Lindsay Wagner
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| Lindsay Wagner | |
 Wagner at the San Diego Comic-con, July 26, 2008 |
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| Born | Lindsay Jean Wagner 22 June 1949 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
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| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1973–present |
| Spouse(s) | Allan Rider (1971–1973) Michael Brandon (1976–1979) Henry Kingi (1981–1984) Lawrence Mortorff (1990–1993) |
Lindsay Jean Wagner (born June 22, 1949) is an American actress, who played the role of Jaime Sommers in the 1970s TV series The Bionic Woman.
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[edit] Early life
Wagner was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of Marilyn Louise (née Thrasher) and William Nowels Wagner.[1] When she was seven years old, her parents divorced and her mother moved with her to the northeast Los Angeles neighborhood of Eagle Rock, near Pasadena. Another move with her mother and stepfather (Ted Ball) brought her to Portland, Oregon, where she attended David Douglas High School and appeared in a number of school plays. She studied at the University of Oregon.
[edit] Career
Wagner worked as a model in Los Angeles, and gained some television experience by appearing as a hostess in Playboy After Dark. However, it was not until she contacted a friend at Universal Studios and was cast in a small part in Marcus Welby, M.D. that her acting career took off. Her appearances helped her win roles in the films Two People and The Paper Chase. Wagner played a total of four different roles on the Marcus Welby, M.D. series between 1971-75, as well as a recurring guest role in The Rockford Files.
In 1975, Wagner then played Jaime Sommers, a former tennis pro who was the childhood sweetheart of Six Million Dollar Man, Steve Austin (played by Lee Majors). In a two-part episode entitled "The Bionic Woman", Jaime was critically injured in a skydiving accident and, at Steve's request, she was equipped with bionic limbs similar to his own (with the exception of his bionic eye, as Jaime was equipped with a bionic ear instead). Unfortunately, Jaime's body rejected her new bionics and she later died.
This was intended to be Wagner's last role under her Universal contract, but public response to the character was so overwhelming that Jaime was "brought back to life" with her own spin-off series, The Bionic Woman (it was discovered that Jaime hadn't really died but had been put into cryogenic suspension until she could be cured). Like Steve, Jaime became an agent for the U.S. Government agency, the O.S.I., though, suffering from amnesia, she could not remember her love for Steve. However, the two would team up for several crossover episodes throughout the series' run. The role earned Wagner an Emmy Award for "Best Actress in a Dramatic Role" in 1977.
Following the cancellation of The Bionic Woman in 1978, Wagner continued to act, predominantly in television mini-series and made-for-TV movies. These included the highly rated 1980 mini-series Scruples, as well as three made-for-TV Bionic reunion movies with Lee Majors between 1987 and 1994. Also in the 1980s, Wagner starred in two more weekly television series; Jessie (1984) and A Peaceable Kingdom (1989), though both of these were short-lived.
Wagner continued to act in the 1990s and 2000s, though in less prominent roles, such as the action movie "Ricochet" (1991), Her most recent projects have included the 2005 telemovie, Thicker than Water, with Melissa Gilbert, Buckaroo: The Movie (2005), and, Four Extraordinary Women (2006).
In 1987, Wagner wrote a series of books with Robert M. Klein about using acupressure to achieve results akin to a surgical facelift. Wagner was the spokesperson for Ford Motor Company. Wagner also appears in infomercials for Select Comfort's Sleep Number bed.
More recently, Wagner has given seminars and workshops for her self-help therapy, "Quiet the Mind & Open the Heart", which promotes spirituality and meditation.
[edit] Personal life
Wagner lived with Capt. Daniel M. Yoder USAF, until he went to Vietnam. She has been married four times. From 1971–73, she was married to music publisher Allan Rider. From late 1976–79, she was married to the actor Michael Brandon. In 1981, she married stuntman Henry Kingi whom she met on the set of The Bionic Woman. Wagner had two sons with Kingi; Dorian (b. 1982) and Alex (b. 1986). She and Kingi eventually divorced. Wagner married TV producer Lawrence Mortorff in 1990, but they also divorced a couple of years later.
Wagner at one time was related to Dallas star Linda Gray, as Gray's ex-husband is Ed Thrasher, who is one of Wagner's uncles. Wagner and Gray also played romantic rivals in the television movie The Two Worlds of Jenny Logan (1979).
[edit] Civic activities
Wagner is on the board of directors of the Teen Talking Circles Project and is an active supporter of Girls Talking Circles.
[edit] Filmography
[edit] Films
| Year | Film | Role | Other notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | Two People | Deirdre McCluskey | |
| The Paper Chase | Susan Fields | ||
| 1975 | The Bionic Woman | Jaime Sommers | |
| 1976 | Second Wind | Linda | |
| 1979 | The Incredible Journey of Doctor Meg Laurel | Meg Laurel | TV movie |
| The Two Worlds of Jennie Logan | Jennie Logan | TV movie | |
| 1980 | Scruples | Billy Ikehorn | Miniseries |
| 1981 | Nighthawks | Irene | |
| High Risk | Olivia | ||
| Callie & Son | Callie Bordeaux | TV movie | |
| 1982 | Memories Never Die | Joanne Tilford | TV movie |
| 1983 | I Want to Live | Barbara Graham | TV movie |
| Princess Daisy | Francesca Valenski | TV movie | |
| Two Kinds of Love | Susan Farley | TV movie | |
| 1984 | Martin's Day | Dr. Mennen | |
| Passions | Nina Simon | TV movie | |
| 1985 | The Other Lover | Claire Fielding | TV movie |
| This Child Is Mine | Bonnie Wilkerson | TV movie | |
| 1986 | Child's Cry | Joanne Van Buren | TV movie |
| Young Again | Laura Gordon | TV movie | |
| Convicted | Martha Forbes | TV movie | |
| 1987 | Stranger in My Bed | Beverly Slater | TV movie |
| The Return of the Six-Million-Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman | Jaime Sommers | TV movie | |
| Student Exchange | Principal | TV movie | |
| 1988 | Evil in Clear River | Kate McKinnon | TV movie |
| The Taking of Flight 847: The Uli Derickson Story | Uli Derickson | TV movie | |
| Nightmare at Bitter Creek | Nita Daniels | TV movie | |
| Police Story: Burnout | Detective Sidney Shannon | TV movie | |
| 1989 | From the Dead of Night | Joanna | TV movie |
| Bionic Showdown: The Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman | Jaime Sommers | TV movie | |
| 1990 | Voice of the Heart | Katharine Tempest | TV movie |
| Shattered Dreams | Charlotte Fedders | TV movie | |
| Babies | Yvonne | TV movie | |
| 1991 | Ricochet | Brimleigh | |
| Fire in the Dark | Janet | TV movie | |
| 1992 | She Woke Up | Claudia Parr | TV movie |
| Treacherous Crossing | Lindsey Thompson Gates | TV movie | |
| To Be the Best | Paula O'Neill | TV movie | |
| A Message from Holly | Holly | TV movie | |
| 1993 | Nurses on the Line: The Crash of Flight 7 | Elizabeth Hahn | TV movie |
| 1994 | Once in a Lifetime | Daphne Fields | TV movie |
| Bionic Ever After? | Jaime Sommers | TV movie | |
| 1995 | Fighting for My Daughter | Kate Kerner | TV movie |
| 1996 | Sins of Silence | Molly McKinley | TV movie |
| A Mother's Instinct | Raeanne Gilbaine | ||
| 1997 | Contagious | Dr. Hannah Cole | TV movie |
| Their Second Chance | Barbara | TV movie | |
| 1998 | Voyage of Terror | Dr. Stephanie Tauber | TV movie |
| Frog and Wombat | Sydney Parker | ||
| 2002 | A Light in the Forest | Penelope Audrey | |
| 2005 | Thicker Than Water | Jess Jarrett | TV movie |
| Buckaroo: The Movie | Ms. Ainsley | ||
| 2006 | The Surfer King | Connie Zirpollo | |
| Four Extraordinary Women | Anne | TV movie | |
| 2008 | Billy: The Early Years | Morrow Graham |
[edit] TV series
| Year(s) | Title | Role | Seasons | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975–76 | The Six Million Dollar Man | Jaime Sommers | 2-4 | |
| 1976–78 | The Bionic Woman | Jaime Sommers | 1-3 | Won a TV Land Award. Also nominated for two Golden Globes and an Emmy. |
| 1984 | Jesse | Dr. Jessie Hayden | 1 | |
| 1989 | A Peaceable Kingdom | Rebecca Cafferty | 1 |
[edit] TV appearances
| Year | Title | Role | Episode titles | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | Adam-12 | Jenny Carson | "Million Dollar Buff" | Season 4, episode 2 |
| 1971 | The Man and the City | Margie Holland | "Disaster on Turner Street" | Season 1, episode 6 |
| 1971 | Night Gallery | Nurse | "The Diary" | Season 2, episode 22 |
| 1971 | The Bold Ones: The Lawyers | Stella Bowers | "In Defense of Ellen McKay" | Season 3, episode 4 |
| 1971 | Marcus Welby, M.D. | Nurse Gledhill | "The Best Is Yet to Be" | Season 3, episode 11 |
| 1971 | Sarge | Laurie Meyers | "The Combatants" | Season 1, episode 10 |
| 1971 | Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law | Diana Oliver | "Until Proven Innocent" | Season 1, episode 12 |
| 1972 | O'Hara, U.S. Treasury | Edie Lang | "Operation: XW-1" | Season 1, episode 14 |
| 1972 | Marcus Welby, M.D. | Emily Matocsis | "All the Pretty People" | Season 3, episode 18 |
| 1972 | The F.B.I. | Laurie Peale | "Dark Journey" | Season 7, episode 25 |
| 1972 | Marcus Welby, M.D. | Denise Malory | "Don and Denise" | Season 4, episode 8 |
| 1972 | Night Gallery | Girl | "Smile, Please" | Season 3, episode 8 |
| 1974 | The Rockford Files | Sara Butler | "Backlash of the Hunter" | Season 1, episode 1 |
| 1975 | The Rockford Files | Sara Butler | "Aura Lee, Farewell" | Season 1, episode 15 |
| 1975 | Marcus Welby, M.D. | Susan Davis | "Dark Fury: Part 1" | Season 6, episode 15 |
| 1975 | Marcus Welby, M.D. | Susan Davis | "Dark Fury: Part 2" | Season 6, episode 16 |
| 1988 | Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Susan Forrester | "Prism" | Season 3, episode 3 |
| 2002 | The Division | Agatha B. | "Farewell My Lovelies" | Season 2, episode 18 |
[edit] Books
- High Road to Health: A Vegetarian Cookbook by Lindsay Wagner and Ariane Spade (1994) ISBN 0-671-87277-X
- Lindsay Wagner's New Beauty: The Acupressure Facelift by Lindsay Wagner and Robert M. Klein (1987) ISBN 0-13-536806-5
- 30-Day Natural Face Lift Program by Lindsay Wagner and Robert M. Klein (1988) ISBN 0-86188-779-4
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Lindsay Wagner at the Internet Movie Database
- Lindsay Wagner at TV.com
- Lindsay Wagner's Official Fan Club
- Fanland of Lindsay Wagner
- http://www.lindsaywagner.com
- http://www.peacemakerscommunity.com/
- The Bionic Woman Files
- http://www.bionicandbeyond.com A tribute to Emmy Award actress Lindsay Wagner
- http://www.lindsaywagnerinternational.com
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