Mark Goddard was born Charles Harvey Goddard, and he is best known for his role as Major Don West in the cult TV series Lost in Space, which aired from 1965. He was the youngest of five siblings, born in Lowell, Massachusetts, but grew up in Scituate, Massachusetts, where he was raised as a Catholic.
Goddard was a talented athlete and had ambitions to become a professional basketball player, but he gave up on this dream after receiving advice from the head of the dramatic society of the College of the Holy Cross. He attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Manhattan, where he honed his acting skills.
After graduating, Goddard moved to Los Angeles and began landing roles on television shows. His first recurring role was as the lead character's deputy in the western series Johnny Ringo, which aired from 1959. He then replaced Lee Farr as one of The Detectives, playing police officer Chris Ballard in 64 episodes.
Goddard made guest appearances on several popular TV shows, including The Beverly Hillbillies, The Virginian, Gunsmoke, and Perry Mason. He also co-starred alongside John McGiver in the short-lived sitcom Many Happy Returns, and he signed on as one of the crew in Irwin Allen's Lost in Space.
In Lost in Space, Goddard's character, Major Don West, became increasingly antagonistic towards the nefarious Dr. Zachary Smith, starting from season two. After the show ended, Goddard continued to appear as a guest star on popular TV shows, including Mod Squad and The Streets of San Francisco.
Goddard also had recurring stints on soap operas, including One Life to Live and General Hospital, and he made occasional forays into film acting, most notably in the offbeat horror flick Blue Sunshine. In 1977, he made his sole Broadway appearance in the musical The Act, opposite Liza Minnelli and Barry Nelson.
The show ran for 233 performances between October 1977 and July 1978, and Goddard received positive reviews for his performance. He retired from acting in 2015.
In between acting roles, Goddard often worked with children, including at the Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. He graduated with a Master's Degree in education from Bridgewater State College in Massachusetts and eventually became a special education teacher from 1991.
Goddard published his memoirs, "To Space and Back", in 2009. He was married three times, including to the actress Susan Anspach, with whom he had a daughter, producer Melissa Goddard.
