Robby the Robot

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A film poster for Forbidden Planet showing Robby. See the image for additional remarks concerning this robot.

Robby the Robot was a fictional character who had a number of appearances in science fiction movies from the 1950s onward. "Robby" was a 7 ft 2 inch 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,^[1] and it became an icon representing the genre of science fiction films.

In the film, Doctor Edward Morbius (Walter Pidgeon) uses Robby to demonstrate one of Isaac Asimov's Laws of Robotics: Morbius tells Robby to shoot a human, and Robby, being programmed to follow orders yet also to never kill a human, is faced with a paradox that would eventually destroy him if his state of indecision was allowed to continue.

The "Robby" robot suit was also reused in a less popular movie called The Invisible Boy, and it made appearances in several other movies and TV shows over the next few decades. While Robby's appearance was generally consistent over the decades, 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" (along with the details of his chest panel) were sometimes changed. In recent years Robby hasn't appeared much in movies or TV, although he is featured in a 2006 commercial for AT&T.

Robby differed from his successors in that he walked (somewhat awkwardly), while later models by his designer Robert Kinoshita such as Robot B-9 of Lost in Space moved smoothly on motorized treads.

Before the appearance of Robby, robots in movies and plays tended to lack characteristics attributable as personality, being simple mechanical devices. Since his appearance, robots with personalities have become more and more common in movies.

According to http://www.the-robotman.com, the original Robby suit is now in the hands of an unnamed private collector. However, extremely detailed Robby replicas continue to make appearances at shows and events around the world thanks to Fred Barton productions (see external links).

For many years, Robby the Robot was on display at the wax figure museum Movieland in Los Angeles, CA. The museum is now closed.

1 Appearances
2 See also
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Appearances

Robby the Robot, as he appears in Forbidden Planet

Forbidden Planet (1956)
The Invisible Boy (1958)
The Thin Man (1958)
The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis (1959-1963)
The Twilight Zone (1960s) - Episodes "Uncle Simon", "The Brain Center at Whipple's" and "One for the Angels" (as an action figure).
"The Addams Family" in the episode "Lurch's Little Helper"

aired March 18, 1966.

Hazel (1961-1966)- Episode "Rosie's Contract
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1966)
Ark II - (Saturday morning TV show from Filmation)
Lost in Space (1966 & 1967) - Appearances in two different episodes as two different characters
The Banana Splits Adventure Hour (1968 & 1970) - Appeared as the maid.
Columbo (1974) - Episode "Mind Over Mayhem" (IMDB)
Hollywood Boulevard (1976)
Wonder Woman (1979) - Appeared in the season three episode "Spaced Out" as the master of ceremonies at a science fiction convention.
Mork & Mindy (1979)
Nightstalker (1982) - was featured in the print advertising for the Mattel video game for IBM and Mac Nighstalker Ad
Gremlins (1984)
Earth Girls Are Easy (1988)
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999) (As a piece of junk in Watto's Junk Shop)
Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003)
Television commercial for AT&T, with WOPR, KITT, and Rosie the Robot Maid in 2006.