On August 02, 2001, Guy Williams received a star on the Hollywood Walk of
Fame.
I decided to attend, to honor his memory. What a great event it was. When I boarded the plane from Kennedy to LA, I thought of how the ceremony would go. I was thinking of how much I enjoyed watching Guy on LIS, and the other movies that he starred in. It was indeed a time for reflection. After landing in LA, I contacted Marta Kristen, Jonathan Harris, and Bob May. Marta invited Bob, his wife Judy, and myself over her house for dinner Saturday night. I lunched with Jonathan that Saturday, and had dinner with Bob Wednesday night and Friday night. After speaking with Bob in great length about the dedication, we decided to drive into Hollywood together.
The cast was asked to arrive at the Roosevelt Hotel, in Hollywood, at 10:30
am.
Bob and Judy met me at my hotel on Thursday morning, and we headed for the
Roosevelt Hotel. As we entered the hotel, we met a few people that we knew.
This included Don Stroud and his wife, and Dick Tufeld. We said our hellos,
and we struck up a conversation with Dick.
Bill Mumy arrived in grand spirit. I asked him how he was doing, and he
replied that all was fine. Angela Cartwright and her son Jessie, were the
next to arrive. Jessie is about 9 feet tall now (ha, ha). We said out hellos,
and talked for awhile. The next group of people to arrive was Jonathan
Harris, Marta Kristen, and Sheila Allen. I've never met Sheila Allen before,
and Bob May promptly introduced me. It was a definite thrill for me.
Jonathan Harris was as chipper as ever, and Marta was as always, delightful
to see. As the time neared, Guy William's son, Steve Catalano made the
announcement that we were all to make our way to Hollywood Boulevard, to the
area where the dedication of Guy's star was to take place.
We were all let in behind the barrier, to where a podium stood, and where
grand master Johnny Grant was performing the dedication. 
In addition to the LIS cast, were several members from Zorro and a few people that worked with Guy Williams in movies. The dedication began with the Catalano Family stood near the podium, where Johnny Grant was making the presentation. There was a lot of media coverage. Everyone cheered and applauded as the dedication was made.
Afterwards, there were many photos taken with the Catalano Family, the cast
from LIS, the cast from Zorro,
and other casts that starred with him.
As the photos were being taken, I told
Jessie let's get up on the podium, and
take photos of everyone below us. We got up on the podium and started
snapping away.
Johnny Grant approached Jessie and myself, and said no, no, you fellows must
get down from here. We laughed, and we did. It kind of reminded me of William
Shatner on Star Trek, never letting anyone to sit in his captain's chair.
As the ceremony ended, we all made our way back to the Roosevelt Hotel for
brunch. The banquet room had a podium, which had many photos of Guy from LIS
and Zorro.
Steve Catalano greeted everyone, as we ate and chatted about Guy. Towards the
end of the banquet Steve Catalano
presented a toast to everyone whom attended
the ceremony. He also asked if anyone, being a fan or celebrity, had a few
words to say about Guy. A few fans did go up, and give their personal
recollections of Guy. Marta Kristen and Bob May spoke about memories from the
set of LIS, and everyone was thrilled to hear them. Marta Kristen commented
about when the cast appeared on Family Feud in 1982.
A few Zorro cast members recollected on how they enjoyed working with Guy.
As
the day came to an end, everyone said their good-byes, leaving with fond
memories of this memorable ceremony.
For this fan, I have to say that it was a thrill to have been a part of this
ceremony honoring Guy William's'. I want to thank Steve, Janice, and Toni
Catalano for letting me be a part of this. I also want to thank Bob May,
Jonathan Harris, and Marta Kristen for showing me a
great time while I
visited Los Angeles, and for the rest of the LIS cast - Angela , Bill, Dick
Tufeld, and Francine York for these great memories.
LIS Forever!
Ray Dutczak
To all my friends who shared this special time with my family and I...THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart. I felt undeserving when you thanked ME for the great time we had here in Los Angeles because it is I who must really thank YOU. You helped me be close to my dad again in a way that would not have been possible had any one of you not been here, nor if any one of you who supported this effort in any way had not come through. For that I will always be in your debt. It was not I who was Zorro, but YOU. I already miss you all.
Until next time, |