R.I.P. Mark Goddard, Maj. Don West of Lost in Space

After piloting the Jupiter 2, the actor went on to become a special education teacher. He was 87 years old.

Mark Goddard, best remembered as the hot-tempered pilot Don West on Lost in Space, has passed away at 87. 

His wife Evelyn took to social media to report the sad news.

"I’m so sorry to tell you that my wonderful husband passed away on October 10th. Several days after celebrating his 87th birthday, he was hospitalized with pneumonia," read the Facebook post. 

"We were hopeful when he was transferred to a rehabilitation center, but then doctors discovered he was in the final stages of pulmonary fibrosis for which there is no cure. He received excellent care at the beautiful Pat Roche Hospice Home and was able to die peacefully and with dignity. His children and I had the chance to express our love and say our goodbyes. I’ll never know how I deserved to spend 33 years with such a loving, gentle, handsome man who made me laugh so often."

Goddard is best remembered by science fiction fans as Major Don West aboard the Jupiter 2 on Lost in Space. He is also fondly recalled by fans of The Detectives, in which he starred alongside Robert Taylor.

Bill Mumy, who played precocious youngster Will Robinson alongside Goddard on Lost in Space also shared his remembrances. "A truly beloved friend and brother to me for 59 years... The last words we exchanged were 'I love you,'" Robinson wrote in a Facebook post. "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... He was ridiculously handsome and eternally boyish. Mark was very funny and spontaneous. He enjoyed having a good time."

Goddard graduated college 30 years after he began his higher-education journey. With his master's degree from Bridgewater State College, Goddard began a second career as an educator. From 1991 through 2009, Goddard served as a special education teacher at the F.L. Chamberlain School in Middleboro, Massachusetts. There, he continued his work in the performing arts by teaching an acting class.

In addition to his wife Evelyn Pezzulich, Goddard is remembered by his three children.


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60 Comments

deltadart 4 months ago
A good actor and he did a great job on Lost in Space.
Now Flying West in the Jupiter 2..........
WGH 10 months ago
I have a son with special needs and the special ed teachers that I have encountered are some of the truly best people I have ever met on this planet.

Thank you Mark!
forthekids 12 months ago
He also appeared in the movie"Roller Boogie"with Linda Blair,Beverley Garland and Sean McClory..Mark played a bogus business exec..who was really the leader of a gang of protection racketeers.
FLETCH 13 months ago
Not only a smart man but handsome too.

R.I.P. Mark
Henderson FLETCH 12 months ago
Yeah he was...very good looking. Wonder why he didn't get more handsome guy roles.
George58 13 months ago
R.I.P. Mark. Recently saw him in a recent Perry Mason episode. Been a bad week for celebrities. They say things happen in three's. First, Suzanne Somers, now Mark Goddard & just today saw that Lara Parker (Angelique on Dark Shadows) passed away.
Henderson George58 12 months ago
Yes, also Richard Moll from Night Court.
Tresix 13 months ago
This truly is news to me! Very sad news indeed.
Stoney 13 months ago
RIP to a fellow special education teacher. I didn’t know that about him until now.
DethBiz 13 months ago
RIP Mark Goddard. He was great in Blue Sunshine...what an offbeat movie.
CoreyC 13 months ago
June Lockhart, Marta Kirstin, Angela Cartwright and Billy Mumy is still alive.
Moonpie 13 months ago
R.I.P. Mr. Goddard. Also, Phylliss Coates recently passed away. I haven't seen any coverage of this.
R.I.P. Ms. Coates.
JHP 13 months ago
Boy to be standing in line with Suzanne Somers at the pearly gates - OH HEAVEN!
Runeshaper 13 months ago
R.I.P. Mark Goddard. His wife and Bill Mumy said such beautiful things about the man.
cperrynaples 13 months ago
Another death to report! Suzanne Somers from 3's Company died yesterday! Ironically, today was her birthday!
Runeshaper cperrynaples 13 months ago
R.I.P. Suzanne Somers. She was GREAT!
saswifteagle 13 months ago
Love trivia like this. He lived a rich life. But is a coincidence a star in a SyFy is named Goddard.
Runeshaper saswifteagle 13 months ago
So was Jimmy Neutron's dog!
CoreyC Runeshaper 13 months ago
I believe that they were named after the inventor of the rocket Robert Goddard.
Runeshaper CoreyC 13 months ago
That is EXCELLENT! Super cool!
JJ614 13 months ago
Don/Mark/Charles was always my fave character on Lost in Space.
And I much preferred the character storylines of the originals than the newer version. (Though I enjoyed it. I just didn't think of THESE characters being the same people. Alternate Universe only.)
I enjoyed Mark's two appearances in Perry Mason, too.
cperrynaples JJ614 13 months ago
I understand the Don/Mark, but where did the Charles come from? I say that speaking as a Charles!
GoUTVols1961 cperrynaples 13 months ago
His real name was Charles Harvey.
miki cperrynaples 13 months ago
I read recently "Mark" came from Chuck Connors on The Rifleman - Goddard an up and coming actor - Connors told him there are too many Chucks already and he should come up a different name and thus "Mark Goddard" was born. Truth or Fiction...?
Bapa1 13 months ago
RIP. Always liked him in Lost in Space. He was in a really good episode of Adam-12, Eulogy For a Pig. Made an appearance in the Lost in Space movie also.
Peter_Falk_Fan 13 months ago
I always liked Mark Goddard. Never heard a bad thing about him. I always liked to think that his Don character ended up with Judy.

R.I.P. Mark Goddard
ironman2000 13 months ago
R.I.P. Mark Goddard. All your work was fantastic.
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