Kitty O’Neil, who became one of Hollywood’s first stuntwomen filling in for Lynda Carter on the hit ’70s show “Wonder Woman,” has passed away in Arizona at the age of 72. In addition to being a TV pioneer with her daring stunts and racing competitions, though, Kitty shocked Hollywood by reaching the top of her profession despite being deaf since 5 months old! She had to survive a deadly combined attack of the mumps, measles and smallpox when just an infant. But while Kitty was left without being able to hear, she would go on to thrill television and film audiences as a legendary stunt artist making record-setting jumps. That included Wonder Woman taking a dive of 127 feet from a Los Angeles hotel — with the 5’2″ beauty relying on perfectly hitting the center of an inflated air bag. The acclaimed footage earned Kitty her own Mattel action figure, and she was played by Stockard Channing in the 1979 TV-movie “Silent Victory.” Kitty once told The National ENQUIRER: “I can do anything! I like to do things people say that I can’t do because I’m deaf. I have to work harder than some, but look at the fun that I have proving them wrong!”
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Kitty's three husbands included fellow stuntman Ronald "Duffy" Hambleton — who made headlines himself after telling police that "Baretta" star
Robert Blake had once approached him to murder the star's wife. Hambleton reportedly stated that Blake asked him
to find Bonny Lee Bakley in their car, and "approach her on foot and kill her!"
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Photo credit: Getty Images
Kitty spent her final years in South Dakota with longtime companion Raymond Wald, where she often donated time time to the American Cancer Society's efforts in the fight against breast cancer. She had previously survived two cancer battles while still in her 20s. The cause of Kitty's death on Nov. 2 was listed as pneumonia.
Kitty's three husbands included fellow stuntman Ronald "Duffy" Hambleton — who made headlines himself after telling police that "Baretta" star
Robert Blake had once approached him to murder the star's wife. Hambleton reportedly stated that Blake asked him
to find Bonny Lee Bakley in their car, and "approach her on foot and kill her!"
Photo credit: Getty Images
Kitty spent her final years in South Dakota with longtime companion Raymond Wald, where she often donated time time to the American Cancer Society's efforts in the fight against breast cancer. She had previously survived two cancer battles while still in her 20s. The cause of Kitty's death on Nov. 2 was listed as pneumonia.
Photo credit: Getty Images
