Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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35 of 36 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A must have for the Guy Williams fan. , November 8, 2005
Fans of Guy Williams will be thrilled by the prodigious research and this carefully crafted biography penned by author Antoinette Girgenti Lane. Lane conducted scores upon scores of personal interviews with the actor's wife, fellow actors, directors, producers, stuntmen, children, sibling, friends and virtually everyone who had significant contact with Williams. Lane's efforts in this regard are remarkable but this personal history is further augmented by the written record. Ms Lane quotes from a wealth of domestic and foreign newspaper articles and magazines. She has produced, in 500 well written pages, the essence of Guy Williams. This is an important work and a must have for any Guy Williams fan.
Williams had an up and down acting career. He appeared in several movies and starred as the father on the TV series "Lost in Space" but he achieved world wide fame for his earlier roll in "Zorro". With his European origin, athletic skills and dashing good looks he was a natural to play the swashbuckling Fox, the champion of the downtrodden, El Zorro.
The man had charm and joie de vie like many leading man of his day but we learn that Williams was not an empty suit. He preferred to read and had an undying love of knowledge for its own sake. He was a skilled sailor, a talented fencer, an amateur astronomer and lived with a quiet dignity. When his fortunes faded in Hollywood he complained to no one. When things were financially hard, he was still cheerful, generous and kind. In middle age his fame as Zorro soared anew as reruns of the series begain to air in South America and later in Japan.
I admit, prior to reading this book, I had no real interest in Williams. I picked it up because it had an interesting cover but after reading the author's introduction, I was hooked. I brought the book home that day and as I read those pages I came to like the man. Did he have faults? Of course; no one is without some blame. But in all the interviews not a single associate, including his ex-wife, had a harsh word for Williams. I liked his grace, his charm and his wit and so, apparently, did they.
No one spoke badly of Williams because he was a most considerate man and one of that all too rare breed, a complete gentleman. His attention to and kind treatment of a troubled young teenager gives the reader a glimpse at the nature of a man no one chooses to speak of badly. Guy Williams was Zorro and Lane lets us understand why.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best Zorro ever!, June 20, 2005
I love Zorro and Guy Williams so any biography about him would be welcomed. Ms. Lane's 500 plus pages is truly a dream come true. It was a pleasure to read and it answered questions I have always had about his mysterious life in Argentina. He was a good actor and a wonderful man who enjoyed life. I am inspired by his life and those who were important to him such as his wife, children, Pat and his many friends.
I was pleasantly surprised to read that we share a love of reading, the stock market, wines, the Egyptian wing of New York's Metropolitan Museum (I've been to Egypt twice!) and even have similar foot problems!
Thank you Antoinette for writing such a complete biography. It was wonderful to read. I'd even buy a copy of what you left out!
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13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Truth That Dispells All Rumor, July 28, 2005
This huge book is the answer to Guy Williams/Zorro fans' prayers. It begins with a beautiful prologue that immediately engages the reader, and keeps him glued to it till the end. The author interviewed many of the people who were closest to Williams, getting an inside look at the man many of us had known only as Zorro or John Robinson. The memories of his wife and children are such a treasure! Now we know the real man, the man behind the mask. What a pleasant surprise this knowledge turned out to be, too! Everything you ever wanted to know about Guy Williams is probably in this book. Even though it's a thick volume, the chapters are of a very manageable length. The writing is quite good, and the photos are plentiful and revealing.
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