"Biography"
"Crazy Cat"
Don Diamond has played costarring roles in three successful television series, done some 25 movies and appeared in over 100 television series. His true métier, however, lies as much in the vocal as in the physical side of acting. He speaks fluent Spanish and can simulate in excess of 20 authentic dialects from all over the world. He has been much in demand for providing the voices of characters in cartoons and can truly be called "The Man of a Thousand Voices".
Diamond was born in Brooklyn, New York, on June 4, 1921. His father, who was born in Russia, served in the U.S. Army in the First World War and was awarded the Purple Heart and the Silver Star medals. His mother was born in New Jersey. As a teenager she won the New Jersey Typewriter Championship. They were excellent Parents who encouraged their son to earn some money selling soda pop at the local ballpark, mowing lawns and shoveling snow.
He lived some of his teen years in the Mohawk Valley town of Little Falls. From 1938 to 1942 he studied drama at the University of Michigan, where he waited tables and scrubbed pots in order to finance his studies, eventually graduating with a B.A. degree. During the summers he was a waiter at children's and adult camps.
While awaiting induction into the air corps, Diamond spent three months in New York City and worked a number of radio shows. These included the famous March of Time series where he did dialect roles in the Spanish language. He learned more Spanish while serving in the U.S. Military in the Southwest (notably in Arizona and Colorado) as well as increasing his understanding of the Mexican culture.
He was honorably discharged from the service in 1946 as a first lieutenant. Breaking into radio acting, he gained a reputation as an excellent portrayer of Latins and Mexicans. This led to his costarring role in 104 episodes of The Adventures of Kit Carson as El Toro, Carson's sidekick. Of this experience he recalls, "It was a pleasure to work with the late Bill Williams, but the two-day schedules for each half-hour show were tough. The horses couldn't read the scripts or the stagecoaches. We became so tired at the end of a long day that upon fluffing our lines, he and I would break into uncontrollable laughter and they would have to shoot the scene over and over again. Once the director told me to do the Mexican stereotype by sitting at the base of a large cactus and feign sleeping. In spite of the fact that I had no power or money, I defied the director and refused to malign any group--for instance, Mexicans."
Diamond is equally well-known for playing Corporal Reyes in 50 episodes of Disney's Zorro television series. "In the late 1950;s I didn't get a running role when they screen-tested the first Zorro show. In about episode eight, I did a bit as a Spanish soldier. Subsequently they tested for a corporal to be a foil for Sgt. Garcia. I won the screen test, downplaying the role because I knew Mr. Disney wanted Sgt. Garcia to get the big laughs. I enjoyed working with Guy Williams and Henry Calvin. We truly became close friends."
Diamond made his motion picture debut in Borderline (1950) playing the role of Deusik. He subsequently went on to appear in over 25 other films and over 100 television series, sometimes in multiple appearances. He has also provided the voices of characters in cartoon series. He was Sgt. Gonzalez in Zorro, Toro in Tijuana Toads and Fatso in Texas Toads. From 1965 to 1967 he played Crazy Cat in F-Troop, a very popular comedy Western series. He recalls, "I broke the stereotype of the deep bass voice Indian and did Crazy Cat in a high pitched voice. The role caught on."
For recreation he plays four-wall handball at the Hollywood Wilshire YMCA three times a week. He has been a member there for 45 consecutive years. He reads a lot, is an enthusiastic amateur radio operator and loves to tell jokes in English and Spanish. Of his family he says,"My wife Louisa is a Spanish teacher in an L.A. high school. She's from Mexico. Our lovely daughter Roxanne makes us so proud of her high grades a a local university, plus the fact that she's been invited into so many honorary societies."
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