"World's Fastest Woman" Kitty O'Neil Dies At 72

Famed deaf Hollywood stuntwoman Kitty O'Neil, popularly known for her stunt double role on Lynda Carter on Wonder Woman, died. Carter died over the weekend in South Dakota. She was 72.

Ky Michaelson, her longtime friend announced her death where she also confirmed Kitty died of pneumonia. Michaelson also added that O'Neil suffered a heart attack recently.

Kitty's film credit included several movies like Foul Play, Damien: Omen II, Airport '77, The Blues Brothers, Two-Minute Warning, and Airport 1975. Her most popular work came in 1979 when she stunt doubled the Wonder Woman and plunged headfirst 127 feet from the Valley Hilton in Sherman Oaks onto an inflatable airbag set up on the hotel's pool deck. During a chat with The Washington Post in 1979, she told,

If I hadn't hit the center of the bag, I probably would have been killed.

On December 6, 1976, Kitty set the record for the highest land-speed for female drivers, posting an average speed of around 512.71 mph while piloting a three-wheeled machine in the Alvord Desert in Oregon.

Michaelson, who announced the tragic news, said Kitty was not married and didn't have any child and she also confirmed Kitty has no survivors. She further mentioned she was in romantic relationships with stuntmen Hal Needham, and Duffy Hambleton.