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Born Charles Harvey Goddard, Mark Goddard was best recognized for his role as the spirited and combative Major Don West in the cult TV series Lost in Space (1965). The youngest of five siblings, he was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, but grew up in Scituate, raised in the Catholic faith. Despite excelling in sports, Goddard abandoned early dreams of a professional basketball career. Encouraged by the head of the dramatic society at the College of the Holy Cross, he enrolled at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Manhattan.
Two years later, he moved to Los Angeles and soon began receiving television acting offers. His first recurring role was as the lead character's deputy in the western series Johnny Ringo (1959). He took over from Lee Farr on The Detectives (1959), playing police officer Chris Ballard in 64 episodes.
Goddard made guest appearances on The Beverly Hillbillies (1962), The Virginian (1962), Gunsmoke (1955), and Perry Mason (1957), and co-starred with John McGiver in the short-lived sitcom Many Happy Returns (1964) before joining the cast of Irwin Allen's Lost in Space. From the second season, his character grew increasingly antagonistic toward the villainous Dr. Zachary Smith. After Lost in Space ended, Goddard continued to appear frequently on popular TV shows such as The Mod Squad (1968) and The Streets of San Francisco (1972). He had recurring roles on the soap operas One Life to Live (1968) and General Hospital (1963) and occasionally acted in films, notably the cult horror movie Blue Sunshine (1977), portraying a drug dealer turned politician.
In 1978, he made his only Broadway appearance in the musical The Act, starring alongside Liza Minnelli and Barry Nelson. The production was well-received and ran for 233 performances between October 1977 and July 1978. Goddard retired from acting in 2015.
Alongside his acting career, Goddard often worked with children, including at the Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. After earning a Master's Degree in education from Bridgewater State College in Massachusetts, he embarked on a second career in 1991 as a special education teacher.
Goddard released his memoirs, To Space and Back, in 2009. He was married three times, with his second marriage ending in divorce; his second wife was actress Susan Anspach. His daughter is producer Melissa Goddard.
Mark Goddard passed away from pulmonary fibrosis on October 10, 2023, at the age of 87.
