HINGHAM − Scituate native and Duxbury resident Mark Goddard, best known for his role as pilot Major Don West on Lost in Space from 1965-68, has died.
He was 87 years old.
Goddard died Tuesday, Oct. 10, of pulmonary fibrosis at the Pat Roche Hospice Home in Hingham, where “he was able to die peacefully and with dignity,” his wife of 33 years, Evelyn Puzzulich, posted to the Lost in Space Memories group on Facebook.
He was admitted to hospice shortly after his 87th birthday when a case of severe pneumonia led to the discovery of his late-stage lung condition, she said.
“His children and I had the chance to express our love and say our goodbyes,” she said.
From Scituate kid to Hollywood star
Goodard was born in 1936 as Charles Harvey Goodard before changing his name to Mark as he pursued a career in Hollywood.
He was born in Lowell but raised in Scituate. He was the youngest of five children and had five children of his own from three marriages.
According to his obituary, Goddard landed a role on the CBS show Johnny Ringo in 1959 after just three weeks in Hollywood. He was then hired for a role in the ensemble cast of The Detectives.
Bill Mumy, who played Will Robinson on Lost in Space, wrote a tribute to his “beloved friend and brother” for 59 years on Facebook. Mumy said he spoke to Goddard on his birthday in July and realized he would likely never see or speak to him again.
“Mark was a truly fine actor. Naturally gifted as well as trained. I know he sometimes felt constricted by the campy frame that (Lost In Space) constrained him within, but he also embraced and loved it,” Mumy wrote. “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 who left this world of woe before him.”
Goodard, an actor turned teacher
Goddard had been studying education when he left college in his junior year to pursue acting.
He returned to college after 30 years and received his master's degree in education from Bridgewater State College with a focus on special education.
Goddard then worked as a special education teacher at the F.L. Chamberlain School in Middleboro for over 20 years.
Post retirement, Goodard and his wife, Evelyn, visited nearly 40 countries together in Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America.
They also served as Stephen Ministers, congregational lay members trained to provide one-on-one care to people going through difficult times, for over 5 years at Holy Family Church in Duxbury.
“I’ll never know how I deserved to spend 33 years with such a loving, gentle, handsome man who made me laugh so often,” his wife posted on Facebook.
Goddard’s funeral mass is scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 21, at Holy Family, 601 Tremont St., preceded by a viewing at the church from 9 to 9:45 a.m. Interment will be in the Duxbury Mayflower Cemetery.
Material from the Associated Press was used in this story.
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