enter the apartment from Karen's sister. And my stars, isn't the manager handsome and sexy, she says. And my stars, wouldn't this hairy manager make a good centerfold, she says.

SPEAKER_03 18:46

My stars. And I'll bet you meet a lot of interesting people, too. I'm always interested in meeting interesting people.

SPEAKER_06 18:54

She lays it on pretty sick.

SPEAKER_10 18:56

What's your name?

SPEAKER_06 18:58

Red Loomis.

SPEAKER_10 19:00

You know, Red, I think you'd make a great stud of the month. You make Bert Reynolds look like one of the seven dwarves.

SPEAKER_07 19:09

During this scene, the actor playing Red Loomis totally, by the way, Blooper mispronounces Gloria Stinem's name and they leave it in.

SPEAKER_06 19:18

What did he say? I thought he said Gloria Steinem.

SPEAKER_07 19:20

He said Gloria Styman.

SPEAKER_06 19:23

Oh, I didn't catch that.

SPEAKER_07 19:24

Yeah. But he's a there's another Cosmo thing. Really, the main thing of interest, all that matters is Kelly is there, weasels her way in, weasels her way out, and discovers a baggage check ticket in the apartment. And this catches her attention because if you remember at the start of the episode, Karen's real life sister Barbara was telling the angels Karen's boyfriend Joe Espazita. Going on and on and on about a suitcase before he disappeared. Now, could this ticket actually lead to the suitcase? We'll find out after our break.

SPEAKER_08 20:08

From the producers of Starsky and Hutch, Charlie's Angels. They work for me. My name is Charlie. Meet Jill, Kelly, and Sabrina, tempting angels who could capture any man. Charlie's Angels.

SPEAKER_06 20:26

And we are back. Chris, just to make sure everyone is on track.

SPEAKER_07 20:31

Yes, sir.

SPEAKER_06 20:32

Our client is Sister Karen Jason. Nope, it's Barbara. Nope, Barbara Jason.

SPEAKER_07 20:40

I'm glad we made that clear.

SPEAKER_06 20:42

She believes her sister's death is not accidental. Murder. There was talk of an ex-boyfriend or a current boyfriend that might have some shady business dealings.

SPEAKER_07 20:54

But not with Donna Summer. He'd never met her.

SPEAKER_06 21:00

Uh there's a suitcase that Kelly is about to retrieve because she got the baggage check ticket from uh the deceased sister's apartment.

SPEAKER_07 21:11

She knocked it over with a bunch of stuff.

SPEAKER_06 21:13

And we know Dick Sargent is playing the owner of the Derby team. He owns a car lot.

SPEAKER_07 21:23

Yeah, a bunch of them.

SPEAKER_06 21:24

And he also owns an insurance company. But that is ran by Jessica Farmer.

SPEAKER_07 21:31

It is run by Jessica Farmer. Not to be confused with Jessica Fletcher, who a decade later would be solving mysteries in Cabot Cove, Maine.

SPEAKER_06 21:41

She could solve this in five minutes.

SPEAKER_07 21:43

I'll tell you what, both TV series were filmed on the Universal Backlot.

SPEAKER_06 21:48

I believe that.

SPEAKER_07 21:49

Do you know that Cabot Cove, a lot of the scenes, they used that little town in the Jaws ride?

SPEAKER_06 21:54

No, did they?

SPEAKER_07 21:56

Uh huh. At Universal.

SPEAKER_06 21:57

Oh my god, one of my favorite Universal rides. All right.

SPEAKER_07 22:00

Now that I've led Colby on a voyage of self-discovery, he should have already known. Let's get back to what's going on in the show.

SPEAKER_05 22:07

I'm no Jessica Fletcher, but I know when I'm being followed.

SPEAKER_07 22:11

Here's an interesting twist. As Kelly narrowly escapes, the beefy manager is suspicious, and he calls the insurance lady president. They've got a connection. He says, Hey, a reporter was snooping around Karen's apartment asking about Joe Esposito, not the singer.

SPEAKER_09 22:29

Please don't take your girlfriend. Please don't take your girlfriend.

SPEAKER_07 22:32

He copied down Kelly's license plate number. But Jessica goes bonkers when the beefy manager tells her Kelly got away with some generic luggage ticket he saw. As Kelly is on her way to pick up the luggage at Baggage Claim, and we discover it's a bus terminal baggage claim. Bonsley calls her on her absolutely impossible car phone that did not exist to let her know they found Joe Esposito. He is, guess where? Dead in a who ditch.

unknown 23:16

You need to leave.

SPEAKER_07 23:17

Didn't your mother well not my mother because she didn't care about me? But like mothers always, I'm worried you're gonna die in a ditch. Kelly is on her way to the location of baggage claim in downtown LA, and Jessica sends one of her henchmen there, intercept Kelly and the claim ticket, and how they all hope find the MacGuffin suitcase at this bus station.

SPEAKER_06 23:38

So this henchman is played by Taylor Locker, who we will see again in season two, episode eight. The Taylor was born April 2nd, 1942, in Pittsburgh, Kansas. He has been in pod faves such as The Rookies, Six Million Dollar Man, Bionic Woman, Incredible Hulk, Chips, Dynasty, and Knot's Landing.

SPEAKER_07 24:03

Jessica's henchman is there, and under orders from Jessica, he places a big fat wad of explosives under Kelly's car and runs away. Kelly's Well, that was weird. Very That was a lot. Kelly comes out of the bus terminal, suitcase in hand, hops in the car. What's in the suitcase, Colby? Well, that's a bunch of money wrapped in poor grammar labels. And fake license after fake license, we'll put a picture of that in. And fake license of one of the skaters we've not really met, but who's been referenced, Betty.

SPEAKER_02 24:39

Betty, please pick up your talking to that. Lufty Lufty.

SPEAKER_07 25:01

But why does Girl need five driver's licenses? Kelly on her fake car phone calls Charlie. He tells her there's a bomb in her car. Pull over, get out of there now.

SPEAKER_10 25:13

I'm gonna take a little money, Charlie, and five money for me.

SPEAKER_07 25:24

Kelly speeds to a somewhat remote location, runs out, forgets the suitcase, runs back, gets it, and the car explodes. Now, Colby.

SPEAKER_06 25:36

I know exactly what you're gonna say.

SPEAKER_07 25:39

But Colby, you know what I'm about to ask you. One, how did Charlie know there was a bomb? And two, how did he know when Kelly ran away the first time? He didn't drive. He didn't get the suitcase. So he screamed over the speakerphone of the big car.

SPEAKER_06 25:58

Good running away from the car.

SPEAKER_07 26:01

But I don't even see that doesn't even enter my mind because it everything else is so ludicrous. It's so ludicrous, everything.

SPEAKER_02 26:08

The suitcase, Angel, the suitcase.

SPEAKER_06 26:11

She's maybe 10, 15 feet away, which, like you said before, is um the image we get in the opening credits. Um he's gotta have either he has eyes on her or he's got somebody watching out. There is absolutely no way he could have known otherwise.

SPEAKER_07 26:31

Big scene change, big twist. Jill is approached by Betty and Jessica. Remember, Betty's the roller derby skater. We haven't really seen much, but has a bunch of false IDs. Jessica is the insurance president. They believe Jill could be motivated by money because her sister was. Kind of. They revealed a big operation. They stage derby quote unquote accidents. A corrupt doctor confirms a serious injury that doesn't exist. Insurance pays the team, and the skater and Betty get a cut. Betty orchestrates all the accidents using her multiple identities for police reports, and Jessica personally processes all the insurance payouts. The angels in Bosley and the LAPD rush to the Derby arena. There's a match underway. During the match, Betty attempts to throw Jill into the stands to kill her, mirroring the quote unquote accident Karen had. The angels and the police intervene, they expose the insurance fraud murder scheme, and all the conspirators are arrested. Thankfully, Hugh, sweet little Dick Sergeant, was oblivious to all of this. And as a big thank you to the Angels, he replaces Kelly's car with the exact same make and model, saving both the day and all the previously recorded B-roll footage. Whew!

SPEAKER_06 28:08

That was really nice of him.

SPEAKER_07 28:09

That really thinking about the studio in ABC, that was Angels on Wheels.

SPEAKER_06 28:16

Okay, so I have a few things to say. Then with a long sigh, she's back. At the beginning of the episode, when um the derby match is happening and she is kind of like thrown off the rink, the henchman, like it is not that dark in there. Granted, the camera is very close, but like, how did no one see him snap her neck and then leave? Flee immediately.

SPEAKER_09 28:49

I don't know.

SPEAKER_06 28:51

And secondly, Jessica Farmer's wig, the amount of hair that seems attached to her head, like it is enormous. I will say that um for the actress, I think that she did a really good job. To me, like she comes across as like a viper.

SPEAKER_07 29:18

And that wasn't a total wig. That hairstyle at the time, again, I was there. But you're so old.

SPEAKER_06 29:26

I believe it was a hairstyle. It just like that's a lot of hair.

SPEAKER_07 29:30

It so, okay, grown-ups are talking. That hairstyle at the time involved mixing in a piece with your real hair. So that big tuft on the back and up underneath was a piece you just clipped in.

SPEAKER_06 29:45

It looked in.

SPEAKER_07 29:46

It was a lot of hair.

SPEAKER_06 29:49

So earlier, uh, we got a mispronunciation of Gloria Steinem's name.

SPEAKER_07 29:56

Sure did.

SPEAKER_06 29:57

I'm I'm going to give just a little bit of information about Gloria Steinem. It is not going to do her justice. I'm so sorry. That would be a completely separate podcast. She was born on March 25th in 1934. Uh, Gloria Steinem is an American journalist and social political activist who emerged as a nationally recognized leader of the second-wave feminism in the United States in the late 1960s and early 70s. She co-founded Miss Magazine in 1972. It became a vital platform for feminist ideas, publishing groundbreaking articles and reaching millions, and remains influential today. I wanted to include that considering we were talking about Women's View magazine. Organizational leadership, uh, she helped create the National Women's Political Caucus in 1971 to elect pro-equality women, uh, the Miss Foundation for Women in 1972 to support grassroots efforts and the Women's Media Center in 2005 that challenges media uh stereotypes. Excuse me. Her journalism and activism brought her a lot of recognition, and she became a leading speaker and organizer for gender equality, reproductive freedom, as well as racial justice. She also helped implement Take Our Daughters to Work Day, that is an annual event promoting career awareness and empowerment for girls. She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Obama in 2013 for her contributions to feminism and equality. Again, that does not do her justice, all of the wonderful work that she has done. Uh to me, uh very important to include a little bit of information on her, considering uh the era, of course, that the show was made in, uh, and its, you know, contributions uh towards these same goals. I also have a little bit of information on the roller derby. When do you think roller derby started?

SPEAKER_07 32:27

Oh, I think it started way back. I think it was part of exhibitions and things for the world's fair events and state fairs, maybe like in the late 1800s.

SPEAKER_06 32:39

Okay.

SPEAKER_07 32:40

When did it start?

SPEAKER_06 32:42

It actually started in the 1930s during the Great Depression. Leo Seltzer, a Chicago-based sports promoter, is credited with inventing roller derby in the 30s. Cool. The idea came to him after he read an article stating that over 90% of Americans had roller skated at least once. He determined that culturally, America was primed to accept a sport like roller derby. So Seltzer began in the form of endurance races. These would be multi-day tournaments in which two, often comprised of a man and a woman, took turns continuously skating laps around a banked wooden track for cash prizes.

SPEAKER_07 33:34

I would love to skate for a cash prize. Colby, can we skate for cash prizes?

SPEAKER_06 33:41

Do what?

SPEAKER_07 33:42

Can we skate for pr for cash prizes?

SPEAKER_06 33:44

I think I think that we can. I think we'll get um some type of coin that's actually only for the business and can't be spent anywhere else. Uh spectators really enjoy the falls and the pile-ups as skaters attempted to lap each other. So in 1938, uh sports writer Damon Runyan approached Seltzer, suggesting he focused on the violence. The Derby has been more of an inclusive sport than almost any other sport. The leagues were always co-ed, also welcoming openly gay players and all ethnicities. Wow. Uh-huh. Each game was played by men and women in alternating periods, with their combined scores determining the winner. Roller Derby women remained some of the highest paid female athletes for decades, often earning$25,000 to$30,000 a year. Wow. I mean, that's still a lot, like in the 50s and 60s. That is a lot of money. By 1969, roller derby had evolved into a full context team sport. By the mid-70s, it was mostly over. Um, it kind of changed from being a like bought team to volunteer where you pay to play.

SPEAKER_09 35:23

We have paid for play contract.

SPEAKER_06 35:26

That is just a little bit of background on how roller derby got started.

SPEAKER_07 35:30

That was Angels on Wheels, everybody. Now, much like Jewels in Chains, we are gonna have a special mini-so drop. We're gonna interview a real live, honest to goodness female roller derby goddess and queen who has slayed and conquered. I'm super excited about you meeting her. Her name's Morgan, and we've been friends for years.

SPEAKER_06 35:53

Morgan, how many bruises have you caused?

SPEAKER_07 35:57

And then she'll punch me and say, Well, one today.

SPEAKER_06 36:01

I bet she will.

SPEAKER_07 36:02

And be sure to join us next week when we break down episode 13, the angel trap.

SPEAKER_06 36:08

Thank you everybody for joining us. Uh, and we will see you next week.

SPEAKER_09 36:12

Bye, Angels.

SPEAKER_06 36:20

That successfully wraps up another mission. Good morning, Charlie, is produced by Chris Berryman and me, Colby Smith. Editing provided by you share like a motion, it must be be sure to follow us wherever you get your podcasts, and click subscribe so you never miss a call from Charlie. Drop a review while you're there, because we love hearing from our angels in the field. Want more undercover fun? Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for extras, and see even more top secret content on our Patreon. A special thank you to Laurel, a Charlie's inner circle subscriber. Don't hang up that phone, Angels, because we will be back.

SPEAKER_10 37:04

Well, if it isn't Neptune's very own Angela Lansbury.