Lyle Waggoner, ‘Carol Burnett Show’ and ‘Wonder Woman’ Star, Dies at 84

Danielle Turchiano
·3 min read

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Lyle Waggoner, who starred on “The Carol Burnett Show” and in the 1970s “Wonder Woman” series, has died at 84, Variety has confirmed.

In a statement released by Waggoner’s family it was revealed 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.”

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Waggoner may have become best known for his roles on “The Carol Burnett Show,” where he started as the announcer in 1967 but stayed on with the sketch show through 1974. Some of his most notable sketches include being interrogated by a Nazi and his finger puppet and playing a love-lorn man in “As The Stomach Turns,” a slave master in “The Oldest Man,” Olympian Mark Spitz to Burnett’s Charo, and an alien known as the Jolly Green Thing.

But that show was hardly his only claim to fame. His very first role was in “Gunsmoke” the year before he began on “The Carol Burnett Show,” and he also guest starred on classic 1960s and 1970s series such as “Lost in Space,” “Marcus Welby, M.D.,” “The Barbara Eden Show” and “Maude.”

Many of Waggoner’s roles centered on him being a good-looking guy, which he played up in humor on “The Carol Burnett Show.” When Burnett took the stage at the top of her shows to take questions from the audience, it was not uncommon for the asker to want Waggoner to come out and give hugs. But his looks led him to print work, as well, and he was the first male centerfold in Playgirl in 1973.

After Waggoner left “The Carol Burnett Show,” he booked the role of Colonel Steve Trevor, Jr. on the 1975 “Wonder Woman” series, on which he starred for four years. He then went on to appear in “Charlie’s Angels,” “Happy Days,” Mork & Mindy,” “The Golden Girls,” “Murder, She Wrote,” “Ellen,” and in both “The Naked Truth” and “That ’70s Show” as himself. His last onscreen acting role was in 2005’s “The War at Home,” but in 2017 he appeared on CBS’ 50th anniversary special for “The Carol Burnett Show.”

In the late 1970s while Waggoner was still hard at work on sets, he launched Star Waggons out of Sylmar, California. The company specializes in leasing custom trailers to studios and production companies for location work.

Waggoner, who had traveled west to Hollywood from St. Louis to follow his calling as an actor, “knew how to ‘make artists happy,'” his family’s statement further read.

Waggoner is survived by his wife of 60 years, Sharon; his two sons, Jason and Beau, and his four beloved grandchildren. Services in both Los Angeles and Wyoming are pending.

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