Fencers of Fame and Fiction - 3
Written and researched by Margaret Odrowaz-Sypniewska, B.F.A.

"as Armor passed out of use [in warfare], the carrying of swords passed out of use, the carrying of swords by men going about their business [then] became more common" (Read, 98).

"Fencing Taught in fashionable schools according to continental methods - became popular in England in Elizabethean times" (Arlott, 20).

• George Washington (1732-1799) was born February 22, 1732, in Westmoreland County, Virginia. He was a Federalist, and was elected the first President of the United States (1789-1979). George was a member of the gentry class and thus began fencing at age 10. He fought in the French and Indian War (1754-1763) and the American Revolution (1775-1783).

• Orson Wells was born on May 6, 1915, in Kenosha, Wisconsin. He was an actor, director, and producer. He studied at the Art Institute of Chicago where he fenced. He played Mercutio in 1933 in his Broadway debut in Romeo and Juliet, and then, in 1934, he played Tybalt, Juliet's cousin.

• Guy Williams, actor, portrayed Zorro on the Disney TV Series. Williams was born Guido Catalano in New York City in 1923. Williams was an fencer but took more lessons for this venue. Williams was 6 foot 3 inches tall and used a real foil not a stage weapon in Disney's Zorro.
  
  The Official Zorro Website

• Zorro was a famous fictional character who fought against aristocratic laws that kept the common man in poverty. Zorro's creator was Johnston McCulley, a former police reporter. McCulley was born on February 2, 1883, in Ottawa, Illinois. His first story The Curse of Capistrano was about early nineteenth century California. His main character was Don Diego de la Vega, the son of a prosperous California family. Don Diego became El Zorro (the Fox), a sort of Californian Scarlet Pimpernel who played the idol rich during the day, and a hero at night. A Hungarian Baroness Emmuska Orczy wrote the Scarlett Pimpernel in 1905. Apparently, McCulley read this story which inspired his own. McCulley's story was printed in 1919, and was a big hit! The movie called The Mark of Zorro with Douglas Fairbanks, as hero, was made in 1920. McCulley's follow-up novel was The Further Adventures of Zorro (in 1924). Don Q, the Son of Zorro was another Fairbanks movie. This time the movie was based on a story by Kate and Hesketh Pritchard's story.

  After this, Zorro movies were in vogue. Zorro Rides Again was completed in 1931. McCulley then wrote a screenplay called The Bold Cabellero for Republic Pictures starring Robert Livingstone as Zorro (his voice).

  In 1950, Johnston McCulley sold all his rights to the Zorro property. Mitchell Gertz and Walt Disney Productions, who produced the Zorro Television Series which ran from 1957-1959, with Guy Williams as Zorro.

  Anyone born before this time period remembers the theme song:

  Out of the Night
  the full moon is bright
  Comes the horseman
  known as Zorro.
  This bold renegade carves
  a "Z" with his blade,
  A "Z" that stands for Zorro
  .........Written by Henry Bruns and Norman Foster.

  McCulley died November 23, 1958 at the age of 79. He lived long enough to see Zorro on TV. His epitaph:

  Here lies the man who gave the world Zorro.

  After McCulley's death Zorro popularity continued and Zorro was again a TV series. This series was produced by New World from 1990 and starred Duncan Regehr as Zorro (see above). This series was filmed in Spain and was touted for its accuracy in character and the early history of California. The only drawback of this series was that it was only available on the Family Channel and thus was only seen by Cable TV subscribers.

  The Disney series had more of a following because it was on free TV. The Disney series was stopped because the network wanted color series and the Disney versions were all in black and white. Disney felt the budget would be too high for color?

The Best Zorro Movies:
• The Mark of Zorro - Douglas Fairbanks, Fairbanks Pictures (1920)
• The Mark of Zorro - Tyrone Power, 20th Century Fox (1940)
• Zorro the Avenger - Guy Williams, Walt Disney (1958)
• The Sign of Zorro - Guy Williams, Walt Disney (1958)
• Three Swords of Zorro - Guy Stockwell and Mikaela Wood - (1963)
• The Mark of Zorro - Frank Langella, 20th Century Fox (1974 TV production)
• Zorro, the Gay Blade - George Hamilton, Mel Somon Productions (1980).
• The Mask of Zorro - Antonio Banderas, Anthony Hopkins, and Catherine Zeta Jones, Tri-State(1998)

In the reigns of Francois II (1559-1560), Charles IX (1560-1574), and Henri III (1574-1589) dueling (in France) was popular even though it was outlawed in 1559.

Fencing academies were located in Milan, Venice, Verona (in Italy) and Madrid (Spain) in the 16th century. They taught Spanish and Italian styles which used a parrying dagger to match their rapiers. The French style came into vogue after 1650.

Both Benvenuto Cellini and Hans Holbien, the Younger (famous as a portrait painter), made decorative swords in the 16th century. Both were metal workers and jewelers too.

Swords were made in Brescia and Milan, Italy; Toledo and Valencia, Spain; and Solingen (Rheinland) and Passau (on the Danube) in Germany.

In England, in 1781, Boulton and Fothergill of Birmingham, England produced small sword hilts.

The skill of fencing masters grew in the second quarter of the sixteenth century. The rapier was developed and fencing was done with rapier and dagger or even another sword (in the left hand).

Movies with Swordplay:
• The Adventures of Robin Hood - Errol Flynn (1938)
• Romeo and Juliet (1968)
• Cyrano de Bergerac - Jose Ferrer (1950) and later Gerard Depardieu (1990).
• El Cid - Charleston Heston (1961)
• Scaramouche - Stewart Granger (1952)
• The Black Swan - Tyrone Power (1900)
• Captain Blood - Errol Flynn (1935)
• The Master of Ballantrae - Errol Flynn (1953)
• The Sea Hawk - Errol Flynn (1940)
• The Seven Samurai - Toshiro Mifune (1954)
• The Last Samurai - Tom Cruise (2003)
• The Duelists - Keith Carradine and Harvey Keitel (1997)
  *Won "Best Debut Film" at the Cannes Film Festival.

  By the Sword - Eric Roberts and F. Murray Abraham ( )

  On Guard - Daniel Auteuil. Fabrice Luchini and Vincent Perez (1997)

  Swashbuckler - Robert Shaw, Beau Bridges (1976)

  Revenge of the Musketeers - Sophie Marceau and Philippe Noiret (2000)

  Cutthroat Island - Geena Davis and Frank Langella (1995)

  Rob Roy - Liam Neesen and Jessica Lange.

LINKS:

Duels and Dueling on the Web ... Dueling ... Fencing Masters of the 16th Century
Adrian Paul ... La Maupion ... Pushkin's Duels ... Andrew Jackson's Duels.

SOURCES:

Arlott, John and Arthur Daley. Pageantry of Sport. New York: Hawthorne Books, Inc., 1968.P> Axelrod, Alan and Charles Phillips. The Macmillan Dictionary of Military Biography. New York: Macmillian, 1998.

Cohen, Richard. By the Sword. New York: Random House, 2002.

Dupuy, Trevor N. The Harper Encyclopedia of Miliatary Biography. Edison, N.J.: Castle Books, 1995.

Emery, H.G. and K. G. Brewster. The New Century Dictionary of the English Language. Vol. 2 in "Biographical Names." New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, Inc., 1953.

Fliegal, Stephen N. Arms and Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Incorporated, 1998.

Franklin, Fay. History's Timeline. New York: Crescent Books, 1981.

Gottlieb, Agnes and Harry with Barbara and Brent Bowers. 1,000 Years, 1,000 People.

Hutton, Alfred. The Sword and the Centuries. Wren's Park, 2003.

Read, Williams. Weapons Through the Ages. London: Perrage Books, 1984.

Tarassuak, Leonid & Claude Blair. The Complete Encyclopedia of Arms and Weapons. New York: Bonanza Books, 1979.

Yenne, Bill. The Legend of Zorro. Greenwich, CT: Mallard Press, 1991.

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This page is updated and designed by Maggie (BFA) and Matt Sypniewski(BA/MA)
Last updated on June 2, 2011.