Zorro: A “Friend of the People”
by Guy Belleranti Zorro is a name synonymous with the term “super hero”. First appearing in a 1919 pulp magazine short story by author Johnston McCulley, the character was then featured in many more of the author’s short stories, novellas and novels. But it is the Zorro of television that I remember. Produced by Walt Disney the series Zorro ran on ABC from 1957 to 1959. Guy Williams played Zorro. A super hero for the downtrodden much as Robin Hood, The Scarlet Pimpernel and The Lone Ranger, Zorro lived in pre-state California, i.e. while it was still under Spanish rule. In public life Zorro is really Don Diego de la Vega, the son of a wealthy landowner. It is only after he returns from his studies in Spain that Diego finds a need to become the legendary “Friend of the People”. For upon his return he discovers that the people of early Los Angeles are under the tyrannical and cruel rule of Capitan Monastario. Publicly Diego pretends to be a lazy playboy. Secretly, however, he becomes Zorro. His disguise is a black costume with flowing cape, a black hat and a black mask. Don Diego is aided in his battle for the common man by his mute manservant Bernardo. Zorro rides a horse called Tornado and is a master swordsman. When righting wrongs he leaves his mark - a large Z, sending fear through every evil doer including Monastario. Other actors besides Williams who played important parts on the TV series included: - Gene Sheldon as Bernardo - Britt Lomond as Capitan Monasterio - Henry Calvin as Sergeant Garcia, Monastario’s comically incompetent assistant - George J. Lewis as Don Alejandro de la Vega, Don Diego’s father - Jolene Brand as Anna Maria Verdugo, Zorro’s girlfriend during a portion of the second season Like Walt Disney’s Davy Crockett series, Zorro became a marketing bonanza. Zorro toys, games, puzzles, belts, pajamas, watches, etc. became the thing to have among children. I had a Zorro outfit which I wore as my first Halloween costume. The series returned to TV in the mid-1960’s in syndicated reruns, and in the early 2000’s episodes of the series were seen on the Disney Channel. Zorro also has been adapted into comic books, animated TV programs, and into many motion pictures. Among the motion pictures were two early silent films starring Douglas Fairbanks Sr. including 1920’s The Mark of Zorro. In 1940 a very popular sound version of The Mark of Zorro was released starring Tyrone Power. More recently there have been the movies The Mask of Zorro (1998) and The Legend of Zorro (2005). Like many other superheroes Zorro continues to live on. |
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