Guy Williams
Encyclopedia
Guy Williams was an Italian-American actor and former fashion model, who played swashbuckling action heroes in the 1950s and 1960s, but never quite achieved movie-star
status despite his appearance (including hazel
eyes, 6'3" height, and 190 lb. weight) and charisma, which helped launch his early successful photographic modeling career
.
Among his most prominent achievements were two memorable TV series: Zorro (in black and white—colorized years later by Disney
) and Lost in Space
, as the father of the Robinson family. The sci-fi TV program was highly popular, noted for the design of the sleek silver spacesuits, which Guy Williams wore in many publicity photos (see image at right).
His hobbies included: astronomy
, chess
, music (mostly classical), fencing
, tropical fish, and sailing: he owned a 40-foot (12-m) ketch
called The Oceana.
In the 1970s, Guy Williams retired near Buenos Aires
, Argentina
, where he died of a brain aneurysm.
area in New York City
. He was the son of Attilio (son of a wealthy timber grower in Messina who purchased land in New Jersey
), who was working as insurance broker, and Clare Catalano. His parents, who arrived from Sicily
(Italy
), were by then living in poverty. He grew up in the Little Italy
, Brooklyn
neighborhood.
In NYC's P.S. 189, Armand stood out in mathematics
. Later he attended George Washington
, where he occasionally worked in its soda fountain
. He then left to attend the Peekskill Military Academy
, where he was an enthusiastic student. His interests included football
and chess
.
After working as welder, cost accountant and aircraft-parts inspector during World War II, Armand became a salesman in the luggage department at Wanamaker's
. While there, he decided to send his photos to an agency to start his modeling career
. He quickly found great success in graphic media. Spanning newspapers, billboards, magazines (like Harper's Bazaar
) and book
covers, he received good payment and became famous. He then adopted the name "Guy Williams" (1940s).
In 1946, he signed a single-year contract offered by MGM and moved to Hollywood. Guy Williams had a featured role as a pilot in the film The Beginning or the End
(1947), about the first U.S. deployed atom bomb. He only appeared in a few films and soon moved back to New York.
In 1948, to advertise cigarettes while skiing, Guy Williams did an extensive filming trip accompanied by Janice Cooper, a beautiful John Robert Powers
model. During the long photographic sessions
they fell in love, marrying on December 8, just after they returned to New York City. Several years later they had two children, Guy Steven Catalano (aka Guy Williams, Jr.) (1952) and Antoinette Toni Catalano (1959), who dabbled in acting.
By 1950, Guy Williams had begun to film some of the pioneering television commercials in the USA. Unfortunately, his father died in 1951, never to witness his son's full rise to fame. Guy Williams then obtained a new one-year contract with Universal-International
in 1952, and moved to Hollywood.
In 1953, Guy Williams suffered a serious accident when he fell from a horse and was dragged over 200 yards, resulting in a long scar on his left shoulder. Because of this he returned to New York to do acting and modeling there and temporarily abandoned his film career. In 1953 he left Universal and became a freelancer for movies produced by Allied Artists and Warner Brothers.
television series, Men of Annapolis
, a military drama set at the United States Naval Academy
. About this time, the Walt Disney Company
carried out casting for Disney's Zorro, a new television series based on the character (created by Johnston McCulley
) already famous on the silver screen, as performed by Douglas Fairbanks
and Tyrone Power
.
To play Zorro
("Don Diego de la Vega"), the chosen actor would have to be handsome and have some experience with fencing. Walt Disney
himself interviewed Guy Williams, telling him (comically) to start growing a mustache "neither very long or thick" (i.e. somewhat like Disney's own mustache). The exclusive contract paid Williams the then very high wage of $2,500 per week, as he had demanded. Williams resumed his professional training of fencing with the Belgian
champion Fred Cavens (who also trained Douglas Fairbanks, Errol Flynn
and Tyrone Power), since the show required swordfights in most episodes. He also took guitar
lessons with the famous Vicente Gomez
.
The series of half-hour episodes finally debuted on the American "ABC"
network on October 10 (1957). It was an instant hit in the USA, attaining the highest rating of its era.
The show spanned 78 episodes over two seasons (1957–1959) and two movies edited from TV episodes - The Sign of Zorro (1958) and Zorro the Avenger (1959) - with its theme-song (composed by Norman Foster
and George Bruns
) reaching #17 of the Hit Parade
, performed by The Mellomen
. As Zorro ended its run, Williams was a guest star, along with Sally Brophy
and Tom Nolan
of the Buckskin
series, on NBC
's The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford
.
Williams also played Sir Miles Hendon in the Walt Disney's The Prince and the Pauper
in 1962 which was shot in England
.
After finishing his contract with Disney, Guy Williams went to Europe
to film two movies:
's hit TV series Bonanza
(1959–1973) as Ben's nephew Will Cartwright.
Williams found himself forced out of the series after only five episodes despite being originally slated to become one of the four permanent leads. He was to replace Pernell Roberts
(Adam Cartwright), who had planned to leave the show at the end of that season, thus allowing the four-Cartwright format to continue. Roberts, however, decided late in the season to stay for one more year, so the woman "Adam" was originally going to marry wound up unexpectedly choosing to leave with Will Cartwright instead, with Adam's blessing. Williams lost the role on the popular western, which ran for nine more years, mostly due to the fact that two of the remaining actors were worried that if the storyline could replace one Cartwright, it could replace more ("Bonanza Gold", April 2006).
science-fiction
family series Lost In Space
.
Guy Williams played Professor John Robinson, expert in astrophysics
and geology
, who commanded the mission of the Jupiter 2 spaceship, taking his family in a voyage to colonize the Alpha Centauri
star system.
His character was placed at #42 of the top 100 TV Dads of All Time.
s in several businesses, buying and selling on the stock market.
When Guy had first visited Argentina
in 1973 he was quite taken by the admiration and fascination the Argentine people expressed for him and his character of 'El Zorro'. In return, Guy fell in love with the culture and people of Argentina. In the 1970s he retired, except for personal appearances, to Recoleta
, an upscale neighborhood of Buenos Aires
.
In subsequent years Guy Williams also brought to Argentina
some of the original cast members of the Zorro series, including Henry Calvin
who played Sergeant Garcia. Williams even formed a circus
(Circo Real Madrid) with the local fencing champion Fernando Lupiz
, traveling all over South America (1977).
Later in 1989, while spending solitary months in Argentina, Guy Williams (then 65 years old) disappeared. The local police searched his apartment in Recoleta
on May 6, finding his body. He had suffered a brain aneurysm and had been dead for some days.
In accordance with his wishes, Guy Williams' ashes
were spread over the Pacific Ocean
in Malibu, California.
, and a dedication in New York's Central Park
.
Movie star
A movie star is a celebrity who is well-known, or famous, for his or her starring, or leading, roles in motion pictures. The term may also apply to an actor or actress who is recognized as a marketable commodity and whose name is used to promote a movie in trailers and posters...
status despite his appearance (including hazel
Hazel
The hazels are a genus of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate northern hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family Betulaceae, though some botanists split the hazels into a separate family Corylaceae.They have simple, rounded leaves with double-serrate margins...
eyes, 6'3" height, and 190 lb. weight) and charisma, which helped launch his early successful photographic modeling career
Model (person)
A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....
.
Among his most prominent achievements were two memorable TV series: Zorro (in black and white—colorized years later by Disney
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
) and Lost in Space
Lost in Space
Lost in Space is a science fiction TV series created and produced by Irwin Allen, filmed by 20th Century Fox Television, and broadcast on CBS. The show ran for three seasons, with 83 episodes airing between September 15, 1965, and March 6, 1968...
, as the father of the Robinson family. The sci-fi TV program was highly popular, noted for the design of the sleek silver spacesuits, which Guy Williams wore in many publicity photos (see image at right).
His hobbies included: astronomy
Astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
, chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
, music (mostly classical), fencing
Fencing
Fencing, which is also known as modern fencing to distinguish it from historical fencing, is a family of combat sports using bladed weapons.Fencing is one of four sports which have been featured at every one of the modern Olympic Games...
, tropical fish, and sailing: he owned a 40-foot (12-m) ketch
Ketch
A ketch is a sailing craft with two masts: a main mast, and a shorter mizzen mast abaft of the main mast, but forward of the rudder post. Both masts are rigged mainly fore-and-aft. From one to three jibs may be carried forward of the main mast when going to windward...
called The Oceana.
In the 1970s, Guy Williams retired near Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, where he died of a brain aneurysm.
Early life
Guy Williams was born on January 14, 1924, as Armand Joseph Catalano (nicknamed "Armando" by his family) of Italian Catalonian parentage, in the Washington HeightsWashington Heights, Manhattan
Washington Heights is a New York City neighborhood in the northern reaches of the borough of Manhattan. It is named for Fort Washington, a fortification constructed at the highest point on Manhattan island by Continental Army troops during the American Revolutionary War, to defend the area from the...
area in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. He was the son of Attilio (son of a wealthy timber grower in Messina who purchased land in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
), who was working as insurance broker, and Clare Catalano. His parents, who arrived from Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
(Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
), were by then living in poverty. He grew up in the Little Italy
Little Italy
Little Italy is a general name for an ethnic enclave populated primarily by Italians or people of Italian ancestry, usually in an urban neighborhood.-Canada:*Little Italy, Edmonton, in Alberta*Little Italy, Montreal, in Quebec...
, Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
neighborhood.
In NYC's P.S. 189, Armand stood out in mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
. Later he attended George Washington
George Washington High School (New York City)
George Washington High School is a public high school located in the Fort George neighborhood of the Washington Heights section of Manhattan in New York City, New York....
, where he occasionally worked in its soda fountain
Soda fountain
A soda fountain is a device that dispenses carbonated drinks. They can be found in restaurants, concession stands and other locations such as convenience stores...
. He then left to attend the Peekskill Military Academy
Peekskill Military Academy
Peekskill Military Academy was founded as 'Peekskill Academy'. It was a military academy for young men and women, founded in 1833, located in Peekskill, New York, United States. The academy was built by a hanging tree and when a building was built near the great tree , one of the British who was...
, where he was an enthusiastic student. His interests included football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
and chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
.
First artistic steps
Williams wanted to be an actor, spurred by his good looks and 6'3" height. When Armand decided not to continue studying, his mother (who later became an executive of a foreign film company) was very disappointed because they expected that he continue the traditional insurance broker career.After working as welder, cost accountant and aircraft-parts inspector during World War II, Armand became a salesman in the luggage department at Wanamaker's
Wanamaker's
Wanamaker's department store was the first department store in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and one of the first department stores in the United States. At its zenith in the early 20th century, there were two major Wanamaker department stores, one in Philadelphia and one in New York City at Broadway...
. While there, he decided to send his photos to an agency to start his modeling career
Model (person)
A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....
. He quickly found great success in graphic media. Spanning newspapers, billboards, magazines (like Harper's Bazaar
Harper's Bazaar
Harper’s Bazaar is an American fashion magazine, first published in 1867. Harper’s Bazaar is published by Hearst and, as a magazine, considers itself to be the style resource for “women who are the first to buy the best, from casual to couture.”...
) and book
Book
A book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of hot lava, paper, parchment, or other materials, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf or leaflet, and each side of a leaf is called a page...
covers, he received good payment and became famous. He then adopted the name "Guy Williams" (1940s).
In 1946, he signed a single-year contract offered by MGM and moved to Hollywood. Guy Williams had a featured role as a pilot in the film The Beginning or the End
The Beginning or the End
The Beginning or the End is a 1947 film about the development of the atomic bomb in World War II.It was directed by Norman Taurog and starred Brian Donlevy and Hume Cronyn...
(1947), about the first U.S. deployed atom bomb. He only appeared in a few films and soon moved back to New York.
In 1948, to advertise cigarettes while skiing, Guy Williams did an extensive filming trip accompanied by Janice Cooper, a beautiful John Robert Powers
John Robert Powers
John Robert Powers was an American actor and founder of a prominent New York City modeling agency.In 1923, John Robert Powers founded a modeling agency. The John Robert Powers Agency represented many models who went on to success in the Hollywood film industry, and even Betty Bloomer who became...
model. During the long photographic sessions
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
they fell in love, marrying on December 8, just after they returned to New York City. Several years later they had two children, Guy Steven Catalano (aka Guy Williams, Jr.) (1952) and Antoinette Toni Catalano (1959), who dabbled in acting.
By 1950, Guy Williams had begun to film some of the pioneering television commercials in the USA. Unfortunately, his father died in 1951, never to witness his son's full rise to fame. Guy Williams then obtained a new one-year contract with Universal-International
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
in 1952, and moved to Hollywood.
Early Hollywood (1952–1957)
Guy Williams did small supporting roles in the Universal productions, including:- Bonzo Goes to CollegeBonzo Goes to CollegeBonzo Goes to College is the sequel to Bedtime for Bonzo. Like that film, it was directed by Frederick De Cordova but has a different cast and writers....
(1952) -- as Ronald Calkins, - The Mississippi GamblerThe Mississippi Gambler (1953 film)The Mississippi Gambler is a 1953 adventure film directed by Rudolph Maté. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Sound Recording The Mississippi Gambler is a 1953 adventure film directed by Rudolph Maté. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Sound Recording The Mississippi...
(1953) -- as Andre, - The Golden BladeThe Golden BladeThe Golden Blade is an adventure film from 1953 directed by Nathan Juran and starring Rock Hudson as Harun Al-Rashid and Piper Laurie as Princess Khairuzan...
(1953) -- as BaghdadBaghdadBaghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
's town crierTown crierA town crier, or bellman, is an officer of the court who makes public pronouncements as required by the court . The crier can also be used to make public announcements in the streets...
, - The Man from the AlamoThe Man from the AlamoThe Man From the Alamo is a Technicolor Western directed by Budd Boetticher, starring Glenn Ford, Julie Adams, Hugh O'Brian, and Guy Williams .-Plot synopsis:...
(1953) -- as a sergeant, - Take Me to Town (1953) -- as a small hero
- I Was a Teenage WerewolfI Was a Teenage WerewolfI Was a Teenage Werewolf is a 1957 horror film starring Michael Landon as a troubled teenager and Whit Bissell as the primary adult. It was co-written and produced by cult film producer Herman Cohen, and was one of the most successful films released by American International Pictures...
(1957) -- as police officer.
In 1953, Guy Williams suffered a serious accident when he fell from a horse and was dragged over 200 yards, resulting in a long scar on his left shoulder. Because of this he returned to New York to do acting and modeling there and temporarily abandoned his film career. In 1953 he left Universal and became a freelancer for movies produced by Allied Artists and Warner Brothers.
Zorro (1957–1959)
Early in 1957, Williams appeared twice in the role of Steve Clay in the syndicatedTelevision syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
television series, Men of Annapolis
Men of Annapolis
Men of Annapolis is a 41-episode half-hour syndicated drama television series in anthology format which aired from 1957–1958 and was hosted by the voice of Art Gilmore. Darryl Hickman appeared four times on the program as Dusty Rhodes, a fictitious midshipman at the United States Naval Academy in...
, a military drama set at the United States Naval Academy
United States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...
. About this time, the Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
carried out casting for Disney's Zorro, a new television series based on the character (created by Johnston McCulley
Johnston McCulley
Johnston McCulley was the author of hundreds of stories, fifty novels, numerous screenplays for film and television, and the creator of the character Zorro...
) already famous on the silver screen, as performed by Douglas Fairbanks
Douglas Fairbanks
Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. was an American actor, screenwriter, director and producer. He was best known for his swashbuckling roles in silent films such as The Thief of Bagdad, Robin Hood, and The Mark of Zorro....
and Tyrone Power
Tyrone Power
Tyrone Edmund Power, Jr. , usually credited as Tyrone Power and known sometimes as Ty Power, was an American film and stage actor who appeared in dozens of films from the 1930s to the 1950s, often in swashbuckler roles or romantic leads such as in The Mark of Zorro, Blood and Sand, The Black Swan,...
.
To play Zorro
Zorro
Zorro is a fictional character created in 1919 by New York-based pulp writer Johnston McCulley. The character has been featured in numerous books, films, television series, and other media....
("Don Diego de la Vega"), the chosen actor would have to be handsome and have some experience with fencing. Walt Disney
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
himself interviewed Guy Williams, telling him (comically) to start growing a mustache "neither very long or thick" (i.e. somewhat like Disney's own mustache). The exclusive contract paid Williams the then very high wage of $2,500 per week, as he had demanded. Williams resumed his professional training of fencing with the Belgian
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
champion Fred Cavens (who also trained Douglas Fairbanks, Errol Flynn
Errol Flynn
Errol Leslie Flynn was an Australian-born actor. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles in Hollywood films, being a legend and his flamboyant lifestyle.-Early life:...
and Tyrone Power), since the show required swordfights in most episodes. He also took guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
lessons with the famous Vicente Gomez
Vicente Gómez
Vicente Gómez, born in Honduras, was President of El Salvador from 1 to 15 February 1854....
.
The series of half-hour episodes finally debuted on the American "ABC"
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
network on October 10 (1957). It was an instant hit in the USA, attaining the highest rating of its era.
The show spanned 78 episodes over two seasons (1957–1959) and two movies edited from TV episodes - The Sign of Zorro (1958) and Zorro the Avenger (1959) - with its theme-song (composed by Norman Foster
Norman Foster (director)
Norman Foster was an American film director and actor.Born John Hoeffer in Richmond, Indiana, Foster originally became a cub reporter on a local newspaper in Indiana before going to New York in the hopes of getting a better newspaper job but there were no vacancies...
and George Bruns
George Bruns
George Bruns was a composer of music for film and television who worked on many Disney films. He was nominated for four Academy Awards for his work.-Career:...
) reaching #17 of the Hit Parade
Hit parade
A hit parade is a ranked list of the most popular recordings at a given point in time, usually determined by sales and/or airplay. The term originated in the 1930s; Billboard magazine published its first music hit parade on January 4, 1936...
, performed by The Mellomen
The Mellomen
The Mellomen were a popular singing quartet active from the late 1940s through the mid-1970s. The group was founded by Thurl Ravenscroft and Max Smith in 1948. The Mellomen recorded under a variety of names, including Big John & The Buzzards, The Crackerjacks, The Lee Brothers, and The Ravenscroft...
. As Zorro ended its run, Williams was a guest star, along with Sally Brophy
Sally Brophy
Sally Cullen Brophy was a Broadway and television actress and college theatre arts professor.Brophy was born in Phoenix, Arizona. She studied at the Royal Academy in London, and then pursued a career on Broadway. In 1951 she was an understudy in Second Threshold. In 1954-1955, she starred as the...
and Tom Nolan
Tom Nolan (actor)
Tom Nolan is an actor whose career dates back to his work as a child star in the 1950s.Nolan was born Bernard Girouard in Montreal, Canada, to parents of French and Irish descent. His family moved to Beverly, Massachusetts, where he immediately started dance classes...
of the Buckskin
Buckskin (TV series)
Buckskin is an American Western television series starring Tom Nolan, Sally Brophy, and Mike Road. The series aired on the NBC from July 3, 1958 until May 25, 1959, followed by summer reruns in 1959 and again in 1965.-Synopsis:...
series, on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford
The Ford Show
The Ford Show is a half-hour comedy/variety program, starring singer and folk humorist Tennessee Ernie Ford, which aired in color on NBC television on Thursday evenings from October 4, 1956 to June 29, 1961....
.
Williams also played Sir Miles Hendon in the Walt Disney's The Prince and the Pauper
The Prince and the Pauper (film)
The Prince and the Pauper is a novel by Mark Twain with Edward VI of England as the central character. This fictional narrative has been adapted to film a number of times:...
in 1962 which was shot in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
After finishing his contract with Disney, Guy Williams went to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
to film two movies:
- Damon and PythiasDamon and Pythias (film)Damon and Pythias is a 1962 Italian / American film directed by Curtis Bernhardt. The film is based on the Greek legend, and set during the reign of Dionysius I of Syracuse .-Cast:...
(MGM production filmed in ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
in 1962, directed by Curtis BernhardtCurtis BernhardtCurtis Bernhardt was a German film director born in Worms, Germany, under the name Kurt Bernhardt. Some of his American films were called "woman's films" including the Joan Crawford film Possessed . Bernhardt trained as an actor in Germany, and performed on the stage, before starting as a film...
), as DamonDamon and PythiasIn Greek mythology, the legend of Damon and Pythias symbolizes trust and loyalty in a true friendship.- Greek legend :As told by Aristoxenus, and after him Cicero , Diodorus Siculus , and others, around the 4th century BC, Pythias and his friend Damon, both followers of the philosopher...
, classic Greek hero who offers his life as warrant of the word of PythiasPythiasPythias was the adoptive daughter of Hermias of Atarneus, as well as Aristotle's first wife.She was probably born about 381 BC and died in Athens after 326 BC. She predeceased Aristotle, which is known from his will, since it directs that her wish be honored to have her bones buried with...
, his friend who was condemned to death for political reasons; - Captain Sindbad (MGM production filmed in GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
in 1962, directed by the American adventure director Byron HaskinByron HaskinByron Conrad Haskin was an American film and television director. He was born in Portland, Oregon.He is remembered today for directing 1953's The War of the Worlds, one of many films where he teamed with producer George Pal. In his early career, he was a special effects artist, with a number of...
, based on the classic tale of the Arabian Nights), in the role of Sindbad the Sailor.
Bonanza (1964)
In 1964 Guy Williams returned to Hollywood to resume his career, being added to the cast of the NBCNBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's hit TV series Bonanza
Bonanza
Bonanza is an American western television series that both ran on and was a production of NBC from September 12, 1959 to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 430 episodes, it ranks as the second longest running western series and still continues to air in syndication. It centers on the...
(1959–1973) as Ben's nephew Will Cartwright.
Williams found himself forced out of the series after only five episodes despite being originally slated to become one of the four permanent leads. He was to replace Pernell Roberts
Pernell Roberts
Pernell Elvin Roberts, Jr. was an American stage, movie and television actor, as well as a singer. In addition to guest starring in over 60 television series, he was widely known for his roles as Ben Cartwright's eldest son, Adam Cartwright, on the western series Bonanza, a role he played from...
(Adam Cartwright), who had planned to leave the show at the end of that season, thus allowing the four-Cartwright format to continue. Roberts, however, decided late in the season to stay for one more year, so the woman "Adam" was originally going to marry wound up unexpectedly choosing to leave with Will Cartwright instead, with Adam's blessing. Williams lost the role on the popular western, which ran for nine more years, mostly due to the fact that two of the remaining actors were worried that if the storyline could replace one Cartwright, it could replace more ("Bonanza Gold", April 2006).
Lost in Space (1965–1968)
In 1965, Guy Williams returned to weekly television in the popular CBSCBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
science-fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
family series Lost In Space
Lost in Space
Lost in Space is a science fiction TV series created and produced by Irwin Allen, filmed by 20th Century Fox Television, and broadcast on CBS. The show ran for three seasons, with 83 episodes airing between September 15, 1965, and March 6, 1968...
.
Guy Williams played Professor John Robinson, expert in astrophysics
Astrophysics
Astrophysics is the branch of astronomy that deals with the physics of the universe, including the physical properties of celestial objects, as well as their interactions and behavior...
and geology
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
, who commanded the mission of the Jupiter 2 spaceship, taking his family in a voyage to colonize the Alpha Centauri
Alpha Centauri
Alpha Centauri is the brightest star in the southern constellation of Centaurus...
star system.
His character was placed at #42 of the top 100 TV Dads of All Time.
Retirement in Argentina (1973–1989)
After Lost in Space, Guy Williams decided to retire in order to better enjoy his wealth, which had been largely generated by investmentInvestment
Investment has different meanings in finance and economics. Finance investment is putting money into something with the expectation of gain, that upon thorough analysis, has a high degree of security for the principal amount, as well as security of return, within an expected period of time...
s in several businesses, buying and selling on the stock market.
When Guy had first visited Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
in 1973 he was quite taken by the admiration and fascination the Argentine people expressed for him and his character of 'El Zorro'. In return, Guy fell in love with the culture and people of Argentina. In the 1970s he retired, except for personal appearances, to Recoleta
Recoleta
Recoleta is a downtown residential neighborhood in the city of Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, Argentina; it is an area of great historical and architectural interest, due, particularly to the Recoleta Cemetery located there...
, an upscale neighborhood of Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
.
In subsequent years Guy Williams also brought to Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
some of the original cast members of the Zorro series, including Henry Calvin
Henry Calvin
Henry Calvin was an American comic actor best known for his role as Sergeant Garcia on Walt Disney's live-action television series Zorro .-Early life:...
who played Sergeant Garcia. Williams even formed a circus
Circus
A circus is commonly a travelling company of performers that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and other stunt-oriented artists...
(Circo Real Madrid) with the local fencing champion Fernando Lupiz
Fernando Lupiz
Fernando Lupiz is an Argentine fencer. He competed at the 1972 and 1976 Summer Olympics.-References:...
, traveling all over South America (1977).
Later in 1989, while spending solitary months in Argentina, Guy Williams (then 65 years old) disappeared. The local police searched his apartment in Recoleta
Recoleta
Recoleta is a downtown residential neighborhood in the city of Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, Argentina; it is an area of great historical and architectural interest, due, particularly to the Recoleta Cemetery located there...
on May 6, finding his body. He had suffered a brain aneurysm and had been dead for some days.
In accordance with his wishes, Guy Williams' ashes
Cremation
Cremation is the process of reducing bodies to basic chemical compounds such as gasses and bone fragments. This is accomplished through high-temperature burning, vaporization and oxidation....
were spread over the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
in Malibu, California.
Homages
Williams' son, Steven Catalano (Guy Williams Jr.) represented his father for the senior Williams' posthumous induction into the Bronx Walk of Fame, the awarding of a star on the Hollywood Walk of FameHollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
, and a dedication in New York's Central Park
Central Park
Central Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...
.
- In 2000, Guy Williams was the first local celebrity inducted into the Bronx Walk of Fame, of New York City.
- In 2001, (August 2) Guy Williams was incorporated in the Hollywood Walk of FameHollywood Walk of FameThe Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
, at 7080 Hollywood Blvd (La BreaLa BreaLa Brea is Spanish for "the tar" or "the tar pits") and may refer to:* La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles, California* La Brea, Trinidad and Tobago, home to the Pitch Lake* La Brea District in Peru...
's corner), after massive petitions of thousands of manifesting admirers in front of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce (the previous year). - In 2002, (October) the fans of Guy Williams, with Janice Williams and Guy Williams, Jr in attendance, dedicated to him a benchBench (furniture)A bench is a piece of furniture, on which several people may sit at the same time. Benches are typically made of wood, but may also be made of metal, stone, or synthetic materials. Many benches have arm and back rests; some have no back rest and can be sat on from either side. In public areas,...
in New York's Central Park. - In 2003, (August 2 --also--), Disney enterprise placed a commemorative badge in the mansion of the Mission San Luis Rey de FranciaMission San Luis Rey de FranciaMission San Luis Rey de Francia, also known as Mission San Luis Rey or San Luis Rey Mission Church, was founded on June 13, 1798 in coastal Las Californias, in the present day U.S. city of Oceanside in California. The local Quechnajuichom Native American tribe became known as the Luiseño 'Mission...
at Oceanside, CaliforniaOceanside, California-2010:The 2010 United States Census reported that Oceanside had a population of 167,086. The population density was 3,961.8 people per square mile...
, where the Zorro series was filmed in 1957. - The impression of a US Postage StampPostage stampA postage stamp is a small piece of paper that is purchased and displayed on an item of mail as evidence of payment of postage. Typically, stamps are made from special paper, with a national designation and denomination on the face, and a gum adhesive on the reverse side...
commemorative of Guy Williams was cancelled due to the change of the US Postal Service's protocol, though the fans had been campaigning for the stamp since 1998. - Zorro Television Companion. A meticulously researched book on the making of The Walt Disney CompanyThe Walt Disney CompanyThe Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
series. ISBN 0-7864-2058-8 - Guy Williams: The Man Behind the Mask. A thorough bio of the actor. ISBN 1-59393-016-X
- Tales of Zorro. edited by Richard Dean StarrRichard Dean Starr*Richard Starr redirects here, not to be confused with Richard StarkeyRichard Dean Starr is an American entrepreneur, editor, and author of fiction and graphic novels whose work has featured characters including Hellboy, Zorro, The Phantom, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, The Avenger, The Green...
. The first collection of original ZorroZorroZorro is a fictional character created in 1919 by New York-based pulp writer Johnston McCulley. The character has been featured in numerous books, films, television series, and other media....
short storiesShort StoriesShort Stories may refer to:*A plural for Short story*Short Stories , an American pulp magazine published from 1890-1959*Short Stories, a 1954 collection by O. E...
, many written with Guy Williams specifically in mind. Introduction by Guy Williams, Jr. (with Matthew Baugh). Cover art by Douglas Klauba influenced by Guy Williams. ISBN 978-1933076317