Robby Robot Toy

Robby the Robot is a fictional character who has made a number of appearances in science fiction movies and television programs from 1956 onward.

Description and overview

Robby the Robot is a 6-foot, 11-inch tall mechanical suit designed for an actor to wear, to play the part of a robot. It was originally designed for the 1956 MGM movie Forbidden Planet , and quickly became an icon.

As Forbidden Planet was inspired by Shakespeare's play The Tempest , Robby's character was inspired by Ariel, the sprite in the play. The first known use of the name "Robbie the Robot" was in the Doc Savage adventure, The Fantastic Island (published in 1935), as a nickname for a mechanical likeness of Doc, used to confuse foes. It is unknown if Robby the Robot was named in honor of this Pulp Era automaton or a later Asimov robot character likewise named (and perhaps also derived from the first Doc Savage usage).

An important feature of Robby was the command that he was not to inflict fatal harm upon human beings. This comes into play near the end of the film, where Robby is commanded to kill the monster, but cannot do so because it comprehends that the monster is an alter ego or extension of Dr. Morbius. Both the injunction against harming humans (the First Law of Robotics) and the name "Robby", were adapted from a story by Isaac Asimov from the science fiction story collection I, Robot . Although I, Robot was issued in 1950, the short story "Robbie" was published in 1940. Asimov's Robbie was a first-generation robot designed to care for children.

The "Robby" robot suit in Forbidden Planet was later reused in a less popular movie called The Invisible Boy . It made several further appearances in other movies and TV shows over the next few decades. While Robby's appearance was generally consistent, there were notable exceptions, such as the 1962 Twilight Zone episode "Uncle Simon", where he was given a somewhat more human "face". At other times, Robby usually retained the working gears inside his bubble head, although the details of his "brain" and chest panel were sometimes altered. Robby has made few television or film appearances since the 1970s, although he is featured in a 2006 commercial for AT&T.

Robby differed from his successors in that he walked on mechanical legs, while later models by his principal designer Robert Kinoshita, such as Robot B-9 of Lost in Space , moved smoothly on motorized treads. In Forbidden Planet , Robby was operated by Frankie Darro from inside the suit and his distinctive voice was provided by actor Marvin Miller.

In 2004, Robby the Robot was inducted into the Robot Hall of Fame. In 2008, a robot apparently inspired by Robby was included in the video game Fallout 3 as the Protectron.

Design and Development

The original screenplay of Forbidden Planet, written by Cyril Hume, describes Robby along those lines: "He has no face — only a complicated arrangement of electronic gadgets which crackle and light-up at unexpected moments. In spite of his disproportioned arms and legs, he only very roughly suggests the human shape. His hands are tools, and various spare parts (one of these actually a metal hand) are neatly clipped to his body, back and front. He is able to rotate the upper part of his dome, and so seems to ‘face’ the person addressing him. A small radar antenna comes up out of Robby’s dome, and slowly rotates ."

Based on the script, A. Arnold Gillespie, the chief of special effectsfor Forbidden Planet, came up with the design that everyone liked, according to Arthur Lonergan, after he and Lonergan had sketched and discarded numerous ideas. Gillespie based his design on the shape of the old-fashioned pot-bellied stove. Lonergan turned over Gillespie’s rough design sketches to production illustrator Mentor Huebner, who refined the aesthetic look of the robot (Huebner claims that Robby was his design). " I designed about fifteen of them, and they finally lit on one that was used " he said. Huebner also mentioned that Gillespie’s early Robby sketch as a refinement of Huebner’s concept. Lonergan, however, remembers that Gillespie originated the idea, and points out the Huebner would refine Gillespie’s ideas, not the other way around. Huebner abandoned Gillespie’s slip cast rubber legs, similar in design and operation to the arms, and hit upon the jointed ball configuration for the robot’s legs. " I thought of having a very short man inside, being able to look out of the stomach, and then have a false head built on him which brings him up to average height " said Huebner. Gillespie’s concept had the operator’s head inside the robot’s clear plastic dome. Huebner’s changes didn’t alter Gillespie’s basic design, but resulted in the clean lines and well-proportioned appearance that makes Robby so popular and pleasing to the eye.

By the end of 1954, the art director, Arthur Lonergan turned Huebner’s work over to Robert Kinoshita, head draftsman of the art department, who would produce the working drawings and blueprints for Robby’s construction under Gillespie’s supervision. With his miniature scale model of Robby approved, Kinoshita began drafting the plans from which the robot would be constructed. Kinoshita’s working drawings were turned over to Jack Gaylord, head of MGM’s Prop Shop, who was in charge of the molding and assembly of Robby’s plastic parts.

The prop and its reproductions

For many years, Robby the Robot was on display at the Movie World / Cars of the Stars Museum in Buena Park, California. The museum is now closed. Fred Barton, a robot historian, is credited with saving Robby from ruin and restoring him to his original state. Robby is owned by film director William Malone.

A replica is currently on display at the Metreon entertainment complex in San Francisco. There are, however, many full-scale reconstructions and duplicates of the "Robby" suit in various venues. Full-sized, remote-controlled reproductions of Barton's restoration are available from Hammacher Schlemmer.

Appearances

  • Forbidden Planet (1956)
  • The Invisible Boy (1957)
  • The Thin Man (1958) - season 1 episode "Robot Client", original aired February 28, 1958
  • The Gale Storm Show (1958) - season 3 episode "Robot from Inner Space", first aired December 13, 1958
  • The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis (1959-1963)
  • The Twilight Zone (1960s)
    • Episode "Uncle Simon"
    • Episode "The Brain Center at Whipple's"
    • Episode "One for the Angels" (as a tinplate battery operated toy)
  • Hazel (1961-1966)- episode "Rosie's Contract"
  • The Addams Family in the episode "Lurch's Little Helper" aired March 18, 1966
  • The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1966)
  • Lost in Space (1966 and 1967) - in two episodes as two different characters (in "War of the Robots" as a robotoid)
  • The Monkees (1966-1968) - one episode
  • The Banana Splits Adventure Hour (1968 and 1970) - recurring appearance as a maid named "Mildred the Robot"; does not have glass dome
  • Columbo (1974) - episode "Mind Over Mayhem"
  • Hollywood Boulevard (1976)
  • Ark II (1976)
  • Holmes and Yo-Yo (1976)
  • Music Machine (1977)- a K-tel compilation LP, photographs featured on both the front and back of the cover
  • Project UFO (1978)- season 1 episode "Sighting 4010: The Waterford Incident"
  • Wonder Woman (1979) - season 3 episode "Spaced Out", as the master of ceremonies at a science fiction convention
  • Mork & Mindy (1979)
  • Space Academy (1979) - episode "My Favorite Marcia"
  • Charmin Television commercial (1981) - as an assistant to Mr. Whipple, named Squeezak, repeating the phrase "Don't squeeze Charmin".
  • "Heavy Metal (film) (1981) - Selling a hot dog to Harry Canyon.
  • Night Stalker video game (1982) - featured in the print advertising for the Mattel video game for the IBM and Mac Nighstalker Ad
  • The Love Boat - episode "Programmed for Love"
  • Gremlins (1984)
  • the Fighting Fantasy gamebook series (volume Spectral Stalkers )
  • Cherry 2000 (1987)
  • Earth Girls Are Easy (1988)
  • Space Quest (VGA Remake, 1991) - cameo as one of the models purchasable as a nav unit on Corona.
  • Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999) - cameo as a piece of junk in Watto's Junk Shop
  • Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003)
  • The Simpsons
    • "The Simpsons: Treehouse of Horror XIV" (2003)
    • "Mayored to the Mob" - "Danger Danger! Bart Simpson!"
  • Stacked (2005) - as the Nightmare NASA Robot
  • Teen Titans (2005) - "Episode 257-494" (renamed Seven-Gorn-Seven and presented as a robot villain)
  • Television commercial for AT&T (2006) - with WOPR, KITT, and Rosie the Robot Maid
  • Doctor Who episode "Silence in the Library" (2008) - Robby toy or model seen in the background
  • Futurama - The Beast With a Billion Backs (2008)
  • Fallout 3 features robots called Protectrons, which are found throughout the game acting mainly as security guards. Their design is vaguely similar to that of Robby.
  • Futurama - Into The Wild Green Yond

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