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A cowboy actor needs two changes of expression
- hat on and hat off
Fred MacMurray
Although he had a lengthy career in show business, Gene Sheldon's greatest fame came during a period of only five years in which he worked for Walt Disney. Famous for his pantomime routines, he was cast by Disney as the mute sidekick/servant Bernardo on the hit television series "Zorro" (1957). This led to major roles in the Disney features "Toby Tyler, or Ten Weeks With the Circus" (1960) and "Babes in Toyland" (1961).
Gene Sheldon
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Eugene Hume
1 February 1908, Columbus, Ohio
1 May 1982, Los Angeles, California
Gene Sheldon (February 1, 1908 – May 1, 1982) was an American comic actor influenced by Harpo Marx's slapstick to specialize in pantomime acting as his career. Born Eugene Hume in Columbus, Ohio, he is best remembered as the mute servant Bernardo on Walt Disney's live-action television series Zorro (1957-1959).
Gene's career began at an early age, working with his father Earl, a magician. He learned to be quiet when his father had him dressed up as a lass on stage. However, parts of his career were anything but silent. He was briefly a radio personality, broadcasting on Toledo radio in 1925.
His film debut was Susie's Affairs in 1934 as Slug the Banjoist. The next year, he had a brief specialty part playing banjo in the early Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers musical Roberta.
Sheldon appeared in the Broadway revue Priorities of 1942, performing a comedy banjo act in which he did not speak, wearing an outfit resembling the costume of silent film comedian Harry Langdon and mimicking some of Langdon's distinctive gestures.
By the 1950s and 1960s, most of Sheldon's work was on various Walt Disney programs. One of his often-repeated acts, seen in the "Golden Horseshoe Revue" episode of the Disney anthology television series, was as a banjo player who kept getting his fingers stuck in the strings. After several minutes he would finally get them "un-stuck" and play a vigorous riff on his banjo.
Sheldon appeared in a speaking role as the genie Ali in the 1945 movie musical Where Do We Go From Here? and in the 1960 film Toby Tyler, in which he played Sam Treat, a clown and animal trainer who is one of Toby's mentors and protectors. Toby's other protector, gruff wagon driver Ben Cotter, was played by Henry Calvin, who co-starred on Zorro as Sergeant Garcia.
A year later, he starred in Disney's version of Victor Herbert's operetta Babes in Toyland released before Christmas by the Walt Disney Company. He was teamed with Calvin once more as a kind of ersatz Laurel and Hardy (who had starred in the 1934 version of Babes in Toyland).
His best remembered role was as Bernardo, Diego's mute (but not deaf) servant on Zorro. As established in the series' first episode, when Diego de la Vega confides to Bernardo his intention to pretend to be a helpless intellectual rather than a man of action, Bernardo decides to support him by pretending to be deaf. In this way, Bernardo is able to spy for Diego/Zorro without arousing suspicion. This characterization, an innovation over the deaf-mute Bernardo of the original stories, employed Sheldon's pantomime skills while making the character more integral to the series. Like the character Garcia, Bernardo was usually accompanied on screen by a humorous musical theme. Sheldon reprised the role in four further Zorro adventures that appeared on the Walt Disney anthology television series in 1960-1961.
Gene married Margaret McCann on December 11, 1944 in Las Vegas, Nevada. They had one son, David, and one daughter, Tracy. Sheldon died in Tarzana, California, from a heart attack on May 1, 1982. He was cremated.
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Children: Steven Catalano and Toni Catalano.
Ashes scattered in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Malibu, California, USA.
John Robinson, Williams' character on "Lost in Space" (1965), was ranked #38 in TV Guide's list of the "50 Greatest TV Dads of All Time" [20 June 2004 issue].
Hobbies: astronomy, chess, music, sailing, tropical fish, and, of course, fencing.
Throughout the last several years of his life, he was in Argentina where "Zorro" (1957) had an understandably huge cult following.
While starring on "Lost in Space" (1965), he spent much of his spare time buying and selling on the stock market...even during shooting breaks.
One of his last appearances in the United States was on "Family Feud" (1976) where he joined some of the cast from "Lost in Space" (1965) in 1982.
Had two children from his steadfast marriage to Janice Cooper. Both Steven and Antoinette (Toni) dabbled in acting.
He was an amateur astronomer and loved to read and listen to all kinds of music, mostly classical.
Owned a 40-foot ketch called The Oceana.
Was nicknamed "the Comb" by "Lost in Space" (1965) co-star Bill Mumy, because he would frequently comb his hair between takes on the set.
Best remembered by the public for his starring role as John Robinson in "Lost in Space" (1965) and as the title character in "Zorro" (1957).
He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Motion Pictures at 7080 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California.
In 1960, his name was connected to a proposed Disney television series called "Gold.".
Although he is often thought of as Hispanic, he is actually of Italian descent. Although Williams was born in New York City, his parents emigrated to the U.S. from Argentina, which accounts for the confusion.
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