- Lynda Carter
-
Lynda Carter 
Carter at the 2009 Heart Truth fashion showBorn Lynda Jean Carter[1]
July 24, 1951
Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.Occupation Actress, singer, songwriter Years active 1974-present Known for Wonder Woman, (1975-1979). Spouse Ron Samuels (1977-1982) (divorced)
Robert A. Altman (1984-present) 2 childrenLynda Jean Carter (born July 24, 1951) is an American actress and singer, best known for her role in The_Elder_Scrolls_V:_Skyrim, as well as being Miss World USA and as the star of the 1970s television series The New Original Wonder Woman (1975–77) and The New Adventures of Wonder Woman (1977-79).
Contents
Early life
Carter was born Lynda Jean Carter in Phoenix, Arizona.[1] Her father, Colby Carter, is an art dealer of Irish descent and her mother, Juana Córdova, is of Mexican descent with roots in Chihuahua, Mexico[2] and previously worked in the telephone industry.[3] Lynda speaks fluent Spanish.[citation needed] Carter grew up an avid reader of the Wonder Woman comic books. She went to Arcadia High School in Phoenix and Kachina Elementary School.
During high school, Carter performed in a band called Just Us, consisting of a marimba, a conga drum, an acoustic guitar, and a stand-up bass played by another girl. When she was 17, Lynda joined two of her cousins in another band called The Relatives. Actor Gary Burghoff was the drummer. The group opened at the Sahara Hotel and Casino lounge in Las Vegas, Nevada, for three months; and, because Lynda was under 21, she had to enter through the kitchen. She attended Arizona State University and was a member of Alpha Xi Delta. After being voted "Most Talented," she dropped out to pursue a career in music. In 1970, Carter sang with The Garfin Gathering with Lynda Carter. Their first performance was in a San Francisco hotel so new that it had no sidewalk entrance. Consequently, they played mostly to the janitors and hotel guests who parked their cars in the underground garage. She returned to Arizona in 1972.
Career
In 1972, Carter entered a local beauty contest and gained national attention in the United States by winning Miss World USA, representing Arizona;[3] in the international 1972 Miss World pageant, representing the U.S., she reached the semi-finals. After taking acting classes at several New York acting schools, she began making appearances on such TV shows as Starsky and Hutch, Cos, and Nakia and in "B-movies," including her only nude appearance, in Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw (1976).
Wonder Woman
Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman, displaying her ability to deflect bullets using her bracelets.
Carter's acting career took off when she landed the starring role in The New Adventures of Wonder Woman as Wonder Woman and her alter ego Diana Prince. The savings her parents had set aside for her to pursue acting in Los Angeles was almost depleted, and she was close to returning to Arizona when her manager informed her that she had won the part. Her earnest performance endeared her to fans and critics, and the series lasted three seasons. Thirty years after first taking on the role, Carter continues to be closely identified with Wonder Woman.
As the program was winding down, Carter told US magazine:
"I never meant to be a sexual object for anyone but my husband. I never thought a picture of my body would be tacked up in men's bathrooms. I hate men looking at me and thinking what they think. And I know what they think. They write and tell me."
She was referring to the feedback she had received for her poster as Wonder Woman.[4]
Carter was also upset with some of the marketing of her image. Warner Bros. worked out a deal with the toy company Mego to create a Wonder Woman doll while the series was still on the air. In 1987, on The Late Show with Joan Rivers,[5] Carter commented:
"I think that you're probably familiar with a problem in Hollywood, and that is that they market you, and they use you. They did a mask of my face and put it on the doll, and they put my name on for the first run of it. And then they took my name off and said they didn't have to pay me anymore. So it's the kind of thing that you can be used so much in this industry. I make nothing. I don't even make anything from the reruns. Don't ever settle for net profits. It's called creative accounting."
In 1985, DC Comics named Carter as one of the honorees in the company's 50th anniversary publication Fifty Who Made DC Great for her work on the Wonder Woman series.[6] In 2007, toy company DC Direct released a 13" full-figure statue of Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman, limited to 5,000 pieces;[7] it was re-released in 2010.[8] Also in 2010, DC Direct began selling a 5½-inch bust of Carter's rendition of Wonder Woman to celebrate the character's 75th anniversary.[9]
Other credits
During the late 1970s, she recorded an album, Portrait. Carter is credited as a co-writer on several songs, and she made numerous guest appearances on variety television programs at the time in a musical capacity. She also sang two of her songs in the 1979 Wonder Woman episode, "Amazon Hot Wax".
In 1977, Carter released a promotional poster through Pro Arts Inc. at the suggestion of her then-husband and manager, Ron Samuels. The poster was very successful despite Carter's dissatisfaction with it. In 1981, during an interview on the NBC television special Women Who Rate a 10, she said:
"It's uncomfortable because I just simply took a photograph. That's all my participation was in my poster that sold over a million copies was that I took a photograph that I thought was a dumb photograph. My husband said, 'Oh, try this thing tied up here, it'll look beautiful'. And the photographer said 'the back-lighting is really terrific'. So dealing with someone having that picture up in their... bedroom or their... living room or whatever I think would be hard for anyone to deal with."[10]
In the early 1980s, Carter performed on the Las Vegas Strip and in Atlantic City, highlighting her musical talent.
Carter's other credits include the title role in a biopic of Rita Hayworth, titled Rita Hayworth, Love Goddess (1983) and a variety of her own TV specials: Lynda Carter's Special (1980), Encore! (1980), Celebration (1981), Street Life (1982), and Body And Soul (1984). She starred in a few short-lived TV series, including Partners in Crime (1984) with Loni Anderson and Hawkeye (1994–95) with Lee Horsley. During this time, she also became a celebrity promotional model for Maybelline cosmetics commercials.
Throughout the 1990s, Carter appeared in a string of tv movies that resulted in a resurgence in television appearances. Also, because of the re-syndication of Wonder Woman on such cable networks as FX and SyFy, Carter even participated in two scheduled on-line chat sessions with fans.[11] It was around this time that Carter created her own production company, Potomac Productions. Throughout the 1990s, she has also appeared in commercials for Lens Express (now 1-800 Contacts).
In 2001, Carter was cast in the independent comedy feature Super Troopers as Vermont Governor Jessman. The writers and stars of the film, the comedy troupe Broken Lizard, with Jay Chandrasekhar directing, had specifically sought Carter for the role. Inspired by the character detour from her usual roles, she agreed to play a washed-up former beauty queen in The Creature of the Sunny Side Up Trailer Park (2004), directed by Christopher Coppola. Carter made her first appearance in a major feature film in a number of years in the big-screen remake of The Dukes of Hazzard (2005), also directed by Chandrasekhar. She also appeared in the comedy Sky High (2005) as "Principal Powers", the head of a school for superheroes. The script allowed Carter to poke fun at her most famous character when she states: "I can't do anything more to help you. I'm not Wonder Woman, y'know." In 2006, she guest-starred in the made-for-cable vampire film Slayer. The following year, Lynda returned to the DC Comics' television world in the Smallville episode "Progeny" (2007) playing Chloe Sullivan's Kryptonite-empowered mother.
Carter has also done voiceovers for video games, performing voices for the nord and orsimer (orc) females in three computer games of The Elder Scrolls series, The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. These games were developed by Bethesda Softworks; her husband, businessman Robert A. Altman, is Chairman and CEO of Bethesda's parent company, ZeniMax Media.
From September to November 2005, Carter played Mama Morton in the West End London production of Chicago.[12] In 2006, her rendition of "When You're Good to Mama" was officially released on the Chicago: 10th Anniversary Edition CD box set. In May 2007, Carter began touring the U.S. with her one-woman musical cabaret show, An Evening with Lynda Carter. She has played engagements at such venues as Feinstein's At Loews Regency in New York, Jazz at Lincoln Center, and The Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. In June 2009, her second album, "At Last", was released and reached #10 on Billboard's Jazz Albums Chart.[13].
.In June of 2011, Carter released her third album, "Crazy Little Things", which she describes as delightful mix of standards, country, and pop tunes.[14]
Personal life
Carter has been married twice. Her first marriage was to her former talent agent Ron Samuels from 1977 to 1982. In January 1984, Carter married Washington, D.C., attorney Robert A. Altman, law partner of Clark Clifford. The Altmans have two children, James (born 1988[15]) and Jessica (born 1990[16]),[3] and live in Potomac, Maryland.
In 1992, after a lengthy and highly publicized jury trial stemming from his involvement with the BCCI, Carter's husband was acquitted. Carter was seen on the TV news with her arm around him, shouting, "Not guilty! Not guilty!" to the gathered reporters.
In early June 2008, while rowing out of the Potomac Boat Club, Carter spotted a body floating in the Potomac River. She called out to some fishermen and waited for the police to arrive.[17] That same month, she admitted in an interview to People magazine that she had entered a rehabilitation clinic for treatment of alcoholism.[18]
Filmography
Film Year Film Role Notes 1976 Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw Bobbie Jo Baker 1993 Lightning in a Bottle Charlotte Furber 2001 Super Troopers Governor Jessman a.k.a. Broken Lizard's Super Troopers 2004 The Creature of the Sunny Side Up Trailer Park Lynette a.k.a. Creature 2005 Sky High Principal Powers The Dukes of Hazzard Pauline 2006 Tempbot Mary Alice Short film 2007 Tattered Angel Hazel Anderson Television Year Title Role Notes 1974 Nakia Helen Chase 1 episode 1975 Matt Helm Bobbi Dee 1 episode 1976 A Matter of Wife... And Death Zelda TV movie Starsky and Hutch Vicky 1 episode 1975-79 Wonder Woman Wonder Woman 59 episodes 1980 The Last Song Brooke Newman TV movie The Muppet Show Herself 1 episode 1981 Born to Be Sold Kate Carlin TV movie 1982 Hotline Brianne O'Neill TV movie 1984 Rita Hayworth: The Love Goddess Rita Hayworth TV movie Partners in Crime Carole Stanwyck 13 episodes 1987 Stillwatch Patricia Traymore TV movie 1989 Mike Hammer: Murder Takes All Helen Durant TV movie 1991 Daddy Charlotte Sampson TV movie
a.k.a. Danielle Steel's DaddyPosing: Inspired by Three Real Stories Meredith Lanahan TV movie
a.k.a. I Posed for Playboy1994-95 Hawkeye Elizabeth Shields 22 episodes 1996 When Friendship Kills Kathryn Archer TV movie
a.k.a. A Secret Between Friends: A Moment of Truth MovieShe Woke Up Pregnant Susan Saroyan TV movie
a.k.a. Crimes of Silence1997 A Prayer in the Dark Emily Hayworth TV movie 1998 Someone to Love Me Diane Young TV movie
a.k.a. Someone to Love Me: A Moment of Truth Movie
a.k.a. Girl in the Backseat1999 Family Blessings Lee Reston TV movie
a.k.a. LaVyrle Spencer's 'Family Blessings'2003 Terror Peak Dr. Janet Fraser TV movie Hope & Faith Summer Kirkland 1 episode 2005 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Lorraine Dillon 1 episode Law & Order Lorraine Dillon 1 episode Sky High Principal Powers Movie 2006 Slayer Colonel Jessica Weaver TV movie 2007 Smallville Moira Sullivan 1 episode Albums
- 1978: Portrait
- 2009: At Last
- 2011: Crazy Little Things
References
- ^ a b Micki Moore (January 30, 1990). "Lynda Carter: Beauty and the creative fire". Toronto Star (Toronto: Torstar Syndication Services): p. E1. ISSN 03190781. "A dedicated, hard-working performer, Lynda Jean Carter was born in Phoenix, Ariz., 38 years ago, the youngest of three children."
- ^ http://www.latina.ms/linda_jean_cordova_carter.htm
- ^ a b c "Lynda Jean Cardoba". Wonderland. http://www.wonderland-site.com/html/miscel/bios/bios1b.htm. Retrieved 2007-03-23.
- ^ "What People Are Saying". The Tuscaloosa News. 1980-02-26. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=0AgdAAAAIBAJ&sjid=5p4EAAAAIBAJ&pg=3088,5446489&dq=i-hate-men-looking-at-me&hl=en. Retrieved 2010-10-21.
- ^ Fox Network. Air date: February 9, 1987
- ^ Marx, Barry, Cavalieri, Joey and Hill, Thomas (w), Petruccio, Steven (a), Marx, Barry (ed). "Lynda Carter Wonder Woman Stars on TV" Fifty Who Made DC Great: 45 (1985), DC Comics
- ^ Product information page
- ^ DC Direct product page
- ^ DC Direct product page
- ^ NBC Network. Air date: February 15, 1981
- ^ Lens Express Chat: November 8th, 1999; PlanetRx Chat: February 3, 2000
- ^ "The British Theater Guide". http://www.britishtheatreguide.info/news/N180905.htm. Retrieved 2006-05-12.
- ^ Chart Beat: The Black Eyed Peas, Lynda Carter, Paulina Rubio
- ^ "Wonderful Woman: Lynda Carter's Bulletproof Life". http://www.guyspy.com/wonderful-woman-lynda-carters-bulletproof-life. Retrieved 2011-07-20.
- ^ "Wonder Woman becomes a mom". The Globe & Mail (Toronto: The Globe & Mail): p. C.12. 1988-1-16. ISSN 03190714.
- ^ "Hurt in heaven with special jet". The Province (Vancouver, B.C.: CanWest Digital Media): p. 14. "NEW WONDERBABY: Lynda Carter, who starred in the Wonder Woman TV series in the 1970s, gave birth Sunday to her second child, Jessica."
- ^ "'Wonder Woman finds body floating in river". CNN.com. Archived from the original on June 7, 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080607235433/http://edition.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/TV/06/07/wonder.woman.body.ap/index.html. Retrieved 2008-06-08.
- ^ "'Wonder Woman Lynda Carter: 'I'm an Alcoholic' '". www.people.com. http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20210555,00.html. Retrieved 2008-07-05.
External links
- Official website
- Official YouTube Channel
- Lynda Carter at the Internet Movie Database
- Facebook Page
- Fan Site
- Italian Site
Awards and achievements Preceded by
Brucene SmithMiss World USA
1972Succeeded by
Marjorie WallaceCategories:- 1951 births
- Actors from Arizona
- American female singers
- American film actors
- American beauty pageant winners
- American people of English descent
- American people of Mexican descent
- American television actors
- Arizona State University alumni
- Hispanic and Latino American actors
- Living people
- Miss World contestants
- People from Phoenix, Arizona
- People self-identifying as alcoholics
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