Guest Who: I'm on "Patrol" Today!

I was yesterday years old when I caught my first glimpse of any episode of Highway Patrol, the 1955-59 syndicated series which starred Oscar-winning actor Broderick Crawford. One of the all-time most popular syndicated shows ever made, particularly in its day, it nonetheless never held so much as an ounce of appeal to me as a potential viewer. Still, when a cable station recently acquired the show and began airing it on April 1st, I finally decided to at least look at a synopsis or two and see if any of the installments might be intriguing. I feel like I hit the jackpot on my very first go 'round (and also feel like there is precious little left in the till afterwards. I'm not in a huge hurry to watch any more!) 

Crawford was the child of Vaudevillians Helen Broderick and Lester Crawford (get it?) He was actually born William Broderick Crawford. His first film came in 1937 and by 1939 he was beginning to land some notable parts in movies like Beau Geste and The Real Glory, among others. After many bad guys and toughies, he won the Oscar for All the King's Men (1949) as a bullying political candidate.

Seen here (number 56), in his second picture Start Cheering (1938), he was one of those people who never looked young even when he was. Though the Oscar made him famous and led to other projects, he lacked the sort of leading man looks and vibe that leads to lasting stardom in movies.

He also had a very hearty appetite as well as a fondness for the bottle, both of which led to some weight gain. Thus, when the offer came to play the head honcho on Patrol, he leapt at the chance. The show was done on a very low budget and he had to film two episodes per week (!), but he also was granted 10% of the gross intake for the show.

This is old-school TV, with trim plots, old cars, lots of fast filming with few takes, but at least offers the occasional handsome cop.

Apart from the rotating guests, Crawford is Highway Patrol and most of the other participants are lucky if they land anything like a closeup and are generally relegated to a position behind him in the remnants of the light!

This performer looked familiar to me, though he often has to jockey for an unobstructed spot near the camera...

...and was often seen in profile...

...or even with most of his back to the camera!

The actor was John Hart, in the first of two Patrol appearances. He was a nice-looking, though perhaps not particularly dynamic, actor.

Hart is likely best-known for having portrayed The Lone Ranger in over 50 episodes when the producers temporarily off-loaded Clayton Moore. (They later brought him back when the public made it clear they weren't being fooled by an unfamiliar actor under that familiar mask!) Nonetheless, he enjoyed a long, busy career, including the series Hawkeye and the Last of the Mohicans, which I've posted a bit about here. 

Anyway, back to the episode ("Harbor Story" - season one, episode nineteen, if you're interested.) These three men are bank robbers who have a fairly effective escape method from their crimes. They dump their rental car, change into fisherman drag and are picked up by a boat on a secluded stretch of beach.

None of these three actors enjoyed any substantial career, but the one on the right had a sort of "bring daddy a beer" appeal! Ha ha!

Just as the boat is due, though, they spot something startling out in the ocean!

Hmmm...

HHMMMM....!

::Insert Jim Carrey reaction shot from The Mask:: Ha ha!!

I was NOT expecting an entrance like this from anyone on Highway Patrol... Turns out the white thing swinging around was merely a belt, but still.

Do we recognize this young man?

I'll give you a closer look.

It's chesty leading man Stuart Whitman.

Whitman had been kicking around in movies, generally small roles, since 1951. He'd been floundering to make a living, actually working part-time in a slaughterhouse (!) to make ends meet, when he took this guest role.

It was fortuitous, however, because he and Crawford hit it off and Whitman proceeded to return to the show more than a dozen times, those instances as a fellow police officer. (It's alleged that Crawford agreed to bring Whitman on to handle the bulk of the dialogue so that he could drink a little more than usual without having to memorize all those pesky lines!)

Whitman finally landed his first leading part in 1957's Johnny Trouble. Here he gives fellow performer Jack Larson one of his more thrilling days on a film set! LOL Wherever Larson's other leg went, we can hardly tell. Whitman proceeded to a decent film career, including an Oscar nomination for 1961's The Mark. You can read all about Whitman here and here.

Though I had noticeable difficulty following the plot line once Stu showed up, I gather that the robbers wanted him out of the way so that he wouldn't see them escape to their getaway boat.

One of them maneuvers his way behind the young man and proceeds to conk him on the head!

Next, they pick up his lifeless body...

...and plan to dump him back into the ocean.

I was disappointed to later see a patrolman covering up Whitman's prone body with a blanket. I thought he must be dead!

Turns out they were just helping to warm him up after he was fished out of the drink.

Thus ended the beefcake portion of this episode, with Whitman now looking more like a leading character out of one of his later films, Francis of Assisi (1961), though it was Bradford Dillman who essayed the title part.

At least we still got to glimpse him for a little while longer.

Whitman was able to repay the career kindness shown by Crawford by helping the older actor land a substantial part in The Decks Ran Red (1958.)

You may think we've run out of notable guest stars from this thin, 30-minute show, but I assure you there is yet one more! Seen here in silhouette as Crawford takes part in his soon-to-be iconic car radio banter, we have our last name brand guest.

Recognize this handsome hunk?

How 'bout now?

As Broderick's right-hand man for most of the episode, we find Guy Williams! This was the first of four appearances he made on the show.

Not long after, in 1957, he became a household name with Zorro, which ran until 1961.

Not long after I made the prior collage, I found this un-cropped rendition of the main photo, which makes a bigger impression, I think. I've written about Williams (who still later headed the cast of Lost in Space) several times, including here and here.

In these early days, though, Williams had to settle for being mostly in the background.

And being in the background behind Crawford meant that sometimes you were all but wiped out of the shot!

Still, you can see hints of the rakish charm that would later come to light on Zorro. But even this was not what really caught my eye.

It was this pendulous moment by the beach!

Sorry, Brod, but this time the background performer is the one who's getting the attention.

This brings us almost to the end.

Now. The End! Till next time.

TinselTales: Where Did That Guy Run Off To?

I have written about the subject of today's post before, though eleven years have passed in the meantime! He figured in a lengthy tribute to three different Guys. The man in question is one Guy Williams, famed for his roles on Zorro and Lost in Space. It has always intrigued me the way Williams basically exited his career in 1968 and, in fact, exited the U.S. in 1977, returning only once before his unfortunate death in 1989. He basically severed regular contact with his family in the process. So today we're going to look into that a little bit further. 

Born on January 14th, 1924 to parents of Italian descent, Armando Catalano was schooled at a military academy before growing up into a 6'2" hunk. Working as a print model, he eventually segued into acting, with a Universal Studios contract. He poked around in bit roles before freelancing (appearing in the hooty Sincerely Yours, 1955, and in a variety of TV parts.)

Career salvation came when Walt Disney hand-picked him to portray the title role on Zorro, a hit TV series from 1957 to 1959. Kids couldn't get enough of the Spanish California hero who swashbuckled his way through various adventures.

The tall, handsome Williams inspired a generation of youngsters, but was easy on the eyes of many adults as well. The series enjoyed a healthy budget, making it a popular way for viewers to spend a half hour. The show ran into legal entanglements between Disney and ABC which caused a halt in production. By the time that was settled (after two years!), interest in the concept had cooled.

Regardless of his Italian surname, it was later discovered that his ancestry was likely made up of Spanish people who had migrated to Italy long before, so he was actually more in line with the role than even he knew at the time. The suave, debonair Williams was continuously approached by the ladies, who he may or may not have entertained privately.

Thing was, he was already a husband and father. Married to Janice in 1948, his son Steven was born in 1952 and daughter Toni came along in 1958. The picture perfect family was featured in many publications during his time on Zorro and, later, Lost in Space. Regardless of the smooth manner Williams projected professionally, he was reportedly a fiery, vivacious man in private and a considerable disciplinarian to his children. (Not in an abusive way, more of a constructive, instructive way. The household was a strict one.)

In the wake of Zorro's cancellation, Williams worked on the Disney flick The Prince and the Pauper (1962) and made the European films Damon and Pythias (1962) and, as seen above, Captain Sinbad (1963.)

Devilishly handsome (and sporting some nice legs) in Damon and Pythias.
After these projects, he returned to the U.S. with the promise of a new television venture...

The hit western Bonanza was about to lose one of its key cast members. The saga of a wealthy rancher and his three sons, one son - Pernell Roberts - wanted out of his contract. Williams was brought onto the series as a cousin and plans were made to work him into the mix as a replacement.

Audiences had grown very accustomed to the diverse trio of Cartwright sons and there was a public outcry over the possibility of Pernell's departure. Ultimately, he was retained to finish off his contract, leaving Williams in the lurch and out of a job. Roberts would eventually leave for real (and the show prospered without him for many years after.) DO check out Michael Landon's iconic taupe trousers in this publicity photo, by the way...!

Fortunately for Williams, another break was on the horizon. Irwin Allen hired him to headline a new science-fiction program called Lost in Space, all about a family named Robinson who find themselves, well, lost in outer space! It was a derivation of the famed Daniel Dafoe story Robinson Crusoe. Williams was the husband of June Lockhart and father to three children. Mark Goddard was his faithful assistant.

The initial Lost in Space pilot had only the Robinson Family (along with Goddard) in it. After it was completed, the decision was made to include an antagonist to the mix, which turned out to be Jonathan Harris as the devious and duplicitous Dr. Smith. As the main cast was already set, Smith was granted "Special Guest Star" billing throughout the series' run. The character was a constant fly in the ointment, causing all sorts of mayhem, intentional or otherwise.

During the course of the show, it was basically "stolen" by Harris, young Billy Mumy and the Robot. These three in one combination or another soon became the show's selling point and most of the time the rest of the cast were relegated to supporting roles no matter their billing. The show became campier and, after switching to color, more garish in tone.

Needless to say, this direction did not sit well with Williams who had been hired to headline the series along with Lockhart. He understandably began to lose interest in it, preferring to play the stock market during his plentiful free time. By the time the show was cancelled in 1968, he was through in more ways than one.

The charming Williams is seen here in a 1967 episode of Password in which the answer is "Space." His partner's clue was "Lost..." but it didn't register. Fellow guest Irene Ryan and her partner won. You can clearly see here the way Williams manipulated his hair to provide a false hairline.

Williams had watched "his" series devolve into kiddie-oriented drivel (one of the most humiliating episodes being one in which The Robinsons were held captive by a giant carrot who turned Dr. Smith into a celery stalk!) After its demise, he was able to live comfortably on his investments. But a whole new chapter of life was about to occur.

Argentina was a place that greatly adored Williams' old series Zorro and in 1973 he visited there to be greeted by teeming throngs of fans. He was coaxed at the airport into donning his old hat and there were hordes of autograph seekers and curious spectators at every turn. He returned to Argentina in 1977 with plans to create a new movie featuring his character. A 15-day trip turned into a permanent move...

Williams had plans to reignite the Zorro character, but the project faltered and never got off the ground. (Once George Hamilton's parody Zorro: The Gay Blade, 1981, was green lit, all plans for a legitimate reboot were abandoned by Williams.) He began making public appearances before crowds of thousands. An Argentine Olympian, Fernando Lúpiz, was hired to spar with him during these performances.

Lúpiz, 19 at the time, described his first meeting with Williams thusly: "We looked at each other and we fell in love." !! Needless to say, a revelation like that had my eyes bugging out. But it seems that the relationship was actually more like a father-son association. Williams had separated from his wife and was fairly estranged from his own son over some disagreement (reputedly political.) He and Lúpiz began performing at circuses and Williams lived with the young man's mother for 7 months until he became settled in his new homeland. (You can make out some of Lúpiz in the foreground of the prior photo at an airport as well.)

For 16 years, the two were close friends, traveling and working together as the character of Zorro and "Son of Zorro."

Hideous gossip that I am, I was truly believing that I was on to something here... Notoriously private actor leaves wife and children to move to another country, taking up with a young man and forging an entirely new existence out of U.S. eyes. But it does not seem to be the case - not as I had figured it. His young pal introduced him to a female friend of his, one who caught Williams' eye, and it led to a lengthy, if stormy and tenuous, relationship.

In 1983, Williams made a return to the U.S. in order to appear on a week of celebrity episodes of Family Feud. He also made an appearance on Good Morning America. While here, he finalized his divorce. But he also suffered a heart attack. He headed back to Argentina and was officially retired from performing.

But my instincts that he was in love with his new home for secret reasons were not to be borne out. He actually intended to marry the woman he'd been seeing off and on for several years. But, in a pique of anger over their most recent spat, she'd wed another man! (Not the man shown here! I don't know him.)

The woman, Araceli Lisazo, has described her time with Williams in positively glowing terms. Check out this quote and see if it doesn't melt your butter: "Ours was the love of a novel, from how we met to everything that happened to us, living with him was magical. Never has a man made me feel like this, he made love to me in a wonderful way, I discovered with him that I was multi-orgasmic, although even today no one believes it. He was a unique lover and companion. The first night we spent together we made love all night from eleven at night until eleven in the morning the next day, stopping only to drink champagne and eat nuts. Nobody believes it but he made me have 50 orgasms that time."

Sounds like quite the swordsman, no??! It must be said that when Williams' daughter and ex-wife were preparing a documentary on Williams, they heartily welcomed Lúpiz' involvement, but completely denied the participation of Lisazo. So we may never know exactly what all went down during this mysterious chapter in the actor's life. Living in a variety of furnished apartments, it's been said that he was broke and it's been said that he was rich. There is a lot of disparity in the accounts of his existence during those last years.

What is known is that he sadly died of a brain aneurysm at 65 in 1989. He'd been living a solitary existence for the most part and it wasn't until fellow residents detected a foul scent that his body was discovered by local police. It was an unfortunate end for someone who had given the world a significant slice of entertainment. Initially cremated and laid to rest in Argentina, his son two years later scattered his ashes in the Pacific Ocean, reportedly according to the late actor's wishes.