RIP Bob May voice of Lost in Space robot

[JPkempo]

Bob May -- who played The Robot in "Lost in Space" -- died early this morning at the Lancaster Community Hospital in California.

A rep for Bob said he was taken to the hospital on Friday, and died at around 3 AM this morning of congestive heart failure.

Back in November, Bob had a stroke soon after a fire consumed his California home.

Patricia Arthur, May's long time friend and agent, "Asks all his fans to take a moment of silence as one of Science Fiction's greatest has passed. Family and friends will miss him dearly."

Bob was 69.

[HardyGirl]

RIP Bob.

Actually, Bob May was the body or movement for the Robot. Dick Tufeld was the voice.

[Monsterama2000]

That's sad news.

I saw him at a convention a few years ago and didn't have enough money to get his autograph.

RIP

[Mikey]

Rest in peace to the body of BOOBIE !!!!!!!

[Joe90]

Sad news.

He was the narrator as well...

Last week, as you remember...

[toys2cool]

rip buddy

[Mikey]

Sad news.

He was the narrator as well...

Last week, as you remember...

That wasn't him.

Bob May did NO voicework on the show

It was all done by Dick Tulfeld(?)

[HardyGirl]

Sad news.

He was the narrator as well...

Last week, as you remember...

No, that was announcer, Dick Tufeld.


(01-1 15:17 PST Los Angeles, CA (AP) --



Bob May, who in an entertainment career spanning more than 65 years won over a cult following as The Robot in the hit 1960s television show "Lost in Space," died Sunday of congestive heart failure. He was 69.



May died at a hospital in Lancaster, his daughter, Deborah May, told The Associated Press.



He was a veteran actor and stuntman who had appeared in movies, TV shows and on the vaudeville stage when he was tapped by "Lost in Space" creator Irwin Allen to play the Robinson family's loyal metal sidekick in the hit series that debuted in 1965.



"He always said he got the job because he fit in the robot suit," said June Lockhart, who played family matriarch Maureen Robinson. "It was one of those wonderful Hollywood stories. He just happened to be on the studio lot when someone saw him and sent him to see Irwin Allen about the part. Allen said, 'If you can fit in the suit you've got the job.'"



Although May didn't provide the robot's distinctive voice (that was done by announcer Dick Tufeld), he developed a devoted following of fans who sought him out at memorabilia shows.



"We gave them entertainment. We didn't try to lecture them. We just wanted to have fun with the family," he said at a 1995 reunion of the "Lost in Space" cast.



"Lost in Space" was a space-age retelling of "The Swiss Family Robinson" story in which Professor John Robinson, his wife and their children were on a space mission when their craft was knocked hopelessly off course by the evil Dr. Zachary Smith, who became trapped in space with them.



May's robot was the Robinson family's loyal sidekick, warning them of approaching disaster at every turn. His often-quoted expression to one of the children, "Danger, Will Robinson," became a national catch phrase.



The grandson of famed vaudeville comedian Chic Johnson, May was introduced to show business at age 2 when he began appearing in the "Hellzapoppin" comedy revue with Johnson and his partner, Ole Olsen.



He worked in vaudeville, nightclubs and theaters.



"My dad always ended his shows the same way his grandfather did, with a toast. May you live as long as you want to and may you laugh as long as you live," his daughter said.



He went on to appear in numerous films with Jerry Lewis and in such TV shows as "The Time Tunnel,""McHale's Navy and "The Red Skelton Show."



He was also a stuntman in such 1950s and '60s TV shows as "Cheyenne,""Surfside 6,""Hawaiian Eye,""The Roaring 20s" and "Stagecoach."



He was particularly fond of his Robot role, once saying he came to consider the suit a "home away from home."



He worked incredibly hard at the role, Lockhart said, wearing the suit for hours at a time and learning the lines of every actor in the show so he would know when to respond to their cues. Because it wasn't easy to get in and out of the suit, he kept it on during breaks.



"He was a smoker," Lockhart remembered. "From time to time (when he was on a break) we'd see smoke coming out of the robot. That always amused us."



May and his wife lost their house in November when a wildfire destroyed their upscale mobile home park in the San Fernando Valley's Sylmar section. It was one of 484 homes destroyed.



Survivors include his wife of 48 years, Judith; his daughter; his son, Martin; and four grandchildren.



Funeral services are pending.