Guy Trivia

• Walt Disney chose Guy over scores of other actors who tested for the role. The studio boss had this to say about his new Zorro. "There is a very special quality about Guy's persona; his smile and charm are magnificent...and he can really handle a sword."

• Zorro Director Norman Foster who screen tested Guy for the role of the masked man was quoted as saying, "We had checked every studio in town for footage of our candidates. I was immediately impressed with Guy's looks, but I wanted to be sure he could handle a sword. The first day, I had him do three different fencing scenes. As far as I was concerned, Guy fits Zorro to a T...or should I say a Z! From the beginning I knew I wanted him to play the part."

• According to both Guy & Britt Lomand, Walt Disney was such a stickler for detail that he insisted his stars fence with un-capped swords. This not-so-insignificant detail made the scenes not only exciting to watch, but dangerous to perform and required hours of rehearsal to minimize the chance of injury.

• To oversee the fencing in Zorro Walt Disney hired Fred Cavens, a well-known and respected fencing master who had trained some of Hollywood's best known "swashbuckling" actors like Douglas Fairbanks, Errol Flynn and Tyrone Power, in the art of theatric fencing. In an interview Fred was quoted as saying that Guy was his "most difficult pupil." Cavens explained that the comment was not a criticism of Guy's fencing ability but just the reverse. Guy "knew too much" about the sport and how to execute the various moves. According to Cavens, he had to "make Guy forget" the technical aspects of the sport, before he "could teach the unique thrusts and parries demanded in film work for full dramatic effect" on the small screen. Cavens went on the state that Guy "really knows how to take care of himself, all right. He even keeps me on my toes"

• A 1958 TV Guide article states, "one of the things that zoomed Zorro to a contending position in the rating lists was Williams' undeniable, wavy-haired, flashing-smiled charm." Julie van Zandt (Magdalena in episode 17; Sweet Face of Danger), readily admits in the TV Guide article, that she fell victim to Guy's charm. "I've never had so much help from an actor. He's cooperative, gracious and unselfish. He's also a big tease. He kept telling me how great I was - but I couldn't decide whether or not he was serious."

• Fred Cavens, who often doubled for villians in dueling scenes, had long wanted to actually appear on screen in a fencing scene against El Zorro. His chance to duel his pupil came during the first season when Fred appeared as a lancer in one of the episodes. His debut against the masked hero didn't turn out the way he'd hoped, though. When Guy's Zorro disarmed him and Fred dropped his weapon, the sword bounced off the ground and cut him in the face. Luckily the wound was not serious.

• In a Starlog Interview, Guy said that when Zorro began production he hadn't worked out all the details of his portrayal. "I had auditioned with a heavy Spanish accent, knowing I could drop it instead of starting out light and adding on," he explained. "For the first couple of weeks, someone would be tapping me on the shoulder as I'm walking around the set and it would be Walt. He would say "Can you bring it down a little, Guy?" He didn't know what he wanted, so I kept "bringing it down" One day, I finished the show and Walt didn't tap me on the shoulder, and that was the accent I kept."

• In a 1959 interview, Guy made a startling announcement. "I shame-facedly admit I've never made the sign of the Z myself. Seems ridiculous when you realize I've probably made it the most popular letter in the alphabet with small fry and their pocket knives. But whenever there's a Z to be carved on a tree trunk or wall during the show, I step aside. A Disney prop man does it with a small hand axe."

• According to Guy the hardest aspect of fame for him to get used to was "the prose teenage girls penned in praise of my moustache. Then too, I got a bit concerned when Zorro hit a higher rating than President Eisenhower's important missles speech. This is really an odd reflection on the public's taste."

• In an interview, Guy related that the fight scenes in Zorro were filmed on Fridays. Disney's logic for this was that if anyone was injured during the fight, the person had the weekend to recover. He recounted how he was on the receiving end of a misplaced sword several times; "I was only injured twice, once on the chin and the second time at the groin. The only potentially serious thing that happened was to an actor named Anthony Caruso. Caruso insisted on not using a stunt double. I don't know why, Norman (the director) let him do it because the conditions for the scene were extremely bad. We were fighting in boots on a hillside of sliding rocks at the Calabassas' ranch. During our sword fight, Caruso slipped and, I came close to putting out his eye. Luckily I only injured the corner of his eye. It was nothing serious, fortunately, but it was a good lesson."

• During the 2nd season of the show, the writer's decided to create an unusual romantic triangle for the series. Jolene Brand was hired to play the role of Anna Maria Verdugo. Diego falls in love with Anna Maria only to be faced with the realization that she loves his alter ego, Zorro. In a scene carefully scripted by Disney, Anna Maria received the first screen kiss from the masked hero (see Publicity Photo Zor-7919).

  In the October 4, 1958 TV Guide, Jolene herself described the filming of the scene as follows: The five-second Zorro kiss was filmed for two hours. Disney's camera recorded it from eight different angles on a Burbank hillside dotted with nervous writers and technicians. The milestone kiss was a "nerve-wracking acting experience" to which she had a unique reaction. "Everybody had his own idea of how Guy and I should act. And all I could think of was that Guy is married and I'm married, too."

  
  
• In the late 50s when Zorro aired on television, Annette Funicello was one of Disney's Mouseketeers. Like many other young girls at the time, she developed a major crush on Guy Williams. However, unlike most girls, she not only got to meet her idol, she was able to work with him. As a special 16th birthday gift, Walt Disney arranged for her to appear in 3 second season episodes of Zorro. She also later appeared in the anthology movie The Postponed Wedding. In her book A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes Annette recounts meeting her hero.

  "I must have had a million crushes, all quite innocent, but none as all-consuming as the one I had on Guy Williams. Those of you who know Guy only from...Lost in Space may have trouble reconciling the image of him in his polyester stretch space suit with the handsome and, yes, sexy Zorro." "When the Zorro cast and crew set up shop on soundstage three in 1957, I was still in mouse ears but quite susceptible to Guy Williams' charms. I thought he was simply the cutest guy I'd ever seen (except perhaps Ricky Nelson, another long-lived crush from afar). I blushed like a beet and my knees quaked every time Guy looked my way, I believed I was in love, and I'm sure everyone on the lot knew it." "Guy was nearly twenty years my senior, married, and the father of two, so the most encouraging reponse I ever got from him was a friendly puppy pat on the head. Yet I carried my torch and regularly asked him to autograph the latest Zorro publicity shot I had wrangled out of the studio's PR office." "My weeks with Guy Williams were perfect in every way, except that no kiss was written into the script. Looking back, I'm sure that my interest in him was plainly obvious to everyone, and probably more than a little amusing to Guy, who teased me and called me Zorina. Yet he did nothing to embarrass me or make me feel like the smitten young girl I was, and for that I will always be grateful."

  
  
• When Disney Studios and CBS created the Zorro and Son television show in 1983, Guy was offered the lead role. He considered it for a time, until he read the script. His analysis of what he read was that the network writers had "cuted the cutes and created an abortion." He went on to say that "it happened because Walt wasn't there. I've seen Walt throw network people off the lot. If he'd seen their script, he would have yelled bloody murder."

• When Henry Darrow was cast in the lead of the short-lived series Zorro and Son, he wore many of the same costumes that had been made for Guy. However, alterations were necessary since he was six foot tall as compared to Guy's six foot three.

Zorro Theme Song

Click Zlightening to hear the Theme.

Out of the night...
When the full moon is bright...
Comes a horseman known as Zorro!
This bold renegade carves a "Z" with his blade...
A "Z" that stands for Zorro.

Zorro...the fox so cunning and free...
Zorro...who makes the sign of the "Z"!

Zorro...the fox so cunning and free...
Zorro...who makes the sign of the "Z"!
Zorro...Zorro...Zorro...Zorro...Zorro...

(words by Norman Foster; music by George Bruns)

1. Presenting Señor Zorro - (Oct. 10, 1957)
2. Zorro's Secret Passage - (Oct. 17,1957)
3. Zorro Rides to the Mission - (Oct. 24, 1957)
4. The Ghost of the Mission - (Oct. 31, 1957)
5. Zorro's Romance - (Nov. 7, 1957)
6. Zorro Saves a Friend - (Nov. 14, 1957)
7. Monastario Sets a Trap - (Nov. 21,1957)
8. Zorro's Ride into Terror - (Nov. 28, 1957)
9. A Fair Trial - (Dec. 5, 1957)
10. Garcia's Secret Mission - (Dec. 12, 1957)
11. Double Trouble for Zorro - (Dec. 19, 1957)
12. Zorro, Luckiest Swordsman Alive - (Dec. 26, 1957)
13. The Fall of Monastario - (Jan. 2, 1958)
14. Shadow of Doubt - (Jan. 9, 1958)
15. Garcia Stands Accused - (Jan. 16, 1958)
16. Slaves of the Eagle - (Jan. 23, 1958)
17. Sweet Face of Danger - (Jan. 30, 1958)
18. Zorro Fights His Father - (Feb. 6, 1958)
19. Death Stacks the Deck - (Feb. 13, 1958)
20. Agent of the Eagle - (Feb. 20, 1958)
21. Zorro Springs a Trap - (Feb. 27, 1958)
22. The Unmasking of Zorro - (Mar. 6, 1958)
23. The Secret of the Sierra - (Mar. 13, 1958)
24. The New Comandante - (Mar. 20, 1958)
25. The Fox and the Coyote - (Mar. 27, 1958)
26. Adios, Señor Magistrado - (Apr. 3, 1958)
27. The Eagle's Brood - (Apr. 10, 1958)
28. Zorro By Proxy - (Apr. 17, 1958)
29. Quintana Makes a Choice - (Apr. 24, 1958)
30. Zorro Lights a Fuse - (May 1, 1958)
31. The Man with the Whip - (May 8, 1958)
32. The Cross of the Andes - (May 15, 1958)
33. The Deadly Bolas - (May 22, 1958)
34. The Well of Death - (May 29, 1958)
35. The Tightening Noose - (Jun. 5, 1958)
36. The Sergeant Regrets - (Jun. 12, 1958)
37. The Eagle Leaves the Nest - (Jun. 19, 1958)
38. Bernardo Faces Death - (Jun. 26, 1958)
39. The Eagle's Flight - (Jul. 3, 1958)

SECOND SEASON

40. Welcome to Monterey - (Oct. 9, 1958)
41. Zorro Rides Alone - (Oct. 16, 1958)
42. Horse of Another Color - (Oct. 23, 1958)
43. Señorita Makes a Choice - (Oct. 30, 1958)
44. Rendezvous at Sundown - (Nov. 6, 1958)
45. The New Order - (Nov. 13, 1958)
46. An Eye for an Eye - (Nov. 20, 1958)
47. Zorro and the Flag of Truce - (Nov. 27, 1958)
48. Ambush - (Dec. 4, 1958)
49. The Practical Joker - (Dec. 11, 1958)
50. The Flaming Arrow - (Dec. 18, 1958)
51. Zorro Fights a Duel - (Dec. 25, 1958)
52. Amnesty for Zorro - (Jan. 1, 1959)
53. The Runaways - (Jan. 8, 1959)
54. The Iron Box - (Jan. 15, 1959)
55. The Gay Caballero - (Jan. 22, 1959)
56. Tornado is Missing - (Jan. 29, 1959)
57. Zorro versus Cupid - (Feb. 5, 1959)
58. The Legend of Zorro - (Feb. 12, 1959)
59. Spark of Revenge - (Feb. 19, 1959)
60. The Missing Father - (Feb. 26, 1959)
61. Please Believe Me - (Mar. 5, 1959)
62. The Brooch - (Mar. 12, 1959)
63. Zorro and the Mountain Man - (Mar. 19, 1959)
64. The Hounds of the Sierras - (Mar. 26, 1959)
65. Manhunt - (Apr. 2, 1959)
66. The Man From Spain - (Apr. 9, 1959)
67. Treasures for the King - (Apr. 16, 1959)
68. Exposing a Tyrant - (Apr. 23, 1959)
69. Zorro Takes a Dare - (Apr. 30, 1959)
70. An Affair of Honor - (May 7, 1959)
71. The Sergeant Sees Red - (May 14, 1959)
72. Invitation to Death - (May 21, 1959)
73. The Captain Regrets - (May 28, 1959)
74. Masquerade for Murder - (Jun. 4, 1959)
75. Long Live the Governor - (Jun. 11, 1959)
76. The Fortune Teller - (Jun. 18, 1959)
77. Señor China Boy - (Jun. 25, 1959)
78. Finder's Keepers - (Jul. 2, 1959)

ANTHOLOGY MOVIES

79. El Bandito - (Oct. 30, 1960)
80. Adios El Cuchillo - (Nov. 6, 1960)
81. The Postponed Wedding - (Jan. 1, 1961)
82. Auld Acquaintance - (Apr. 2, 1961)

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