- Born
- Died
- Birth nameDonald Alan Diamond
- Height5′ 9″ (1.75 m)
- Brooklyn-born Don Diamond's most famous role is probably that of the scheming and ambitious, but inept and somewhat cowardly, underling Crazy Cat to Frank DeKova's Chief Wild Eagle in the cult western comedy series F Troop (1965). By the time he got that role he had been an actor for quite some time, starting out in radio in the early 1940s, where he discovered that he had a knack for picking up dialects, especially Spanish. He became so proficient in it that many believed he was actually Spanish or Mexican, when in reality his family came from Russia. His facility in that dialect got him the role as the Mexican sidekick of Kit Carson in the early TV series The Adventures of Kit Carson (1951). He also landed a recurring part as a Spanish corporal, "Corporal Reyes", in the Disney TV series Zorro (1957). In addition to his TV and film work, he did much voice-over work in both cartoons and commercials, such as voicing Toro from the DFE series, Tijuana Toads.- IMDb Mini Biography By: frankfob2@yahoo.com
- SpouseLouisa Tassler(August 1, 1965 - June 19, 2011) (his death, 1 child)
- Diamond earned a Bachelor's degree in drama and studied Spanish at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. He enlisted in World War II where he served the United States Army Air Corps, but was unfit for combat because of his myopia. After the war, he studied Spanish while in the Southwest and acted for radio.
- He was of Russian Jewish heritage from New York City.
- He starred in two different Zorro shows: he played Corporal Reyes in the live action TV show Zorro (1957) (where he had previously made a guest appearance in a different role) and voiced Sergeant Gonzales in the animated version The New Adventures of Zorro (1981). All characters he portrayed were Spanish soldiers.
- He is survived by his wife, Louisa Diamond of Los Angeles, California; a brother, Neil (not the singer) Diamond; a sister, Muriel Diamond Krems; a daughter, Maxine Roxanne Diamond; two stepdaughters, Emily and Fortuna Israel; two step-grandchildren; and two step-great grandchildren.
- He retired from his acting career in 1987.
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