WONDERLAND • The Ultimate Wonder Woman Site

"Superstars are a very special and rare breed. They've got something you don't see in most actors or actresses. This is not just a question of talent; I'm talking baout extraordinary, physical beauty."

Ron Samuels, personal manager and superstar-maker, speaks quietly over a morning cup of coffee in the plush, crystal and blue satin living room of the Beverly Hills apartment he shares with Lynda Carter, who is a client -and more. Occasionally, she can be heard moving about upstairs, as though preparing to make her entrance as television's Wonder Woman. Ron also represents Lindsay Wagner (Bionic Woman), Jacklyn Smith (Charlie's Angels), Donna Mills, sson to star in a movie for CBS, and Kristina Wayborn, who just signed a lucrative contract with Faberge.

"Even if Paul Newman was not a famous actor," Ron continues, "he would attract your attention in a crowd because he's such a remarkable handsome man. Elizabeth Taylor in her prime, would grab you the same way, as would Gene Tierney and Lauren Bacall. They are in a class by themselves.

"Lynda Carter is going to be a big star. She is fabulous to look at and she radiates something special. Lindsay Wagner also has the superstar quality, in a different style. All of my clients have it. They are NOT average."

Ron is a slim, boyish, almost cherubic looking man who appears surprisingly young to have earned his reputation as an infalible creator of superstars.

"I'm actually thirty-four," he confesses with a mischevious grin, "but I look a lot younger." He laughs in unabashed delight, because it's not true.

"These days most people in the business know me, but a couple of years ago, when I looked about eighteen, they were incredulous. I'd walk into the office of a studio to swing a deal and everyone would ask where is Mr. Samuels and why hadn't he come himself!"

Hollywood found soon enough that this was a boy sent to do a man's job.

"I can negotiate deals as well as anybody in the business. The reason is simple. I belive whole-heartedly in my clients whether they are superstars or beginners or somewhere in between. They are my first interest and my first love and I back them up all the way, one hundred percent of the time.

"After I make it clear what a star is worth, all the studio people has to do is decide whether or not to accept my offer. They're used to managers who doubt the value of what they have, and who compromise from morning until night. I KNOW how good my clients are so I never back down. People respect me for that.

"Dollar signs don't give me a thrill. I wouldn't accept a client I didn't believe in for all the money in the world. It would take all the fun out of my job. Fun is important."

Ron explains that his unique ability to recognize and bring to fruition the rare qualities required in a superstar is not a gift, but the result of broad experience in every facet of show business.

"I did some acting as a child and spent a lot of time around teh studios as a teenager, but in a sense my career began on the golf course. I was a top amateur golfer when I was a kid. People in the business used to come watch me or play with me. Two of those people were Aaron Ronsenberg and Marty Melcher, who were very famous producers at the time. They gave me a job at Twentieth Century Fox, and at the age of 19 I became Aaron Rosenberg's protegee. In those days, producers knew everything there was to know about making a motion picture, Aaron was a pro at writing, directing, cutting -and he taught me all of it. I was fortunate. From there I went into personal management, which I've been involved in for twelve years.

"Movies and movie people are in my blood. I am absolutely in tune with what every actor and actress in town is doing. I watch them perform, study what they do, and, if they catch my eye, I ask questions and follow through. I trust my instincts.

"I remember, four or five years ago when I first saw Michael Brandon perform. He's now Lindsay Wagner's husband, but at the time I had never heard of him. INSTANTLY, I knew he was superstar material. I wrote his name down on my phone book and drew a big star netx to it. I HAD to find out who this guy was, what he was doing, where his career was going. I was excited.

"Today I manage him. He has completed a television movie which could turn into a series, he's in preparartion to do film and it looks like he's going to do another with Lindsay. You wait and see, his career is going to take off. I find very few men who belong in the superstar category. Michael's got what it takes. I'm going to prove it." He grins with assurance.

Naturally, a man who shares a symbolic relationship with so many beautiful actresses is concerned about Hollywood's recent trend toward fewer and smaller roles for women.

"Things are changing -finally. Some people in the business have to be hit over the head a few times before they'll consider the obvious. The success of Wonder Woman, Bionic Woman and Charlie's Angles has opened a few minds to the fact that women are just as exciting and interesting as men. Now even Clint Eastwood and Kris Kristofferson are doing films calling for equal, rather than secondary roles for women. Many television porjects are being written with women in mind because it's finally sunk in that today's viewing audience is largely female."

It is clear that Ron has a close working relationship with all of his clients, but in the case of Lynda Carter, feelings run evern deeper.

"Lynda and I plan to marry and have a family," Ron announces proudly. "Isn't that what life is all about? I think that's really what everybody's looking for... one person who give them everything they need. I've found that in Lynda, and the great thing is that the feeling is mutual."

Adopting a more playful attitude, he adds, "Our friends complain that we never talk to them anymore -only to each other. We can't HELP it! We LIEK each other. We have a lot of things to say!

"I'm a very fortunate man, and I thank God for it every day of my life, but it's not as if I can relax because things are going well. If anything, I put in more hours these days. My clients are always telling me to take a vacation. They know how hard I work on their behalf and they care about me.

"If I could have one wish, it would be to have my father alive again. I loved my father very much. He should be here to share all these good things with me."

Looking perplexed, Ron Observes, "It bothers me to see how many parents and children don't like each other nowadays. Conflict and competition just didn't happen with the family unit when I was goring up. We always stuck together and loved each other and did for each other. I believe in taking care of my own."

Lynda appears in a white tennis outfit, descending the staircase swiftly and soundlessly. She smiles a friendly and dazzlingly beautiful greeting, then disappears into the kitchen.

Restless, Ron stans up, obviously ready to stop talking about himself and begin hardling the lives of the "family" of superstars whom he devotes almost every walking moment.

The beautiful and talented few who are privileged to be his clients could not be in better hands than those of Ron Samuels, the shrewd, dedicated baby-faced superstar-maker who belives in "takingcare of his own".