Actors - Guy Williams

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	Actors - Guy Williams

Guy Williams (born Armando Catalano on 14 January 1924 - May 7, 1989) was an American actor who played swashbuckling action heroes in the 1950s and 1960s.

Is considered that he never achieved the movie star status despite his good looking hazel eyes, imposing appearance (6'3" height, 190 lb. weight) and charisma, which, for example, helped launch his early successful photographic model career.

His greatest achievements were the two memorable TV-classics: Zorro (in black and white --years later restored to color by the Disney enterprise--) and Lost in Space, characterizing the father of the Robinson family.

Early life

Born as Armando Catalano at the Fort George area in New York City, he was the son of Attilio (son of a wealthy timber grower in Messina who purchased a land in New Jersey), who was working as insurance broker, and Clare. His parents arrived from Sicily (Italy), who were, by then, living in poverty. He grew up in the Little Italy, Brooklyn neighborhood. Since he was seven, he was taking fencing lessons from his father, who was a professional by a tradition inherited from his Italian ancestors.

In NYC's P.S. 189, Armand stood out in mathematics. Later he attended George Washington High School, where he occasionally worked in its soda fountain. He then left to attend the Peeskill Military Academy 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 looking 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, Armand became a salesman in the luggage department at Wanamakers. While there, he decided to send his photos to an agency to start his model career. He quickly found great success in graphic media. Spanning newspapers, billboards, magazines (like Harper's Bazaar) and book covers, he received good paying and became famous. He then adopted the name Guy Williams.

In 1946 he signed a single-year contract offered by MGM and Guy Williams moved to Hollywood. He only participated in a few movies 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 (beautiful Powers model). During the very long photographic sessions they felt in love, marrying just after they returned to New York City (December 8). Several years later they had two children: Guy Steven Catalano (1953) and Toni Catalano (1956).

By 1950, Guy Williams had begun to film some of the pioneering television commercials in USA, so he became very popular. 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.

Early Hollywood (1952 to 1957)

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

Bonzo Goes to College --- as Ronald Calkins,
The Mississippi Gambler --- as Andre,
The Golden Blade --- as Baghdad's town crier,
The Man from the Alamo --- as a sergeant,
Take Me to Town --- as a small hero

In 1953 Guy Williams suffered a serious accident when he fell from a horse and was dragged over 200 meters, resulting in a long scar on his left shoulder. Because of this, at some point he even returned to New York (acting and modeling there) thinking on abandoning his career, but in 1953 he left the Universal and became a freelancer for movies produced by Allied Artist and Warner Brothers.

Zorro (1957 to 1959)

In 1957 the Disney enterprise carried out a casting for Disney's Zorro, a new television series based on the character (created by Johnston McCulley) already famous on the silver screen performed by Douglas Fairbanks and Tyrone Power.

To play Zorro, the eventual actor had to be comely, with some experience with fencing. Walt Disney himself interviewed Guy Williams, telling him (comically) to start growing a mustache "neither very long or thick". The exclusive contract paid Williams the very high wage of 2,500 dollars 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 used real foils without protection. 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 (two seasons, from 1957 to 1959) and a movie edited from TV episodes: The Sign of Zorro (1958) with its theme-song (composed by Norman Foster and George Burns) reaching #17 of the Hit Parade, performed by The Chordettes.

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Actors - Guy Williams

Early life

First artist steps

Early Hollywood (1952 to 1957)

Zorro (1957 to 1959)

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