Danger, Will Robinson!

[Warren Stupidity]

'Lost in Space' actor Bob May dies at 69 in Calif.
By GREG RISLING – 3 hours ago
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Bob May, who donned The Robot's suit in the hit 1960s television show "Lost in Space," has died. He was 69.
May died Sunday of congestive heart failure at a hospital in Lancaster, said his daughter, Deborah May.
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 series that debuted in 1965.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iyL-6Yym4W__Filb61G4GeeWuUvAD95PTFL01

[devilgrrl]

1. RIP

[navarth]

2. Billy Mumy wished him into the big cornfield in the sky.

Sorry I couldn't help myself.

RIP Mr. May.

Another piece of history lost in the stream of time.

[The_Casual_Observer]

4. You are a bad bad man.

[navarth]

5. It's good ya done that Anthony.

Good grief I've turned it into a Billy Mumy thread. I really am sorry.

again: RIP Mr. May.

[gratuitous]

3. Silence!

You clattering collection of cogwheels!

[CatWoman]

6. that does it!!

now I'm going in the den to watch some Lost in Space DVDs :)

:hi:

[gratuitous]

9. Oh dear

And I thought I was hopelessly geeky with my collection of the Babylon 5 series.

:loveya:

[navarth]

11. Babylon 5 "Geeky"??? How dare you

Babylon 5 was excellent Sci Fi. At it's worst, maybe a little chumpy, but at it's best: glorious.

May The Great Maker watch over you.

Dammit! Now I've done it again!

RIP Mr. May.

[gratuitous]

13. I came late to the Babylon 5 party

I was a casual watcher until the episodes when Earth central government started being taken over by totalitarians. There was some Earth News broadcast stating that a number of dissidents had been rounded up and jailed. As the Captain (was it still Sinclair?) watched the newscast, they ran the names of the dissidents at the bottom of the screen, including Paul Jarrico, Ring Lardner and Dalton Trumbo. That hooked me.

So, after the show ended, I went out and bought all five years of the series and I watched the whole thing from start to finish, turned on the commentary tracks and everything. So, yeah, hopelessly geeky.

[navarth]

14. pretty much the same for me, maybe a bit earlier

the earth gov totalitarian thing, the "Coming of Shadows" was bad ass.

Another thing that makes me wish I could selectively erase memory so I could experience it for the first time all over again.

Happy MLK Day!

[Ichingcarpenter]

7. a "bumbling bucket of bolts,"

a "hopeless heap of tainted tin"

During the show's run, May climbed inside the robot shell week after week, enduring the heat, the strain of moving in the heavy costume and, yes, Smith's acerbic, often alliterative put-downs.

With a stiff — make that metallic — upper lip, May shrugged off being called a "bumbling bucket of bolts," a "hopeless heap of tainted tin" and other insults.

Although his face was never seen and his lines were dubbed over by Dick Tufeld, May enjoyed nearly every minute of the experience.

"I'm the only actor who had his Jacuzzi and sauna built into one," May said of the confining robot outfit, which weighed more than 100 pounds.

Jonathan Harris, who portrayed the fey, diabolical Dr. Smith, came up with the insults his character hurled at the robot in each episode, May said.

"He had a pad and a pencil next to his bed and he'd wake up in the morning and write them down. I never knew from one day to the next what he was going to call me," May said, laughing again.

Decades after the three-year run of Lost in Space, May has fond memories of the colorful, far-fetched show and is proud of the part he played in its success.

[cherokeeprogressive]

8. RIP, Model B-9, Class M-3 General Utility Non-Theorizing Environmental Control Robot

whose name was ALMOST "Clawed". You babysat me in the afternoons in late 60's and I thought you were way cool.

Interesting fact: Robert Kinoshida, who designed "clawed" was the same person who designed Robby the Robot who co-starred in Forbidden Planet.

[lordsummerisle]

10. What ?!?

You mean it wasn't a real robot...!!??

:rofl:

[surrealAmerican]

12. ... and so soon after the death of the original dalek actor.

It's been a bad week for people who acted in metal suits in the 1960's.