WONDERLAND • The Ultimate Wonder Woman Site

As they used to say back on the streets: "Whatta woman, Wonder Woman!" That was many years ago and the nickname was for the first girl in the class who showed up in saddle shoes, baggy socks and her skirt right at the knee.

Boy! She had class. But her name, alas, has been lost to the ages.

Now the same pals, older, paunchier and beginning to show a little wear around the hair fringe, are bellying up to the bar to sing the same slogan: "Whatta woman, Wonder Woman."

Lynda Carter, the statuesque star of the CBS adventure series, may be the only female actress in the whole history of TV who forced the bartender at the local pub to turn off a hot college basketball game to watch her show.

As one guy gurgled in his suds, "Watchin' a 38-26-38 in, tights beats heck outta watchin' some seven-foot galoot in his underwear wrestlin' with nine other seven-foot galoots over a round ball."

But here comes the scoop, folks: Lynda Carter has changed.

In 1973, she literally boiled out of the State of Arizona to take the Miss WorldUSA title.

In short order she was in Hollywood and quicker than you could say "Shazam" or "Geshundheit" or whatever it is you say to get into drag, she was cast as "Wonder Woman." One of the first luckies to interview her in those early days was the ubiquitous Hollywood correspondent for United Press International, Vernon Scott.

Said he of the first meeting: "Lynda Carter, Miss USA of 1973, sat in the dimly lit restaurant, her blouse unbuttoned sufficiently to convince the casual observer she wasn't wearing a bra. Her bosom, like the rest of Lynda, challenges physical perfection."

Mr Scott then went on to relate how Lynda was in a quandry since she was cast as a sex object, but really had the feminist movement at heart.

"I think of Wonder Woman as a real champion of the feminists," he quoted her "sultry, liquid voice."

Not too long ago, the same Mr. Scott interviewed a different Miss Carter. The subject now was her selection as the most beautiful woman in 'the world by the London-based International Academy of Beauty.

Now, fans, we return to the words of Scott: "She was in her mobile home dressing room at the Burbank Studios where her CBS-TV series is filmed. Lynda wore a modest shirt, skin tight blue jeans."

He went on to quote Lynda as saying, "It seems all my life I've been Miss Thisor-That. A princess. Now this honor. I don't fight it any more."

Hey! What happened to that "blouse unbuttoned, etc., etc?"

What happened to that "dimly lit restaurant?"

What happend to the person who was the champion of feminists?

What we have here is another classic example of youthful myths smashed by the changing times.

It's truly fun to write about an American Carter in a humorous way and not get a visit from the FBI or put on a White House list. And Lynda Carter is a nice person.

To Mr. Scott, I tender a simple apology. But plagiarism is a fast fading art form. And it's a tough thing to do on a sunny day to write about a bright young woman without having your mind wander just a tad to things unimportant.

'Wonder Woman' Boosted Lynda Carter, But It Nearly Destroyed The Originator

HOLLYWOOD (UPI)"Wonder Woman" did wonders for Lynda Carter's career, but it almost destroyed Cathy Lee Crosby who played the role originally.

Cathy Lee starred in the title role when "Wonder Woman" made its debut as a TV movie three years ago.

She was a natural for the part. Cathy Lee is the enbodiment of the young, healthy, sexy California blonde, clean-limbed, tanned, freckled and selfconfident. You've seen her on TV commercials pitching soft drinks, automobiles and cosmetics.

She has been com pared to top model Cheryl Tiegs. She also is said to resemble the young Katharine Hepburn with Hepburn's deep-set eyes, high cheekbones and square jaw.

A serious actress who had appeared in episodic television in addition to commercials, Cathy Lee thought she was on her way to stardom when she, accepted the "Wonder Woman" pilot film, hoping it would become a weekly series.

But she and ABC-TV came to a parting of the ways when decisions were made on how Wonder Woman should be interpreted. Cathy Lee wanted to play her in the James Bond 007 image. The network opted for a comic strip character.

As Cathy Lee tells it, Warner Bros., which produced the pilot, sided with her. They saw Wonder Woman as sophisticated camp. But ABC bought out Warners and Cathy Lee was hung out to dry.

It wasn't the loss of the role-which went to Lynda Carter-that bothered the leggy beauty as much as the reaction of producers and casting directors who saw her in "Wonder Woman."

''All I got was offers for roles over 5-feet-10," she said. ''I was instantly typed for fantasy characters."

Unaccustomed to that sort of rejection, Cathy Lee went into a blue funk and began to examine her career, lifestyle and possible options.

But she is an old pro as a performer, beginning at 5 on her parents local Hollywood talk show, "The Crosbys Calling."

''Once I was 86'd (thrown out) from 'Wonder Woman' and the offers came in for fantasy roles I was stigmatized as an actress who couldn't act," Cathy Lee said. "I had to get away from Hollywood and get my head on straight.

''So I spent seven months traveling around the world by myself looking for some meaning in my life. I just didn't feel as if I belonged as an actress.

"I had some wild experiences, including a meeting with a gypsy lady in Turkey who predicted what would happen to me in the next seven years. So far she's running 85-90 percent right.

"Seven months ago I began taking acting lessons with Milton Kateselas, the director, and it changed how I felt about acting and being an artist. Then good things began happening to me.

"I tested for Dino DeLaurentis in 'Hurricane' and 'Four To Go.' Although I wasn't right for the parts, Dino called my agents and told them I was a brilliant actress. I needed results like that out there to convince people in the business I could act. "

In the past seven months Cathy Lee has completed two new mov ies, "The Dark'' with William Devane, and "Coach" in which she stars as the coach of a boys high school basketballteam. She also starred in "The Three Wives of David Wheeler," an NBCTV pilot show.

"I haven't stopped working for the past seven months," Cathy Lee said.

"I've been a tomboy and a jock all my life. But my athletic background wasn't a factor in getting the role in 'Coach.' It did came in handy once production began. I play a 25-year-old reporter in 'The Dark,' which has nothing to do with sports.

"The important thing is that I don't play a fantasy character in either movie. I'm accepted asan actress now."

Cathy Lee is a bright, aggressive woman who al-ready is involved in writing and production.

"On my trip I decided to look for some fascinating women and their accomplishments," she said. "I dug up histories of nine exceptional females with wonderful backgrounds, six Europeans and three Americans.

"I've written two movie scripts and nine treatments on them. David Wolper is going to produce one of them. I'll be coproducer and star in the movie.

"I feel good about myself now. I have a purpose that is bigger than just getting jobs. I want people to feel better for having seen my work. It's the excitement of playing the game and making dreams come true for audiences.