Angie Dickinson, who starred in “Police Woman,” and Burt Bacharach, who was her second husband, have a long love relationship, which is something that is extremely unusual in the entertainment field.
The divorced couple had a daughter called Nikki during their 15 years of marriage and welcomed her into the world. Angie’s love for, and attention to, her family was so intense that she often down jobs in order to be there for them. Unluckily, life had a catastrophe waiting in the wings.
Angie was born in September 1931, but she didn’t make her debut in the entertainment business until the 1950s when she won a beauty competition that led to her landing a small part on “The Colgate Comedy Hour.”
Angie Dickinson, a great player for Glendale College’s football team, wed Gene Dickinson in the year 1952. They had been sweethearts in college, but in 1959 they decided to end their marriage.
In the same year that Angie and Dickinson ended their relationship, she had a role in the film “Rio Bravo” as the flirty gambler Feathers. It was her first major performance, and it was essential in establishing her reputation as a sex icon.
Angie was said to have personal relationships with a number of well-known musicians and politicians after she left Dickinson College, including former President John F. Kennedy and Frank Sinatra, with whom she had previously collaborated on the film “Ocean’s 11.”
Angie Bacharach, a composer and songwriter who had won several awards, married Angie in 1965. Bacharach is well known for writing the songs “What the World Needs Now Is Love” and “I Say a Little Prayer.”
Nikki was the couple’s first and only child, and she was born exactly one year after they said their vows to one another. Unfortunately, their lives, professions, and relationship all began to get more complicated not long after that.
Angie reportedly claimed that her love for her spouse drove her “crazy.”
Nikki’s birth was three months before her due date, and she weighed barely one pound and ten ounces when she arrived. She was in such poor condition that the doctors had almost given up hope that she would pull through.
Bacharach and Angie both felt that their lives were completely upended as a result of the encounter. She said that they would keep track of Nikki’s weight hour by hour and have a party every time she gained an ounce.
Nikki was fortunate enough to live; nevertheless, she suffered from eye issues and was subsequently diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome. Angie saw that her kid need more care, so she rearranged her schedule to prioritize time spent with her family.
She began taking roles in more modest television productions as opposed to landing parts in major motion pictures and promising series that would force her to be absent from her family for an excessive amount of time (such as Hot Lips Houlihan in “M*A*S*H”).
1974 was the year when Angie began her role as Pepper Anderson in “Police Woman,” the popular police procedural television series that would go on to establish her as a cultural icon.
Angie confessed before she began working on “Police Woman” that she would despise the idea of becoming a larger celebrity than her husband, which is exactly what occurred once she started working on the show.
When Bacharach’s career began to take off in the middle of the 1970s, she was met with significant challenges. Even singer Dionne Warwick took him to court over a contractual issue they had.
It was also said that Angie, who had previously stated that she was “passionate” with her husband, was more dedicated than he was to maintaining their marriage and made more sacrifices than he did.
Due to the fact that Bacharach was the center of her life, she refused to work any extra shifts or weekends in the role of “Police Woman.” She asked to be excused from the scene so that she could prepare supper for Bacharach and Nikki.
Earl Holliman, the actress’s friend and co-star in “Police Woman,” said that it was difficult for her since she wanted to continue working on the series while also spending time with her family.
Two years after Angie began paving the path for other female actors and actresses on television with her performance in “Police Woman,” she and Bacharach went their own ways while remaining married. Angie would often refer to their situation as “living apart.”
She also revealed that her pals thought it was a “strange” separation to take place between them. Bacharach spent most of his time at his family’s beach house in Del Mar, California; but, he also made regular visits to his family’s property in Beverly Hills.
Nikki Bacharach, the daughter of Angie and Burt Bacharach, passed away suddenly in April of 2012.
Angie continued by saying that they were neither divorced nor permanently separated, and she was certain that “one or both” of them would finally determine what course of action to take. They went out on dates with different people as they deliberated about what to do next. She went on to Explain:
“Burt goes out on dates with ladies, whereas I like to go out with male companions. Despite this, I continue to see my relationship with Burt Bacharach as that of a married couple. Burt is really special to me. I admire him.”
In 1981, after Angie and Bacharach had been living apart for a total of five years, they finalized their divorce. The actress believes that she is largely to blame for the breakup of her marriage since she worked excessive hours on the set of “Police Woman.” She confessed that if given the choice, she would have fled as well.
Following their marriage, Bacharach collaborated with composer Carole Bayer Sager. Angie expressed her happiness for Bacharach and admitted that he need the company of someone who understood him, as he had often informed her that she did not.
The actress also stated that Nikki had inherited her father’s passion for music, enjoyed playing the drums, and was different from her in a few respects. She emphasized that Nikki was more musically talented than she was. Nikki, who never wore cosmetics throughout their relationship, reportedly informed her mother that they could never be as feminine as each other.
Angie continued to display a number of Bacharach’s photographs even after the couple’s divorce was finalized. On the other hand, Angie and Bacharach eventually stopped seeing one other as time went on.
Nikki, Angie and Bacharach’s daughter, went away in April of 2012, which was a terrible tragedy. She was just 40 years old at the time. Nikki took her own life at her residence in Thousand Oaks, California, despite the fact that she struggled with both visual issues and Asperger’s syndrome throughout her whole life.
Bacharach issued a statement in which he described Nikki as a person who had a wide range of interests in science, including “kitties, earthquakes, and many other scientific-related topics.” After learning of her passing, he dutifully called off all of his performances as was to be expected.
Nikki attended Cal Lutheran University for her geology education, and while she struggled with her health during her time there, she was able to graduate with the assistance of her father. However, because of her vision problems, she was unable to pursue a job in the relevant industry.