Henry Calvin (born Wimberly Calvin Goodman; May 25, 1918 – October 6, 1975) was an American actor known for his role as the Spanish soldier Sergeant Garcia on

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney ( ; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer, voice actor, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the Golden age of American animation, American animation industry, he introduced several develop ...

's live-action television series ''

Zorro Zorro ( or , Spanish for "fox") is a fictional character created in 1919 by American Pulp magazine, pulp writer Johnston McCulley, appearing in works set in the Pueblo de Los Ángeles in Alta California. He is typically portrayed as a dashin ...

'' (1957–1959).

Early life

Born in

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, he sang in his local

Baptist church Baptists are a denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers ( believer's baptism) and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches generally subscribe to the doctrines of ...

choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

as a child; he was often the featured soloist. Calvin attended Winnetka Grade School during his childhood. After graduating from Sunset High School in Dallas, Texas, he attended

Southern Methodist University Southern Methodist University (SMU) is a Private university, private research university in Dallas, Texas, United States, with a satellite campus in Taos County, New Mexico. SMU was founded on April 17, 1911, by the Methodist Episcopal Church, ...

before pursuing a career as an actor and singer.

Career

Calvin hosted an

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

radio show in 1950 and appeared on Broadway (most notably in '' Kismet'' as the Wazir of Police). In 1952, he portrayed Big Ben on the children's TV series ''

Howdy Doody ''Howdy Doody'' is an American Children's television series, children's television program (with circus and Western (genre), Western frontier themes) that was created and produced by Victor F. Campbell

''. and made his film debut in ''Crime Against Joe'' as Red Waller four years later. His character in ''Zorro'', Sergeant Demetrio Lopez Garcia, was a comedic foil for

and his

secret identity A secret identity is a person's code name, cryptonym, disguise, incognito, Cover (intelligence gathering), cover and/or alter ego which is not known to the general populace, most often used in fiction. Brought into popular culture by the Scarlet Pi ...

, Don Diego de la Vega ( Guy Williams). Sometimes a friend (especially to Diego), and sometimes a reluctant foe. Other characters constantly outwit Garcia, and he is often his worst enemy due to his weakness for food and wine. Calvin also sang and released a version of the "Zorro" theme song. Calvin's rich

baritone A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...

voice also contributed to several musical interludes throughout the series, singing everything from drinking songs to a

serenade In music, a serenade (; also sometimes called a serenata, from the Italian) is a musical composition or performance delivered in honour of someone or something. Serenades are typically calm, light pieces of music. The term comes from the Ital ...

, and even a duet with

Annette Funicello Annette Joanne Funicello (October 22, 1942 – April 8, 2013) was an American actress and singer. She began her professional career at age 12, becoming one of the most popular Mouseketeers on the original ''The Mickey Mouse Club, Mickey Mouse Cl ...

in one episode. After the series ended due to a contract dispute with ABC, he reprised the role of Garcia in all four ''Zorro'' stories that aired as part of '' Walt Disney Presents'' in 1960 and 1961. He appeared in Disney's 1960 film '' Toby Tyler'' as gruff circus wagon driver Ben Cotter, Toby's friend and protector. Toby's other mentor in the film, clown and animal trainer Sam Treat, was played by Gene Sheldon, who co-starred in ''Zorro'' as Bernardo.

Kevin Corcoran Kevin Anthony "Moochie" Corcoran (June 10, 1949 – October 6, 2015) was an American child actor. He appeared in numerous Disney projects between 1957 and 1963, leading him to be honored as a Disney Legend in 2006. Early life Born in 194 ...

, a prolific

child actor The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting on stage, television, or in film, movies. An adult who began their acting career as a child may also be called a child actor, or a "former child actor". Closely associa ...

at the studio in that era, played Toby Tyler. All three actors also appeared in another Disney film, '' Babes in Toyland'' (1961). Calvin sang the children's song " Never Smile at a Crocodile" for Disneyland Records, a recording that was later reissued as part of a ''

Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythical ...

'' soundtrack CD. He sang "We Won't Be Happy Till We Get It" with

Ray Bolger Raymond Wallace Bolger (; January 10, 1904 – January 15, 1987) was an American actor, dancer, singer, vaudevillian, and stage performer (particularly musical theater) who started his movie career in the silent-film era. Bolger was a major B ...

and "Slowly He Sank To The Bottom of the Sea" on the ''Babes in Toyland'' soundtrack. After ''Zorro'' and his Disney contract ended, Calvin guest-starred in numerous television series during the 1960s. In his appearance on a 1963 episode of '' The Dick Van Dyke Show'', his character performed a comedy sketch as

Oliver Hardy Oliver Norvell Hardy (born Norvell Hardy; January 18, 1892 – August 7, 1957) was an American comic actor and one half of Laurel and Hardy, the double act that began in the era of silent films and lasted from 1926 to 1957. He appeared with his ...

, opposite

Dick Van Dyke Richard Wayne Van Dyke (born December 13, 1925) is an American actor, entertainer and comedian. Dick Van Dyke on screen and stage, His work spans screen and stage, and List of awards and nominations received by Dick Van Dyke, his awards includ ...

's Rob Petrie character as

Stan Laurel Stan Laurel ( ; born Arthur Stanley Jefferson; 16 June 1890 – 23 February 1965) was an English comic actor, director and writer who was in the comedy double act, duo Laurel and Hardy. He appeared with his comedy partner Oliver Hardy in 107 sh ...

. He also kept in touch with other members of the ''Zorro'' cast, even traveling with Guy Williams in 1973 to attend a charity event. He died in Dallas from throat cancer in 1975.

Selected credits

* '' Crime Against Joe'' (1956) as Red Waller * '' The Broken Star'' (1956) as Thornton W. Wills * ''

The Yeomen of the Guard ''The Yeomen of the Guard; or, The Merryman and His Maid'', is a Savoy Opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It premiered at the Savoy Theatre on 3 October 1888 and ran for 423 performances. This was the eleventh ...

'' (''

Hallmark Hall of Fame ''Hallmark Hall of Fame'', originally called ''Hallmark Television Playhouse'', is an anthology program on American television, sponsored by Hallmark Cards, a Kansas City, Missouri, Kansas Citybased greeting card company. It is the longest-ru ...

'') (1957) (TV) as Wilfred Shadbolt * ''

'' (1957–1959) as Sergeant Garcia * '' Toby Tyler, or Ten Weeks with a Circus'' (1960) as Ben Cotter * '' Walt Disney Presents'' (in four ''Zorro'' episodes, 1960–1961) as Sergeant Garcia * '' Babes in Toyland'' (1961) as Gonzorgo * '' The Dick Van Dyke Show'' (in "The Sam Pomerantz Scandals", 1963) as Sam Pomerantz * ''

Petticoat Junction ''Petticoat Junction'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS from September 1963 to April 1970. The series takes place at the Shady Rest Hotel, which is run by Kate Bradley; her three daughters Billie Jo, Bobbie Jo, an ...

'' (in "The Ringer", 1963) as Pixley Fats * '' Ship of Fools'' (1965) as Gregorio (Fat Man) * '' The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.'' (in "The Prisoner of Zalamar Affair", 1966) as Sheikh Ali Hassen * ''

Run, Buddy, Run ''Run, Buddy, Run'' is an American sitcom TV series that aired on CBS for one season of 16 episodes in 1966-1967. The series was created by Leonard B. Stern, and starred jazz trumpeter, singer, and actor Jack Sheldon. Description At a steambath ...

'' (in "Grand Mexican Hotel", 1966) as Jose * '' The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'' (in "The Monks of St. Thomas Affair", 1966) as Brother Peter * ''

Mannix ''Mannix'' is an American detective television series that originally aired for eight seasons on CBS from September 16, 1967, to March 13, 1975. The show was created by Richard Levinson and William Link, and developed by executive producer ...

'' (in "The Cost of a Vacation", 1967) as Lazaro Figueroa

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Calvin, Henry 1918 births 1975 deaths Male actors from Dallas American male television actors 20th-century American male actors Southern Methodist University alumni Deaths from throat cancer in the United States Deaths from cancer in Texas Disney people