Updated: October 14, 2023

Actor Mark Goddard as Major. Don West. "Biography"

Birthplace: New York, New York Birthday: July 24, 1973 Height: 6' Weight: 160 Pounds Eyes: Hazel Hair: Brown Rank: Major Hobbies: Flying, Cars, Contact Sports, Boxing. Donald West was born on July 24, 1973, the sixth child of a recently retired Air Force pilot, Col. Mark West, and his wife Doreen. Don grew up in the sprawling city of New York, and had a normal childhood with above average grades at Robert G. Ingersoll High School in Brooklyn.

At 24, Major Don West is very young for his part as the pilot of the Jupiter-2 expedition, but very experienced. His schooling was a geologist, at which he excelled. Surprisingly, to his friends, he joined the Air Force, but this was so that he could take astronaut training. The geology of a single planet didn't interest him much he was after the challenge of taking his samples from other planets.

A physical individual, he found that the training was comparatively simple and enjoyable. He was a shuttle scientist at 23, then trained to pilot his next mission. With the inaugration of the Jupiter-2 project, he was selected for being proficient in both fields, and for his youth and experience. Don got along very well with the Robinson family, particularly with the elder daughter, Judy Robinson. A handsome young man, Don had his share of female company, and to his trained eye, Judy was very fine company indeed!

(Resource: Alpha Control Reference Manual by William Anchors & Gary Stork 1988)