---
product_id: 23877894
title: "Guy Williams: The Man Behind the Mask"
price: "£33.74"
currency: GBP
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 13
url: https://www.desertcart.co.uk/products/23877894-guy-williams-the-man-behind-the-mask
store_origin: GB
region: United Kingdom
---

# Guy Williams: The Man Behind the Mask

**Price:** £33.74
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- **What is this?** Guy Williams: The Man Behind the Mask
- **How much does it cost?** £33.74 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.co.uk](https://www.desertcart.co.uk/products/23877894-guy-williams-the-man-behind-the-mask)

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## Description

Order the massive biography of Zorro and Lost in Space star, Guy Williams. Author Antoinette Girgenti Lane's honest, loving account of Disney's dashing TV star contains the first ever detailed information on the man behind the legend, including many RARE photographs! Over 500 pages! Guy Williams - TV's "Zorro" was apparently "a walking paradox, masculine yet sensitive, firm yet gentle, conservative yet non-conformist, macho yet intellectual, simple yet complicated" according to Antoinette Girgenti Lane who has written the definitive biography of GUY WILLIAMS, THE MAN BEHIND THE MASK. Lane finds a man who was lucky but had major disappointments in life, but those gave him character and made him the person he was. For true insights into Guy's life and career, Lane worked for over 5 years with Williams' widow, and dozens of co-workers such as Dennis Weaver, Wright King, Britt Lomond, Don Diamond, Buddy Van Horn, Suzanne Lloyd and dozens more. Extremely detailed and well written with a definitive listing of Guy's stage, film and TV work. Over 500 pages with many personal rare photos. - Western Clippings

Review: A must have for the Guy Williams fan. - Fans of Guy Williams will be thrilled by the prodigious research and this carefully crafted biography penned by author Antoinette Girgenti Lane. Lane conducted scores upon scores of personal interviews with the actor's wife, fellow actors, directors, producers, stuntmen, children, sibling, friends and virtually everyone who had significant contact with Williams. Lane's efforts in this regard are remarkable but this personal history is further augmented by the written record. Ms Lane quotes from a wealth of domestic and foreign newspaper articles and magazines. She has produced, in 500 well written pages, the essence of Guy Williams. This is an important work and a must have for any Guy Williams fan. Williams had an up and down acting career. He appeared in several movies and starred as the father on the TV series "Lost in Space" but he achieved world wide fame for his earlier roll in "Zorro". With his European origin, athletic skills and dashing good looks he was a natural to play the swashbuckling Fox, the champion of the downtrodden, El Zorro. The man had charm and joie de vie like many leading man of his day but we learn that Williams was not an empty suit. He preferred to read and had an undying love of knowledge for its own sake. He was a skilled sailor, a talented fencer, an amateur astronomer and lived with a quiet dignity. When his fortunes faded in Hollywood he complained to no one. When things were financially hard, he was still cheerful, generous and kind. In middle age his fame as Zorro soared anew as reruns of the series begain to air in South America and later in Japan. I admit, prior to reading this book, I had no real interest in Williams. I picked it up because it had an interesting cover but after reading the author's introduction, I was hooked. I brought the book home that day and as I read those pages I came to like the man. Did he have faults? Of course; no one is without some blame. But in all the interviews not a single associate, including his ex-wife, had a harsh word for Williams. I liked his grace, his charm and his wit and so, apparently, did they. No one spoke badly of Williams because he was a most considerate man and one of that all too rare breed, a complete gentleman. His attention to and kind treatment of a troubled young teenager gives the reader a glimpse at the nature of a man no one chooses to speak of badly. Guy Williams was Zorro and Lane lets us understand why.
Review: When Zorro Owned a Flying Saucer - How many icons of early television can claim to have not one, but two cult classics to call their own? As Disney's "Zorro", Guy Williams sold a lot of plastic, chaulk-tipped swords in his career. Guy was most proud of his role of Zorro, but not so much as the famous space patriarch he portrayed as Professor John Robinson in the '60s cult classic, and more popular, and more lasting "Lost in Space". We get a good idea of the character of the man in this well-researched, mainly well-written, and sizable book. The strength of this book is that it is written by someone who was a huge fan of Guy Williams. The main weakness of this book is that a very interesting story gets over-taken by an almost gushy, fawning eagerness to stick to the highs of this complicated character. The point being that the author often resorts to giving the lows in this very real life the same weight as the highs. Guy Williams was a complicated man, who was thoughtful enough to know it. He disliked the phoniness of Hollywood, but was rather inclined to be "over-whelmed" by "the business", even though he was smart enough to succeed - when he wanted to. The problem for Guy was that he couldn't get out of the way of idea of Guy Williams. This is plainly obvious in his distain for playing second fiddle to a robot and "Dr. Smith". Guy felt betrayed (and justifiably so), by what Irin Allen had promised would be a serious portrayal of the challenges a family faced in space, and a show that deteriorated to pure '60s camp. To his credit Guy compensated for these faults by making sure that his children got the best preparation for a life that Guy himself found difficult to handle. He was married to a beautiful woman who stood by Guy, even when Guy periodically retreated from his responsibilities as a married man, father and faithful husband to Argentina - a country that eagerly catered to Guy's belief that his finest role was that as "Zorro", a role that he only played for two seasons. Even as the effects of aging turned swash-buckeling into parody, Guy pressed on, giving one show after another, until even his greatest fans started to fall away. The author, Antoinette Girgenti Lane, explores all of this in a faithful, yet sometimes pollyannish way, while giving welcome details such as the floor plan of Guy's appartment in Argentina. Surprisingly, hardly anyone knows that for a man so beloved, Guy died alone in his Buenos Aires apartment, his body not discovered until days later.

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #1,582,634 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #7,044 in Actor & Entertainer Biographies #19,382 in Historical Biographies (Books) |
| Customer Reviews | 4.6 out of 5 stars 129 Reviews |

## Images

![Guy Williams: The Man Behind the Mask - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71CqpWcM7AL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A must have for the Guy Williams fan.
*by G***R on November 8, 2005*

Fans of Guy Williams will be thrilled by the prodigious research and this carefully crafted biography penned by author Antoinette Girgenti Lane. Lane conducted scores upon scores of personal interviews with the actor's wife, fellow actors, directors, producers, stuntmen, children, sibling, friends and virtually everyone who had significant contact with Williams. Lane's efforts in this regard are remarkable but this personal history is further augmented by the written record. Ms Lane quotes from a wealth of domestic and foreign newspaper articles and magazines. She has produced, in 500 well written pages, the essence of Guy Williams. This is an important work and a must have for any Guy Williams fan. Williams had an up and down acting career. He appeared in several movies and starred as the father on the TV series "Lost in Space" but he achieved world wide fame for his earlier roll in "Zorro". With his European origin, athletic skills and dashing good looks he was a natural to play the swashbuckling Fox, the champion of the downtrodden, El Zorro. The man had charm and joie de vie like many leading man of his day but we learn that Williams was not an empty suit. He preferred to read and had an undying love of knowledge for its own sake. He was a skilled sailor, a talented fencer, an amateur astronomer and lived with a quiet dignity. When his fortunes faded in Hollywood he complained to no one. When things were financially hard, he was still cheerful, generous and kind. In middle age his fame as Zorro soared anew as reruns of the series begain to air in South America and later in Japan. I admit, prior to reading this book, I had no real interest in Williams. I picked it up because it had an interesting cover but after reading the author's introduction, I was hooked. I brought the book home that day and as I read those pages I came to like the man. Did he have faults? Of course; no one is without some blame. But in all the interviews not a single associate, including his ex-wife, had a harsh word for Williams. I liked his grace, his charm and his wit and so, apparently, did they. No one spoke badly of Williams because he was a most considerate man and one of that all too rare breed, a complete gentleman. His attention to and kind treatment of a troubled young teenager gives the reader a glimpse at the nature of a man no one chooses to speak of badly. Guy Williams was Zorro and Lane lets us understand why.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ When Zorro Owned a Flying Saucer
*by J***Y on March 2, 2009*

How many icons of early television can claim to have not one, but two cult classics to call their own? As Disney's "Zorro", Guy Williams sold a lot of plastic, chaulk-tipped swords in his career. Guy was most proud of his role of Zorro, but not so much as the famous space patriarch he portrayed as Professor John Robinson in the '60s cult classic, and more popular, and more lasting "Lost in Space". We get a good idea of the character of the man in this well-researched, mainly well-written, and sizable book. The strength of this book is that it is written by someone who was a huge fan of Guy Williams. The main weakness of this book is that a very interesting story gets over-taken by an almost gushy, fawning eagerness to stick to the highs of this complicated character. The point being that the author often resorts to giving the lows in this very real life the same weight as the highs. Guy Williams was a complicated man, who was thoughtful enough to know it. He disliked the phoniness of Hollywood, but was rather inclined to be "over-whelmed" by "the business", even though he was smart enough to succeed - when he wanted to. The problem for Guy was that he couldn't get out of the way of idea of Guy Williams. This is plainly obvious in his distain for playing second fiddle to a robot and "Dr. Smith". Guy felt betrayed (and justifiably so), by what Irin Allen had promised would be a serious portrayal of the challenges a family faced in space, and a show that deteriorated to pure '60s camp. To his credit Guy compensated for these faults by making sure that his children got the best preparation for a life that Guy himself found difficult to handle. He was married to a beautiful woman who stood by Guy, even when Guy periodically retreated from his responsibilities as a married man, father and faithful husband to Argentina - a country that eagerly catered to Guy's belief that his finest role was that as "Zorro", a role that he only played for two seasons. Even as the effects of aging turned swash-buckeling into parody, Guy pressed on, giving one show after another, until even his greatest fans started to fall away. The author, Antoinette Girgenti Lane, explores all of this in a faithful, yet sometimes pollyannish way, while giving welcome details such as the floor plan of Guy's appartment in Argentina. Surprisingly, hardly anyone knows that for a man so beloved, Guy died alone in his Buenos Aires apartment, his body not discovered until days later.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A Feast of Facts and Photos Written With Great Feeling -- a Satisfying Read!
*by N***. on July 16, 2015*

I was five years old in 1957 when Zorro first rode into my life; I recently rediscovered Zorro on COZI TV and was delighted to find a wonderful show that has stood the test of time due in large part to the talents and charm of Guy Williams. I read some articles about him that whetted my appetite to know more; then I found The Man Behind the Mask – a feast of facts and photos presented with great feeling by Antoinette Lane – a satisfying read! In her introduction. Lane explains why she began her quest to learn more about Armando Catalano/Guy Williams. She describes her pre- and post-Internet efforts to write the book, and gratefully acknowledges the friendships she developed with Guy's family and friends while devoting many years to research. The only thing an actor owes the public is the best performance he can give – and Guy Williams has left a wonderful legacy – the best Zorro ever. Some fans want actors to be the characters they portray; other fans are disappointed when the performer falls short of their expectations – they only want an image. Lane’s biography introduces us to a real human being with strengths and weaknesses – someone who can be truly loved. It is a tribute to his family’s love that they were willing to share the real man they knew with Lane and those of us who want to know him – and to know Guy Williams is to better understand his actions, to empathize with his disappointments, and to respect his character and qualities. Despite setbacks, he and his wife Jan remained loyal to their friends in good times and bad. This is a moving story. The most heartfelt sections of the book are those that chronicle Guy’s love for his wife Jan and his children Steve and Toni – and their love for him. I have admiration and respect for the steadfast love Jan gave her husband, and I am grateful for her generosity in sharing her memories with Antoinette Lane. In the Zorro episode “The Capitan Regrets,” Don Diego says that somewhere there must be a man who is a friend to Zorro. A reader with an open mind and heart will at the end of this book be a friend to Zorro – and to Guy Williams. I hope that wherever Armando Catalano is now he can see how loved and cherished he is by Jan and his family; how appreciated he is by his friends around the world; and how respectfully and affectionately he is regarded by his fans who truly accept The Man Behind the Mask.

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*Store origin: GB*
*Last updated: 2026-06-29*