Britt Lomond, 'Zorro' villain

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. -- Britt Lomond, who played the dastardly Capitan Monastario in the 1950s television series ''Zorro" and was a staple on other Western series, including ''Death Valley Days" and ''Rawhide," has died. He was 80.

Mr. Lomond died March 22 of kidney failure at a Huntington Beach nursing home, according to Tyler St. Mark, his friend and former publicist.

Mr. Lomond later turned to directing and production work, but his fame stemmed from playing opposite Guy Williams's Zorro from 1957-58. A postage stamp depicting Mr. Lomond as Monastario was issued by the Netherlands in 2004.

Mr. Lomond, a Chicago native who grew up in New York City, served as a paratrooper in the Pacific during World War II and was awarded three Purple Hearts and both the Silver and Bronze Stars.

He moved to Southern California to work as an illustrator, but Mr. Lomond's skill at fencing led him to work in films, including doubling for Mel Ferrer in the swordfighting scenes in 1952's ''Scaramouche."

He continued acting through the late 1960s, then went behind the camera as a director and production manager.