LOST IN SPACE Star Bill Mumy Looks Back On Childhood Success: ‘My Parents Kept Me Humble’
By Movieguide® Contributor
Former child star Bill Mumy recently opened up about his career in Hollywood, as well as the show cancellation that made him cry.
Mumy, who just wrote a memoir titled Danger, Will Robinson: The Full Mumy, shared that his acting career was not planned.
He grew up in Los Angeles and loved to play pretend. One game of pretend left Mumy with a broken leg. While he recovered, he watched TV and decided that he wanted to be an actor.
“I had red hair, I had all this energy and I really wanted to do it,” he explained. “My mother wisely put me on a television show called ROMPER ROOM, which is like a nursery school show. It doesn’t require a lot of acting, but she did that to see how I would behave under the lights with cameras in front of me. But you can’t escape your destiny. We got an agent and then we started working. And here we are.”
One of his most memorable roles was in LOST IN SPACE, where he played Will Robinson, a precocious young boy who was a member of the Space Family Robinson.
“I’m not trying to sugarcoat my life and I don’t sugarcoat it in the book at all, but Will Robinson was everything I wanted to be when I was 4,” Mumy said. “He was like a superhero. And he helped get everybody out of trouble every week. I loved every day of going to work. And I loved all those people like family. I still do.”
LOST IN SPACE premiered in 1965 and was canceled in 1968. The end of the show left the young Mumy with “no closure.”
“It was really hard,” he admitted. “We wrapped up the third season and everyone was told, ‘See you in eight weeks.’ There was no wrap party. There was no big deal. And that was because we were coming back. It turned out there were so many reasons that I only learned 40 years later about what happened between the network and [creator] Irwin Allen. But the point is we didn’t come back.”
He continued, “I still remember when my agent called and said, ‘The show was canceled.’ It was awful. I cried. I was 14. I have been with those people since I was 10. And it just didn’t end the way we would have wanted.”
“Even though I understood the nature of this business, it was just very hard for me to accept,” the actor said. “And I’m sorry it ended that way. I never saw [co-star] Guy Williams again, and I didn’t see many of the other cast members for quite a few years. Slowly but surely we all reconnected. But at the time, it was pretty dramatic for me when the show disappeared the way it did. But that’s OK. There are worse things in life than your series being canceled.”
Mumy continued acting and even stepped into the music world.
“I’ve been very fortunate to work in so many areas of show business and be professionally rewarded for that,” he shared. “But I will say it’s a hard thing to adjust to when millions of people watch you perform week after week and then one day nobody is paying any attention to you. I can see how that can be troubling.
Mumy concluded, “But you know, I just kept finding a slot to work in. I never suffered financially like many other child actors whose parents spend their money. My parents invested and they kept me humble.”
Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.
What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.
You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.
Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.
Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.
What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.
You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.
Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.
