A Life-Size Working Replica of the B-9 Robot from Lost in Space

A Life-Size Working Replica of the B-9 Robot from Lost in Space Built 1995-98 by Danny Copan. PVC plastic and painted fiberglass, comprising a head, torso, base, and arms. Head is wired to light up with moving elements powered by battery and plug. Microphone system is wired to a voice-activated light on the torso. One claw not retracting, front plexiglass plate loose, with motorcycle battery and motor in base of Robot. SIGNED twice by Bob May, the actor who portrayed the Robot on the television show Lost in Space. AND WITH: VHS and DVD recordings of Robot Memories Part II, a Lost in Space documentary featuring an appearance of the present robot, signed by May. 'Danger! Danger, Will Robinson!' Award-winning filmmaker Irwin Allen proposed to CBS a television series about a family of space travelers starring Guy Williams, June Lockhart, Marta Kristen, Angela Cartwright, Bill Mumy, their assistant (Mark Goddard), a villain (Jonathan Harris), and an irreverent robot, known only as the B-9 robot. Lost in Space was born, and it continues to garner followers all over the world. The B-9 robot was unusual in that, among its superhuman abilities, it exhibited human characteristics and had a wisecracking personality; it quickly became the star of the show. The robot was designed by Bob Kinoshita, the genius behind the creation of Robby the Robot from the film, Forbidden Planet (1956) (the original Robby the Robot was sold by Bonhams Los Angeles in 2017 for a record-breaking $5.375 million). Konishita's design emphasized movement: 'I like to design a certain kind of way with a human inside so that it [has] more control. It has a little humanism to it, some personality.' The B-9 was able to be walked by the person inside as well as electronically driven. That choice offered the production many more options in which to use the robot. When Irwin Allen was looking for someone to play the robot, he thought of Bob May, with whom he was familiar from a previous project. According to May, Allen chose him for the role because he was 'short enough, strong enough, and crazy enough!' Indeed, May was a pillar of patience and strength as he endured the heat and sharp metal jabs that resulted from being inside the robot costume. At times, he would emerge from the costume a bloody mess! His colleagues Bill Myatt and Johnny Borgese helped build the costume and were on the set to maintain it during shooting; they also assisted May in getting in and out of the costume. Wanting to make May as comfortable as possible, a part of the costume known as the 'Bermuda shorts' was created. It was basically a set of legs cut off at the knee which enabled May to walk more easily. Many of the scenes viewed in Lost in Space are of May wearing the Bermuda shorts and are only shot from the knees up. Konishita continued to add to the robot's many talents; soon it was playing the guitar, picking up objects, pouring milk, and playing chess. This was accomplished with the assistance of neoprene tips that were glued to the ends of the claws so that the items wouldn't slip out of its grip. Along with its physical talents, the disposition of the B-9 began to evolve. Bob May had been given free rein by Irwin Allen to get creative with the personality of the B-9, and in combination with the commanding vocals of the robot voiced by Dick Tufeld, scenes of the robot dancing, singing, being sarcastic, falling in love, cracking jokes, and becoming a friend to the family endeared it to audiences. The robot's bantering relationship with the crotchety and pompous Dr. Zachary Smith further cemented the public's affection. Bob May recalled: 'When Lost in Space was in production, I would speak the robot's lines on the set, and two weeks later, Dick Tufeld would dub in his voice. It went that way for 3 years, and I never met Dick Tufeld.' Amazingly, the two didn't meet until 20 years later during a luncheon at Twentieth Century-Fox. After that, they developed a firm friendship and would meet up at various conventions to celebrate their participation in Lost in Space. This example of the B-9 Robot was built over a period of three years by Danny Copen, a former set worker for Universal Studios in the 1970s who pivoted to working for the independent Christian film industry in later years. Working with members of the Robot Builder's Club, Copen was able to access copies of the original schematic for the B-9 Robot, creating a very close replica to the original. Our B-9 is manufactured out of fiberglass and PVC and features a sophisticated electrical system that allows the Robot to light up; little mini motors turn the radars, and inside the head is a cam shaft that makes the lights go up and down and the top mirror rotate. Initially the Copen B-9 had a modest career visiting children's hospitals and sci-fi fan events. News of its excellent construction, however, reached the ears of Bob May, the actor who performed inside The Robot on Lost in Space, and the present Robot joined May and other LIS actors at public events and speaking engagements. In the documentary on Bob May's life and career, Robot Memories Act II (2000, a follow up to 1992's Robot Memories), the present Robot appears frequently, and at the end of the film, May declares that the Copen B-9 is the most faithful of all the known replicas of The Robot. 77 x 24 x 24 in. 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