Child of the Sixties Forever

Lyle Waggoner, 'The Carol Burnett Show' star, dead at 84

Lyle Waggoner, known for his work on "The Carol Burnett Show" and "Wonder Woman," has died at the age of 84.

The actor passed away Tuesday after a battle with cancer, according to his rep.

In a statement obtained by Fox News, Waggoner's rep said that the “loving husband, father, grandfather, entrepreneur, and actor passed away peacefully at home on March 17th at the age of 84 with his wife at his side. The cause of death was cancer.”Waggoner served as the announcer for and played various characters in "The Carol Burnett Show" from 1967 to 1974.

Burnett, now 86, said that she was looking for someone with good looks in addition to comedic chops to fill the role so that she could play her ugly duckling skits with him.

Waggoner also served as the first centerfold for Playgirl magazine, which called him "the stuff of which sexual fantasies are made, a 6-foot-4 hunk of gorgeous beefcake."

He then joined the cast of "Wonder Woman," alongside Lynda Carter, as Steve Trevor, a soldier who crash-landed on Wonder Woman's mysterious island of Amazon women.

During his time on the show, Waggoner developed a business renting motor homes for stars to relax in during their downtime on-set. Former President Bill Clinton even took advantage of the service during his 1996 visit to California.

Stuart Whitman, Star of ‘The Comancheros’ and ‘The Longest Day,’ Dies at 92

March 17, 2020

Stuart Whitman, a star of Westerns alongside John Wayne like “The Comancheros” and the war movie “The Longest Day,” died in his home Monday, his son told TMZ. Whitman was 92.

“Old Hollywood lost another one of its true stars. Stuart Whitman was known for his rugged roles and handsome charm. We were proud of him for his TV, film roles and his Oscar nomination, but what we will really remember is his exuberant love of his family and friends,” Whitman’s son Justin told TMZ.

TMZ says that Whitman had recently been in and out of the hospital due to skin cancer that seeped into his bloodstream.

Though Whitman played across many genres, he was nominated for an Oscar for the 1961 drama “The Mark,” in which he played a man convicted of attempting to commit child molestation who has just been released from prison and is trying to reform.

Born in San Francisco, Whitman got his start in TV Westerns in the early 1950s after serving a stint in the military in the U.S. Army. He served three years in the Corps of Engineers at Fort Lewis, Washington and was honorably discharged in 1948.

After a stint on the series “Highway Patrol” in the late ’50s, he got his big break in the 1959 film “The Sound and the Fury” alongside Yul Brynner and with director Martin Ritt. He’d then twice star opposite Wayne in both “The Comancheros” and “The Longest Day” and moved into starring roles in films like “The Day and the Hour,” “Those Magnificent Men” and “Signpost to Murder” in the mid-’60s.

One of Whitman’s most well known roles was in the short-lived ’60s TV series “Cimarron Strip,” where he played the tough, but fair Marshal Jim Crown. The show lasted just one season but solidified his reputation as a star of the Western genre. He’d later make cameos on “Walker, Texas Ranger,” “S.W.A.T.,” “Knight Rider” and “Fantasy Island.”

Whitman’s last on-screen role was the 2000 TV action movie “The President’s Man,” where he reunited with Chuck Norris.