An exceptionally handsome and charismatic performer, Guy Williams was born Armand Joseph Catalano (nicknamed "Armando" by his family) of Italian parentage in New York City on January 14, 1924. The elder child of an insurance broker (he had a younger sister, Valerie), he was raised in the Washington Heights area. Attending Peekskill Military Academy during his formative years, he originally broke into the entertainment field as a male fashion model. Guy subsequently joined New York's Neighborhood Playhouse, which led to such TV assignments as "Studio One," and debut in films with a featured role as a pilot in the The Beginning or the End, the story about the first U.S. deployed atom bomb.

In 1952, he was given a screen test and signed by Universal Pictures. As tall, dark and athletic (6'3", 190 lbs.) in Hollywood always fits the bill, the highly photogenic actor began paying his dues in unbilled bits in such standard movies as Back at the Front, You Belong to Me, The Golden Blade and Take Me to Town. When he did manage to receive billing, he was rather benignly used: Bonzo Goes to College, the sequel to Ronald Reagan's cult classic Bedtime for Bonzo, The Mississippi Gambler with Tyrone Power, and The Man from the Alamo with Glenn Ford.

Guy later freelanced in films, including his minor cop role in the cult horror classic I Was a Teenage Werewolf starring Michael Landon, and also added scattered TV appearances ("Highway Patrol," "The Lone Ranger") to his resumé. Nothing, however, of major significance happened until Walt Disney came into the picture. His signing at age 33 to play Don Diego de la Vega, aka Zorro, thrust Guy immediately into the celebrity limelight. His dashing good looks, eloquence and charm had female hearts fluttering while the male audiences admired his fencing dexterity and effortless ladies' man appeal. The Disney series was so popular that certain episodes were culled together and released into two feature films: The Sign of Zorro and Zorro, the Avenger. Further propelled by Disney with his captivating role in The Prince and the Pauper, Guy was handed fully-bearded heroes to play in a couple fantasy film adventures. He portrayed Damon in the costumer Damon and Pythias, and the title role in Captain Sindbad, an MGM attraction. He reunited with Michael Landon in 1964 when he arrived on the "Bonanza" set to play cousin Will Cartwright for a few episodes.

The cult sci-fi series Lost in Space would be Guy's last hurrah in show business. Although overshadowed extensively by the nefariously campy antics of Jonathan Harris' Dr. Smith character, Guy nevertheless provided a strong anchor to the family show, which included June Lockhart as the silver-suited wife of his three intergalactic offspring. Battling aliens and the forces of nature, the show's popularity went stratospheric at first. But like "Batman," it too faded very quickly and ended up having a short life -- three seasons.

When Guy first visited Argentina in 1973 he was quite taken by the signs of admiration and fascination the Argentines expressed for him and his signature character of "El Zorro." In turn Guy fell in love with the people and culture of Argentina. Eventually he retired, save for personal appearances, to Recoleta in the 1970s, an upscale neighborhood of Buenos Aires. He died there of a brain aneurysm at the age of 65 on May 7, 1989. Long married (since 1948) to Janice Cooper, he was survived by their two children.


Children: Steven Catalano and Toni Catalano. John Robinson, Williams' character on "Lost in Space" (1965), was ranked #38 in TV Guide's list of the "50 Greatest TV Dads of All Time" [20 June 2004 issue]. Throughout the last several years of his life, he was in Argentina where "Zorro" (1957) had an understandably huge cult following. One of his last appearances in the United States was on "Family Feud" (1976) where he joined some of the cast from "Lost in Space" (1965) in 1982. An avid fencer (obviously) and chess player, he also played the guitar, was a wonderful cook and was an expert on tropical fish. Owned a 40-foot ketch called The Oceana. Best remembered by the public for his starring role as John Robinson in "Lost in Space" (1965) and as the title character in "Zorro" (1957). In 1960, his name was connected to a proposed Disney television series called "Gold.".