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Guy Williams

 
Actor: Guy Williams
Home > Library > Entertainment & Arts > Actors
  • Born: Jan 14, 1924 in New York City, New York
  • Died: May 07, 1989 in Buenos Aires, Argentina
  • Occupation: Actor
  • Active: '50s-'60s
  • Major Genres: Adventure, Action
  • Career Highlights: Captain Sindbad, The Prince and the Pauper, The Sign of Zorro
  • First Major Screen Credit: Zorro (1957)

Biography

Guy Williams never became a movie star despite his good looks and a charismatic screen presence, but on television he was a star twice over, in the 1960s as Professor John Robinson on the Irwin Allen-produced series Lost in Space and, for those with longer memories, in the title role of the Walt Disney-produced series Zorro; he also cut a memorable presence in a series of episodes of Bonanza during the early '60s, as a cousin of the Cartwrights from south of the border. Born Armando Catalano in New York City, he was the son of one of Italy's champion swordsmen, and he was an expert fencer himself by the time he was in his teens. His good looks made him a natural as a model, and he appeared in numerous newspapers and magazines during the early to mid-'40s. In 1946, at the age of 23, he was signed to MGM, but the studio's declining postwar period proved a dead end of tiny bit roles that went nowhere. He studied acting with Sanford Meisner and was serious about being more than a model who could read lines, but it wasn't until the 1950s that he got his chance. In 1952, Williams was signed to Universal-International, where he finally began getting some respectable screen time, once he got past his initial Universal appearance, in Bonzo Goes to College and a thankless role in Nathan Juran's swashbuckler The Golden Blade. In The Mississippi Gambler (1953), The Man From the Alamo (1953), and The Last Frontier (1956), Williams played small to medium-sized supporting roles that showed him off to good advantage as an actor. His career seems to have stalled at the point where he appeared in American International Pictures' release of I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957). In 1957, however, Williams became a star on television when he was chosen to play the title role in the Disney television series Zorro. It was only in production for two seasons, but Disney's perpetual presence on television brought Williams' dashing heroic figure into households for years after the initial run had ended. Williams was subsequently pegged by the producers of Bonanza as a potential replacement for Pernell Roberts in the series, and he was tried out in the role as the Mexican-born cousin of the Cartwrights across numerous episodes. In 1963, he also starred in the German-made international film Captain Sinbad, directed by American adventure film specialist Byron Haskin. In 1964, Williams was cast in the most familiar role of his career, as Professor John Robinson on the series Lost in Space (1965-1968); although he was a co-star with June Lockhart, he came to be partly overshadowed by Billy Mumy and Jonathan Harris in the story lines. Nevertheless, he provided a firm dramatic anchor for the series. As with most of the cast of Lost in Space, work was relatively hard to come by once it was canceled, but Williams evidently had no worries about money, having done well in his own investments and various business ventures. He also discovered on a visit to South America that he was very much a pop culture hero in most of Latin America, where Zorro had been an enormous success on television and was seemingly being rerun in perpetuity. He moved to Buenos Aires, enjoying a very comfortable retirement from the mid-'70s, and died of a heart attack there in 1989. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
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Wikipedia: Guy Williams
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Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia
For other persons named Guy Williams, see Guy Williams (disambiguation).
Guy Williams

Publicity photo of Guy Williams and June Lockhart
from 1965, for the sci-fi TV series  Lost in Space 
(note the silver spacesuits & red trim).
Born Armando Joseph Catalano
January 14, 1924(1924-01-14)
New York, New York, U.S.
Died April 30, 1989 (aged 65)
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Occupation Actor
Years active 1951–1968
Spouse(s) Janice Cooper
(1948-his death)

Guy Williams (January 14, 1924 – May 7, 1989)[1] was an American actor and former fashion model, who played swashbuckling action heroes in the 1950s and 1960s, but never quite achieved movie-star status[2] despite his appearance (including hazel eyes, 6'3" height, and 190 lb. weight) and charisma,[1] 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 the Disney enterprise) and Lost in Space, as the father of the Robinson family.[1] 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:[1] he owned a 40-foot (12-m) ketch called The Oceana.[1]

In the 1970s, Guy Williams retired near Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he died of a brain aneurysm.[1]

Contents

Early life

Guy Williams was born on January 14, 1924, as Armand Joseph Catalano (nicknamed "Armando" by his family) of Italian parentage, at the Fort George area in New York City.[1] 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,[1] where he was an enthusiastic student. His interests included football and chess.

First artist 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. While there, he decided to send his photos to an agency to start his modeling career.[1] 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.[1] 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 (1952) and Antoinette Toni Catalano (1959), who dabbled in acting.[1]

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.[1]

Early Hollywood (1952–1957)

Guy Williams did small supporting roles in the Universal productions, including:

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 syndicated 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.[1]

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.

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:

Bonanza (1964)

In 1964 Guy Williams returned to Hollywood to resume his career, being added to the cast of the NBC's hit TV series Bonanza (1959–1973) as Ben's nephew Will Cartwright.[1]

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 selfless blessing. Williams lost his role on the popular series, which ran for nine more years, because of Roberts's decision to remain for one more season.

Lost in Space (1965–1968)

In 1965, Guy Williams returned to weekly television in the popular CBS science-fiction family series Lost In Space.[1]

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.

After the series, Guy Williams decided to retire in order to better enjoy his wealth, which had been largely generated by investments in several businesses, buying and selling on the stock market.[1]

Retirement in Argentina (1973–1989)

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 7,[1] finding his body. He had suffered a brain aneurysm[1] a week before that day. He was wearing the characteristic Zorro's sideburns and mustache when they found him.

In accordance with his wishes, Guy Williams' ashes were spread over the Pacific Ocean in Malibu, California.[1]

Homages

  1. In 2000, Guy Williams was the first local celebrity in the Bronx Walk of Fame, of New York City.
  2. In 2001, (August 2) Guy Williams was incorporated in the Hollywood Walk of Fame, at 7080 Hollywood Blvd (La Brea's corner), after massive petitions of thousands of manifesting admirers in front of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce (the previous year).
  3. In 2002, (October) the fans of Guy Williams, with Janice Williams and Guy Williams, Jr in attendance, dedicated to him a bench in New York's Central Park..
  4. In 2003, (August 2 --also--), Disney enterprise placed a commemorative badge in the mansion of the Mission San Luis Rey de Francia at Oceanside, California, where the Zorro series was filmed in 1957.
  5. The impression of a US Postage Stamp 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.
  6. Zorro Television Companion. A meticulously researched book on the making of The Walt Disney Company series. ISBN 0-7864-2058-8
  7. Guy Williams: The Man Behind the Mask. A thorough bio of the actor. ISBN 1-59393-016-X
  8. Tales of Zorro. edited by Richard Dean Starr. The first collection of original Zorro short stories, 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

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z Guy Williams at the Internet Movie Database
  2. ^ New York Times, filmography, webpage: NYT-76456

External links


This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 

 

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Actor. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Guy Williams".  Read more