Lyle Waggoner

The television heartthrob from the 1960s and 1970s was the proverbial tall, dark and classically handsome actor. Completing the solid package was a great, muscular build, smooth charm, and an almost perfect set of teeth. Born in 1935 in Kansas City, Kansas, and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, he certainly paid his dues before landing his breakthrough as the suave announcer on The Carol Burnett Show (1967) in the late 1960s. The one-time door-to-door encyclopedia peddler, prior to his prime TV job, appeared in poorly-made sci-fi and beach party flicks with such dubious titles as Women of the Prehistoric Planet (1966), Swamp Country (1966), Journey to the Center of Time (1967) and Catalina Caper (1967). In time, he was more than just a gorgeous hunk with a resonant voice, and they began to incorporate Waggoner into the show as a comedy sketch partner along with Vicki Lawrence and Harvey Korman. His better scenes typically had him essaying the superficial cad or gleamy-toothed, self-important star. After seven seasons on the knockabout variety show, however, Waggoner felt like a "third banana" and yearned to take a chance on solo stardom. During his off-times, he had prepared himself by appearing in summer stock and/or dinner theater in such breezy assignments as "Boeing, Boeing", "Send Me No Flowers", and "Once More, with Feeling". He also hosted the syndicated quiz show It's Your Bet (1969), and earned added "exposure" as Playgirl Magazine's first semi-nude centerfold in 1973. Not long after his departure from the Burnett show, he landed the role of Major Steve Trevor on the popular comic strip-based series Wonder Woman (1975), playing the dashing, no-nonsense boss to Diana Prince. Again, the challenge was not there and he remained on the periphery for three seasons. In later years, Waggoner became more personality than performer and only sporadically appeared in glossy mini-movies and TV episodes, occasionally as himself. He appeared in a few feature films (including Love Me Deadly (1972), Surf II (1983) and Wizards of the Demon Sword (1991)). Perhaps surmising he was undone by being too perfect a specimen, he wisely looked into business ventures. In 1979, he successfully started up "Star Waggons", which served film/TV companies with rental trailers. His charming, vainglorious romancer act was for the cameras only. He married only once, to Sharon Kennedy, an actress, financial consultant and realtor. They were married for more than 50 years and had two sons.