Home » Reading & Literature » Comic Books » Lost in Space - Jonathan Harris at Orlando MegaCon 1998

Lost in Space - Jonathan Harris at Orlando MegaCon 1998

© Robert Smithers

This is a transcript of the story told by Johnathon Harris (Dr. Zachery Smith) at Orlando Megacon on Mar. 15, 1998. Jonathan tells the story of how he get cast in the part for the "Lost in Space" TV Show.

============================================

Jonathan Harris . . .

"It's been a wonderful ride. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank those of you who were kind enough to write me over the years. I answer ALL letters. I always have. There was a time where I was receiving over a 500 letters a month from all over the world. And it's very gratifying, very rewarding. This is the terrible truth. So many people have written me wanting to know how I got into "Lost in Space." And I'm going to tell you. It's a lovely story, I think,. And it happens to be true.

In 1965 I got a telephone call from my then agent, and he said "Irwin Allen is doing a series at 20th Century Fox. It's called 'Lost in Space' and he wants to see film of you." He said that.

In Hollywood where there is absolutely no vision, a producer is loathe to hire you unless he is absolutely sure that someone else has hired you. And he has seen you in a piece of film, walking and talking and chewing gum all at the same time. Ah! He's an actor. Now in my career, I hesitate to show film unless I was sure that the part that was in question, I had on a piece of film. It's lack of vision. They don't understand that you can do other things. So I said to the agent 'What's the part?'

'I don't know." said Mr. Ten Percent. [audience laugh]

And I said "Well, You tell Mr. Allen to bring his chauffeur around and I will show them the real thing . . . me."

"Mr. Allen's Not going to like that."

And I said, "Tough." And of course you know that's not what I said.

Suffice it to say that the phone rang and he said "Mr. Allen wants to know who the hell you think you are, and he'll see you at four o'clock."

Well, so at four o'clock I was at 20th Century Fox. It was my favorite movie theatre. I have been star struck all of my life. But that's neither here nor there. So I'm on my way to Mr. Allen's office. And I was shown to his private office. And I was introduced to his private secretary. And in his office, I was agasp. I was shocked. There he sat at a huge desk surrounded by at least 12 or 15 yes men. The chief yes man was a man named Frank Lateraina. He was a college professor, and he turned out to be a very nice man.