Trivia: 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.

Trivia: Supporting actor Mark Goddard first appeared onscreen in the '60s. He is now an agent.

Trivia: Instantly recognizable for his sophisticated and grim-visaged manner of speech and his sharp, expressive features, popular character actor Jonathan Harris' villainous role on the beloved series Lost in Space earned him both a noted spot in the annals of television history and a warm place in the hearts of TV viewers everywhere. Born Jonathan Charasuchin in November 1914, the son of impoverished Russian-Jewish immigrants worked as a pharmacy box boy in his early teens, later pursuing a pharmacology degree from Fordham University. Though successful in his early career, the young pharmacist couldn't resist the lure of the stage, and after changing his surname, Jonathan Harris began making frequent appearances on the local stock company stages. Though his talent was undeniable, Harris felt that his thick New York accent impeded his ability to pursue the roles he wanted. Taking to British film as a means to remedy this, Harris took in as many British movies as possible in order to re-create their speech patterns, an ability he used to striking effect on both stage and screen -- so effective, in fact, that it became his trademark, with many of his fans failing to realize that offscreen, Harris' accent was pure "New Yorkese." Eventually drawn to the bright lights of Broadway, Harris became a fixture in the office of the Henry Miller Theater. Introduced to Gilbert Miller by Miller's sympathetic secretary, Harris' Broadway career subsequently took off following a small role in The Heart of a City. After finding a steady career on the stages of New York and on live television, Harris packed his bags for Hollywood and made his feature debut in 1953's Botany Bay. Television roles in The Twilight Zone and Bewitched followed in short succession, and in 1965 Harris received the biggest break of his career when cast in Lost in Space. Crediting producer Irwin Allen with giving him free rein regarding character interpretation, Harris quickly became the biggest draw of Lost in Space due to his unique comic villainy. Despite his co-stars' rumored aggravation over his breakout performance, Harris' utter professionalism and genuinely friendly demeanor won over cast and crew as effectively as his villainous persona did the viewing public. Also appearing in such popular television series as Zorro, Sanford and Son, and Night Gallery, Harris would frequently lend his distinct voice to numerous cartoons (Darkwing Duck, Freakazoid!) in addition to the infrequent theatrical release (A Bug's Life [1998] and Toy Story 2 [1999]). Married to high school sweetheart Gertrude in 1938, the couple's marriage endured to Harris' death in late 2002 resulting from a blood clot in his heart. He was 87.

Trivia: Actor Joe E. Tata is probably best known as Nat, the congenial owner of the Peach Pit on TV's Beverly Hills 90210, but the veteran performer's career actually began 25 years earlier. In the mid-'60s, Tata began appearing on popular television shows like Hogan's Heroes and Mission: Impossible, which led to recurring roles on series like The F.B.I. and Lost in Space. He continued to make appearances on television shows and in movies until he was cast in the famous role of Nat on 90210 in 1990. His easygoing manner in the role struck a chord with viewers, and he stayed with the show for the next ten years.

Trivia: The youngest son of an American Motors auto worker, Daniel J. Travanti excelled in high school on both the football and debate teams. While attending the University of Wisconsin, Travanti developed an interest in drama; so eager was he to jump-start his career that he begged the faculty to allow him to graduate in three years. He remained the archetypal overachiever at the Yale School of Drama; by the time he was 25, he was co-starring with Colleen Dewhurst in a road company version of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Moving to Los Angeles in 1966, the actor appeared on scores of TV shows, playing misfit high schoolers and braying bad guys (he billed himself under his actual last name of Travanty until the early '70s). To counter career frustrations, Travanti grew increasingly dependent upon liquor, an addiction that had plagued him on a lesser scale since his college days. Only when his boozing began adversely affecting his on-stage performances (at one point he was replaced by his understudy in full view of the audience) did he seek professional help. After a six-month stint on the ABC daytimer General Hospital, Travanti was cast as Captain Frank Furillo on Hill Street Blues, a job he held down from 1981 through 1987. During this period, he also showed up in a number of well-received TV movies and specials, including the title role in a 1985 made-for-cable biography of Edward R. Murrow. Daniel J. Travanti was back behind the badge as a Chicago police lieutenant in the brief 1993 TV series Missing Persons.

Trivia: American character actor Gene Dynarski appeared on television and in films from the mid-'60s through the late '80s. In 1979 he founded the Gene Dynarski Theater.