Britt Lomond

Britt Lomond wrote in 2004 the book Chasing After Zorro, a rare behind the scenes of his time as Captain Monastario during the shooting of the classic Zorro (1957). Cork Hill Press.

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. 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.

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.

He doubled for Mel Ferrer in the sword-fighting scenes in the 1952 movie, Scaramouche (1952).

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.

Britt Lomond is best remembered as the sinister yet dashing Captain Monastario, the arch nemesis of Guy Williams' Zorro in the first thirteen shows of the 50s television show. The Commandante of the Pueblo de Los Angeles, Captain Monastario was always confounded by Zorro, and his machinations were constantly foiled. A champion and expert fencer once ranked 26th in the nation amongst amateurs, Lomond, a graduate of New York University, served as a paratrooper in both World War II and the Korean Conflict.