Pop Culture Flashback: The Wonderful Wonder Woman (Oct. 21)

Comic book giant, DC Comics first described Wonder Woman in the comic books as “Beautiful as Aphrodite, wise as Athena, swifter than Hermes, and stronger than Hercules.” She wasn’t the first female superhero, but she became the most popular.

1941 – Wonder Woman Makes a Scene

Wonder Woman’s origin story is an odd one. It’s complicated too. Unlike Superman or Batman, her origin story has changed back and forth many times.

It was psychologist William Moulton Marston (who went by the pen name of Charles Moulton) who came up with the character. This guy, who was responsible for inventing the polygraph, thought that this new superhero would rule without weapons but instead rule with … love. It is believed that Moulton was inspired by both his wife and the couples’ life partner.

For the original origin story, Princess Diana of Themyscira was the biological daughter of Zeus who lived with her mother Queen Hippolyta as an Amazon on Paradise Island. She was given powers from the Greek gods. Diana came equipped with the Lasso of Truth, indestructible bracelets and a tiara that could take an eye out if thrown.

Wonder Woman first appeared on the pages of the DC comics’ All Star Comics #8 which was published on this day with artwork by Harry G. Peter. The story begins with U.S. Army Intelligence pilot Steve Trevor flying his fighter plane over the Atlantic Ocean, but when he runs out fuel, he crashes on Paradise Island. He was cared for by Diana, and she was given the opportunity to return Trevor to “man’s world” to fight crime and nazis. (It was 1941 after all.)

When operating in the man’s world, she went by the name of Diana Prince. In 1942, Wonder Woman joined the Justice Society of America working as the team’s secretary.

Wonder Woman’s first appearance on TV was an odd one. She was featured in an episode of The Brady Kids cartoon show in 1972. In 1973, she starred in Hanna-Barbera’s Super Friends. The following year, Cathy Lee Crosby played a very modern version of the character in a live-action, made-for-TV movie.

In 1975, Lynda Carter played the iconic role in her own campy series that ran for three seasons on ABC and then CBS. Gal Gadot has played the character in the movies since 2017.

OTHER EVENTS THAT HAPPENED ON THIS DAY:

1958 – Tater Tots are Copyrighted

Like Scotch Tape and Band-Aids, Tater Tots is not a generic term, but a name brand owned by Ore-Ida. The extruded potato side dish was created by Ore-Ida founder brothers, F. Nephi Grigg and Golden Grigg who were looking for a way to use scrap pieces of potato.

In 1954, the two attended the National Potato Convention (yes, there is such a thing) which was being held at the Fountainebleau Hotel in Miami, Florida. According to Mashed.com, the brothers bribed the hotel’s chef to cook up their side dish to be served for breakfast. They were a hit. “These were all gobbled up faster than a dead cat could wag its tail,” said Nephi Grigg.

On this day in 1958, the name Tater Tots was copyrighted.

1953 – Christian Music Legend, Keith Green is Born

Christian music pianist, singer and songwriter Keith Gordon Green was born on this day in 1953. Green began his musical career at age three playing the ukulele, the guitar at age five and the piano at age 12.

In February 1965, having written forty original songs already, Green and his father, Harvey, signed a five-year contract with Decca Records with plans to make Green a teen idol. At 11 years old, Keith became the youngest person ever to sign with the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), but Decca’s plan failed as Donny Osmond rose to stardom.

Green was raised in Christian Science, but was fascinated with eastern mysticism, drugs and “free love.” In the early 1970’s, Green and his new wife, Melody, became Christians, then became involved with the Vineyard Christian Fellowship in Southern California. In a sense, Green did become a star in Christian music, but his life was cut short when he died in a plane crash in 1982. He was just 28 years old.

1964 – Hepburn Lands Coveted ‘My Fair Lady’ Role Over Andrews

Wilfrid Hyde-White and Audrey Hepburn in "My Fair Lady" — Wilfrid Hyde-White and Audrey Hepburn in *My Fair Lady (Warner Bros. via TVDB)*

My Fair Lady, the movie adapted from the stage musical of the same name adapted from the play, Pygmalion, was released in theaters on this day in 1964. The story centers on Professor Henry Higgins who bets that he can refine the loud, poor, Cockney flower girl, Eliza Doolittle.

Though Rex Harrison and Julie Andrews starred in the recent stage version, Jack L. Warner (the head of Warner Bros. at the time) chose to cast Audrey Hepburn instead. He wanted “a star with a great deal of name recognition” and Andrews did not have any film experience.

Ironically, the star with no film experience then became the lead in a little film by Walt Disney called Mary Poppins. Perhaps you’ve heard of it. Not only that, but it’s also not even Hepburn’s voice you hear singing in the movie. That voice belonged to Marni Nixon as Hepburn’s voice was considered “inadequate.”

Directed by George Cukor, My Fair Lady had a budget of $17 million and was the most expensive movie to be shot in the U.S. at that time. The film was nominated for 12 Academy Awards and won eight Oscars for Best Picture, Directing, Actor (Harrison), Art Direction, Cinematography, Costume Design, Scoring of Music and Sound. It also won three Golden Globes for Best Motion Picture, Best Director and Best Actor.