Updated: July 12, 2024

Mark Goddard, Major Don West, the pilot of the Jupiter-2 spaceship in Lost in Space, was born on July 24 in 1936 in Lowell, Massachusetts, USA.

Born Charles Goddard, he grew up in Scituate, Massachusetts, where his father owned a five-and-ten cent store. At Holy Cross, the head of the dramatic society encouraged him to become an actor and soon Goddard was off to Manhattan, attending the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. He worked with stock companies and made guest appearances on TV before landing regular parts on TV series of his own. Throughout his acting career, in between jobs, Goddard has worked with children, from Head Start programs in California to Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. His daughter Melissa is a producer; the two co-wrote 1992's "Big Girls Don't Cry...They Get Even", a film about Mark's work with "at-risk" kids.

He is most famous for his roles in the TV series "Johnny Ringo" (1959) and "Lost in Space" (1965-68) as Major Don West, the gungho but fearless pilot of the Jupiter-2, the spaceship of the Robinson family. In 1998 he made a return to "Lost in Space" when he appeared as the General in the movie of the same name.

Four times married with two children, Mark Goddard has a Masters Degree in Education which he gained from the Bridgewater State College (Bridgewater, MA). Today Mark is teaching (since 1998) at the Chamberlain School, Middleboro, MA, a residential facility for students with behavioral problems.

His filmography appears below:

Overnight Sensation (2000) .... Abe Pollard

Lost in Space Forever (1998) (TV) .... Himself Lost in Space (1998) .... General ... aka LS (1998) (USA: promotional abbreviation) Fantasy Worlds of Irwin Allen, The (1995) .... Himself

Reason to Live, A (1985) (TV) .... Jerry Yusem "General Hospital" (1963) TV Series .... Derek Barrington (1984-1986) Strange Invaders (1983) .... Detective "One Life to Live" (1968) TV Series .... Ted Clayton #2 (1981) ... aka "One Life to Live: The Summer of Seduction" (2001) (USA: promotional title)

Roller Boogie (1979) .... Thatcher Blue Sunshine (1976) .... Edward Flemming Death Squad, The (1974) (TV) .... Allen Duke

Love-Ins, The (1967) .... Elliott Rage to Live, A (1965) .... Charlie Jay "Lost in Space" (1965) TV Series .... Major Don West Monkey's Uncle, The (1965) .... Haywood "Many Happy Returns" (1964) TV Series .... Bob Randall "Detectives Starring Robert Taylor, The" (1959) TV Series .... Detective Sergeant Chris Ballard (1960-1962) ... aka "Detectives, Starring Robert Taylor, The" (1959) ... aka "Detectives, The " (1959) ... aka "Robert Taylor's Detectives" (1961) (new title)

"Johnny Ringo" (1959) TV Series .... William 'Cully' Charles Jr.

Writer - filmography:

Big Girls Don't Cry... They Get Even (1991) (story) ... aka Stepkids (1991)

Notable TV guest star appearances:

"Jake and the Fatman" (1987) playing "Alan Shay" in episode: "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" (episode # 1.11) 12/1/1987 "Master, The" (1984) playing "Paul Stillwell" in episode: "Failure To Communicate" (episode # 1.11) 5/4/1984 "Fall Guy, The" (1981) playing "Fred Dole" in episode: "Devil's Island" (episode # 3.1) 9/21/1983 "Freebie and the Bean" (1980) in episode: "Tee-Off for Two" (episode # 1.4) 1/10/1981 "Benson" (1979) playing "Eddie" in episode: "War Stories" (episode # 1.10) 11/29/1979 "B.J. and the Bear" (1979) playing "Tom Cartwright" in episode: "Siege" "Barnaby Jones" (1973) playing "Tony Klinger" in episode: "Frame for Murder, A" (episode # 7.7) 11/16/1978 "Dog and Cat" (1977) in episode: "Yesterday's Woman" (episode # 1.6) 5/14/1977 "Quincy" (1976) playing "Mr. Borland" in episode: "Two Sides of the Truth, The" (episode # 2.5) 2/25/1977 "Streets of San Francisco, The" (1972) playing "Brian Phillips" in episode: "Cannibals, The" (episode # 5.12) 1/20/1977 "Barnaby Jones" (1973) playing "Vince Reeves" in episode: "Sins of Thy Father" 10/21/1976 "Petrocelli" (1974) in episode: "Death Ride" (episode # 2.23) 3/31/1976 "Petrocelli" (1974) in episode: "Lonely Victim, A" (episode # 1.17) 2/19/1975 "Barnaby Jones" (1973) playing "Frank Halliday" in episode: "Dark Legacy" 3/3/1974 "Adam-12" (1968) playing "Officer Tom Porter" in episode: "Elegy for a Pig" (episode # 3.8) 11/21/1970 "Lost in Space" (1965) playing "Drun" in episode: "Anti-matter Man" (episode # 3.15) 12/27/1967 "Fugitive, The" (1963) playing "Dan Holt" in episode: "Fun and Games and Party Favors" (episode # 2.19) 1/26/1965 "Perry Mason" (1957) playing "Lester Crawford" in episode: "Case of the Frustrated Folksinger, The" (episode # 8.15) 1/7/1965 "Gunsmoke" (1955) playing "Boyd Lambert" in episode: "Journey for Three" (episode # 9.36) 6/6/1964 "Virginian, The" (1962) playing "Richard" in episode: "Secret of Brynmar Hall, The" (episode # 2.26) 4/1/1964 "Beverly Hillbillies, The" (1962) playing "Jim Gardner" in episode: "Critter Doctor, The" (episode # 2.24) 3/11/1964 "Burke's Law" (1963) playing "Richard Adams" in episode: "Who Killed April?" (episode # 1.19) 1/31/1964 "Perry Mason" (1957) playing "Roy Mooney" in episode: "Case of the Potted Planter, The" (episode # 6.27) 5/9/1963 "Rifleman, The" (1958) playing "Marty Blair" in episode: "Mark's Rifle" (episode # 5.8) 11/19/1962 "Zane Grey Theater" (1956) in episode: "Mormons, The" (episode # 5.10) 12/15/1960 "Rebel, The" (1959) playing "Seldon Hollingsworth" in episode: "To See the Elephant" (episode # 2.5) 10/16/1960 "Rifleman, The" (1958) playing "Walt" in episode: "Raid, The" (episode # 1.37) 6/9/1959