Lynda Carter, as part of her national tour after a 20-year hiatus, adorned Chicago’s Apollo Theatre with six special performances, where she beautifully sang many of the most popular and beloved ballads and jazz classics of the 20th century, including Always, Summertime, As Time Goes By and Blues In The Night. She also joyfully flashed her tastefully enormous diamonds as she sang My Heart Belongs To Daddy. Her rendition of Put The Blame On Mame, a song made famous in the 1946 film Gilda, starring the gorgeous Rita Hayworth, was a particular favorite with the closing night audience. Carter was backed by a fantastic six-piece band led by pianist Michael Orland—who is currently the arranger, pianist and associate musical director for the Fox TV show American Idol, and who has worked with dozens of the most famous stars in the music industry.
Linda Jean Cordova Carter was born July 24, 1951, in Phoenix, Ariz., and studied music and drama throughout her childhood and teen years. Carter left Arizona State University to tour with a rock band, and returned home in 1972 to begin a modeling career. In 1973, Carter was crowned Miss World-USA and, in 1975, won the coveted role of television’s Wonder Woman, for which she will always be fondly remembered. Carter went on to produce, host, sing and dance in five Network television variety shows and movies, and has also performed in numerous venues that include London’s Palladium, and the MGM Grand and Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas.
Carter has received numerous honors. In 1978, The International Academy of Beauty voted Carter ‘The Most Beautiful Woman In The World.’ In 1980, Carter, who is of Mexican and Irish parentage, was given the Ariel Award, Mexico’s highest honor, for International Entertainer of the Year presented by the Mexican Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and in 1983 the Hispanic Women’s Council of Los Angeles awarded her the distinction of ‘Hispanic Woman of the Year.’ Carter is married to Washington lawyer Robert Altman, and they have two children.
Carter was extremely personable and fun when we met after her show, posing and signing autographs for fans, including several entertainers and the exuberant owners and staff of Chicago’s Kit Kat Supper Club.
Check out Windy City Queercast’s Aug. 11 interview with Carter at WindyCityQueercast.com.
Photo of Lynda Carter at the Apollo Theatre taken Sept. 16 by Steve Starr