An exceptionally handsome and charismatic performer with a sexy baritone voice, 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 in Hollywood (1948), and he debuted in films with a featured role as the bombardier on the Enola Gay in the feature film The Beginning or the End (1947), the story about the first US-deployed atom bomb.
In 1952 he was given a screen test and signed by Universal Pictures. As tall, dark and athletic (6'3", 190 lb.) in Hollywood nearly always fits the bill, the highly photogenic Williams began paying his dues in unbilled bits in such standard movies as Back at the Front (1952), All I Desire (1953), The Golden Blade (1953) and Take Me to Town (1953). When he did manage to receive billing, he was rather benignly used: Bonzo Goes to College (1952) (sequel to Ronald Reagan's cult classic Bedtime for Bonzo (1951)), The Mississippi Gambler (1953) with Tyrone Power and The Man from the Alamo (1953) with Glenn Ford.
Guy eventually left Universal and freelanced in films, which would include a minor role as a cop in the cult horror classic I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957) starring Michael Landon, and also added scattered TV appearances (Highway Patrol (1955), The Lone Ranger (1949)) 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 (1957), 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 (1958) and Zorro, the Avenger (1959).
Further propelled by Disney with his captivating role in Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color: The Prince and the Pauper: The Pauper King (1962), Guy was handed fully-bearded heroes to play in a couple of fantasy film adventuresj, portraying Damon in the costumer Damon and Pythias (1962) a/k/a "Damon and Pythias", and the title role in Captain Sindbad (1963), an MGM attraction. In 1964 he reunited with "Teen Werewolf" Michael Landon when he arrived on the Bonanza (1959) set to play cousin Will Cartwright for a few episodes.
The cult sci-fi series Lost in Space (1965) 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 necessary strong anchor to the family show, which included June Lockhart as the silver-suited wife and mother of his three intergalactic offspring. Battling aliens and the forces of nature, the show's popularity went stratospheric at first. However, much like Batman (1966), it 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, except 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.
Known For
Credits
Cast Credits
Family Feud (1979)
Guest starring as Celebrity Contestant
- Episode 7x225: TV's All-Time Favorites Week 2 Championship Game: Gilligan's Island vs. Lost in Space (May 13, 1983)
Irwin Allen's Lost in Space (1965)
Starring as Professor John Robinson
(21 episodes)
- Episode 3x07: The Haunted Lighthouse (Oct 18, 1967)
- Episode 2x23: Treasure of the Lost Planet (Mar 1, 1967)
- Episode 2x19: Mutiny in Space (Feb 1, 1967)
- Episode 2x18: The Toymaker (Jan 25, 1967)
- Episode 2x17: The Questing Beast (Jan 11, 1967)
- Episode 2x16: The Girl from the Green Dimension (Jan 4, 1967)
- Episode 2x15: The Golden Man (Dec 28, 1966)
- Episode 2x14: The Dream Monster (Dec 21, 1966)
- Episode 2x13: Wreck of the Robot (Dec 14, 1966)
- Episode 2x11: West of Mars (Nov 30, 1966)
- Episode 1x25: The Space Croppers (Mar 30, 1966)
- Episode 1x22: The Challenge (Mar 2, 1966)
- Episode 1x21: The Magic Mirror (Feb 16, 1966)
- Episode 1x18: The Sky Pirate (Jan 26, 1966)
- Episode 1x17: The Keeper (2) (Jan 19, 1966)
- Episode 1x16: The Keeper (1) (Jan 12, 1966)
- Episode 1x15: Return from Outer Space (Dec 29, 1965)
- Episode 1x03: Island in the Sky (Sep 29, 1965)
- Episode 1x02: The Derelict (Sep 22, 1965)
- Episode 1x01: The Reluctant Stowaway (Sep 15, 1965)
- Episode S01 Special: No Place to Hide (Oct 16, 1997)
Zorro (1957)
Starring as Zorro
(41 episodes)
- Episode 2x38: Senor China Boy (Jun 25, 1959)
- Episode 2x37: The Fortune Teller (Jun 18, 1959)
- Episode 2x36: Long Live the Governor (Jun 11, 1959)
- Episode 2x32: The Sergeant Sees Red (May 14, 1959)
- Episode 2x30: Zorro Takes a Dare (Apr 30, 1959)
- Episode 2x29: Exposing the Tyrant (Apr 23, 1959)
- Episode 2x28: Treasure for the King (Apr 16, 1959)
- Episode 2x27: The Man from Spain (Apr 9, 1959)
- Episode 2x26: Manhunt (Apr 2, 1959)
- Episode 2x24: Zorro and the Mountain Man (Mar 19, 1959)
- Episode 2x23: The Brooch (Mar 12, 1959)
- Episode 2x21: The Missing Father (Feb 26, 1959)
- Episode 2x20: Spark of Revenge (Feb 19, 1959)
- Episode 2x19: The Legend of Zorro (Feb 12, 1959)
- Episode 2x15: The Iron Box (Jan 15, 1959)
- Episode 2x14: The Runaways (Jan 8, 1959)
- Episode 2x13: Amnesty for Zorro (Jan 1, 1959)
- Episode 2x09: Ambush (Dec 4, 1958)
- Episode 2x06: The New Order (Nov 13, 1958)
- Episode 2x05: Rendezvous at Sundown (Nov 6, 1958)
- Episode 2x03: Horse of Another Color (Oct 23, 1958)
- Episode 2x01: Welcome to Monterey (Oct 9, 1958)
- Episode 1x39: The Eagle's Flight (Jul 3, 1958)
- Episode 1x38: Bernardo Faces Death (Jun 26, 1958)
- Episode 1x37: The Eagle Leaves the Nest (Jun 19, 1958)
- Episode 1x35: The Tightening Noose (Jun 5, 1958)
- Episode 1x34: The Well of Death (May 29, 1958)
- Episode 1x32: The Cross of the Andes (May 15, 1958)
- Episode 1x31: The Man with the Whip (May 8, 1958)
- Episode 1x30: Zorro Lights a Fuse (May 1, 1958)
- Episode 1x25: The Fox and the Coyote (Mar 27, 1958)
- Episode 1x23: The Secret of the Sierra (Mar 13, 1958)
- Episode 1x22: The Unmasking of Zorro (Mar 6, 1958)
- Episode 1x21: Zorro Springs a Trap (Feb 27, 1958)
- Episode 1x19: Death Stacks the Deck (Feb 13, 1958)
- Episode 1x18: Zorro Fights His Father (Feb 6, 1958)
- Episode 1x16: Slaves of the Eagle (Jan 23, 1958)
- Episode 1x15: Garcia Stands Accused (Jan 16, 1958)
- Episode 1x14: Shadow of Doubt (Jan 9, 1958)
- Episode 1x09: A Fair Trial (Dec 5, 1957)
- Episode 1x01: Presenting Senor Zorro (Oct 10, 1957)
Starring as Don Diego de la Vega
(40 episodes)
- Episode 2x38: Senor China Boy (Jun 25, 1959)
- Episode 2x37: The Fortune Teller (Jun 18, 1959)
- Episode 2x36: Long Live the Governor (Jun 11, 1959)
- Episode 2x32: The Sergeant Sees Red (May 14, 1959)
- Episode 2x30: Zorro Takes a Dare (Apr 30, 1959)
- Episode 2x29: Exposing the Tyrant (Apr 23, 1959)
- Episode 2x28: Treasure for the King (Apr 16, 1959)
- Episode 2x27: The Man from Spain (Apr 9, 1959)
- Episode 2x26: Manhunt (Apr 2, 1959)
- Episode 2x24: Zorro and the Mountain Man (Mar 19, 1959)
- Episode 2x23: The Brooch (Mar 12, 1959)
- Episode 2x21: The Missing Father (Feb 26, 1959)
- Episode 2x20: Spark of Revenge (Feb 19, 1959)
- Episode 2x19: The Legend of Zorro (Feb 12, 1959)
- Episode 2x15: The Iron Box (Jan 15, 1959)
- Episode 2x14: The Runaways (Jan 8, 1959)
- Episode 2x13: Amnesty for Zorro (Jan 1, 1959)
- Episode 2x09: Ambush (Dec 4, 1958)
- Episode 2x06: The New Order (Nov 13, 1958)
- Episode 2x05: Rendezvous at Sundown (Nov 6, 1958)
- Episode 2x03: Horse of Another Color (Oct 23, 1958)
- Episode 2x01: Welcome to Monterey (Oct 9, 1958)
- Episode 1x39: The Eagle's Flight (Jul 3, 1958)
- Episode 1x38: Bernardo Faces Death (Jun 26, 1958)
- Episode 1x37: The Eagle Leaves the Nest (Jun 19, 1958)
- Episode 1x35: The Tightening Noose (Jun 5, 1958)
- Episode 1x34: The Well of Death (May 29, 1958)
- Episode 1x32: The Cross of the Andes (May 15, 1958)
- Episode 1x31: The Man with the Whip (May 8, 1958)
- Episode 1x30: Zorro Lights a Fuse (May 1, 1958)
- Episode 1x25: The Fox and the Coyote (Mar 27, 1958)
- Episode 1x23: The Secret of the Sierra (Mar 13, 1958)
- Episode 1x22: The Unmasking of Zorro (Mar 6, 1958)
- Episode 1x21: Zorro Springs a Trap (Feb 27, 1958)
- Episode 1x19: Death Stacks the Deck (Feb 13, 1958)
- Episode 1x18: Zorro Fights His Father (Feb 6, 1958)
- Episode 1x16: Slaves of the Eagle (Jan 23, 1958)
- Episode 1x14: Shadow of Doubt (Jan 9, 1958)
- Episode 1x09: A Fair Trial (Dec 5, 1957)
- Episode 1x01: Presenting Senor Zorro (Oct 10, 1957)
The Wonderful World of Disney (1954)
Guest starring as Zorro
(2 episodes)
- Episode 7x10: The Postponed Wedding (Jan 1, 1961)
- Episode 4x01: The Fourth Anniversary Show (Sep 11, 1957)
Guest starring as Miles Hendon
- Episode 8x21: The Prince and the Pauper (1) (Mar 11, 1962)
The Mickey Rooney Show (1954)
Guest starring as Edwards
- Episode 1x26: The Average Man (Feb 26, 1955)