Mark Goddard, 'Lost in Space' and ‘General Hospital’ star, dead at 87
Mark Goddard, best known for his role on "Lost in Space" has died at age 87.
Goddard passed away in Hingham, Massachusetts, of pulmonary fibrosis, his son John told The New York Times.
The actor played Major Don West, the pilot of the spaceship carrying the Robinson family on a mission to colonize space, on "Lost in Space," from 1965 to 1968.
His "Lost in Space" co-star Bill Mumy, who played Will Robinson on the series, wrote a tribute to the actor on Facebook, calling him a "beloved friend and brother" for 59 years.
Mumy wrote that he knew "this was coming for the past few months. Shortly after a great phone chat he and I had on his 87th birthday in late July, I became aware that I would most likely never see or speak with him again," adding, "The last words we exchanged were ‘I love you.’"
"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," Mumy continued. "There’s a part of me that envisions him having a martini in Heaven right now with Jonathan Harris, Kevin Burns, Guy Williams and other comrades [from the show] who left this world of woe before him."
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Goddard was born on July 24, 1936 in Lowell, Massachusetts. He left college in his junior year, in 1958, to pursue acting, putting himself through the American Academy of Dramatic Arts by working evenings at Woolworths.
In his early career, he appeared on an episode of "The Rifleman," and a television movie, "Woman on the Run," starring Joan Crawford.
After starring in "Lost in Space," he appeared in episodes of "The Fugitive," "The Mod Squad" and "The Fall Guy," as well as other TV appearances.
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In 1985, he played Dr. Derek Barrington on "General Hospital," and was with the series until 1986.
Goddard made a cameo in the 1998 film reboot of "Lost In Space," in which Matt LeBlanc played the role he originated, and he later released a memoir in 2008 titled "To Space and Back."
Goddard is survived by his wife Evelyn Pezzulich and children.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.