Toon Zone Talkback - Toon Zone News Interviews Shannon Farnon, the "Super Friends" Wonder Woman

[Ed Liu]

This is the talkback thread for Toon Zone News Interviews Shannon Farnon, the "Super Friends" Wonder Woman (http://news.toonzone.net/articles/30762/toon-zone-news-interviews-shannon-farnon-the-super-friends-wonder-woman).

http://news.toonzone.net/images/2009-08/SFLostEps/Farnon/splash-farnon.jpg

Look for more retro interviews from Replikon Xum soon on Toon Zone News!

[Tobias]

Great interview. I was always curious about how the whole 'voice change' thing went down in the Legendary Superpowers season. Wonder Woman just didn't sound right that year.

[hobbyfan]

Until Justice League came along (2002), Shannon was the definitive voice of Wonder Woman. It's safe to say she got shafted in 1984 when they asked her to audition all over again. I don't know if Kenner (the makers of the Super Powers toys) had any say in the casting process, but it sure sounds as if there was corporate interference of some kind.

What some of you may not know is that Shannon did have some face acting on her resume other than regional commercials. She was part of Jack Webb's repertory company, appearing on Dragnet and I believe Adam 12 during their runs. I didn't realize this until I caught her name in the credits a few times. Like, who knew?;) :p :D

[SF4Ever]

I've just got done reading Shannon Farnon's interview, where she discusses The Superfriends, her co-stars from the show as well as a little bit of info about Valley of the Dinosaurs. I liked her interview, especially where she talks about her late co-stars Olan Soule, Ted Knight and Danny Dark. As far as I'm concerned, with all due respect to other actresses who've voiced Wonder Woman, Shannon Farnon tops them all. How appropriate is it that she's interviewed on the same day that The Superfriends' Lost Episodes is released on DVD. Perhaps on a future SF DVD release, some of the surviving cast members will discuss the show in the extras features. Fortunately, more SF DVD releases are forthcoming, so for now, we'll just have to stay on top of things.

[Kenny E. McCall]

Shannon Farnon is one classy-ass lady right there! Big ups to the original cartoon Wonder Woman voice actress, the gold standard for all the other classy ladies that followed her in recent years.

Makes you wish that Shannon would've made a voice-over appearance in Justice League.

Kenny:D

[Tomato Suprise]

Excellent interview. She IS Wonder Woman. Seems like a great person, too.

Tomato

[Replikon Xum]

She most certainly is, and I'm glad I managed to convey that to you in the article.

I've viewed Shannon as the "Holy Grail" of Wonder Woman interviews. I remember picking up Back Issue #5 a few years back, which was a special "Wonder Woman" issue containing interviews with all of the various actresses that had played the character in animation and live action -- except two. One was Shannon, and I was surprised that the definitive voice of Wonder Woman wasn't included. That made me wonder if she was living off of some remote tropical island somewhere and couldn't be easily reached. When I started doing voice actor interviews for Comics2Film, Shannon was on my "must interview" shortlist, and I was prepared to run whatever gauntlets necessary to track down her whereabouts. I was pleasantly surprised to find that, when my life finally allowed me to do it, Shannon was the easiest interview to arrange. And Shannon was so gracious to take time out to talk with me about her career and "Super Friends" experiences. I am honored to have interviewed this woman of wonder, and am especially honored to have my article posted on ToonZone.

Oh, and the other Wonder Woman actress missed by Back Issue? Stay tuned...

Xum

[Kenny E. McCall]

I've got a question for ya, Replikon:

We've all heard Jennifer Hale voice Giganta in Justice League. But what happened to Ruth Forman, the Superfriends' Giganta voice actress? Is she still living and active in voice work, and are you going to interview her someday?

Kenny :confused:

[Silly McGooses]

Great interview! Thanks.

[Replikon Xum]

I've got a question for ya, Replikon:

We've all heard Jennifer Hale voice Giganta in Justice League. But what happened to Ruth Forman, the Superfriends' Giganta voice actress? Is she still living and active in voice work, and are you going to interview her someday?

Kenny :confused:

Kenny,

My answer to all three questions is "I don't know." Maybe someday I'll find out.

I've always liked Ms. Forman's portrayal of Giganta -- she definitely sounded like a woman you didn't want to mess with. Ms. Hale's portrayal comes across as a bit... girly to me. But then, that suited the character's portrayal in JL.

Xum

[dth1971]

Wasn't Shannon also during 1973-1974 a prize model on the 1973-1974 NBC daytime game show hosted by Alex Trebek (It was Alex's first US game show!) called "Wizard of Odds"?

[Steve Carras]

While not a fan myself, I did watch and enjoy the show a bit, but one kf the first paragraphs mentions who she was related to...I've wondered if it was Bullwinkle music composer Dennis Farnon, or fellow composer, the even more immortal Robert Farnon. Darleen Carr [mentioned in the inteerview] was the voice of the jungle girl at the end of Disney's "Jungle Book"!

[DR.MID-NITE]

Replikon,

Great job with the interview. Just curious did you happen to ask her if she seen the new Justice League cartoon? And if yes...What she thought of not just WW but, of how things are changed (violence, animation etc.)?

[Replikon Xum]

Replikon,

Great job with the interview. Just curious did you happen to ask her if she seen the new Justice League cartoon? And if yes...What she thought of not just WW but, of how things are changed (violence, animation etc.)?


Thank you, Doctor, for the kind words.

Actually, I did ask Shannon if she had seen "Justice League" or the new "Wonder Woman" DTV, and she had not. She was surprised when I had mentioned Bruce Timm's comment at NYCC about how they had to cut scenes from the DTV to avoid an R-rating, and she did agree that "kid cartoons" have been progressively becoming more sophisticated and appealing to adults. She didn't have a direct opinion on it, but we both noted that kids from the "Super Friends" generation have continued to follow cartoons into their adult lives, which led to our discussion of the age demographics of her fan mail.

Hmm... was this a "deleted scene"?

Xum

[Replikon Xum]

While not a fan myself, I did watch and enjoy the show a bit, but one kf the first paragraphs mentions who she was related to...I've wondered if it was Bullwinkle music composer Dennis Farnon, or fellow composer, the even more immortal Robert Farnon. Darleen Carr [mentioned in the inteerview] was the voice of the jungle girl at the end of Disney's "Jungle Book"!

According to IMDB, Dennis and Robert are Shannon's uncles. Quite a legacy.

Xum

[Kenny E. McCall]

According to IMDB, Dennis and Robert are Shannon's uncles. Quite a legacy.

Xum

Awe-some Sauce!!! Man, Shannon comes from a talented family indeed! Mad Props to Ms. Farnon there!!!

[hobbyfan]

She most certainly is, and I'm glad I managed to convey that to you in the article.

I've viewed Shannon as the "Holy Grail" of Wonder Woman interviews. I remember picking up Back Issue #5 a few years back, which was a special "Wonder Woman" issue containing interviews with all of the various actresses that had played the character in animation and live action -- except two. One was Shannon, and I was surprised that the definitive voice of Wonder Woman wasn't included. That made me wonder if she was living off of some remote tropical island somewhere and couldn't be easily reached. When I started doing voice actor interviews for Comics2Film, Shannon was on my "must interview" shortlist, and I was prepared to run whatever gauntlets necessary to track down her whereabouts. I was pleasantly surprised to find that, when my life finally allowed me to do it, Shannon was the easiest interview to arrange. And Shannon was so gracious to take time out to talk with me about her career and "Super Friends" experiences. I am honored to have interviewed this woman of wonder, and am especially honored to have my article posted on ToonZone.

Oh, and the other Wonder Woman actress missed by Back Issue? Stay tuned...

Xum

Rep, it was a great interview. Just wanted to give you some more props. I take it the other "missing" WW actress was the one who did the Brady Kids ep in '72?

[Replikon Xum]

Actually, no. Guess I should've said three.

As for whom I was referring to, I've already interviewed that person and am drafting up the article now...

Xum

[dth1971]

Rep, it was a great interview. Just wanted to give you some more props. I take it the other "missing" WW actress was the one who did the Brady Kids ep in '72?

The missing WW actress who did the Brady Kids 1972 episode I think is either Jane Webb or Mrs. Lou Schiemer.

[SF4Ever]

The missing WW actress who did the Brady Kids 1972 episode I think is either Jane Webb or Mrs. Lou Schiemer.

It was most likely Jane Webb who voice Wonder Woman when she appeared on Filmation's The Brady Kids in 1972.

[robssffanpage]

I loved the interview and since you gave a plug to my web site as one of your information resources, I thought I'd return the favor and put a link to your interview on my page, so that everyone can find it:

http://www.rob63.pages.qpg.com//id29.html (http://www.rob63.pages.qpg.com//id29.html)

Again, great interview! Shannon Farnon is the best voice for Wonder Woman!

Rob

[Mister Intensity]

I loved the interview and since you gave a plug to my web site as one of your information resources, I thought I'd return the favor and put a link to your interview on my page, so that everyone can find it:

http://www.rob63.pages.qpg.com//id29.html (http://www.rob63.pages.qpg.com//id29.html)

Again, great interview! Shannon Farnon is the best voice for Wonder Woman!

Rob

Hi Rob,

I love your page. I hope to see you post around here more often. Welcome to Toon Zone.

[robssffanpage]

Thanks, I plan to do just that.

Rob