DON DIAMOND who played Corporal Reyes on Disney’s ZORRO and Crazy Cat on F-TROOP has departed this dimension at 90.
Like Michael J. Fox, Diamond, had been fighting Parkinson's disease
Despite being Jewish and being born in Brooklyn, Diamond, who was fluent in Yiddish, often played Native Americans or Mexicans on "Rawhide," "The Big Valley" and "The Flying Nun".
Luckily for his thesping career, he studied Spanish while attending the University of Michigan.
During WWII he served with the US Army Air Corps, perfecting his “espanol” while stationed in New Mexico.
Before undertaking the role of Crazy Cat, Chief Wild Eagle’s chief flunky on "F-Troop", Diamond played sidekick El Toro in TV series "The Adventures of Kit Carson".
Don is best remembered as Corporal Reyes on the 1950s adventure classic "Zorro," playing Abbott to rotund Sgt. Garcia’s Costello- both providing comic relief to the derring-do of Guy Williams' ZORRO.
Diamond also guested on "Get Smart" in the ep "The Treasure of C. Errol Madre."
Diamond also made less-flamboyant guest appearances on "Mission: Impossible," "Columbo" and "Quincy, M.E."
The hard working thesp worked well into the 1980s, voicing animated projects "The New Adventures of Zorro" and "Tijuana Toads."
Adios, amigo!
