Happy Birthday, Lynda Carter

Happy birthday to Lynda Carter!  

Happy Birthday, Lynda Carter

Happy Birthday to patron saint of The Signal Watch, Ms. Lynda Carter!

Just yesterday, I moved some stuff around and began putting all my Lynda Carter Wonder Woman stuff in one place.  I'm not done yet, so no pics.  But, as always, Ms. Carter was on my mind.  Just more so than usual.

Ms. Carter has had an extraordinarily tough year, losing both her husband and father. That's incredibly hard, and we wish her well.

But in recent months she's been active on social media and she's also released a new song, dedicated to her husband, Robert Altman.  It's a romance from Wonder Woman's POV - in both original flavor and dance remix.  And, she's set to participate in the next Wonder Woman film, which this blog endorses 1000%.  

Here's to Lynda Carter, and may she have spent the day with her family and friends.  

Happy Birthday, Lynda Carter

Happy birthday, Lynda Carter!

Today is the 70th birthday of actor, singer, performer, and icon Lynda Carter.

She's got a new album out in a few days and her Wonder Woman episodes are streaming on HBOmax - so go get on it!  (And just last week, TCM aired her Mark Lester directed movie Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw).  

So, make it a Carter-tastic day!  Go listen to one of her records or watch a WW episode!

Lynda Carter Watch: Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw (1976)

they misspelled Lynda Carter's name.  Well done, person in 1976.

Watched:  02/07/2021

Format:  TCM on DVR

Viewing:  First

Decade:  1970's - and very much so

Director:  Mark L. Lester.  Go figure!

So, this came up on Prime, and I'd been meaning to watch it because it starred a pre-Wonder Woman Lynda Carter (reason enough), and then I found out it co-starred Marjoe Gortner, who you may remember from Starcrash.  And then the movie started and it said it was directed and produced by Mark L. Lester, and my brain about melted, because he's the guy who brought us one of my favorite movies: Commando.

Here's the thing - I wasn't expecting a ton out of this movie and was pretty sure I wouldn't finish it - but it was... okay?  Fine?  Nowhere the disaster I was expecting.  Like, it's a legit movie trying to do a thing, and it's competent, which I figured it would be when I saw Lester's name attached.  Which, honestly, was maybe a little disappointing, because I figured it was going to be terrible enough for a Friday night screening.  But, alas, it is not.  

Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw (1976) is part of the trend of movies that's -frankly - existed since the gangster pictures of the 1930's, but returned in force as stories of misfit individuals railing against normalized society (and winding up on the wrong side of the law).  The genre exploded with the counter culture adopting the idea with Cool Hand Luke and Bonnie and Clyde in 1967, and this movie borrows heavily from the latter film.

Bobbie Jo is a car-hop in New Mexico when she meets Lyle Wheeler, a smart but possibly crazy guy who idolizes Billy the Kid.  She's had it with her nagging mother and humdrum life, and decides Marjoe Gortner is her ticket out.  As one does.

The movie does a pretty good job of bringing the "crime spree" part up a bit later in the movie, letting Bobbie Jo and Lyle find their groove, do some peyote, and get up to basic shennanigans before it becomes clear Lyle stole the very cool muscle car their driving, and he's got no real jobby job.  They recruit Bobbie Jo's sister, her boyfriend and a nerdy pal and hit the road, eventually deciding to do some crimes - which Bobbie Jo is *delighted* about.  It's all fun and games.

There's a Buford T. Justice cop that goes in hot pursuit (which frankly makes no sense as he'd be leaving his jurisdiction, the FBI is nowhere to be seen, and he winds up accidentally killing a bunch of innocent people - which is never mentioned again).  

Anyway, the movie is predictable enough, because it wants to show that an outlaw like Lyle is too good or too much for this world, and Lynda Carter must survive in order to mourn him, gorgeously.  

It does feel a bit too reminsicent of Bonnie and Clyde at times, but I'm not entirely sure how you avoid the comparisons when it's two stories of outlaw lovers robbing places and trying to stay ahead of the law in the open spaces of the West.  You're gonna face some convergent evolution, even if you never saw Bonnie and Clyde.  

Watching the movie does make you wonder: wait, how was Lynda Carter *not* a bigger deal when she hit Hollywood?  Famously, she had less than $100 left when she was cast for Wonder Woman and otherwise wasn't finding any work.  This film was released in 76', and WW originally aired in 75', and I'm honestly not sure which shot first.    Wonder Woman premiered in late 75 and this movie came out in March of 76' and was an indie picture, so could have take a while to get assembled.  But before all that, her work is spotty.

Carter can sing, she can dance, she can act, and she - frankly - looks like Lynda Carter.  Maybe she didn't have the right mid-70's earthy qualities movies were looking for?  She's more old school in her approach than, say, Faye Dunaaway, but it sure *seems* like someone would have been smart enough to work with her.  Carter's part here is underwritten - she's mostly there to tell the audience that Lyle is sympathetic and not a sociopath (he is obviously a charistmatic sociopath, but I'm not sure the movie knows this, and thinks he's romantic).  But if you're more used to the polished Lynda Carter, it's a kick to see her getting high and playing with guns.  

Anyway - for a movie I was expecting to mostly suffer through, it was okay.  Maybe not the first thing I'd direct you to, but.  Anyway. 

Happy Byrthday Lynda Carter

Happy birthday to Ms. Carter!  May it be a wonder-ful b-day for our own Amazing Amazon and Princess of Themyscira!

reigning supreme at the Met Gala in 2018!

Happy Birthday to Lynda Carter

Today is the birthday of Patron Saint to The Signal Watch, Ms. Lynda Carter.  She's busy performing again this year, and set to reprise her role as POTUS on CW's Supergirl.  If we're lucky, she'll also be in WW84.

Here's to Ms. Carter on another great year.

Lynda Carter receives Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame

Patron Saint of The Signal Watch, Lynda Carter, has received a much deserved star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Happy Birthday, Lynda Carter

Ms. Carter at the recent premier of "Wonder Woman"

Here's to Lynda Carter, who is celebrating her b-day today.

Lately it seems Ms. Carter has been particularly busy, between appearing on the CW's Supergirl as the President of the United States, to performing live (she's a well-regarded singer), to talk show appearances, to her appearance at the UN and in partnership with the Wonder Woman film.  And last year she lent her voice to a lounge performer in Fallout 4.

We're always happy to see Ms. Carter get her due.  And, of course, we hope she has a great birthday.

TL;DR: Wonder Woman at 75, at the United Nation and 'Wonder Woman v.2 #170'

Yesterday was, apparently, the official 75th birthday of Wonder Woman.  As part of that event, Wonder Woman was made a Special Ambassador of the United Nations, an icon for new efforts within the UN to speak on behalf of gender equality.

I don't know how much of Wonder Woman's origins most people know, or how hung up they are on some of the more salacious details of creator William Moulton Marston's personal life, or how that played out on the comics page.  But I do know that Marston was sincere in his interest to create a strong female superhero, not just with whom little girls could identify, but for little boys to understand that women could do all the things that men can do.  They can leap into the fray and they stand as equals (although I'd argue Marston may have had a bit more of an ideal of a matriarchy in mind even more than than just an egalitarian ideal).

"Wonder Woman" TV star Lynda Carter was in attendance

25 Days of Super Christmas - Day 19

Happy Birthday to Ms. Lynda Carter (she's a wonder!)

Today is the 64th Birthday of Lynda Carter, perhaps most famous for her role as Wonder Woman in the 1970's TV series.

We're big fans of Ms. Carter here at League HQ, and we hope she's twirling herself into a fantastic birthday.

In addition to still appearing on TV and in movies, of late, Lynda Carter has been lending her voice to a series of video games called The Elder Scrolls and has been singing in various venues across the country.

Vacation Wonder Post Day 9 (we should already be home, but whatever)

Vacation Wonder Post Day 8

Vacation Wonder Post Day 7

Vacation Wonder Post Day 6

Vacation Wonder Post Day 5

Vacation Wonder Post Day 4

Feats of strength

Vacation Wonder Post Day 3

Vacation Wonder Post Day 2

Vacation Wonder Post Day 1