# Mark Goddard
**Mark Goddard** (born Charles Harvey Goddard; July 24, 1936 – October 10, 2023) was an American actor best known for playing Major Don West, the pilot of the Jupiter 2, on the CBS science fiction series *Lost in Space* from 1965 to 1968, and for his earlier role as Detective Sgt. Chris Ballard on *The Detectives*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0323813/bio/) • [2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/mark-goddard)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | July 24, 1936, Lowell, Massachusetts, as Charles Harvey Goddard; youngest of five children, raised in Scituate[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0323813/bio/) • [3](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2023-10-14/mark-goddard-dead) |
| Signature role | Major Don West on *Lost in Space* (CBS, 1965–1968), an 83-episode series[4](https://apnews.com/article/6750793cde118cb7f687c5624852e4a1) • [5](https://abc7.com/post/mark-goddard-dies-lost-in-space-star-science-fiction-obituary/13909783/) |
| Other series roles | Cully in the Western *Johnny Ringo* (1959–1960, 38 episodes); Chris Ballard in *The Detectives* (64 episodes)[6](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0323813/) |
| Broadway | Charley Price in the musical *The Act* (1977), which ran 233 performances opposite Liza Minnelli[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0323813/bio/) • [7](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Mark-Goddard/) |
| Second career | Master's degree in education from Bridgewater State College; special education teacher in Massachusetts from 1991[3](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2023-10-14/mark-goddard-dead) |
| Memoir | *To Space and Back*, published in 2009[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0323813/bio/) |
| Died | October 10, 2023, at a hospice center in Hingham, Massachusetts, of pulmonary fibrosis, at age 87[3](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2023-10-14/mark-goddard-dead) |
## Early life and training
Goddard was born in [Lowell, Massachusetts](https://www.edgepedia.org/lowell-massachusetts), and grew up in Scituate, where his parents owned the local five-and-dime store.[3](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2023-10-14/mark-goddard-dead) He attended the [College of the Holy Cross](https://www.edgepedia.org/college-of-the-holy-cross) in [Worcester](https://www.edgepedia.org/worcester) and initially aimed at a professional basketball career, but after acting in a play in 1957 he left college in his junior year and enrolled at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Manhattan, supporting himself by working evenings at Woolworth's.[3](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2023-10-14/mark-goddard-dead) • [4](https://apnews.com/article/6750793cde118cb7f687c5624852e4a1)
## Television career
**Early roles.** Goddard moved to Los Angeles in 1959 and, within about three weeks, won his first recurring role as Cully, the lead character's deputy, in the Western series *Johnny Ringo*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0323813/bio/) • [8](https://www.lostinspaceforever.com/cast-crew/actors/mark-goddard/) He then replaced Lee Farr on *The Detectives*, playing police officer Chris Ballard in 64 episodes.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0323813/bio/) Through the early 1960s he made guest appearances on *Perry Mason*, *The Rifleman*, *The Beverly Hillbillies*, *The Virginian*, and *Gunsmoke*, and co-starred with [John McGiver](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-mcgiver) in the short-lived sitcom *Many Happy Returns* (1964).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0323813/bio/) • [2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/mark-goddard)
**Lost in Space.** In 1965 Goddard signed on as Major Don West in *Lost in Space*, created by producer [Irwin Allen](https://www.edgepedia.org/irwin-allen).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0323813/bio/) • [3](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2023-10-14/mark-goddard-dead) The series centered on the Robinson family, a talking robot, and the stowaway Dr. Smith, whose spacecraft, the Jupiter 2, veered off its intended path while traveling to settle a planet in the [Alpha Centauri](https://www.edgepedia.org/alpha-centauri) system; Goddard played the vessel's pilot.[3](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2023-10-14/mark-goddard-dead) • [4](https://apnews.com/article/6750793cde118cb7f687c5624852e4a1) The show ran for three seasons and 83 episodes, and helped popularize the phrase "Danger, Will Robinson."[3](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2023-10-14/mark-goddard-dead) • [5](https://abc7.com/post/mark-goddard-dies-lost-in-space-star-science-fiction-obituary/13909783/) Goddard at first resisted the part, saying in a 1990 interview, "I didn't want to do it... I had never done science fiction, and had no idea what it was going to be like."[3](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2023-10-14/mark-goddard-dead) His costar [Bill Mumy](https://www.edgepedia.org/bill-mumy), who played Will Robinson, later recalled that Goddard sometimes felt constricted by the show's campy frame but also embraced and loved it.[4](https://apnews.com/article/6750793cde118cb7f687c5624852e4a1)
**Later work.** After the series ended, Goddard remained a frequent television guest star, appearing on *The Mod Squad*, *The Streets of San Francisco*, *The Fugitive*, *The Fall Guy*, and *Barnaby Jones*, and had recurring stints on the soap operas *One Life to Live* and *General Hospital*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0323813/bio/) • [2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/mark-goddard) His film work included *The Monkey's Uncle* and *A Rage to Live* (both 1965), *The Love-Ins* (1967), *Roller Boogie* (1979), and the horror film *Blue Sunshine* (1977), in which he played a drug dealer turned politician.[9](https://www.fandango.com/people/mark-goddard-248487/film-credits) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0323813/bio/) In 1977 he made his sole Broadway appearance in the musical *The Act* opposite [Liza Minnelli](https://www.edgepedia.org/liza-minnelli) and [Barry Nelson](https://www.edgepedia.org/barry-nelson); the show ran for 233 performances between October 1977 and July 1978.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0323813/bio/)
## Return to Lost in Space and second career
In 1998 Goddard made a cameo in the feature-film version of *Lost in Space*, appearing as a superior officer to Major Don West, the character he had originated, now played by [Matt LeBlanc](https://www.edgepedia.org/matt-leblanc).[10](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/mark-goddard/) • [4](https://apnews.com/article/6750793cde118cb7f687c5624852e4a1) He said he could not have left his acting career on a better note than with that cameo.[11](https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-couldnt-have-left-my-career-as-an-actor-on-a-88563.htm)
By 1991, at age 55, Goddard changed course. He earned a master's degree in education from Bridgewater State College in Massachusetts and worked as a special education teacher, a vocation he pursued for roughly two decades.[3](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2023-10-14/mark-goddard-dead) • [4](https://apnews.com/article/6750793cde118cb7f687c5624852e4a1) He had earlier worked with children in volunteer programs and at the Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, and he also taught acting and drama in Massachusetts.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0323813/bio/) • [5](https://abc7.com/post/mark-goddard-dies-lost-in-space-star-science-fiction-obituary/13909783/) He published his memoir, *To Space and Back*, in 2009, though the Associated Press obituary gives 2008 as the publication year.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0323813/bio/) • [4](https://apnews.com/article/6750793cde118cb7f687c5624852e4a1) He retired from acting in 2015.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0323813/bio/)
## Death
Goddard was hospitalized with pneumonia days after celebrating his 87th birthday in late 2023, and doctors at a rehabilitation center found he was in the final stages of pulmonary fibrosis, a progressive lung disease for which there is no cure.[3](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2023-10-14/mark-goddard-dead) • [5](https://abc7.com/post/mark-goddard-dies-lost-in-space-star-science-fiction-obituary/13909783/) He died on October 10, 2023, at the Pat Roche Hospice Home in Hingham, Massachusetts; his wife, Evelyn Pezzulich, announced the death on Facebook.[3](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2023-10-14/mark-goddard-dead) • [5](https://abc7.com/post/mark-goddard-dies-lost-in-space-star-science-fiction-obituary/13909783/) Mumy wrote a tribute to his "beloved friend and brother" of 59 years, recalling their last phone call on Goddard's birthday.[4](https://apnews.com/article/6750793cde118cb7f687c5624852e4a1)
Goddard was married three times; his second wife was the actress [Susan Anspach](https://www.edgepedia.org/susan-anspach), and his third wife, Evelyn Pezzulich, was with him from 1990 until his death.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0323813/bio/) His daughter is the producer Melissa Goddard.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0323813/bio/)
## References
1. [Mark Goddard – Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0323813/bio/)
2. [Mark Goddard – Television Academy](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/mark-goddard)
3. [Mark Goddard, star of 1960s sci-fi series 'Lost in Space,' dies at 87 – Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2023-10-14/mark-goddard-dead)
4. [Mark Goddard, who played Don West on 'Lost in Space,' dies at 87 – Associated Press](https://apnews.com/article/6750793cde118cb7f687c5624852e4a1)
5. [Mark Goddard, star of '60s sci-fi series 'Lost in Space' dies at 87 – ABC7 Los Angeles](https://abc7.com/post/mark-goddard-dies-lost-in-space-star-science-fiction-obituary/13909783/)
6. [Mark Goddard – IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0323813/)
7. [Mark Goddard – BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Mark-Goddard/)
8. [Mark Goddard – Lost in Space Forever](https://www.lostinspaceforever.com/cast-crew/actors/mark-goddard/)
9. [Mark Goddard Filmography – Fandango](https://www.fandango.com/people/mark-goddard-248487/film-credits)
10. [Mark Goddard – TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/mark-goddard/)
11. [Mark Goddard on His Lost in Space Cameo – FixQuotes](https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-couldnt-have-left-my-career-as-an-actor-on-a-88563.htm)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 1940s to 1960s › Surnames F to G*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license