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R.I.P. Mark Goddard, Maj. Don West of Lost in Space
After piloting the Jupiter 2, the actor went on to become a special education teacher. He was 87 years old.
Mark Goddard, best remembered as the hot-tempered pilot Don West on Lost in Space, has passed away at 87.
His wife Evelyn took to social media to report the sad news.
"I’m so sorry to tell you that my wonderful husband passed away on October 10th. Several days after celebrating his 87th birthday, he was hospitalized with pneumonia," read the Facebook post.
"We were hopeful when he was transferred to a rehabilitation center, but then doctors discovered he was in the final stages of pulmonary fibrosis for which there is no cure. He received excellent care at the beautiful Pat Roche Hospice Home and was able to die peacefully and with dignity. His children and I had the chance to express our love and say our goodbyes. I’ll never know how I deserved to spend 33 years with such a loving, gentle, handsome man who made me laugh so often."
Goddard is best remembered by science fiction fans as Major Don West aboard the Jupiter 2 on Lost in Space. He is also fondly recalled by fans of The Detectives, in which he starred alongside Robert Taylor.
Bill Mumy, who played precocious youngster Will Robinson alongside Goddard on Lost in Space also shared his remembrances. "A truly beloved friend and brother to me for 59 years... The last words we exchanged were 'I love you,'" Robinson wrote in a Facebook post. "Mark was a truly fine actor. Naturally gifted as well as trained. I know he sometimes felt constricted by the campy frame that LIS constrained him within, but he also embraced and loved it... He was ridiculously handsome and eternally boyish. Mark was very funny and spontaneous. He enjoyed having a good time."
Goddard graduated college 30 years after he began his higher-education journey. With his master's degree from Bridgewater State College, Goddard began a second career as an educator. From 1991 through 2009, Goddard served as a special education teacher at the F.L. Chamberlain School in Middleboro, Massachusetts. There, he continued his work in the performing arts by teaching an acting class.
In addition to his wife Evelyn Pezzulich, Goddard is remembered by his three children.
63 Comments
Thank you Mark!
R.I.P. Mark
R.I.P. Ms. Coates.
And I much preferred the character storylines of the originals than the newer version. (Though I enjoyed it. I just didn't think of THESE characters being the same people. Alternate Universe only.)
I enjoyed Mark's two appearances in Perry Mason, too.
R.I.P. Mark Goddard
