Bob May (September 4, 1939 â€" January 18, 2009) was an American actor
best remembered for playing The Robot on the television series Lost in
Space, which debuted in 1965 and ran until 1968. May appeared in all
83 episodes inside a prop costume built by Bob Stewart; the robot's
voice was dubbed by Dick Tufeld, who was also the narrator of the
series.Born in New York City, May was the grandson of vaudeville
comedian Chic Johnson, half of the Olsen and Johnson comedy team famed
for their blackout gags and orchestrated mayhem. May's first
experience in show business came when he was two years old, when his
grandfather had him appear in the Hellzapoppin comedy review, together
with his partner Ole Olsen.May became an actor, stage performer,
stuntman, director and public speaker, appearing in several films
together with Jerry Lewis, including The Nutty Professor. He also
performed in several television series, including The Time Tunnel
(where he played the role of Adolf Hitler in the 1967 episode titled
"The Kidnappers"), McHale's Navy and The Red Skelton Show. May also
worked as a stuntman, performing in television programs and movies of
the 1950s and 1960s, among them Cheyenne, Hawaiian Eye, Palm Springs
Weekend, Stagecoach, Surfside 6, The Roaring Twenties and 77 Sunset
Strip.June Lockhart, who played Maureen Robinson in the series, said
that May had insisted he got the job because he fit in the robot suit.
Irwin Allen, the creator of the Lost in Space television series,
selected May to fill the role of the robot, the sidekick of the
Robinson family, after May was sent to see him about the part; Allen
promised May, "If you can fit in the suit, you've got the job". Bob
donned the suit for the first time in front of Allen, and made the
suit fit. When he exited the suit (which was made of metal and
fiberglass) for the first time, he was cut and bleeding, but very
happy that he had got the part.
best remembered for playing The Robot on the television series Lost in
Space, which debuted in 1965 and ran until 1968. May appeared in all
83 episodes inside a prop costume built by Bob Stewart; the robot's
voice was dubbed by Dick Tufeld, who was also the narrator of the
series.Born in New York City, May was the grandson of vaudeville
comedian Chic Johnson, half of the Olsen and Johnson comedy team famed
for their blackout gags and orchestrated mayhem. May's first
experience in show business came when he was two years old, when his
grandfather had him appear in the Hellzapoppin comedy review, together
with his partner Ole Olsen.May became an actor, stage performer,
stuntman, director and public speaker, appearing in several films
together with Jerry Lewis, including The Nutty Professor. He also
performed in several television series, including The Time Tunnel
(where he played the role of Adolf Hitler in the 1967 episode titled
"The Kidnappers"), McHale's Navy and The Red Skelton Show. May also
worked as a stuntman, performing in television programs and movies of
the 1950s and 1960s, among them Cheyenne, Hawaiian Eye, Palm Springs
Weekend, Stagecoach, Surfside 6, The Roaring Twenties and 77 Sunset
Strip.June Lockhart, who played Maureen Robinson in the series, said
that May had insisted he got the job because he fit in the robot suit.
Irwin Allen, the creator of the Lost in Space television series,
selected May to fill the role of the robot, the sidekick of the
Robinson family, after May was sent to see him about the part; Allen
promised May, "If you can fit in the suit, you've got the job". Bob
donned the suit for the first time in front of Allen, and made the
suit fit. When he exited the suit (which was made of metal and
fiberglass) for the first time, he was cut and bleeding, but very
happy that he had got the part.
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