Lost in Space actor Mark Goddard dies aged 87

Goddard's wife Evelyn Pezzulich released a statement on Facebook confirming his death on October 10 was caused by pulmonary fibrosis.

"Several days after celebrating his 87^th birthday he was hospitalised with pneumonia," she said.

"We were hopeful when he was transferred to a rehabilitation center but then the doctors discovered he was in the final stages of pulmonary fibrosis for which there is no cure.

"I'll never know how I deserved to spend 33 years with such a loving, gentle, handsome man who made me laugh so often."

For three seasons from 1965-68, Goddard starred as hot-tempered Don West in the Lost in Space series that chronicled the adventures of the Robinson family, a talking robot and a dastardly stowaway, Dr Smith.

The group became stranded on a distant planet after their ship, the Jupiter 2, went off course en route to colonise a planet in the Alpha Centauri system.

The show, created by Irwin Allen, a producer who was known as the Master of Disaster for such films as The Towering Inferno, helped popularise the phrase, "danger, Will Robinson."

Although the series eventually became a cult classic, Goddard initially did not want to be part it.

"I didn't want to do it," he said in 1990. "Now, the reason I didn't want do the series at first is because I had never done science fiction, and had no idea what it was going to be like."

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Throughout the 1960s, Goddard also appeared in several films, including The Monkey's Uncle and A Rage to Live.

After Lost in Space went off the air, he became a frequent guest star on popular TV shows Mod Squad and The Streets of San Francisco.

He also worked on soap operas, appearing on One Life to Live and General Hospital. In 1977 he starred in the horror film Blue Sunshine.

"R.I.P. to Mark Goddard. A truly beloved friend and brother to me for 59 years. I knew this was coming for the past few months. Shortly after a great phone chat he and I had on his 87th birthday in late July, I became aware that I would most likely never see or speak with him again. The last words we exchanged were 'I love you," wrote his Lost in Space co-star Bill Mumy on Facebook.

Although his acting career waned, Goddard still appeared in TV shows and films over the years. In 1998, he made a cameo in the movie version of Lost in Space. In 2009, he published his memoir, To Space and Back.

By 1991, at age 55, Goddard decided to switch course. He earned a master's degree in education from Bridgewater State College in Massachusetts, and he became a special education teacher.

Goddard was married three times; his second wife was the actress Susan Anspach.

With Australian Associated Press