After a talk I gave at a Virginia elementary school in 11/13, one of the teachers, Nancy Wykoff, introduced herself...as the granddaughter of William Moulton Marston, the co-creator of Wonder Woman.
Naturally I asked to interview her. Luckily she said yes. (Photos may be forthcoming.)
Your grandfather died in 1947 so I presume you never met him?
No, I never met my grandfather.
According to family who knew him, what kind of person was he?
My grandfather was a kind man. He was brilliant. Very bright. He not only created Wonder Woman, but he created the first lie detector. He loved his children and he loved women!
Any funny stories about him? In particular any funny Wonder Woman-related stories?
He died when my dad was 13 so most of the stories came from my grandmother. Stories say that he modeled Wonder Woman after Elizabeth Marston but my grandmother, Olive Richard, claims that Wonder Woman was designed after her. If you ever see a picture of the two ladies, you would see that indeed Wonder Woman was designed after my grandmother.
Bill Marston had four children with two different women. All the children, three boys and one girl, have Marston as their last name. My grandmother Olive met Bill when she was 19. Bill came home to his wife, Elizabeth Marston, and asked if Olive could come live with them. Elizabeth agreed. Olive was the homemaker and Elizabeth was an attorney for Met Life.
After Bill died, the women raised the kids together and continued to live together until their death. The children were well educated, Andover Prep School and Harvard. My dad was an attorney and Byrne was a doctor. The two children from Elizabeth, Pete and Olive Ann, I am not as close to. Pete and O.A. are still living and live in Connecticut. I am very close to my Uncle Byrne. We see him and his family quite often. He lives in Florida. My dad [came] to Washington D.C. to attend law school, moved to Arlington, Virginia, and I am still here!
Do you know what inspired him to create Wonder Woman?
Bill Marston said that he wanted a superhero that females could identify with. The few that were around then were characters that boys idolized or wanted to be, so he wanted to have a woman superhero. As you can tell, Bill loved women! He certainly created a well-shaped female!
Do you know about any controversy he had to deal with surrounding Wonder Woman?
I don't know if there was any controversy...
Do you what his opinion of Wonder Woman was?
I think he wanted WW to be a female who was strong, self-sufficient, and could help solve the world's problems. She used her lasso to get people to tell the truth (hence the lie detector connection), flew around in her invisible plane, and helped fight crime. What is not to love about that? She came from Amazonia, a land of strong women, goddesses... Remember Bill loved women. Fantasy, strong women, shapely...Wonder Woman.
Is Wonder Woman mentioned on his gravestone?
I am not sure. My dad spent many years of his life being angry at his father. Since there were two women living in his house, neighbors and peers often teased him about being a "bastard child" of Bill Marston. My dad was really confused and pissed off. I have never been to my grandfather’s grave. To be honest, I am not sure where he was buried. I think New York. That is where they were living when Bill died. I will have to find that out for you.
What is the oldest piece of Wonder Woman memorabilia you own?
We own a few of the first sketches for the first comic Wonder Woman. We have the original script for the first comic and we have the first comic book published. We even have the first lie detector! I know, it should be in the Smithsonian or someplace like that!
I understand that your family still owns Wonder Woman. Does that mean that DC Comics needs the family's approval for all Wonder Woman stories and products?
Yes, they need family approval before any decisions are made.
Have you been interviewed before about this?
Never!
Do you pay attention to the narrative changes DC has made to the character?
We wish they would go back to the kinder, gentler WW. I am not thrilled with the new look.
Who would you like to see play Wonder Woman in a movie? [NOTE: Question asked before Gal Godot was cast for the 2016 Superman/Batman movie...but no matter, she will not be the last actress to portray Wonder Woman.]
I liked Jessica Biel. They also had another choice, a woman from Mexico, I think. She was a good choice. I think he character needs to be young to attract the young girl audience. Too old and you lose that. I can't tell you how many kids at my school have WW stuff. The girls love her!
Were you ever Wonder Woman for Halloween?
Yes! So was my daughter!
What do the kids in the family think of the family's connection to Wonder Woman?
They think it is awesome! They so want a movie to be made. They think it isn't fair that Batman and Superman have had so many movies already. When they tell friends that their great grandfather created WW, most friends don't believe them!
On a side note, my great grandmother is Margaret Sanger. When the kids mention her, then there is total doubt! That is what used to happen to me when I was younger. My friends would say, “There is no way your dad's dad created WW and your great-grandmother started Planned Parenthood!” It is true!
My son's middle name is Marston and my daughter's middle name is Sanger…so it continues... :)
Interview with another granddaugther of Marston.
A stage play about Marston.
Naturally I asked to interview her. Luckily she said yes. (Photos may be forthcoming.)
Your grandfather died in 1947 so I presume you never met him?
No, I never met my grandfather.
According to family who knew him, what kind of person was he?
My grandfather was a kind man. He was brilliant. Very bright. He not only created Wonder Woman, but he created the first lie detector. He loved his children and he loved women!
Any funny stories about him? In particular any funny Wonder Woman-related stories?
He died when my dad was 13 so most of the stories came from my grandmother. Stories say that he modeled Wonder Woman after Elizabeth Marston but my grandmother, Olive Richard, claims that Wonder Woman was designed after her. If you ever see a picture of the two ladies, you would see that indeed Wonder Woman was designed after my grandmother.
Bill Marston had four children with two different women. All the children, three boys and one girl, have Marston as their last name. My grandmother Olive met Bill when she was 19. Bill came home to his wife, Elizabeth Marston, and asked if Olive could come live with them. Elizabeth agreed. Olive was the homemaker and Elizabeth was an attorney for Met Life.
After Bill died, the women raised the kids together and continued to live together until their death. The children were well educated, Andover Prep School and Harvard. My dad was an attorney and Byrne was a doctor. The two children from Elizabeth, Pete and Olive Ann, I am not as close to. Pete and O.A. are still living and live in Connecticut. I am very close to my Uncle Byrne. We see him and his family quite often. He lives in Florida. My dad [came] to Washington D.C. to attend law school, moved to Arlington, Virginia, and I am still here!
Do you know what inspired him to create Wonder Woman?
Bill Marston said that he wanted a superhero that females could identify with. The few that were around then were characters that boys idolized or wanted to be, so he wanted to have a woman superhero. As you can tell, Bill loved women! He certainly created a well-shaped female!
Do you know about any controversy he had to deal with surrounding Wonder Woman?
I don't know if there was any controversy...
Do you what his opinion of Wonder Woman was?
I think he wanted WW to be a female who was strong, self-sufficient, and could help solve the world's problems. She used her lasso to get people to tell the truth (hence the lie detector connection), flew around in her invisible plane, and helped fight crime. What is not to love about that? She came from Amazonia, a land of strong women, goddesses... Remember Bill loved women. Fantasy, strong women, shapely...Wonder Woman.
Is Wonder Woman mentioned on his gravestone?
I am not sure. My dad spent many years of his life being angry at his father. Since there were two women living in his house, neighbors and peers often teased him about being a "bastard child" of Bill Marston. My dad was really confused and pissed off. I have never been to my grandfather’s grave. To be honest, I am not sure where he was buried. I think New York. That is where they were living when Bill died. I will have to find that out for you.
What is the oldest piece of Wonder Woman memorabilia you own?
We own a few of the first sketches for the first comic Wonder Woman. We have the original script for the first comic and we have the first comic book published. We even have the first lie detector! I know, it should be in the Smithsonian or someplace like that!
I understand that your family still owns Wonder Woman. Does that mean that DC Comics needs the family's approval for all Wonder Woman stories and products?
Yes, they need family approval before any decisions are made.
Have you been interviewed before about this?
Never!
Do you pay attention to the narrative changes DC has made to the character?
We wish they would go back to the kinder, gentler WW. I am not thrilled with the new look.
Who would you like to see play Wonder Woman in a movie? [NOTE: Question asked before Gal Godot was cast for the 2016 Superman/Batman movie...but no matter, she will not be the last actress to portray Wonder Woman.]
I liked Jessica Biel. They also had another choice, a woman from Mexico, I think. She was a good choice. I think he character needs to be young to attract the young girl audience. Too old and you lose that. I can't tell you how many kids at my school have WW stuff. The girls love her!
Were you ever Wonder Woman for Halloween?
Yes! So was my daughter!
What do the kids in the family think of the family's connection to Wonder Woman?
They think it is awesome! They so want a movie to be made. They think it isn't fair that Batman and Superman have had so many movies already. When they tell friends that their great grandfather created WW, most friends don't believe them!
On a side note, my great grandmother is Margaret Sanger. When the kids mention her, then there is total doubt! That is what used to happen to me when I was younger. My friends would say, “There is no way your dad's dad created WW and your great-grandmother started Planned Parenthood!” It is true!
My son's middle name is Marston and my daughter's middle name is Sanger…so it continues... :)
Interview with another granddaugther of Marston.
A stage play about Marston.
3 comments:
I came across this post after reading "The Secret History of Wonder Woman," which was published a few months after this interview. It's interesting how much family history got passed down and how some of it got muddled in the process. According to the book, Margaret Sanger would actually have been Wykoff's great aunt. Sanger's sister Ethel Byrne was Olive's mother. Byrne became a well-known feminist in her own right, as well.
It would be interesting to hear what Nancy Wykoff and Christie Marston, who I see you also interviewed, think about so much family history becoming so public with the book and the upcoming movie "Professor Marston & the Wonder Women."
Whilst you are correct I think her dad Donn Marston married a Sanger so she is related to both Ethel and Margaret
I know there is a lot og controversy over
Great story, good movie, even greater family history. They should all be proud of that.
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