Kate Jackson Movies

In any other circumstances, the biggest news occurring in the fourth and final season of Scarecrow and Mrs. King would be the promotion from recurring to regular player of Raleigh Bond in the role of T.P. Aquinas, the chief source of top-secret information for peripatetic espionage agent Lee "Scarecrow" Stetson (Bruce Boxleitner). Instead, this tidbit is eclipsed by several far more significant developments, beginning with the two-part season opener, in which Lee tells his fellow spy Amanda King (Kate Jackson) something the audience has known for years--that he is in love with her. Typically, this admission is made at a time when both Lee and Amanda are up to their necks in danger, and the situation hasn't improved much in the subsequent episode "Night Crawler", in which , while trapped by Arab kidnappers, Lee asks Amanda to become his wife. The couple is finally married in the appropriately titled "Do You Take This Spy?", but for reasons of security they have to keep their wedding a secret--even from Amanda's children and her inquisitive mom Dotty (Beverly Garland). Sadly, the marriage of "Scarecrow" and Mrs. King marks the beginning of the end of the series, and not simply because that the air of sexual tension and anticipation has been dissipated. In the middle of the shooting schedule, Kate Jackson had to undergo cancer surgery, and thereafter a slow and tortuous recovery. As a result, Amanda King is virtually written out of the series that bears her name in the title. The scripters contrive to have Amanda shot and wounded while on her honeymoon, obliging Lee to carry out his next few missions in the company of his former partner, Francine Desmond (Martha Smith). Although viewers understood the circumstance that required Kate Jackson to be absent from most of the final episodes, they dolefully concluded that "Scarecrow" without Mrs. King was H2 without the O, and the series was quietly cancelled. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Suburban divorcee and part-time espionage agent Amanda King (Kate Jackson) is no longer merely a talented amateur as the tongue-in-cheek adventure series Scarecrow and Mrs. King enters its third season. Instead, Amanda has finished her training and is now a full-fledged operative for the top-secret organization "The Agency", making her not only the partner but the equal of seasoned spy Lee "Scarecrow" Stetson (Bruce Boxleitner). Amanda's promotion enables her boss Billy Melrose (Mel Stewart) to get over feeling guilty about dispatching her on life-threatening missions; it also infuriates sexy female spy Francine Desmond (Martha Smith), who is rather sweet on Stetson. One of the season's best episodes, "We're Off to See the Wizard", not only explains (at long last!) how Lee got his nickname "Scarecrow", but also won an Emmy Award for best musical scoring. Elswhere, Kate Jackson's former costar on The Rookies, Sam Melville, makes the first of a handful of appearances as Amanda's ex-husband Joe King in "The Wrong Way Home", while the guest-star cast of "Dead Men Leave No Tails" includes Nancy Boxleitner, the sister of star Bruce Boxleitner). And in "Reach for the Sky", Myron Natwick is introduced as Dr. Smyth, the shadowy top man at The Agency. When all is said and done, however, the season's most important episode is "All the World's a Stage", in which, after years of exchanging chaste kisses in the line of duty, "Scarecrow" and Mrs. King share their first real kiss--and it's a doozy!!!! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this made-for-television romantic comedy, a book editor (Tim Matheson) falls for a co-worker (Kate Jackson) and has difficulty balancing his career with his love life. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide

Arthur Hiller directed this drama exploring the disintegration of an ideal marriage after the husband discovers he is gay. Kate Jackson is Claire, a successful television producer, and Michael Ontkean is her husband Zack, an equally successful doctor. They enjoy eight years of married bliss until homosexual writer Bart McGuire (Harry Hamlin) appears at Zack's office. As Zack gets to know Bart, he discovers he is attracted to him. He asks Bart out to dinner, one thing leads to another, and soon Zack announces to Claire that he wants to explore his new-found sexuality with Bart. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

This drama examines the illicit love affair between a high-school teacher and one of her students. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this television remake of the classic 1937 film, two ghosts come back to haunt Cosmo Topper. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Lawrence Kerwin stars as James Hunter, a gawky Oregon teenager who moves to Boston with his family. Suffering the requisite growing pains and insecurities, James has a few problems "fitting in" with his new crowd. The boy's sincerity and likability eventually wins the day, but the ending of the film is left open-ended enough to accommodate the subsequent TV series. Linden Chiles and Lynn Carlin co-star as James' parents, while Kate Jackson plays an "older woman" art student who sets James on the right course when the boy tries to run away from home. This 2-hour pilot first aired on September 5, 1977; the series proper (its name changed to James at 16 on the occasion of the protagonist's first sexual experience!) premiered on October 27, 1977. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Angels, assuming the usual false identities, embark upon a luxury cruise to Hawaii in hopes of proving that their ship isn't "jinxed." Unfortunately, the passengers and crew members continue to be plagued by mysterious accidents -- and more unfortunate still, the mystery villain is aware of the Angels' true identities, and he isn't above killing them off, one by one. If the shipboard sets in this episode seem familiar, it is because they are the same ones that were later utilized on another popular Aaron Spelling-produced series of the 1970s, The Love Boat. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Ida Lupino guest stars as Gloria Gibson, a former movie queen who hopes to stage a spectacular comeback. Alas, someone seems determined to sabotage Gloria's return by systemically driving her mad -- and stealing all her valuable artwork in the process. Investigating, the Angels discover that there is much more to the case than first meets the eye. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A rapist, disguised in surgical garb, has been attacking on-duty student nurses at a hospital during the night shift. To flush out the assailant, the Angels go undercover at the hospital, bringing Bosley (David Doyle) along for backup. As Sabrina (Kate Jackson) poses as an investigative reporter, Jill (Farrah Fawcett-Majors) and Kelly (Jaclyn Smith) don nurse's uniforms and Bosley gets himself checked in as a patient. To no one's surprise, the rapist tries to strike again -- but will he succeed in making one of the Angels his next victim? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The mother of young film producer Marvin Goldman (Warren Berlinger) wants to know who set fire to her darling boy's office. Investigating, the Angels discover something that Mrs. Goldman (Eda Reiss Merin) is blissfully unaware of: It seems that the "respectable" Marvin has been moonlighting as a pornographer and a two-bit blackmailer. Guess who poses as an aspiring movie actress in this episode? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The police are continually frustrated in their efforts to catch an elusive burglar. They know the criminal's identity, and they're aware that he steals only when he needs to pay his gambling debts, but they've yet to catch him red-handed. The Angels are commissioned to "tap out" the miscreant and force him into another burglary. (Entrapment? Well, not exactly....) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Rich widow Grace Rodeheaver (Gertrude Flynn) hires the Angels to find out who is systematically stripping her of her wealth. Our heroines soon determine that the culprit may be the shady medium who is "helping" Grace contact the spirit of her late husband. Kelly (Jaclyn Smith) poses as another wealthy widow in order to prove that the medium is neither rare nor well-done -- and nearly ends up in the spirit world herself. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide