When one thinks of Lynda Carter’s iconic portrayal of comic-book character Wonder Woman, they likely have one specific costume in mind. However, some may be surprised to learn that there were actually numerous iterations of the costume worn by the actress over the course of the 1970s live-action series. The character’s main costume was changed after one season of the show’s three-season run, and there were also a couple of variants that she wore when the situation called for it. The costume that was meant for when Wonder Woman had to go in the water was initially meant to be a two-piece bikini, but it had to be changed to a full-body wetsuit once it was revealed that the bikini wouldn’t stay on. Join Facts Verse as we explore how Lynda Carter’s Wonder Woman outfit kept falling off her body.
The Case of the Super-Revealing Wonder Woman Bikini
When the live-action television series Wonder Woman premiered in November of 1975, it was seen as a risk for the ABC network. The show was incredibly expensive to produce, and the network didn’t end up finding the prospect of a second season feasible. The show could’ve come to an end after one season, but the CBS network picked it up and produced two more. Legend has it that the reason CBS picked the series up was because it’s studio head was enamored with the revealing costume worn by star Lynda Carter, who played the series’ titular heroine.
If the CBS head enjoyed the strapless costume that served as Wonder Woman’s signature outfit, he would’ve loved the two-piece bikini that was initially intended to be the character’s swimsuit. Of course, those familiar with the series will know that Lynda Carter adorned a full-body blue swimsuit whenever the character of Wonder Woman needed to get wet. However, the original swimsuit costume that had been designed for the character of Wonder Woman was actually a good deal more revealing, and colorful! The bikini that Lynda Carter was supposed to wear was red, white, and blue, as compared to the plain blue of the swimsuit that was used. The reason that the two-piece bikini couldn’t be used wasn’t because the censors found it to be too revealing. Instead, the reason was a good deal more humorous!
As it turns out, the reason that we never got to see Lynda Carter rock a red, white, and blue bikini during her time as the character of Wonder Woman is because wardrobe malfunctions kept happening whenever she tried to put it on. Lynda tried to film several scenes with the red, white, and blue bikini, but, each time she made an attempt, the top half of the bikini would slip off. Whenever this happened, the actress was fully revealed to the cameras! As one might imagine, this wasn’t the most comfortable experience for the actress. The full-body blue swimsuit was rushed into production in the bikini’s stead, and the rest is history!
Wonder Woman Had Numerous Costume Variants
Though Lynda Carter’s Wonder Woman wore her full-body blue bathing suit when the situation called for it, most of the time the heroine could be found in her more iconic signature costume. Of course, that would be the character’s strapless red and blue outfit emblazoned in gold, with white stars on the shorts. Some may not realize that Wonder Woman actually had two distinct versions of this main costume over the course of the 1970s series. During the more expensive first season of the show, which ran on ABC, the character of Wonder Woman had an outfit that was emblazoned specifically with a gold eagle. The first season of the show took place during World War II, and it’s period setting was a big part of why it was so expensive too produce.
When Wonder Woman was dropped by ABC and picked up CBS, a number of changes were made to the series in order to make it’s production more economical. One such change involved the show no longer being a period piece. During the second and third seasons of the beloved live-action series, the character of Wonder Woman was in then-modern times. There were other changes made to the series that didn’t have to do with budget constraints. For one, the character of Wonder Woman was given a slight costume change.
The golden eagle that Wonder Woman’s costume was emblazoned with during the live-action series’ first season was deemed too militaristic for the second season’s modernized setting. A new costume was created that switched out the eagle for a more generic gold design. Lynda Carter then continued wearing this slightly altered costume over the course of the show’s remaining run. Though the character of Wonder Woman wore two main costumes over the course of the show’s run, there’s only one that Lynda Carter still holds onto. If you’re enjoying this video so far, be sure to hit the like button to show your support! Also, subscribe to the channel if you’d like to be among the first to know when more Facts Verse videos are on their way!
Lynda Carter Triumphed in the Role of Wonder Woman
Lynda Carter didn’t mind how revealing her Wonder Woman costume was. The actress adored playing the heroic comic-book character, and still takes every opportunity she can to pay her respects. The actress truly gave her time as Wonder Woman her all, and even stepped up to perform some of her own stunts during the production of the 1970s series. One time, the crew of the show even got in trouble because it let Lynda perform a stunt that was deemed too dangerous for the performer! This occurred when the crew decided that the stuntwoman that had been hired to perform Lynda’s stunts didn’t look realistic enough during the filming of a certain scene where Wonder Woman was supposed to be hanging from a helicopter. This resulted in Lynda being coerced into filming the scene herself! Though the actress was game, the producers were said to have been furious once they caught wind of what had happened. To them, Lynda was a commodity, and the crew had endangered their money!
Lynda Carter thankfully survived the risky filming of the aforementioned helicopter scene, and the incident resulted in a story that adds to the overall legend of the actress’s portrayal of Wonder Woman. Though the show ended it’s run over four decades ago and the character is now getting her own Hollywood movies, many still consider Lynda Carter’s Wonder Woman to be the most iconic version of the character on the screen. A big part of the appeal of Lynda Carter’s Wonder Woman is undeniably the iconic main costume that she wore, regardless of whether we’re talking about the ABC or the CBS version. When the situation called for it, Wonder Woman also had other variants of her costume that she could pull out to aid her during her crime-fighting.
Roy Rogers Thought Lynda Carter Was Too Underdressed
As we’ve already stated, Wonder Woman would change into a full-body blue swimsuit whenever she needed to go in the water. However, the character also had other situational costumes on the 1970s live-action series that some fans might not remember. There was a Western-themed episode of the show called “The Bushwackers”, and it featured notable Western actor Roy Rogers in a guest-starring role. In addition to it’s Western theming and famous guest star, the episode is also notable for featuring a rare one-off costume change for the character of Wonder Woman. Some claim that it was at Roy Rogers’ insistence that the character of Wonder Woman be given a less revealing costume for the episode. However, others say that the costume change simply occurred because the main costume didn’t work well for the scenes that called for riding on a horse. Either way, the change resulted in a new and memorable costume.
Besides the one-off Western variant that Wonder Woman wore in “The Bushwackers”, there’s also a motorcycle variant that the character wore at various appropriate times during the live-action series. Whenever the character of Wonder Woman needed to go on a motorcycle or some craft of the sort, she would adorn a suit designed for the situation. From a layman’s perspective, the suit was just the full-body swimsuit that the character wore, plus some goggles and a helmet. There was also a different outfit that Wonder Woman wore while she was skateboarding. This outfit had arms pads and it’s own unique helmet, which was red and gold.
Of course, another part of Wonder Woman’s overall wardrobe would be her iconic bracelets. In the comics, these bracelets helped the character control her rage. For the live-action series, the creative choice was made to give her belt this power instead. Still, the bracelets worn by Wonder Woman in the series had plenty of power of their own, as they can deflect bullets. Besides her various costumes and her bracelets, Wonder Woman also had her lasso!
Which Costume Does Lynda Carter Prefer?
Lynda Carter grew incredibly attached to her Wonder Woman costume over the course of filming the 1970s series. When actress Debra Winger was invited onto the program to the play the character’s sister, Lynda Carter demanded that the new character’s costume have as little in common with hers as possible. Lynda didn’t want the new costume to simply be a copy-and-paste job, as she felt that such a thing would detract from the power of her own costume. The actress still holds her Wonder Woman costume in reverence, but some may be surprised to find out which iteration of the costume the actress still possesses after all these years.
Recently, Lynda Carter shared via social media that she still keeps the original Wonder Woman costume encased in glass. The costume the actress keeps is the one that was worn by the character during the live-action series’ World War II-set first season, with the emblazoned gold eagle.
Though the costumes that Lynda Carter wore while portraying Wonder Woman on the 1970s live-action series of the same name were revealing enough, we almost got an even more revealing suit for the scenes where the character was in the water! Now it’s time to hear from you: did you know that Western actor Roy Rogers allegedly demanded that Lynda Carter be given a less revealing outfit during his guest appearance on Wonder Woman, and that the comic-book heroine had a minor costume change between the first and second seasons of the show? Comment down below!
