(Bob May and Robot B-9; the cast: Angela Cartwright, Mark Goddard, Marta Kristen, The Robot, Jonathan Harris, Guy Williams, June Lockhart, Bill Mumy; The Robot and Will Robinson; Jonathan Harris as Dr. Zachary Smith)
Bob May, the veteran actor and stunt man who played "The Robot" on the 1960's t.v. series "Lost in Space", has died at age 69. Although Mr. May was inside the robot suit, providing the physical movement for the character, another actor, Dick Tufeld, provided the distinctive voice of Robot B-9, giving us one of the most famous pop culture catchphrases of all time, "Danger, Will Robinson!"
For kids in the 1960's, this was a very popular show. Space travel, far-out space clothes, (dig those men's velour shirts), space monsters popping out all over the place; it was incredible fun! But for gay kids, it was pure heaven. Jonathan Harris, who played the evil, and very bitchy, Dr. Zachary Smith, was our first glimpse of a nelly, totally over-the-top queen. She was never happy, always bitching, always scheming to sabotage everyone else's happiness and well being, and god, we loved her for it!! Many of the show's plots revolved around Will Robinson and The Robot foiling Dr. Smith's evil schemes and putting him in his place, but just like any other self-respecting queen, Dr. Smith always came back for more. Thank goodness!
No comments:
Post a Comment