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- Lynda Carter continues to advocate for women and girls through the beloved Wonder Woman character, as well as the LGBTQ+ community and others who have been impacted by Wonder Woman. Photo from lydacarter.com.
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- In 1975, studio executives didn’t believe that a Wonder Woman telebision program would be a hit. They were, of course, dead wrong. Photo from lyndacrarter.com.
By Randal Hill
Guest Columnist
In 1941, educational consultant William Marston was hired by a publishing house that would become DC Comics. Asked to create a collection of superheroes known as the Justice League, Marston soon devised a roster of six fictional folks.
One was a female do-gooder called Wonder Woman. As the lone lady on the baddie-bashing team, Diana Prince (her “normal” name before frantically spinning to become Wonder Woman) was a character drawn from Greek mythology.
“She’ll fight for democracy, but she’ll be fighting for equal rights for women,” Marston explained. “And her superpowers will be love and truth and beauty.”
Much of that would change 33 years later – except for the part about beauty.
ABC-TV decided to film a show based on the iconic crime-fighter. Enter Lynda Carter, a beauty-contest winner – she was Miss World USA in 1972 – who had moved from Phoenix (where she had sung in two bands during high school) to Los Angeles. A few minor film roles and TV commercials had come her way before Carter auditioned for the starring role in the forthcoming “Wonder Woman” show. When offered the part, Carter was down to $25 in the bank and proclaimed her contract a godsend – or so she thought.
With the growing women’s liberation movement, she felt this was the perfect time for the appearance of a tall (she’s 5’ 9”), brave and powerful female. The men behind the television production, though, focused more on other things.
Resplendent in a tight-fitting outfit of red, gold and blue, Carter’s striking face and hourglass figure often took precedence over the scripts that regrettably emphasized her appearance over her validity as a formidable female.
Production men seemed leery of promoting feminism and focused instead on how alluring they could make Carter for public consumption.
Cameramen and other crew members often ogled Linda in her provocative outfit, and whispered comments and barely suppressed giggles were frequent occurrences on the “Wonder Woman” set.
She became famous. A Lynda Carter poster sold one million copies, fan mail poured in and she was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
“Wonder Woman” had middling ratings, but ABC-TV axed it after one season. CBS-TV then picked up the program, and, according to Carter, an overdone erotic aura was added to each episode, while Carter was made to wear an even more daring outfit.
After two more seasons, “Wonder Woman” mercifully ground to a halt.
“I never meant to be a sexual object,” she groused later. “I hate men looking at me and thinking what they think. And I know what they think; they write and tell me.” To distance herself, she became a recording artist, but the public always associated her with the TV role.
Writer Andy Mangels maintained that Wonder Woman represented importance and believed that Wonder Woman was the purest embodiment of what a brave, strong woman could be.
“She stood for peace, love and equality,” he says. “She made statements regularly about the strength of sisterhood, and about treating people well.”
Bibliography
Book:
Pingel, Mike. “The Q Guide to ‘Wonder Woman.’” New York: Alyson Books, 2008. The third quote is from p. 37.
Internet:
Garcia, Nelson A. “Lynda Carter: The Wonder of a Woman.” April 22, 2011. 55plusmag.us.
“Lynda Carter.” (No author or date listed) tvguide.com.
Lynda Carter (the second quote is from here), Wonder Woman (history), Wonder Woman (TV show). (No author or date listed) en.wikipedia.org.
“Wonder Woman’s Origin Story.” (No author listed) June 11, 2017. cbsnews.com. The first quote is from here.
