Sharon Kennedy and Lyle Waggoner are best remembered as a longtime Hollywood couple whose relationship lasted for nearly six decades. While Lyle Waggoner became a familiar television face through The Carol Burnett Show and Wonder Woman, Sharon Kennedy maintained a much lower public profile. She worked in entertainment herself and was also described as a financial consultant and realtor. Their marriage began in the early 1960s and continued until Waggoner’s death in 2020.
Although Lyle’s professional career generated extensive publicity, considerably less independently documented information exists about Sharon. As a result, some biographical websites publish precise claims about her birth date, wealth, education, parents, appearance, and other personal details that are not supported by strong primary sources. The most dependable public records establish her professional identity, her marriage to Waggoner, her family connection to their two sons, and several television credits.
Who Was Sharon Kennedy?
Sharon Kennedy, whose birth name is listed by IMDb as Sharon Adele Kennedy, was an actress who also pursued careers outside the entertainment industry. IMDb identifies her as an actress, financial consultant, and realtor, making her professional life broader than the description of her as simply “Lyle Waggoner’s wife.” Her documented entertainment credits include The Carol Burnett Show, Tattletales, and the British comedy series Eh Brian! It’s a Whopper.
Her acting career was relatively small compared with her husband’s, but it placed her within the same television world that made Lyle Waggoner famous. IMDb credits Kennedy with appearing as Trudy in five episodes of Eh Brian! It’s a Whopper in 1984. Her other television associations include Tattletales and The Carol Burnett Show. IMDb also lists her under the alternate name Sharon Waggoner.
Kennedy’s limited public profile is important when examining information about her online. Some sites describe her as having been born in 1940 and provide estimates of her net worth and other personal characteristics, but these claims are not consistently corroborated by authoritative records. Consequently, it is safer to concentrate on information that can be traced to established biographical or entertainment databases rather than treating every repeated internet biography as fact.
Lyle Waggoner’s Early Life and Background
Lyle Wesley Waggoner was born on April 13, 1935, in Kansas City, Kansas. He later spent part of his childhood in Missouri, and biographical sources identify his parents as Myron and Marie Waggoner. His path to Hollywood was not immediate. Before becoming a recognizable television actor, Waggoner pursued education, served in the U.S. Army, and worked jobs that helped him support himself.
Waggoner eventually moved toward entertainment and began building experience as a performer. His early screen career included appearances in low-budget science-fiction, adventure, and beach-party films during the 1960s. These early projects included Women of the Prehistoric Planet, Swamp Country, Time Warp, Catalina Caper, and Journey to the Center of Time. They were a far cry from the nationally televised productions that would later make him famous, but they provided valuable experience in front of the camera.
His physical appearance was also a significant part of his early public image. Standing more than six feet three inches tall, with a muscular build and conventionally handsome appearance, Waggoner became the kind of performer frequently associated with the television heartthrob image of the 1960s and 1970s. His looks eventually became an important part of his appeal on variety television and later on Wonder Woman.
Sharon Kennedy and Lyle Waggoner’s Marriage
The marriage of Sharon Kennedy and Lyle Waggoner was one of the longest-lasting relationships associated with a major television personality of his generation. IMDb records their marriage as beginning on September 17, 1960, while other biographical references give 1961 as the marriage year. Regardless of the discrepancy in the exact year, the available records agree that they married around the beginning of Waggoner’s rise to television prominence and remained together until his death.
Their marriage lasted almost 60 years. IMDb describes Waggoner as having been married only once, to Kennedy, and records the relationship as continuing until March 17, 2020, the date of his death. The couple had two sons, Jason Waggoner and Beau Waggoner.
The longevity of their relationship is especially notable because Waggoner spent decades in an industry known for intense publicity. His work regularly placed him in front of millions of television viewers, yet his marriage to Kennedy remained intact throughout the different phases of his career. From his breakthrough on The Carol Burnett Show through Wonder Woman, later television appearances, business ventures, and his work as a sculptor, Kennedy remained his wife.
Sharon Kennedy and The Carol Burnett Show Connection
One of the most interesting aspects of Sharon Kennedy’s biography is that her connection to Lyle Waggoner was not solely through marriage. She also had an association with The Carol Burnett Show, the program that became one of the defining achievements of Waggoner’s acting career. IMDb lists The Carol Burnett Show among Kennedy’s known credits.
Waggoner joined The Carol Burnett Show in 1967 and became one of its recognizable performers. He worked on the series from 1967 to 1974, appearing in sketches and serving as the show’s announcer. The program gave him a national audience and helped establish the public persona that he would carry into the rest of his television career.
The series was particularly important because it demonstrated that Waggoner could function as more than a conventional dramatic leading man. He was able to participate in comedy and sketch performances, frequently playing exaggerated versions of handsome, confident or romantic characters. His appearance became part of the joke as well as part of his star appeal.
Lyle Waggoner and Wonder Woman
After leaving The Carol Burnett Show, Waggoner entered another major chapter of his career when he was cast in the television adaptation of Wonder Woman. He played Steve Trevor and Steve Trevor Jr. from 1975 through 1979, opposite Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman. The role ensured that his image remained strongly associated with classic American television even after his departure from Burnett’s variety series.
His role in Wonder Woman was particularly memorable because Steve Trevor was one of the central supporting characters in the series. Waggoner’s tall, athletic appearance suited the part, while his previous television experience gave him the familiarity and polish required for a major network series.
The program also became a cultural landmark. Decades later, viewers continued to associate Waggoner with the character, even though his career eventually moved in directions far beyond acting. His work on Wonder Woman remains one of the principal reasons his name continues to appear in discussions of classic television.
Lyle Waggoner’s Other Acting Work
Although The Carol Burnett Show and Wonder Woman were his most recognizable television credits, Waggoner worked extensively beyond those programs. His filmography includes projects such as Love Me Deadly, Surf II, Wizards of the Demon Sword, and other television and film productions. He also made guest appearances on various television programs throughout his later career.
His later television work included appearances on programs such as Mork & Mindy, Happy Days, The Love Boat, Fantasy Island, and Murder, She Wrote. He also appeared in productions that allowed him to play with the public image he had developed during his earlier career.
Waggoner’s career was therefore not confined to a single iconic character. Instead, it developed through several stages: early film work, variety television, superhero television, guest appearances, presenting, business, and eventually art.
The Business Career Behind the Actor
One of the less obvious chapters of Waggoner’s life was his transition from full-time actor to businessman. In 1979, he founded Star Waggons, a company specializing in customized location trailers for the entertainment industry. The business supplied trailers used by film and television productions, providing practical accommodations for actors and production personnel working on location.
This venture was an important part of Waggoner’s second career. Rather than relying exclusively on acting opportunities, he developed a business connected to the entertainment industry itself. His experience as an actor gave him insight into what performers and productions required when working away from studio facilities.
The company eventually became a significant part of his professional identity. Waggoner continued to make occasional entertainment appearances while devoting increasing attention to his business interests. This shift illustrates why his biography cannot be understood solely through his television roles.
Lyle Waggoner as a Sculptor
Later in life, Waggoner also developed a reputation as a sculptor. Sources describe him as living for periods near Jackson, Wyoming, and working on sculpture there. His artistic work became another outlet after he had stepped back from regular acting.
His sculptures were described as humorous interpretations of women, and some of his work was associated with galleries in Wyoming. This artistic chapter demonstrates the variety of interests that emerged after his television career had reached its peak.
For a performer who had spent decades being photographed and watched by television audiences, sculpture offered a very different kind of creative expression. Instead of performing for an audience, he could work independently and create physical objects that remained after the performance itself was over.
Sharon Kennedy’s Professional Life Beyond Acting
Kennedy’s career is particularly interesting because available sources identify her as a financial consultant and realtor in addition to being an actress. This suggests that her professional identity was not dependent on Waggoner’s fame.
Unlike her husband, Kennedy did not maintain a highly public entertainment career. Her relatively private life means that many details about her professional activities are not well documented online. This is one reason that biographies focusing heavily on unverified claims about her personal finances or background should be approached cautiously.
What can be established is that she worked in several professional fields while maintaining a long marriage to one of American television’s recognizable personalities.
Sharon Kennedy, Jason Waggoner, and Beau Waggoner
Sharon Kennedy and Lyle Waggoner had two sons, Jason and Beau Waggoner. IMDb explicitly identifies Kennedy as the mother of both sons and Waggoner’s family records likewise identify them as his children.
The couple generally kept their family life considerably more private than Waggoner’s professional career. Consequently, there is much less reliable public documentation about Jason and Beau than there is about their father.
That privacy is an important part of understanding the family. Although Lyle Waggoner was a recognizable celebrity, his family was not continuously placed at the center of entertainment publicity. Sharon in particular remained largely outside the celebrity-news cycle.
Lyle Waggoner’s Public Image
Waggoner’s public image changed substantially over the course of his career. In the 1960s and 1970s, he was promoted as an exceptionally handsome television performer. His appearance was a major part of his appeal, but comedy and television experience eventually proved equally important.
His work with Carol Burnett allowed him to demonstrate comic timing, while Wonder Woman gave him an enduring connection to superhero television. Later, his business career transformed him from a performer into an entrepreneur within the same industry.
This combination of acting, television presentation, business, modeling, and sculpture makes Waggoner’s career unusually diverse. He was not simply an actor who disappeared after his most famous series ended.
The Couple’s Long Life Away From Hollywood
Although Hollywood remained an important part of Waggoner’s identity, he and Kennedy spent substantial time away from the entertainment industry’s center. Waggoner was associated with Wyoming later in life, where he pursued sculpture. Sources also describe the family as having residences in different locations over the years.
This lifestyle reflected the couple’s transition away from the intense demands of weekly television. Waggoner could devote more time to business and art, while Kennedy maintained her own professional interests.
Their long marriage also provides an interesting contrast with the highly public nature of Waggoner’s career. Millions of people knew his face, but relatively little was publicly known about the everyday life he shared with his wife.
Lyle Waggoner’s Final Years
Waggoner continued to have occasional entertainment credits after leaving regular television work. His later appearances included projects such as Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt and other television productions. His professional activity eventually became much less frequent as he concentrated on business and personal interests.
By this stage of his life, his identity had expanded far beyond his early reputation as a television heartthrob. He was a businessman, sculptor, former model, presenter and actor, with decades of experience across several areas of entertainment.
Lyle Waggoner’s Death in 2020
Lyle Waggoner died on March 17, 2020, at the age of 84. IMDb records his place of death as Westlake, California, and identifies cancer as the cause of death. Other biographical references likewise report that he died at his home in the Los Angeles area after battling cancer.
His death marked the end of a career that had stretched across more than five decades. He had begun as a young performer trying to establish himself in Hollywood, became a nationally recognized television personality, appeared in two of the era’s best-known television programs, and ultimately created a successful business and pursued sculpture.
For Sharon Kennedy, his death also brought the end of a marriage that had lasted nearly six decades. The available records consistently show that she was his only wife and that they remained married until his death.
The Legacy of Sharon Kennedy and Lyle Waggoner
The story of Sharon Kennedy and Lyle Waggoner is ultimately about more than the famous actor and the woman described as his wife. Kennedy had her own professional identity as an actress, financial consultant and realtor, while Waggoner built a career that moved from acting and modeling into entrepreneurship and sculpture.
Lyle Waggoner’s lasting television legacy rests primarily on The Carol Burnett Show and Wonder Woman. His work as Steve Trevor, his years alongside Carol Burnett, and his later business career ensured that he remained a recognizable figure long after his period as a full-time television performer ended.
Sharon Kennedy’s legacy is quieter. Her life was closely connected to one of television’s familiar faces, but she also worked in her own right and maintained a remarkably long marriage while largely avoiding the intense public attention that often accompanies celebrity relationships.
Together, Sharon Kennedy and Lyle Waggoner represent a fascinating chapter in classic American entertainment history: a television star whose career evolved from comedy and superhero television into business and art, and a wife who had her own professional pursuits while sharing nearly six decades of life with him. The most reliable public record supports the picture of a long-standing marriage, two sons, multiple professional careers, and a family that remained considerably more private than the Hollywood spotlight surrounding Waggoner.
