Mattel. In filming for a 1979 episode of Wonder Woman, O'Neil was hired to perform a stunt of high difficulty for Jeannie Epper, Lynda Carter's usual stunt double. In the process, she set a women's high-fall record of at the 12-story Valley Hilton in Sherman Oaks, California. She credited her small size, at 5'-2" and , for allowing her to withstand impact forces. She later broke her record with a fall from a helicopter. In 1977, O'Neil set a women's record for speed on water of , and she held a 1970 women's water skiing record of . Land speed record On 6 December 1976, in southeastern Oregon's Alvord Desert, O'Neil set the land-speed record for female drivers. She piloted a $350,000 (equivalent to $ million in ) hydrogen peroxide powered three-wheeled rocket car built by Bill Fredrick called the "SMI Motivator". It reached an average speed of , with a peak speed of . O'Neil's runs reportedly used 60% of the available thrust, and O'Neil estimated that she could have exceeded with full power. Attempt prevented by sponsors Restrained by her contract, O'Neil struggled with sponsors at the time. She was contracted to break only the women's land speed record, and was obligated to allow Hal Needham to set the overall record. According to her contract, she was not supposed to exceed . Needham's sponsor, toy company Marvin Glass and Associates, was preparing a Hal Needham action figure and obtained an injunction to stop further runs by O'Neil. A spokesman was reported (incorrectly according to Sports Illustrated) to say it is "unbecoming and degrading for a woman to set a land speed record." Needham did not set a record or even drive the car, and a legal effort by O'Neil and Hambleton to allow O'Neil another attempt failed. The sponsors received negative publicity for removing O'Neil from the car, and the Needham action figures were not marketed. Later years and death In 1977 in the Mojave Desert, O'Neil piloted a hydrogen peroxide-powered rocket dragster built by Ky Michaelson with an average speed of . Since the run was not repeated according to NHRA rules, it is not recognized as an official drag racing record. In 1979, O'Neil's experiences served as the basis for a biographical movie Silent Victory: The Kitty O'Neil Story, starring Stockard Channing. O'Neil commented that about half of the movie was an accurate depiction. O'Neil stepped