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‘Carol Burnett Show’ star Lyle Waggoner dead at 84
Lyle Waggoner, best known for his roles as Steve Trevor on the 1970s TV adaptation of “Wonder Woman” and for his seven-year stint on “The Carol Burnett” show, has died. He was 84. TMZ, who first reported the news, said that Waggoner died peacefully at his home Tuesday with his wife and sons near. Sources …
Lyle Waggoner, best known for his roles as Steve Trevor on the 1970s TV adaptation of “Wonder Woman” and for his seven-year stint on “The Carol Burnett” show, has died. He was 84.
TMZ, who first reported the news, said that Waggoner died peacefully at his home Tuesday with his wife and sons near. Sources close to his family said he had been battling an illness.
Waggoner’s CV is fascinating for both its hits and misses. Following a brief stint in the Army, he spent time selling encyclopedias, and, after catching the acting bug in a Kansas City production of “Lil’ Abner,” formed his own sales organization to finance a trip to LA.
Early on, Waggoner worked the typical ’60s actor circuit, appearing on shows like “Gunsmoke” and “Lost in Space.” He was purportedly a finalist for the lead role in “Batman,” but lost to Adam West. In 1967, he landed his role on “The Carol Burnett Show,” where he remained for seven years. A year before leaving, he was the centerfold in Playgirl’s first regular issue.
Waggoner also notched roles on ’70s mainstays like “Maude” before landing his other defining role, that of Steve Trevor — and his son — on the Lynda Carter-anchored “Wonder Woman” in 1975.
Archetypically handsome, mustachioed, and not afraid to go shirtless, Waggoner was a sort of ur-Tom Selleck, and appeared in a wide range of ’80s TV like “Charlie’s Angels,” “Happy Days,” “Mork & Mindy,” “The Golden Girls,” “The Love Boat,” “Fantasy Island,” and “Murder, She Wrote.”
Waggoner pivoted from onscreen work to running Star Waggons, a company he founded that rented custom trailers for talent to use on-set, eventually building a fleet of over 800 vehicles. Later in life, he began sculpting and had several pieces displayed in galleries near his home in Jackson, Wyoming.
Despite being frequently typecast as a lothario, Waggoner remained married to wife Sharon Kennedy from 1961. The couple had two sons, Jason and Beau.
