Timeless Thursday: Guy Williams as ABC’s “Zorro”

Guy Williams as "Zorro"

In 1955, actor Guy Williams came face to face with a legend: the masked rider named The Lone Ranger in the season four episode entitled “Six Gun Artist”.

Two years later, on October 10, 1957, Guy Williams became a legend himself: the midnight rider called Zorro, the greatest swordsman of all time. By day, Diego de la Vega is a dashing, charming gentleman: a man of books and music rather than a man of action. But out of the night, when the full moon is bright, he rides like the wind as the cunning Fox: a bold renegade wielding his sword of justice for the poor and oppressed. With the letter “Z” as his calling card, Zorro is a Spanish Robin Hood: the champion of the people against tyranny, greed, and corruption.

Zorro may be ABC’s second mask of justice, but the Fox is precursor to The Lone Ranger, Batman and The Green Hornet in the dual identity department: the original caped crusader with a secret passage, the outlaw hero who is daring and resourceful with his faithful and trusty steed Tornado as his black beauty.

Despite excellent ratings, Zorro lasted two seasons and 78 episodes, but was brought back as four one-hour specials for the 1960-61 season. The show’s popularity continued over the years thanks to reruns in syndication (in recent years, it aired on COZI TV every weekday morning) and on the Disney Channel.

Before Duncan Regehr, before Antonio Banderas, there was Guy Williams raising his sword with the legend of Zorro: celebrating 100 years of fighting for the good fight for freedom, liberty, and justice for all.


Guy Williams in “Zorro”

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