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Date and Issue: Volume 33, Number 2.
Regardless of if you have a boyfriend, a girlfriend, a date, or a dog, this day is famous for inspiring people to celebrate love. While we considered many stories for our readers this Valentine's Day, we decided (as always) o bring you a little something different. I mean, Come on- did you really expect us o tell you where o spend a romantic weekend with your significant other, or where o get the cheapest flowers this year? We didn't think so. Instead, we thought we'd bring you something every gay man loves, and couldn't live without: shit-kickin', trash talkin', tough as nails, bad ass women. The women who we looked up to in our youths-the women who have (for some reason or another) inspired us in our darkest times. Though most of these women appear only to be mere TV stars, they've been so much more to so many of us. I can't tell you how many homos told me that they looked up to Wonder Woman when they were .younger, or how much they wanted o be like the chicks from Ab Fab. It's these strong, powerful women who have helped make us who we are today, and what better time to give them a little coverage than Valentine's Day? We've chosen a few of the most prevelant women who seem o have the hugest gay fan bases in all of stardom. Though some of you would argue our choices (where's Barbara Streissand?), just remember, this isn't your dad's gay mag- it's yours. So whether you have a date for Valentine's Day or don't; who cares? You've got the women you really love o curl up with on the couch by the fire this year. So grab a box of chocolates, sit back, and read on.
Lynda Carter won out by a landslide as oui favorite HEROINE ever. The woman has led ar amazing life, and has been so many things, in sud a very short time. Beauty queen, fashion model, TV/movie star, lounge singer, super hero- you name it, she's done it. As versatile an entertainer as Lynda is, she 'r most known for her role as television's Wonder Woman. Originally a tough role to land, Lynda took off with the character once she got the part, and turned the Amazonian super-heroine into a character she could call her own.. At the time, many TV shows depicting super heroes (ond action stars) were forcing actors to ploy flat, stereotypical roles. Lynda made a decision to humanize Wonder Woman, and showed viewers a side to the Amazon they didn't know existed. While still exemplifying the role of heroine, Lynda gave Wonder Woman a humanistic side, which made the character more real and easier ta relate to. Despite the fact that Wonder Woman had the powers of a god, Lynda molded her into an everyday person, who just happened to have super powers and a heart of gold. Ever-compassionate and selfless os they come, Lynda's depiction of Wonder Woman attracted fans all over the world, and landed her a gig on TV for the remainder of the millennium. To date, at least 30 websites are dedicated ta Wonder Woman and Lynda Carter, offering pix from the show, updates on the new Wonder Woman movie, and a ton of other Wonder Woman related projects. You can read more about Lynda in Nightlife's exclusive interview with the legendary starlet on page 48 in our celebrity interview column.
Favorite Food: Mexican Food (from Arizona). Things You Collect: Wonder Woman Memorabilia, mostly for my kids. Person who would play you in a movie about your-self: Probably Katherine Zeta Jones. Favorite TV show: Well, my favorite television channels are A&E and the Discovery Channel! Last Good Movie You Saw: Traffic. Last Good Book You Read: Timelife. The Lindbergh biography was also really good.
JH: What have you been up to lately? LC I'm mostly concentrating on my family right now and I also do lots of charity things. The last work I did was a feature comedy called Super Troopers, where I play a Governor. I did that last summer, and it was just at the Sundance Film Festival, which was great. I go out to LA occasionally for meetings with casting people and that sort of thing, and I suppose I do about one or two movies (for television) a year. That's good for me right now, because I have a ten-year-old daughter ond a thirteen-year-old son so I don't want to work too much. I ve. been offered some opportunities for serious work, and I really don't want to commit like that. I did that in 93, and was away from my family for a while, and it was awful. I'm a mother, and I just really don't want to give that up.
JH: You've been a model, a beauty queen, a super-hero, a TV & movie star, and a singer: What would you say your true passion is? LC For the first part of my career it was singing. I really loved the shows that I did here in the United States and Europe. When I got pregnant, I put it on the back burner, and never really got back into it. I don't know that I really want to do that Nightlife thing again, though. It consumed a major portion of my life, and while I'll never say never, I'm just not sure I want to go back to it again. What I find that I really need is to get out and work, about the amount of time that I do. I need ta get a piece of myself back. You give so much when you are in a family, and I really think it's important for a creative person to preserve that part of themselves. I really am pretty passionate about my work, and I've gone back to New York and studied over the past 10 or 11 years for different workshops. I think that my work is much better now that I've experienced much more of life. I think that I was so consumed just with my work, that I didn't pay a lot of attention to my relationships. Certainly I did to my friendships, but in terms of relationships, my focus was always on my work. I would get these comments from friends of mine that would be like God, you work so muh, why don't you stop for a while and enjoy life, and I'd say well that's what I enjoydoing. It was because I had nothing else in my life. I think I'm a much more well rounded person now.
JH: You're most recognized for your role as Wonder Woman on TV. Do you enjoy being known for that role, or is it annoying?
LC: Well, if I allowed that to define me, which it does to the public (although I don't allow it to), and I had a problem with that, I would be really unhappy I would have been a very unhappy person for 20 years. I had to make a choice a long time ago to accept it, and to enjoy how excited other people got about it. It's usually a memory that is important to other people. Not because it's me, or because it's a TV show, but because it's an archetype. It's that secret, powerful person in all of us. The tremendous talents that we have, that other people don't see. That's really what the show was about, and it's easy to relaté to.
JH: Wonder Woman is a powerful symbol to the people in this country, and the show really seemed to inspire people here. The show did a lot for women's rights, and you really gave birth to this flat, comic book character. You formed who she is, and you really impacted a lot of people's lives. Did you ever think back then that the way you portrayed this heroine would have such an impact on people?
LC I made a critical decision when I first got the part. I decided that even though the show was done tongue in cheek, I was going to ploy her as real. Not os a comic book character, but as a real person who just happened to have all these powers. Where she came from, everybody had the same thing. She did all these amazing things, but she didn't take herself quite so seriously.
I got a lot of flack for doing that, because every-one was playing these caricatures at the time, and the producers wanted me to do things differently, and so, eventually I tried it. I can't even watch those episodes now. But I really made a conscious effort to humanize this super-heroine and not to play her as a super heroine. See, most heroes don't think of themselves as heroes, they just do heroic things. When you look at famous historical figures, they become much more interesting when you learn about their human characteristics.JH: What was your favorite part about playing Wonder Woman? LC The stunts. My least favorite part was changing from one outfit to the next, over and over. People forget that I was in almost every single shot in that show (as one character or another), and it was really exhausting. I really enjoyed the stunts though. They were a lot of fun to do. You got to race around in cars, and practice with these stunt guys- it was great.
JH: So you did a lot of the stunts yourself? LC: I did! I did anything that wasn't going to put me at risk. I did a couple of things that did put me at risk and I got in trouble for it. The first time was hanging from a helicopter. The stunt person couldn't seem to do it, so I got under the helicopter and was showing this stunt person what to look like, and I just yelled at the stunt guy to take off! I got in so much trouble from the producers. That shot is in all the show's openers though. Another time we had a group of NFL players guesting, and Bubba Smith said " I ain't gonna have no woman throw me around". Well I went and got the stunt man to show me what to do to get him off his feet, and did it. It was the best acting Bubba ever did. JH: The show was on during the 70's & 80's.
LC: It's still on the Sci-Fi channel. I don't think it's ever been off the air, at least somewhere in the world.
JH: People still know the show today, and you have so many fans. You have like 50 websites dedicated to you on the Internet! Why do you think it's still so popular?
LC: I think it's because Wonder Woman was an archetype and because I humanized her. It seems to have struck a chord not only with girls, but also with men, who got to see a woman who was attractive strong, smart & successful. It's a great thing. I still wonder what it is about the show that attracts so many fans but the only thing I can come up with is the appeal of that secret person inside all of us.
JH: What is your favorite attribute of Wonder Woman's?
LC: Her morality- her compassion. In terms of super powers, the most fun thing I liked to do was block bullets. I had these apparatus' in my palms that I pushed to make the bracelets spark. That was way before computer graphics and all that; we did have to create actual sparks.
JH: If you had the power of Wonder Woman, what would you do with it in real life?
LC: I think the secret to a happy life is really giving to others without expecting anything in return. Anonymously there's a great sense of satisfaction that you feel from helping other people, so I think I would probably go about it the some way she did. One thing I do know is that she kept it hidden for a reason, so that she wasn't exploited. I would probably do the same thing.
JH: What was your favorite weapon/vehicle/tool?
LC: I liked the lasso of truth. I could use that now!
JH: Wonder Woman had an outfit for every adventure, and all she had to do was spin to change into her costumes: where were all the outfits supposed to be coming from?
LC: I would imagine, from my imagination.
JH: What was your favorite costume on the show? You had an aqua outfit, a motorcycle outfit, and the classic outfit...
LC: Oh, classic I think.
JH: Did you have to read the comic book to prepare for the show?
LC When I first got it I did. I had to read the background, and why the character was created, but eventually she just became my own. I really created my own thing.
JH: Do you ever read the Wonder Woman comic books now?
LC: No, but they just came out with another Wonder Woman book that I wrote the introduction for. The book includes a lot of stuff on me and the show, and the whole character really.
JH: Was the show fun to do?
LC: It was a lot of fun to do. After a couple of years we got to cut taping hours down, so I could get home at a reason-able time, which made it a little easier to do. I think it was kind of an unhappy time in my life though. I wasn't really happy with my marriage, so my only happy times were on the ser. It was really where I felt I belonged.
JH: Was there ever any romance with Lyle Wagner on the show?
LC: (Laughs) No, no. We got along fine, though. I think it was a little difficult for him, because I think he had in mind that he was going to have a bigger role. That's tough on anybody. I've run into him a few times over the years, and he's always been very nice. He's a very runny guy.
JH: I've heard rumors that they may be making a Wonder Woman movie. Will you be involved in this movie?
LC: I would guess that it would depend on the producers. I think it would be a lot of fun to do a cameo or something like that. I know that they did do a huge search for someone to do the new TV series, and it didn't work. They couldn't find anyone. I think that I'm so identified with Wonder Woman that enough time has to go by where people will accept a new person in that role. I think enough time has passed where that could happen now, but of course I think it's great that they haven't been able to find someone.
JH: Well I think you're the definitive Wonder Woman for sure. Would you be willing to play the part again?
LC: I have been offered, but I never wanted to reprieve it. Not because I don't think it would be fun, it's just that I've already done it. I've never been really fond of reunion shows.
JH: Xena seems to be popular nowadays, although obviously not as popular as Wonder Woman. Who do you think would win if Xena and Wonder Woman got into a fight?
LC: Oh, no question!
JH: Yeah, it would definitely be Wonder Woman.
LC: As a matter of fact, I think that Wonder Woman would join them to help Xena and her friends out. Yeah, they would be great buddies. There's just a little different style there. I've met Lucy Lawless, and I think she's great. I'm so happy for her that the show's been a success. When a woman has great success, I just think it opens up the possibility for more opportunities for other women.
JH: This entire issue of Nightlife is dedicated to Heroines. Who are your heroines?
LC: Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright & Hilary Clinton. Those two have single handedly knocked the glass ceiling out of traditional roles reserved for men. It's funny, my daughter asked me what Laura Bush did and I said 'Well, I think she was a teacher.' My daughter answered 'No, I don't mean that, I mean what does she do now, like Mrs. Clinton does? Mrs. Clinton was a lawyer and a politician, what does Mrs. Bush do?' I answered 'Well, I guess that remains to be seen, but she doesn't really have a profession like that. 'Will she run for the senate? 'I don't know, I don't really think so' (laughs). Whether you love her or hate her, Hilary has really opened the doors for our daughters.
JH: Do you think Hilary will run for president in a few years?
LC: You know, I don't think that's out-side the realm of possibilities, but I do know she isn't giving that any thought right now.
JH: Any final thoughts you'd like to share with our readers?
LC: I just hope that my example can help other people to really go out there and follow their dreams. That's really all I did. I was tenacious about it, and didn t leave myself much room for failure. I certainly made mistakes, but those mistakes are behind me. You just have to get past them, and move on. The first step to following your dream is to find your true passion, and then all you have to do is find a way to make a living at it! N
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