Zorro (1957)

El Zorro is a television series produced by The Walt Disney Company in the 1950s, originally broadcast in black and white. The series takes place in Los Angeles, when it was part of ancient Spanish California, where the people are oppressed by their rulers. In 1992 a remastering was launched adding color to the series.

In 1820 Don Diego de la Vega (Guy Williams), the “young” are of Don Alejandro de la Vega, who has spent the last years studying at a university in Spain, comes to the Spanish town of Los Angeles. There she met Bernardo (Gene Sheldon), a dumb man who had put himself at her service. To make it appear that he was now a new man, Don Diego makes everyone believe that now what interests him most in the world is a good book, that he does not get into politics or seek trouble with anyone; who does not even know how to handle the sword well (which at that time is an essential defense requirement). As for Bernardo, he is posing as deaf-mute, which was not difficult since he is dumb to start, and he has trained himself not to react violently to sudden sounds (like a shot).

When Don Diego sees how the people are being treated by the current commander of the Los Angeles barracks (Captain Monasterio), the high taxes of His Excellency the magistrate, and other injustices that are committed, he decides to act. But, to avoid dislocation with his new personality of "young writer" the only thing he can do is write a letter to the Governor of Spain who is in Monterrey, but his father, Don Alejandro de la Vega informs him that the mail is intervened.

Rabid for not being able to do anything, and because his father now believes that he is a coward, he is going to fight. The only problem is that "if I act openly, as my father wants, I will only be putting him at risk" then he says to Bernardo "If you can't wear the lion's fur, then you saw the fox's. Well, from from now on I will be El Zorro! " and grabs a sword with which he marks a Z, a slogan that will characterize him for the rest of the series.

Since then he fights against Captain Monasterio (or any injustice) with his mask, his black cape, and most of all, his sword, but he always escapes mounted on his black horse, Tornado (or on the occasions when he is in Monterrey, in Ghost that is white).

History of the series

In 1957 the Disney company conducted a casting for a new television series based on the character created by Johnston McCulley. To perform El Zorro, the actor had to be attractive, with a Latin flair and some experience in fencing.

Walt Disney himself interviewed Guy Williams (32 years old), and immediately asked him (comically) to leave "a mustache not too long or too thick." The payment Williams asked for was very high ($ 2,500 per week), but it was awarded.

Guy Williams resumed his professional fencing training with Belgian champion Fred Cavens (who had also coached Douglas Fairbanks, Errol Flynn, and Tyrone Power), as - at Walt Disney's request - they would use unprotected royal swords on the show. Disney ordered him to take guitar lessons with the famous Vicente Gómez to play Zorro perfectly.

Williams used a black horse (called Tornado in the comics), but in a filming where there were shots, the animal fell into a ravine and had multiple fractures, so it had to be euthanized. Another 2 more horses were used

Williams did not make the scenes of danger, because in case of injury he would have delayed the production of the series. So, while he was recording in the studio, his double was doing the scenes of horseback riding among the mountains, outdoors.

This series created a veritable epidemic of letter Z graffiti on school desks across the United States. Examples of these can be seen on the desks and tables of that time.

Unfortunately, El Zorro had to face an enemy that not even he expected: the American legal system. Disney and ABC were embroiled in a bitter legal battle over the intellectual property of the weekly anthology series, The Mickey Mouse Club and The Fox.  Unable to reach a legal agreement, Walt Disney decided to remove "El Zorro" from the air, despite the high rating the series could have if it returned for a third season.

Various adaptations were made, both for television and in cinemas, highlighting the following films: The Mark of Zorro (1920), The Sign of Zorro (1947), Revenge of Zorro (1962), Las hijas del Zorro (1964), Zorro and son (1983), The new adventures of Zorro (1980 - 84), La mascara del Zorro (1998) and Zorro: between the sword and the rose (2007)

Guy Williams landed the lead role in the "Lost in Space" series that made him more popular than Fox.  He made several trips around the world, not only playing his first character, but others.

Guy Williams' real name was Armando Catalano, and before coming to the movies, he worked as a welder, bookkeeper, and aircraft parts inspector. Armando was a salesman in the suitcase department of Wanamakers. Meanwhile I have sent his photos to a modeling agency, where I have made not only photos, but various commercials.

He was 32 years old when he was selected from thousands of applicants by Walt Disney himself. After learning about fame, he moved to Buenos Aires, where he was surprised by death in 1989, when his neighbors noticed his absence and called the police. They had to force open the doors of his apartment, finding him lifeless. His autopsy revealed that his death was due to a brain aneurysm. He was buried in the pantheon of the Argentine Association of Actors (despite the rule that it is only for Argentine actors). In 1991 his son Steve received his ashes in California and fulfilled his father's wish that they be scattered in the mountains of California, on the beach in Malibu (California) and in the Pacific Ocean.

Gene Sheldon was a prominent mime in pantomime. From a young age he worked on various films and radio stations in the United States. Although she had a long acting career, her main fame came to her over a period of five years in which she worked for Walt Disney studios. At this stage, I played the character of Bernardo, El Zorro's silent assistant in the series between 1957 and 1959. Gene Sheldon died on May 1, 1982 after a heart attack.

George J. Lewis started out in film in the 1920s, and his beautiful presence led to starring roles in a Universal Pictures series in the short film, The Schoolboys. Most of George's screen work was in low-budget movies, though it can be seen in some major productions (in Casablanca, which is an Arab street vendor in overalls). Lewis usually played villains in westerns and serials. Lewis died of a stroke in 1995, two days before his 92nd birthday. He was cremated.

Britt Lomond was always the representation of the villain who bullies the city of Los Angeles in the version of The Fox produced by Walt Disney between 1957 and 1958. That creation inspired a postage stamp in the Netherlands in 2004 and the title of the memoirs of this actor -Following the Fox-appeared also in 2004. Finished his acting facet in 1968, Britt Lomond produced various Bing Crosby specials, some episodes of Falcon Crest and even some presidential debate. I've passed away in March 2006