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One of the most successful of Walt Disney's television shows was the famous Zorro series. Stepping successfully into the role that Douglas Fairbanks and Tyrone Power did on the big screen as did many others was Guy Williams, an actor who perfectly fitted the concept of the dandy by day and the demon fighter for right by night.
It's a pity that Guy Williams was born as late as he did. Had he been born 20 years earlier this man could easily have established himself as every inch the swashbuckling star that Errol Flynn did. Or his predecessor in the Zorro role Tyrone Power with whom Williams appeared with in Mississippi Gambler. He had looks and presence and definitely the fencing skill for the job. Williams would have been some studio's leading swashbuckling star back in the day.
Zorro only lasted two seasons on the air, hard to believe. I think that Walt Disney made a mistake in marketing the show. The first season was like a long serial. It concerned a secret plot to detach California from Spain and the conspiracy was led by a man known as 'The Eagle'. Before the first season ended Zorro was constantly gumming up the mysterious Eagle's plans. Then eventually we were introduced to the Eagle and he was played by Charles Korvin. The last show of the first season was an exciting battle, maybe the best Zorro show ever produced.
Then the second season happened and Disney could really do nothing to top it. The show ran out of gas and Williams himself thought himself headed for big screen stardom. It got canceled.
Still I remember it fondly from childhood. Williams only confidante was his mute servant Bernardo played by Gene Sheldon whom he had pretend to be deaf as well, the better to hear things he ought. Later on Williams's father George J. Lewis playing Don Alejandro Dela Vega learned of his son Diego's masquerade. Lewis was one of many actors who also played Zorro on the big screen.
Williams had some real enemies to be sure, but he also had Henry Calvin as Sergeant Garcia. Calvin was a jolly klutz of a sergeant of the local Spanish troops in the small town of Los Angeles. Calvin had a running comedy act with his corporal Don Diamond as Corporal Reyes. The two were a riot together, Diamond performed the same function here as he did in F Troop as Crazy Cat to Frank DeKova's Chief Wild Eagle. Williams also used Sheldon to learn things and occasionally give disinformation to Calvin. Calvin and Sheldon were also a funny pair.
Thursday night on WABC New York was time for Zorro and in that first year to see how he would foil the dastardly Eagle's plans for an independent California. Those were the days.
score 7/10
bkoganbing 29 June 2008
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw1901748/ |
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12-1-2021 01:10:06