Monday, January 5, 2009

Fantastic Femmes--Linda Harrison

Note: this page has been updated with NEW info HERE!
We bet that, after Linda Park, you thought we'd do Battlestar Galactica's Grace Park, right?
Nope, we're presenting our third (and last) "Linda"! (We will get to Grace a little later on...)
Like Linda Park, most of this Linda's credits are genre credits!
And, Like Lynda Carter, she ALSO played Wonder Woman! In fact, she was FIRST, although the general public never got to see her!

In 1966, at the height of the "camp" craze spawned by Batman, the show's producer William Dozier tried three more comic characters as tv series.
One, The Green Hornet, ran for a 26-episode season.
The second, Dick Tracy, never made it past the pilot.
The third, Wonder Woman, reached the "test reel" stage, with about 10 minutes of footage being shot. Linda was Wonder Woman, opposite a plain-Jane Diana Prince played by Ellie May Walker. After seeing the footage, 20th Century Fox execs vetoed even going for a 30-minute pilot and the project died.
The footage has surfaced on a number of bootleg vhs and dvds and the Internet.

A year later, 20th began pre-production on the first Planet of the Apes film.
Concerned that the ape makeup, so critical to the success of the film, might not look right on film, a screen test was done with Edward G. Robinson as Dr. Zaius, James Brolin as Cornelius, and Linda as Zira playing opposite Charlton Heston.
The concerns proved valid. The makeup was redesigned before main unit shooting began. (You can see the test footage on the Planet of the Apes Special Edition and Behind the Planet of the Apes DVDs)
Linda was then cast as "Nova", the non-speaking human female lead in both Planet of the Apes, and it's immediate sequel, Beneath the Planet of the Apes. (And yes, I know she has one line in BtPotA!)

She married 20th Century studio boss Daryl V. Zanuck between filming the two Apes movies.
After BtPotA, Linda changed her name to "Augusta Summerland" and did minor tv and film roles
She divorced Zanuck and retired from acting in 1978.
Linda returned to acting in 1985, in Cocoon, produced, ironically, by her ex-hubby, Zanuck!
Genre appearances include...
Planet of the Apes [2001] (Woman in cart)
Cocoon / Cocoon: the Return (Susan aka Mom)
Planet of the Apes / Beneath the Planet of the Apes (Nova)
Planet of the Apes Makeup Test (Zira, played by Kim Hunter in three films)
Way, Way Out (Peggy)
The Fat Spy (Treasure Hunter)
Wonder Woman "Who's Afraid of Diana Prince?" [test footage] (Wonder Woman)
Batman "The Joker Goes to School" / "He Meets His Match, the Grisly Ghoul" (CheerLeader)

Check out...
Cult Sirens: Linda Harrison
The Forbidden Zone (PotA FanSite)

Nova returned in the animated Return to the Planet of the Apes episode "Flames of Doom", voiced by Claudette Nevins. Note: most purists consider both the animated and live-action PotA tv series to be "alternate universe" and / or non-canonical.
"Nova", played by Lisa Marie in the 2001 PotA movie remake, was a chimpanzee. Not the same character.

Other Wonder Women since Linda include...
Wonder Woman (1973) Cathy Lee Crosby
New, Original Wonder Woman / New Adventures of Wonder Woman (1975-1978) Lynda Carter
Super Friends / The All-New Super Friends Hour / Challenge of the Super Friends (1973-83) Shanon Farnon
SuperFriends: the Legendary Super Powers Show (1984) Constance Crawford
The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians (1985) / Superman (1985) "Sorceress of Time" "Birthday Party" BJ Ward
Justice League / Justice League Unlimited (2002-06) Susan Eisenberg, Dakota Fanning (WW as child in "Kid's Stuff")
Justice League: New Frontier (2008) Lucy Lawless
Wonder Woman (2009) Keri Russell
Video Game performers: Tara Platt, Courtenay Taylor

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Fantastic Femmes--Linda Park

Note: this page has been updated with NEW info HERE!
Another Linda with a genre track record. In fact, most of her work has been genre films or tv.
Regular cast member on three series, all genre.
And, in my opinion, she's one of the few reasons to watch the first three seasons of Enterprise! (The fourth, and final, season was actually pretty good!)
Also a tae kwan do black belt and gifted ballroom dancer.
Genre appearances include...
Infestation (Leechee)
Women's Murder Club (Denise Kwon)
Honor (Kate)
Raines (Sally Lance)
Spectres / Soul Survivor (Renee Hansen)
Enterprise / Star Trek: Enterprise (Hoshi Sato)
Taken (Party Goer)
Jurassic Park 3 (Hannah)
Check out...
Linda's Official WebSite
The Linda Park FanSite

Friday, January 2, 2009

Fantastic Femmes--Kerry Washington

Note: this page has been updated with NEW info HERE!

Another actress who's appeared in both Fantastic Four films...
Bounces between "serious" films like Rayand Last King of Scotland and "popcorn" flicks like Lakeview Terrace and I Think I Love My Wife with ease.
Genre appearances include...
Fantastic Four / Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer(Alicia Masters)
Mr & Mrs Smith(Jasmine)
WonderFalls(Mahandra McGinty) [unaired pilot. Role assumed in series by Tracie Thoms]
Other actresses to play Alicia Masters...
Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes [2007] Sunita Prasad
Marvel Action Hour: Fantastic Four [1996] Paulina Lomas
The Fantastic Four [1994] Kat Green [live-action film, never officially released]
Fantastic Four: the VideoGame [2005] Cree Summer

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Fantastic Femmes--Jessica Alba

Note: this page has been updated with NEW info
HERE!

For the beginning of the New Year, I present the fanboy favorite Fantastic Femme...Jessica Marie Alba!