Positive Quiddity: Narrator Dick Tufeld

New Danger for Will Robinson as

Voice of ‘Lost in Space’ Robot Dies

By Adam Buckman, January 25, 2012 in TV News Now Will Robinson’s really in danger now that the voice of his robot pal has been silenced.

Yes, flags are flying at half-mast today all across TV Land (not the channel) following the news that "Lost in Space" voice artist Dick Tufeld has died at age 85. This obit in the Los Angeles Times said he died Sunday while watching an NFL playoff game at home, according to his family.

Tufeld enjoyed a long career as an announcer, including a 30-year stint as an announcer for ABC daytime shows, and hundreds of commercial and cartoon voiceovers. But it’s his work as the voice of the beloved "Lost in Space" robot from 1965 to 1968 for which he will be best remembered.

Few who watched that fanciful ’60s series about a family of astronauts stranded in outer space will ever forget the robot’s classic intonations of "Danger, danger, Will Robinson!" whenever some alien beast in a furry costume was hiding behind Styrofoam rocks nearby. Nor will the robot’s other catchphrases be forgotten, such as "It does not compute!" — uttered whenever the robot’s advanced electronic brain was stymied (which was kinda often!).

Young Billy Mumy starred as Will Robinson on this revered series, along with the late, great Jonathan Harris as the devious and cowardly stowaway Dr. Smith. In fact, Dr. Smith’s interactions with the robot were among the most memorable scenes in this show’s history, with the two trading insults. The Dr. Smith character became famous for the colorful epithets he leveled at the machine, including calling it: a "hopeless heap of tainted tin," a "blundering bag of bolts" and a "bubble-headed booby."

Tufeld made the most of his fame as the voice of TV’s most famous robot. He voiced the robot’s voice once again in the 1998 "Lost in Space "movie remake. His final performance as the robot’s voice was in a 2004 episode of "The Simpsons."

"Lost in Space" — the TV series — will never be forgotten, especially around here. We happen to have every single episode in their entirety, and we heartily recommend you check out one or more of them. This series really was one of the quintessential TV shows of the 1960s — silly, psychedelic, classic.

http://xfinity.comcast.net/blogs/tv/2012/01/25/new-danger-for-will-robinson-as-voice-of-lost-in-space-robot-dies/

Blog Author’s Note

Billy Mumy, Jonathan Harris and the robot carried Lost in Space through three seasons of network television – whereas the original Star Trek only lasted two seasons. A lot of viewers were rooting for the robot.

 Lost in Space was supposed to be an adventure program. But the audience obviously preferred the characters of young Will Robinson (Billy Mumy), deceitful Dr. Zachary Smith (Jonathan Harris) and the B9 robot. So these three became the focus of a disproportionate number of episodes; it could be said that they took over the show and saved it. 

The B9 robot was the straight man to the comic vanity of Dr. Smith. Smith’s dishonesty, treachery, heroic cowardice and immaturity made him the most detailed and believable character in the show. He was also the most credible character to the children and teenagers who watched the program. Not everyone knows a successful master criminal like Noah Cross (masterfully played by John Huston) in Chinatown. But, even as children, we all know the petty selfishness of personal vanity in bad school authorities, counselors, pettifogging bureaucrats, quack doctors, and others who suppose themselves respectable.

Harris was perfect for the role, matching Gale Gordon’s Osgood Conklin (in Our Miss Brooks), Raymond Thomas Bailey’s greedy banker Milburn Drysdale (in The Beverly Hillbillies), Margaret Hamilton’s Elvira Gulch and witch (in The Wizard of Oz) and Joe Flynn’s agitated and neurotic Navy Captain Binghampton (In McCale’s Navy).

As for Dick Tufeld, he was a master of the voice-over and a perfect narrator. In the television field, perhaps only William Conrad (the narrator in Rocky and Bullwinkle, announcer for hundreds of commercial messages as well as the omniscient voice of God for The Fugitive) could match his skill.