Britt Lomond, villain in 1950s TV ‘Zorro,’ dies

updated 10:43 p.m. ET March 28, 2006

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. - Britt Lomond, who played the dastardly Capitan Monastario in the 1950s TV series “Zorro” and was a staple on other Western series including “Death Valley Days” and “Rawhide,” has died. He was 80.

Lomond died last week of kidney failure at a Huntington Beach nursing home, according to Tyler St. Mark, his friend and former publicist.

Lomond later turned to directing and production work, but his fame stemmed from playing opposite Guy Williams’ Zorro from 1957-58. A postage stamp depicting Lomond as Monastario was issued by the Netherlands in 2004.

“He has a huge following in Europe,” his widow, Diane Lomond, told the Orange County Register on Friday. “It’s amazing how something like that can live on.”

“Chasing After Zorro” is the title of Lomond’s 2004 memoir.

Lomond, a Chicago native who grew up in New York City, served as a paratrooper in the Pacific during World War II and was awarded three Purple Hearts and both the Silver and Bronze Stars.

Moving to Southern California to work as an illustrator, Lomond’s skill at fencing led him to work in films, including doubling for Mel Ferrer in the swordfighting scenes in 1952’s “Scaramouche.”

He continued acting through the late 1960s, then went behind the camera as a director and production manager. Among his credits were presidential debates, Bing Crosby specials, “The Waltons,” “Battlestar Galactica” and “Falcon Crest.”

Besides his wife, Lomond is survived by a son, Glase, and daughter, Evan.

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