Mark Goddard Biography

Birthname: Charles Goddard 
Birthdate: July 24th, 1936 
Birthplace: Lowell, Massachussetts 
Status: Actually Married to Evelyn, an English professor 
Education: Holy Cross College, Worcester, MA and The American Academy of Dramatic Arts, New York, NY 
Hobbies: In the early years, Mark liked to play basketball
 

Early life

         Mark Goddard was born on July 24, 1936 in Lowell, Massachusetts. He was the youngest of five children and grew up in Scituate, MA, a small town outside of Boston, where his father owned a five-and-ten. His birth name was Charles, so he was "Chuck" to his siblings and friends. He soon became a local celebrity in the High School he attended, when he led his baseball and basketball teams to state championship finals in both sports. Mark went to Holy Cross College in Worcester, MA in hopes of playing basketball and become a professional player, but these hopes were quickly dashed because of stiff competition.

Early acting career - It was a new way to follow... Starting his career as an actor !

         Upon this situation, Mark made another choice in his life and decided to turn to acting and drama. He has always maintained, and to this day tells young people, "When something in your life goes against you, take it, and make it work for you." Then he left Holy Cross in his Junior year to go to New York and study acting in a more serious manner at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Following two years of study and work in stock theater, Mark was ready to pursue his dreams and then left to Los Angeles. After only three weeks in Hollywood, he signed a contract with Aaron Spelling to play the continuing role of Cully in the series "Johnny Ringo". This was in 1959, when the Westerns were hot, successful movies. It suited Mark just fine because his childhood heroes were Hopalong Cassidy and Gene Autrey. It was at this time that he changed his name from Chuck to Mark largely due to his friend and mentor, Chuck Conners ("The Rifleman"). Mark was busy during the next years: Professionally -- three years on "The Detectives" followed Ringo, then to his surprise three years on "Lost in Space" at 20th Century Fox became the role he is best-known for.

Lost in Space!

         The role he performed on the show gave him great popularity. At the time of film making Mark wasn't aware of such success and the great number of fans around the world. He played the daring and delicious Major Don West, the official pilot of the Jupiter II. Goddard had the distinct pleasure to work with veterans such as Guy Williams and Jonathan Harris, all of them having a strong respect for each other and a creating a loving, memorable family - the Robinsons.

Later acting career After "Lost in Space", Mark did many guest starring roles on series such as "The Fall Guy" and "Mod Squad", but temporarily lost his desire for acting and became a Hollywood agent. However, he found out that being an agent wasn't for him, so he returned to acting. In 1976 he starred as the politician 'Edward Fleming' in the movie "Blue Sunshine". That was a 'back-to-the-sixties type of movie' and was considered the most artistic of all Mark's films by his fans. In this period he starred as the villainous killer 'Ted Clayton' on "One Life to Live" and his character on "The Doctors" killed Alec Baldwin's character. After heading back to the West Coast, he starred as 'Derek Barrington' on "General Hospital" and made several guest appearances on other popular shows before deciding to bring his acting career to an end. In 1978, he was hired by the well-known director Martin Scorcese to star in the Broadway musical "The Act" with Liza Minelli. In 1998 he made a cameo appearance, in the movie "Lost in Space", as the general in charge of the Jupiter Mission, and superior officer to his former character, 'Major Don West'. Extra - Brand New Information - Updated on September 11, 2007 There is a rather new information at Imdb site about a future movie release in which Mark Goddard is part of the cast. The movie title is "Soupernatural" and it is still in production. According to the Imdb site, he will play a character whose name is 'Steve'. Where is he now? He returned to his roots, finished College after an absence of thirty years and went on to receive his Masters Degree in Education. He is currently a Special Education teacher for "at risk" youths at the F.L. Chamberlain School in Middleborough, MA, and is happily raising a son with his third wife, Evelyn, an English professor.