Joseph Lockard "Lock" Martin Jr. (October 12, 1916 â€" January 19,
1959) was an American actor, best remembered for playing the robot
Gort in The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951).He was from Pennsylvania
and had a series of odd jobs before going into acting. He directed
traffic at Bob's Big Boy drive-in restaurant in Van Nuys, CA in 1951.
He was working as a doorman at Grauman's Chinese Theater when he was
hired for the role of Gort, although this was not his first acting
job.He was reportedly 7 feet 7 inches tall (about 231 cm); however
Robert Wise, director of The Day The Earth Stood Still, states his
height was 7 feet 1 inch (about 216 cm) in the DVD commentary. His
great height did not translate into strength and he had difficulty
managing his robot suit. For scenes where he was supposed to
physically lift Patricia Neal and Michael Rennie, they were either
held up by wires, a hidden dolly or replaced with lightweight
dummies.He was also in The Incredible Shrinking Man as a giant, but
his scenes were deleted. He was nicknamed "the Gentle Giant" as he
liked reading stories to children and for a time had a local show
devoted to that.
1959) was an American actor, best remembered for playing the robot
Gort in The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951).He was from Pennsylvania
and had a series of odd jobs before going into acting. He directed
traffic at Bob's Big Boy drive-in restaurant in Van Nuys, CA in 1951.
He was working as a doorman at Grauman's Chinese Theater when he was
hired for the role of Gort, although this was not his first acting
job.He was reportedly 7 feet 7 inches tall (about 231 cm); however
Robert Wise, director of The Day The Earth Stood Still, states his
height was 7 feet 1 inch (about 216 cm) in the DVD commentary. His
great height did not translate into strength and he had difficulty
managing his robot suit. For scenes where he was supposed to
physically lift Patricia Neal and Michael Rennie, they were either
held up by wires, a hidden dolly or replaced with lightweight
dummies.He was also in The Incredible Shrinking Man as a giant, but
his scenes were deleted. He was nicknamed "the Gentle Giant" as he
liked reading stories to children and for a time had a local show
devoted to that.
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