The Only Major Actors Still Alive From The Cast Of The 1970s Wonder Woman TV Series

The 1975 TV series "Wonder Woman" is deeply beloved by dutiful Gen-Xers who watched it as children. The show's combination of silly action, funky music, and campy humor hit a sweet spot, presenting the title heroine as bold, strong, and capable, but also upbeat, happy, and capable of whimsy. Also, because lead actress Lynda Carter is so dazzling, many Gen-Xers may confess to having a crush on Wonder Woman at some point. The series was a hit, lasting 59 episodes over three seasons. Along with 1952's "The Adventures of Superman," 1966's "Batman," and 1978's "The Incredible Hulk," "Wonder Woman" was, for many decades, one of the most celebrated superhero TV shows ever made. 

"Wonder Woman" began its life as a 1974 pilot starring Cathy Lee Crosby, as a reimagined version of the character. That pilot didn't fly, but ABC was eager to do something successful with the character and launched a second pilot in the form of "The New Original Wonder Woman" in 1975. That version was picked up and became the series we all know and love today. Carter was to star opposite Lye Waggoner, who played the character of Steve Trevor. Fun trivia: Waggoner nearly played Batman in 1966, but lost out to Adam West. 

Also on the series was Beatrice Colen, who played the comic relief military secretary Etta Candy in the show's first season. She was accompanied by the military commander General Philip Blankenship, played by Richard Eastham in the first pilot, and John Randolph in the second. Wonder Woman communicates to the military through an intermediary throughout her series. In season 2, it was Joe Atkinson (Norman Burton), and in season three, he was joined by Eve Welch (S. Pearl Sharp, credited as Saundra Sharp). Debra Winger would also occasionally show up as Wonder Girl, Wonder Woman's younger sister, as would her mother Hippolyta, played variously by Cloris Leachman, Carolyn Jones, and Beatrice Strait. Tom Kratochvil played the voice of Wonder Woman's advanced crime computer IRAC. 

Of the above performers, only three are still alive. We were unable to find information on Tom Kratochvil. 

Before "Wonder Woman," Lynda Carter didn't have too many credits. She appeared in one episode of the long-forgotten "Matt Helm" TV series and won Miss World 1972. She aspired to perform, and by 1978, her "Wonder Woman" fame led to a few film roles as well as her first studio album. Carter also appeared as herself on multiple talk shows and variety programs throughout the 1970s, becoming just as famous for her own personality as she was for playing Wonder Woman. She even hosted her own TV specials "The Lynda Carter Special" and "Lynda Carter Encore!" in 1979 and 1980. She played Rita Hayworth in a 1983 made-for-TV biopic, and was in all 13 episodes of "Partners in Crime." 

Carter has been a TV institution for years, appearing in myriad TV movies throughout the 1990s, a time when she struggled with alcoholism. She has been sober since 1998. She eventually parlayed her "Wonder Woman" fame into a series of fun cameos. Carter played the superhero principal in "Sky High," appeared in an episode of the Superman spinoff "Smallville," and played the president in the 2016 version of "Supergirl." Carter also provided a mid-credits cameo in Patty Jenkins' "Wonder Woman 1984," playing a character named Asteria. 

At 73, Carter remains active and prolific, happy to have the legacy she does.

S. Pearl Sharp only appeared in five episodes of "Wonder Woman," but she has had a fascinating career beyond the series. As a young woman, she appeared in "The Learning Tree," and in one episode of "The Jeffersons." Like Carter, Sharp continued to appear in myriad TV movies after "Wonder Woman," and appeared on some of the hottest TV shows of the day. She was even in an episode of "The Incredible Hulk," as well as on shows like "White Shadow," "Charlie's Angels," and "Diff'rent Strokes." Sharp was in 10 episodes of "St. Elsewhere" and in four episodes of "Knots Landing." 

Sharp's IMDb catalog is woefully incomplete, however, as it doesn't include her poetry performances, nor any of the indie documentaries she has directed. A visit to Sharp's website reveals her continued and passionate contribution to local arts. She's made films about the Black diaspora, the Watts Towers, the musician Kamau Daáood, and even gynecology. One can listen to her poems on the same site, and even buy her books and CDs. She also offers creative consultation. 

According to IMDb, her most recent screen credit was in 2018 in a short called "Survivor 9," but it's clear that she's been keeping busy making art and creating every morning she wakes up. She seems really, really cool. 

Debra Winger appeared in a few films in the 1970s, including "Thank God It's Friday" and "French Postcards," but it was her performance in 1980's "Urban Cowboy" that really brought her to the world's attention. She also received Oscar nominations for her performances in "An Officer and a Gentleman," in "Terms of Endearment," and in "Shadowlands." She continued to star in acclaimed dramas and Hollywood comedies like "Everybody Wins," "The Sheltering Sky," "Leap of Faith," and "Forget Paris." She continued to blow audiences away in 2008 with her performance in "Rachel Getting Married," and most recently appeared in Miranda July's "Kajillionaire." 

It's wild to look back at "Wonder Woman," then, and see her as a younger, "junior" counterpart to the lead heroine. On "Wonder Woman," she played Wonder Girl, Diana Prince's goddess-like sister. Wonder Girl's story arc saw the character leaving Paradise Island to retrieve Wonder Woman, as her mother wanted her to return. Wonder Woman convinced Wonder Girl that the cities needed a superheroine far more than her home island did. 

Winger, now 69, continues to work, playing a regular character on the Netflix series "The Ranch," and in the 2021 series "Mr. Corman." She also spent a semester teaching at Harvard, has written a memoir, and is a strong proponent of Hand-in-Hand bilingual schools.