Britt Lomond (April 12, 1925 – March 22, 2006) was an American actor and television producer.Born in Chicago, Illinois, Lomond is best known for his role as Capitán Monastario in the first season of Disney's Zorro. He also played the role of General George Armstrong Custer in the Disney film Tonka. On television he made a guest appearance on Perry Mason as he played the role of title character and murder victim Jack Culross in the 1961 episode, "The Case of the Posthumous Painter."He was a unit production manager for The Waltons, Somewhere in Time, and Falcon Crest. He was also known for being a first assistant director for Battlestar Galactica and MacGyver.
[on succeeding Basil Rathbone as a Zorro villain] Basil was great. I hope I was half as good.
#
Fact
1
Little known fact about the original "Zorro" series is that Zorro, Guy Williams, went on the road many times during the year creating mini shows where he and his "nemesis" Captain Monastario" would reproduce on stage various sword fights. Britt, who portrayed Monastario, did not have that as part of his Disney contract, so Williams fought with famed Hollywood stuntman, Buddy Van Horn. These routines were carefully choreographed for safety, as they were done live in what is called "movie time", meaning full speed. This requires practice to keep the skill. When Guy returned to Hollywood, his contract and Britts called for live appearances at DisneyLand several times a year, and performances were live and took place aboard the the large pirate ship that was there at that time. Britt, a real professional fencer had to keep sharp over the many months during Williams absence, but had to be capable of "movie speed" in the same sword fighting routines that Guy and Buddy were doing on the road. To keep Britt sharp enough, they decided to teach the sword fighting routines to Lee Sands, who would take Zorro's part of the routine so Britt could be at top speed when ever needed to appear live at DisneyLand. These practice session were conducted in Sands back yard in the San Fernando Valley. Needless to say, the sounds of a real sword fight create very unique "sounds" and many of Sands neighbors hearing such unusual sounds were astonished when "peeking" over the fence to see the source of those sounds. Sands was well known in Hollywood at the time because of his having the reputation of being "The fastest gun alive". He taught several Hollywood stars during that "western TV" era, how to make "fast draws", and fancy gun handling e.g. Gene Barry for his role as "Bat Masterson" for the Ziv company. This included Britt for his many western roles as "Johnny Ringo" etc, thus it was an exchange, Britt taught Lee how to sword fight, and Lee taught Britt the art of gun handling. Diane Lomond, Britt's wife, landed Barry the lead role in the "Masterson" series. Coincidentally, Barry was a friend of Diane and Lee's family at the time Barry came to California. Britt and Lee tried their hand at writing, and wrote several episodes of "Highway Patrol" for ZIV. Many are unaware that Britt was a TV stage manager at NBC Burbank Studios for many years, connected with "The Bing Crosby show", and many of the game shows at NBC. In addition Britt was production manager for many years of the Pasadena Rose Parade TV show. While at NBC Britt's friend and co-worker was Dan Ford, John Ford's grandson. When Mr. Ford retired, he gave the company to Britt, Dan and Lee. The first and only production by the new company John Ford Productions was "The American West of John Ford" 1971 and was nominated for an Emmy (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066759/?ref_=fn_tt_tt_1) Soon after, Britt and Sands were commissioned to write the life story of Stanley Kramer, "Rebel Without a Cause". (show was never sold) As additional trivia, Sands was married to Cynthia Lynn, TV's "Helga" in "Hogan's Hero's".. Britt's two children have made their mark in the the entertainment world as well. Son, Glase Lomond, writer of several screenplays which became movies, former co-producer of the Newport Film Festival, and is currently producing commercial materials for BMW and Toyota Motors. Evan Grey, Britt's daughter, award winning successful producer for special occasion shows, e.g. Introduction of new products for Microsoft, and major banks e.g. Wells Fargo and yearly show productions for major companies around the world.
2
Brittt Lomond's brother-in-law was one time actor, Lee Sands. ("Have Gun Will Travel", "Twilight Zone", "Lawman", "Shotgun Slade" etc.) Sands was best man at Britt's wedding at the "Little Brown Church" in Studio City, Calif., where Ronald Reagan and many other celebrities were married. Britt's wife, Diane, Sands sister, was a casting director at Ziv studios, casting both Britt and Sands in many Ziv productions or the day, "Wyatt Earp", Highway Patrol", "Tombstone Territory", "Bat Masterson" etc. Diane became a well known Hollywood casting director, NBC, "Police Woman", "Father Knows Best", "The Real McCoy's" and many other shows. At one time she was also Jack Palance's personal manager and head of new talent development for Tom Laughlin's "Billy Jack Productions".
3
Diane and Lee's family lived in a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley where many Hollywood celebrities lived. e.g. The Wood family lived around the corner, and Diane's schoolmate friends were Lana and Natalie Wood. There were frequent "sleepovers" and family gatherings. As both Lana, Natalie,Diane, and Lee were all child actors, the two family's swapped "car pooling" when studios had open casting calls for children's roles. One week, it was a trip to MGM, and Diane's mother would load up the station wagon with all the children, and the next week it was the Wood's mother's turn, and off they would all go to 20th Century Fox or Warner Bros. Other neighbors included, famed Warner Bros director Vincent Sherman, Actor, dancer Donald O'Connor, "Perry Mason's" Barbara Hale, and several others. Sunday dinners at Lee and Diane's house could sometimes be quite interesting. Britt's wife, Diane, almost had her own acting career as she was originally cast in 1945 as the child lead in 20th Century Fox's "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn", however became ill and was replaced in the roll by Peggy Ann Garner.
4
Both Lomond and Guy Williams auditioned for the Don Diego De La Vega/Zorro role along with the Capitan Monastario role in Zorro (1957). Eventually it was decided that Guy would have played Zorro and Britt would have played Monastario.
5
He and Michael A. Hoey formed production company called "Bardin Productions".
6
He doubled for Mel Ferrer in the sword-fighting scenes in the 1952 movie, Scaramouche (1952).
Actor
Title
Year
Status
Character
Simon & Simon
1983
TV Series
Jerry Gelson
Live a Little, Love a Little
1968
Cool Dude #3 (uncredited)
Mission: Impossible
1967
TV Series
Thornton
I Spy
1967
TV Series
Psychologist
The Virginian
1963
TV Series
Kyle Lawson
Rawhide
1961
TV Series
Dario
Perry Mason
1961
TV Series
Jack Culross
Peter Gunn
1961
TV Series
Gil Manson
The Case of the Dangerous Robin
1961
TV Series
Thriller
1961
TV Series
Arnold Chase
The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp
1960-1961
TV Series
Johnny Ringo
Zane Grey Theater
1961
TV Series
Logan Drew - the Atoner
Lock Up
1961
TV Series
Patrolman Larry Wade
Klondike
1960
TV Series
Clete Slade
The Brothers Brannagan
1960
TV Series
Larry Randolph
Young Jesse James
1960
Yankee Officer
Tales of Wells Fargo
1960
TV Series
Haggerty
Bat Masterson
1959
TV Series
Latimer
Tombstone Territory
1959
TV Series
Jay Pell
Men Into Space
1959
TV Series
Bruegel
Colt .45
1959
TV Series
Buffalo Bill Cody
26 Men
1958-1959
TV Series
Colonel Kesterlitzky aka 'El Tigre' / Dayton Borg
Death Valley Days
1956-1959
TV Series
Kurt Mahler / Faro Bill / James Addison Reavis
Mackenzie's Raiders
1959
TV Series
Capt. Kenneth Jackman
Shotgun Slade
1959
TV Series
Gant
Tonka
1958
Gen. George Armstrong Custer
The Silent Service
1957-1958
TV Series
Lt. Charles R. Sanders / Lt. Ray Swanbeck
Zorro
1957-1958
TV Series
Capitán Monastario
Captain Monastario
Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color
1957
TV Series
Captain Paco Reyes
West Point
1957
TV Series
Cheyenne
1957
TV Series
Lt. Phil Poole
The Gray Ghost
1957
TV Series
Larson
Annie Oakley
1956
TV Series
Gentleman Jim Corbett
Navy Log
1955-1956
TV Series
Lt. Fraser / Executive / Carrigio
The Count of Monte Cristo
1956
TV Series
De Crissac
Highway Patrol
1956
TV Series
Highway Patrolman Melton
Production Manager
Title
Year
Status
Character
Seven Hours to Judgment
1988
unit production manager
Girls Just Want to Have Fun
1985
production manager
Kiss My Grits
1982
supervising production manager
Falcon Crest
1982
TV Series unit production manager - 11 episodes
Circle of Power
1981
supervising production manager
Somewhere in Time
1980
unit production manager
The Waltons
1980
TV Series unit production manager - 1 episode
Assistant Director
Title
Year
Status
Character
Midnight Run
1988
second assistant director: second unit
In Love and War
1987
TV Movie first assistant director
MacGyver
1985
TV Series first assistant director - 2 episodes
Purple Rain
1984
first assistant director
Battlestar Galactica
1978
TV Series first assistant director - 2 episodes
Richie Brockelman, Private Eye
1978
TV Series first assistant director - 1 episode
Wonder Woman
1978
TV Series first assistant director - 2 episodes
The Incredible Hulk
1978
TV Series first assistant director - 1 episode
The Dark Secret of Harvest Home
1978
TV Mini-Series assistant director - 2 episodes
Roger & Harry: The Mitera Target
1977
TV Movie assistant director
Producer
Title
Year
Status
Character
Crystalstone
1987
co-producer
Sword of Heaven
1985
co-producer
Kiss My Grits
1982
associate producer
The American West of John Ford
1971
TV Movie documentary producer
The Legend of Mandinga
1961
Documentary producer
Miscellaneous
Title
Year
Status
Character
Sword of Heaven
1985
choreographer
The Great NBC Smilin' Saturday Mornin' Parade
1976
TV Movie stage manager
Mitzi and a Hundred Guys
1975
TV Special stage manager
Flip
1970
TV Series stage manager - 1 episode
G.I.T. on Broadway
1969
TV Movie stage manager
Writer
Title
Year
Status
Character
Sword of Heaven
1985
screenplay
The Legend of Mandinga
1961
Documentary
Editorial Department
Title
Year
Status
Character
Circle of Power
1981
post-production coordinator
Archive Footage
Title
Year
Status
Character
Legends of the West
1992
Documentary
Actor in 'Tonka' (uncredited)
Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color
1962
TV Series
General George A. Custer (edited from: Tonka)
The Sign of Zorro
1958
Capitán Monastario
Known for movies
Zorro (1957-1958) as Capitán Monastario / Captain Monastario
Tonka (1958) as Gen. George Armstrong Custer
Midnight Run (1988) as Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
$700,000
