Rescuing the pilot for the new Zorro TV show.

From: ZORRO UNMASKED

The Official History

by Sandra Curtis

The reworked concept attracted French partners, Ellipse Programme, the production arm of the French broadcaster Canal Plus, Germany's Beta TV, and Italy's RAI. In addition to New World Television, the Family Channel, an American cable operator, joined as a producer. A true international co-production took shape. The show was shot outside Madrid with a crew from Spain, England, and the United States. A total of eighty-eight episodes were filmed over four seasons.

The only cast member to survive the face-lift was Patrice Martinez. The rest of the cast was completely new. Martinez, who was born in New Mexico, played the female lead in Steve Martin's THREE AMIGOS and had a small role in Tim Burton's BEETLEJUICE. She was trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London on scholarship, and upon graduation she received a number of the academy's prestigious awards...

A Mexican actor named Ferdinand Allende was offered the lead as Zorro/Diego. He declined the part, however, because the shooting schedule conflicted with his wedding.

The nod was finally given to Canadian actor Duncan Regehr, who was tall, dark, and handsome. Like Guy Williams, Duncan can fence and ride. Both in Lethbridge, Alberta, and raised in Victoria, British Columbia, Duncan entered show business as a figure skater at age ten with local and regional ice shows. He began acting at the age of fourteen, hosting a talk show on cable TV in his hometown. He attended the Bastion Theater School, Vancouver's Julliard, spending two years studying voice, movement, acting, and fencing, along with his academic load. Duncan undertook several years of acting in regional theater, moving on to the Ontario Shakespeare Festival before jumping into television and films. He had trained for a spot on Canada's Olympic boxing team from 1976 to 1980 and had learned to fence at school in Ontario. While living in Los Angeles, he raised horses. At six-five and 196 pounds, Regehr cut a commanding image as the Spanish California hero.

Regehr had been considered for the pilot but was tied up with another series at the time. He was called again when Patrick James was abandoned. This time, schedules clicked. Duncan, who had played the swashbuckler Errol Flynn in MY WICKED, WICKED WAYS, was in England working on THE LAST DAYS OF POMPEII when he got a call from one of the Zorro producers. Gary Goodman went to meet him. Since Duncan had already seen the script, casting was a snap, and as he explained, the producers were "very keen to get me for the role. So, that's it! I graduated to Zorro."

The Official Foreign Zorro Films

From: ZORRO UNMASKED

by Sandra Curtis

APPENDIX C

ZORRO FILMS - FOREIGN

1952 Il Segno di Zorro (Zorro's Dream) - Italy - Mario Soldati - Walter Chiari

1958 El Zorro Escarlata - Mexico

1961 El Zorro Vengador (Zorro the Avenger) - Spain - Joaiquin Luis Romero - Luis Aguilar

1961 Zorro Nella Valle dei Fantasmi - Mexico - - Jeff Stone

1961 Espada del Zorro (retitled Zorro for American release in 1963) - Spain/France

1961 Zorro Contro Maciste (Zorro versus Maciste) (retitled Samson and the Slave Queen for American TV release in 1963) - Italy - Umberto Lenzi - Pierre Brice

1961 Zorro E I Tre Moschettiere (Zorro and the Three Musketeers) - Italy - Luigi Capuano - Gordon Scott

1962 Zorro Alla Corte di Spagna (Zorro at the Court of Spain) (American release, 1977) - Italy/Spain - Luigi Capuano - Giorgio Ardisson

1962 La Venganza del Zorro - Spain/Mexico - - Frank Latimore

1962 Il Segno di Zorro (retitled Mark of Zorro) - Franco/Italy - Mario Caiano - Sean Flynn

1963 La Tre Spade di Zorro - Italy/Spain - - Guy Stockwell

1963 L'Ombra di Zorro (Oath of Zorro) - Spain/Italy - Richard Blasco - Frank Latimore

1963 Shade of Zorro - Italy/Spain - Francesco de Masi

1964 Three Swords of Zorro - Italy - Richard Blasco

1964 Behind the Mask of Zorro - Italy - Richard Blasco

1964 Adventures of the Brothers X - Mexico - Frederic Curiel

1964 The Lone Rider - Mexico - Ralph Baledon

1964 The Valley of the Disappearing - Mexico - Ralph Baledon

1965 Il Giuramente di Zorro - Italy/Spain - - Tony Russel

1965 La Montana Sin Ley - Spain - Jose Suarez

1966 Zorro Il Ribelle (Zorro the Rebel) - Italy - Piero Pierotti - Howard Ross

1968 Nippotti di Zorro (Grandsons of Zorro) - Italy - Franco Franchi and Ciccia Ingrassia - Dean Reed

1968 Zorro il Cavaliere della Vendetta - Italy/Spain - - Charles Quiney

1968 El Zorro la Volpe - Italy - - Giorgio Ardisson

1969 Zorro il Dominatore (Zorro the Domineerer) - Italy/Spain - - Charles Quiney

1969 Zorro the Navarra Marquis (Zorro Marchese di Navarro) - Italy - Francois Monty - Nadir Moretti

1969 El Zorro - Italy - - Giorgio Ardisson

1969 Zorro alla Corte D'Inghilterra (Zorro at the English Court) - Italy - Franco Montemorro - Spyros Focas

1969 El Zorro Justiciero - Italy/Spain - - Martin Moore

1970 Zorro, the Knight of the Vengeance - Spain - Jose Louis Merion -

1970 Zorro la Maschera della Vendetta - Italy/Spain - - Charles Quiney

1972 Les Aventures Galantes de Zorro - Belgium - Jean -Michel Dhermay -

1973 El Hijo del Zorro - Italy/Spain - Gian Franco Baldanelle -

1973 El Figlio di Zorro - Italy/Spain - - Robert Widmark

1974 Zorro (American release by United Artists in 1975) - Italy/France - Duccio Tessari - Alain Delon

1974 El Zorro - Mexico - - Julio Aldama

1975 Il Sogno di Zorro - Italy - - Franco Fanchi

[I decided to copy this listing without making corrections just for the record.]

First pilot for new Zorro series

From: ZORRO UNMASKED

by Sandra Curtis

John had insisted on creative consultation rights for the series, but he found himself in conflict with the producers over how much they would be willing to accept him as a creative partner. The problem he confronted with Goodman-Rosen, the line producers, was to be revisited with each new Zorro project. Hollywood producers have a notorious reputation for paying rights holders and expecting them to disappear once the contracts are signed, but rights holders must exercise controls to protect the integrity of their characters to insure the property into the future. John's concerns regarding the pilot were summarily ignored by Goodman-Rosen. His chief complaint was the violence. The plot involved numerous killings and generally lacked humor; a critical part of the Zorro formula. Gertz felt that the music was terrible and that the original casting was by and large a disgrace.

Nancy's treatment had again been abandoned in favor of the concept of the producers, Goodman-Rosen. Antonio de la Cruz, the nephew of Don Diego, takes up the mantle of his boyhood hero when Zorro is killed by the commandant, Monastario. One element of Nancy's treatment was retained: Antonio played a clumsy scholar with glasses whose heroes were da Vinci and Cervantes.

The pilot featured Patrick James as Zorro and Patrice Martinez as the female lead, Dona Maria Constansa Arrillaga, a spoiled, rich girl to whom Antonio was betrothed. Antonio does not endear himself to his arranged marriage partner,harboring memories of Maria as a fat and homely child. Yet she has grown into a feisty, dark-haired beauty. Maria's feelings about Antonio echo his own about her. She is, however, very impressed with Zorro. In the climax, Antonio uses his knowledge of da Vinci's principles of flight to build a hang glider, which he dramatically sails into the plaza to rescue falsely convicted men from execution.

Location shooting took place on the southern coast of Spain near Almeria in November 1987. Many of the extras were retired Brits who had abandoned their foggy isle for the warmth of the Mediterranean coast. Almeria ahd been the location for filming many spaghetti westerns, possibly even some of the European Zorro films from the 1960s and 1970s. Gertz fumed on the set, watching a nightmare unfold before his eyes.

Based on a disastrous pilot, interest in teh revival of Zorro as a live-action hero fell short of attracting the required funding partners. The fox once again seemed headed toward a short-lived revival. Although Patrick James looked the part of Zorro, his limited acting experience had not prepared him to meet the challenge of playing the fox. The producers went back to the drawing board, revamping the concept and addressing some of Gertz's concerns. The story line reverted to a traditional Zorro scenario without the oppressive violence. The fox had partially been rescued.

Why a new Zorro TV series produced in Europe?

From: ZORRO UNMASKED

by Sandra Curtis

The old Disney series [starring Guy Williams] hit the airwaves in France, airing on FR-3 in 1985, causing a nationwide sensation. Zorro fever struck France with a force equal to the one that captivated Americans during the heyday of Dallas. The Disney show aired in the most desirable time slot in France, Friday night at nine o'clock. The interest spilled over to merchandising. Kiosks featured new comic strip Zorro stories in Edimonde's Le Journal de Mickey. Products ranging from puzzles to chocolates to bedsheets and everything in between were marketed.

Over the previous two years, John Gertz had been running the Zorro business part-time while he completed the coursework for his Ph. D. Nancy Larson continued screenwriting and was selected to attend the prestigious Sundance Institute to develop her film THE WIZARD OF LONELINESS. Gertz-Larson Productions had evolved into Zorro Productions, Inc. Now, two roads diverged before John. He could devote his energies full-time to reviving Zorro as a classic character, or he could write his doctoral dissertation. John took a year's leave of absence from school to see how he'd fare in the business world and saw the leave extend as he grew Zorro into a successful international property.

Riding the wave of success in Europe, Gertz interviewed agents in early 1987 to see if they could generate interest in a new live-action series. Along with Bob Cristani of the William Morris Agency, John pitched Nancy's treatment to seven production companies in two days. Twenty-four hours later, all seven came back with offers to do the show. They closed a deal with New World Television, which was willing to commit to a minimum of twenty-five episodes, the number required for European participation. A network sale would have been more lucrative but it also would have meant a limited production order. Gertz didn't want to see the show cancelled again after only five episodes. [Which is what happened to the Gertz-Larson Productions and Walt Disney Studios series Zorro and Son for CBS-TV back in 1983.]

An Official Look At the European Zorros

From: ZORRO UNMASKED

The Official History

by Sandra Curtis

During the 1960s, over thirty foreign Zorro movies were produced, chiefly in Mexico, Italy, and Spain. Inexpensively shot, they would be classified in the genre of "spaghetti westerns."

McCulley's masked fox confronted Cardinal Richelieu with the Musketeers in ZORRO E I TRE MOSCHIETTIERI (ZORRO AND THE THREE MOUSKETEERS, 1961, Italy). Zorro returned the grand duchy of Lusitania to its rightful heir in ZORRO ALLA CORTE DI SPAGNIA (ZORRO IN THE COURT OF SPAIN, 1962, Italy). He became King of Nogara in ZORRO CONTRO MACISTE (ZORRO AGAINST MACISTE, 1963, Italy). In ZORRO ALLA CORTE D'INGHILTERRA (ZORRO IN THE COURT OF ENGLAND, 1969, Italy) Zorro opposed a tyrant who ruled an English colony in Central America for Queen Victoria. ZORRO, MARCHESE DI NAVARRO (ZORRO, MARQUIS OF NAVARRO, 1969, Italy) found the masked hero opposing Napoleon's troops in Spain at the beginning of the 1800s. An extra named Sophia Ciccaloni who appeared in IL SOGNO DI ZORRO (ZORRO'S DREAM, 1962, Italy) went on to a renowned film career as Sophia Loren. Another 1962 Italian film, IL SEGNO DI ZORRO (THE SIGN OF ZORRO) launched the acting career of Sean Flynn, the son of romantic swashbuckler Errol Flynn. The fox didn't wear his characteristic black outfit and carve a Z on a wall only once. Directed by journeyman Mario Caiano, the remake was lackluster and forgettable.

The most notable of these foreign productions starred French actor Alain Delon. As with other productions, Delon's 1974 film takes great liberty in place and story, yet preserves the basic elements of McCulley's character.

[The wife of John Gertz, one of the owners of the Zorro copyright, Sandra Curtis obviously needed a better proof reader as Zorro did not fight the Mousketeers in an Italian film.]