Mark Goddard | |
|---|---|
 Goddard withTuesday Weld in 1969 | |
| Born | Charles Harvey Goddard (1936-07-24)July 24, 1936 Lowell, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died | October 10, 2023(2023-10-10) (aged 87) Hingham, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Resting place | Mayflower Cemetery,Duxbury, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Education | College of the Holy Cross American Academy of Dramatic Arts |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1959–2023 |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 5 |
Mark Goddard (bornCharles Harvey Goddard; July 24, 1936 – October 10, 2023) was an American actor who starred in a number of television programs. He is probably best known for portraying Major Don West in theCBS seriesLost in Space (1965–1968). He also played Detective Sgt. Chris Ballard, inThe Detectives, starringRobert Taylor.
Charles Harvey Goddard was born inLowell, Massachusetts, on July 24, 1936.[1] The youngest of five children, he grew up inScituate. He was raised Roman Catholic and described himself as "almost a good Catholic".[2]
Goddard led both his high school baseball and basketball teams to the state championship finals. Goddard dreamed of becoming a basketball player but eventually turned to acting. He originally attended theCollege of the Holy Cross after high school but transferred and studied at theAmerican Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City. After two years, he moved to Los Angeles.[3]
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In 1959, after just three weeks in Hollywood, he landed a role in the CBSFour Star Television seriesJohnny Ringo, having played the character of Cully, the deputy toDon Durant's character of Ringo. At this time, he changed his name to Mark Goddard at the suggestion of his friend and mentorChuck Connors ofThe Rifleman.[citation needed] Goddard appeared as Norman Tabor in the 1960 episode "Surprise Party" of the CBSanthology seriesThe DuPont Show with June Allyson. He was cast as Sheldon Hollingsworth in the 1960 episode "To See the Elephant" of the ABC Western seriesThe Rebel, starringNick Adams. He played Tod Rowland in the 1960 episode "The Mormons" onDick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre. Goddard also appeared inThe Rifleman as Marty Blair in 1962 in the episode “Mark’s Rifle”.The Detectives, another production of Four Star Television, was a hit series which ran on ABC and NBC from 1958 to 1961. Goddard was signed for a role lasting three years (64 episodes). Goddard appeared as Roy Mooney on thePerry Mason 1963 episode "The Case of the Potted Planter" and in the 1965 episode "The Case of the Frustrated Folk Singer" as Lester Crawford. In 1964, Goddard appeared as Richard onThe Virginian in the episode titled "The Secret of Brynmar Hall". That same year he guest starred as a wild killer named “Boyd” in the episode “Journey For Three” on the TV Western seriesGunsmoke (S9E36). Goddard's next role was Major Don West onLost in Space (1965–1968).[4]
Goddard guest-starred on three ABC series,The Fugitive,The Mod Squad, andThe Fall Guy and for a while, moonlighted as a Hollywood agent.[citation needed] In 1976, he starred as politician Edward Fleming in the filmBlue Sunshine. In 1970, Goddard co-starred withKent McCord andMartin Milner in an episode ofAdam-12, in which he plays a friend of Pete Malloy (Milner), who is killed in the line of duty. The episode was titled "Elegy for a Pig" (so titled and announced by Jack Webb himself).[5] Goddard also played Ellie May's beau on theBeverly Hillbillies episode "The Critter Doctor" (1964). He played a supporting role in a 1974 episode ("Dark Legacy") of CBS'sBarnaby Jones., and portrayed an attorney in a first season episode of NBC'sQuincy M.E.
In 1978, Goddard starred withLiza Minnelli on Broadway in the musicalThe Act.[6][7] In 1979, he was in the disco filmRoller Boogie featuringLinda Blair and Jim Bray. Goddard appeared asTed Clayton onOne Life to Live in 1981, and Lt. Paul Reed onThe Doctors in 1982. Later, he starred as Derek Barrington onGeneral Hospital from 1984 to 1986. He made acameo appearance in the 1998 reboot filmLost in Space as the general in charge of the Jupiter Mission and superior officer to his former character Major Don West.[8]
Goddard's first marriage was to Marcia Rogers in 1960, which lasted until their divorce in 1968; the couple had two children, Melissa and Michael. Goddard and Rogers were amongst the last people to seeKaryn Kupcinet, hosting a dinner on the night of November 27, 1963. Goddard and Rogers found her dead body on November 30 after she failed to call them as promised.[9] He and his second wife, actressSusan Anspach, were married from 1970 to 1978, and had two children together, one biological and one adopted by Goddard.[10] Goddard finished college 30 years after beginning his studies and received hismaster's degree in education fromBridgewater State College.
He met his third wife, English professor Evelyn Pezzulich, while at Bridgewater, and they married in 1990. The couple had one child, John. From 1991 through at least 2009, Goddard served as aspecial education teacher at the F.L. Chamberlain School inMiddleboro, Massachusetts, where he taught an acting class.[8] In 2009, he released an autobiographical memoir,To Space and Back: A Memoir.[citation needed]
Goddard died frompulmonary fibrosis inHingham, Massachusetts, on October 10, 2023, at the age of 87.[11][12]
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