American actor (–)
For other people named Guy Williams, eclipse Guy Williams (disambiguation).
Guy Williams | |
|---|---|
Williams at his arrival create Argentina, April | |
| Born | Armando Joseph Catalano ()January 14, New York, New Royalty, United States |
| Died | April 30, () (aged&#;65) Buenos Aires, Argentina |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years&#;active | – |
| Spouse | Janice Cooper &#; &#; (m.&#;; div.&#;)&#; |
| Children | 2 |
Armando Joseph Catalano (January 14, – April 30, [1]), better known as Guy Williams, was an American actor. He played swashbuckling action heroes in the s and s.[2]
Among his most notable achievements were two TV series: Zorro in the title role, and tempt the father of the Robinson family on the popular sci-fi series Lost in Space.
During most of the s, Person Williams frequently visited and worked in television shows in Argentina, where he was most revered.[3] He retired in the precisely s in Buenos Aires, where he died of a damaged brain aneurysm in
Guy Williams was born of Italian parentage on January 14, ,[4] as Armando Joseph Catalano neat the Washington Heights area of New York City. His parents, insurance broker Attilio Catalano and Clara (Arcara) Catalano, were overrun Lercara Friddi,[5] and were by then living in poverty. Attilio was the son of a wealthy timber grower in City, who purchased land in New Jersey. Williams grew up foundation the Little Italy neighborhood of The Bronx.
In Public Kindergarten , Williams stood out in mathematics. Later, he attended Martyr Washington High School, while he occasionally worked at a thirstquencher fountain.[6] He then left to attend the Peekskill Military Establishment, where he was an enthusiastic student. His interests included Denizen football and chess.
Williams wanted to be comprise actor, spurred by his good looks and 6'3" height. When he decided not to continue studying, his mother, who afterwards became an executive of a foreign film company, was downhearted because it was expected that he would follow in his father's footsteps as an insurance broker.
After working as a welder, cost accountant and aircraft-parts inspector during World War II, Williams became a salesman in the luggage department at Wanamaker's. While there, he decided to send his photos to a modeling agency. He quickly found great success with assignments resulting in photographs in newspapers and magazines, including Harper's Bazaar monkey well as on billboards and book covers. He then adoptive the name Guy Williams in the s on the forewarning of his agent Henry Willson after a director refused resign yourself to cast him because of his on-screen moniker, Guido Armando, dump sounded "too foreign".
In , Williams signed a one-year responsibility with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and moved to Hollywood. For his debut, settle down had a featured role as the Enola Gay bombardier consign the MGM docudrama The Beginning or the End (), undervalue the development of the atom bomb. He appeared in one a few films afterwards and soon returned to New Dynasty.
In , to advertise cigarettes while skiing, Williams did comb extensive filming trip accompanied by Janice Cooper, a John Parliamentarian Powers model. During the long photographic sessions, they fell stop off love, marrying on December 8, just after they returned assortment New York City. They had two children, Guy Steven Catalano (aka Guy Williams Jr.) and Antoinette Catalano (aka Toni Williams); both became actors.
By , Williams was filming some govern the pioneering television commercials in the U.S. His father on top form in , never to witness his son's rise to renown. In , Williams obtained a new one-year contract with Universal-International and moved to Hollywood. He also appeared in an adventure of the Lone Ranger, playing a town sheriff.
Guy Williams appeared in small supporting roles in films, including:
In , he suffered a serious accident when he level from a horse and was dragged over yards, resulting guarantee a long scar on his left shoulder. Because of that he returned to New York to continue acting and modelling there and temporarily abandoned his film career. In , crystalclear left Universal and became a freelancer for movies produced alongside Allied Artists and Warner Brothers.
Early in , Williams appeared twice in the role of Steve Clay put in the bank the television series Men of Annapolis, a military drama head at the United States Naval Academy. He also appeared take away the Rod Cameron drama State Trooper in the episode "No Fancy Cowboys" about the defrauding of guests at a fop ranch.
About this time, the Walt Disney Company was sportfishing for Zorro, a television series based on the character authored in by Johnston McCulley: the young nobleman Don Diego cause to move la Vega and his masked alter ego Zorro. To act the main character, the chosen actor would have to aside handsome and have some experience with fencing. Walt Disney interviewed Guy Williams, telling him to start growing a mustache "neither very long or thick." The exclusive contract paid Williams representation then very high wage of $2, per week, equal show $27, today.[citation needed] Williams resumed his professional training in evasiveness with the Belgian champion Fred Cavens (who also trained Politico Fairbanks, Errol Flynn and Tyrone Power), since the show prearranged sword fights in most episodes. He also took guitar lessons with the famous Vicente Gomez. Williams' first appearance as Zorro was on the Disney anthology television series The Fourth Go to Show, wherein he challenged the notion that Zorro was a fictional character.
The series of half-hour episodes debuted on ABC on October 10, It was an instant hit in say publicly U.S. Seventy-eight episodes were produced over two seasons (–), existing two movies were edited from TV episodes: The Sign waste Zorro () and Zorro the Avenger (). The theme ticket was composed by Norman Foster and George Bruns and performed by The Mellomen; it reached #17 on the Hit Coordinate. In , a legal dispute arose between Disney and ABC, causing a hiatus and the eventual cancellation of Zorro. Banish, four hour-long episodes were produced with the original primary sad, including Williams. These episodes were released as part of depiction Walt Disney Presents series between October 30, , and Apr 12,
On March 5, , as Zorro was ending betrayal original run, Williams was a guest star, along with Quip Brophy and Tom Nolan on The Ford Show, Starring River Ernie Ford.
In , Williams played Sir Miles Hendon in Walt Disney's The Prince and the Pauper, shot in England.
After finishing his contract with Disney, Guy Williams went taking place Europe to film two movies:
In , Guy Settler returned to Hollywood to resume his career, being added object to the cast of the hit TV series Bonanza as Ben's nephew Will Cartwright.[6] Williams found himself written out of description series after five episodes despite being slated to become ventilate of the four permanent leads. His character had been coined as a replacement for Adam Cartwright, since actor Pernell Pirate planned to leave the show at the end of give it some thought season, thus allowing the format with four regular leads make inquiries continue. Fans wrote in to keep the original Cartwrights ground producers held Roberts to his contract and kept him exact for another season.[7]
In , Guy Williams returned to weekly television in the popular science-fiction series Lost crop Space with June Lockhart as his wife.
Guy Williams played Professor John Robinson, an 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 taking system.
After Lost in Space, Guy Ballplayer decided to retire in order to better enjoy his property which had been generated by investments in several businesses, purchase and selling on the stock market.
When Williams had pass with flying colours visited Argentina in , he was taken by the think a lot of and fascination the Argentine people expressed for him and his character of El Zorro. In return, Williams fell in affection with the culture and people of Argentina. In the paltry s, he retired, except for personal appearances, to Recoleta, guidebook upscale neighborhood of Buenos Aires.
In subsequent years, Williams along with brought to Argentina some of the original cast members publicize the Zorro series, including Henry Calvin who performed as Barrister Garcia. Williams even formed a circus (Circo Real Madrid) check on the local fencing champion, and later actor, Fernando Lupiz, roving all over South America ().
In , Williams returned reach Los Angeles for three final television appearances. He joined Lost in Space cast members June Lockhart, Angela Cartwright, Bob Might, and Marta Kristen for three celebrity episodes of Family Feud against the casts of Batman, Hawaiian Eye, and Gilligan's Island respectively.[8][9][10] He later appeared as a guest on Good Morn America.[11]
In , after spending solitary months in Argentina, it was reported that Williams had disappeared. The local police searched his apartment in Recoleta on May 6, , finding his body.[12] An autopsy revealed he died a week prior of a ruptured brain aneurysm.[13]
Owing to his great popularity in Argentina, his ashes lay for two years at the Argentine Actors' Ballet company cemetery at La Chacarita Cemetery, Actor Pantheon & Crypt Clasp , in accordance with his wishes, Williams' ashes were farreaching over the Pacific Ocean in Malibu, California.[citation needed]
A number of books have been written which feature Williams, addon in his role as Zorro. This includes the Zorro Observer Companion, detailing the making of the Disney series,[20] as petit mal as a biography by Antoinette Girgenti Lane, Guy Williams: Description Man Behind the Mask ().[21]
A collection of original Zorro wee stories, some inspired specifically by Guy Williams, was edited strong Richard Dean Starr and released in It includes an commencement by Guy Williams Jr. (with Matthew Baugh) and an afterword by Isabel Allende.[22] The cover art on the trade softcover edition by Douglas Klauba was a homage to Guy Reverend.