'Tis a sad, sad day in Hollywood, it is, this St. Patrick's Day.
Lyle Waggoner (ex-The Carol Burnett Show, Wonder Woman) passed away earlier today.at 84. Not all the details are yet available.
As some of you are aware, Waggoner nearly altered his career trajectory when he did a screen test for Batman a couple of years before Burnett came a'callin'. Of course, we know the rest of that particular tale.
In 1969, Waggoner landed an endorsement deal with Dodge that parodied superheroes. Gary Owens (Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, Space Ghost, etc.) is the narrator:
Yes, it does seem like the audio is a bit ahead of the video.
On Monday, Hollywood said goodbye to Western star Stuart Whitman, at the age of 92. Whitman earned an Oscar nomination in the 50's for "The Mark", and landed one of his first TV gigs on Highway Patrol before starring in 1967's Cimarron Strip for CBS.
Edit, 3/18/20: Cimarron Strip videos have been privatized. In its place, we present Stuart Whitman in an episode of Police Story, from a fan channel for the series:
Rest in peace, gentlemen.
OH! So sad to hear. I saw Lyle Waggoner during an interview for the Carol Burnett show DVD collection - he looked so old! He barely resembled his younger self! I remember him fondly for that show and of course, his role as Steve Trevor on Wonder Woman. I had seen his screen test for Batman and he could have pulled it off, although I think he did a better job with the commercial!
ReplyDeleteStuart Whitman I knew of as a character actor more than anything since much of his work was before I was born (and various appearances on TV shows in the 80s). I recently saw the opening credits to Cimmarron Strip and feared for his life as he galloped with an unsteady seat on that horse! He looked like he would tumble off! A long time horseman remarked that he credited the horse, because he had a smooth and collected gait to keep the rider in place. I'll take his word for it, although I would be tempted to think Whitman was tied to the saddle!
Whitman being nominated for an Oscar I didn't know about until I read of his passing. He and "Strip" co-star Percy Herbert reunited to work with Lee Van Cleef in "Captain Apache" four years after "Strip" ended production.
ReplyDeleteI was also seeing that Lyle Waggoner ad for the first time. Didn't know he did ads.
May they Rest in Peace.
ReplyDeleteAmen to that.
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