Richard Norton Tufeld (December 11, 1926 – January 22, 2012) was an American actor, announcer, narrator and voice actor from the late 1940s until the early 21st century. He was a well-known presence on television as an announcer, but his most famous role was as the voice of the
Robot
A robot is a machine—especially one programmable by a computer—capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically. A robot can be guided by an external control device, or the control may be embedded within. Robots may be c ...
in the television series ''
Lost in Space
''Lost in Space'' is an American science fiction television series, created and produced by Irwin Allen, which originally aired between 1965 and 1968 on CBS. The series was inspired by the 1812 novel ''The Swiss Family Robinson.'' The series fo ...
''.
Early life
Born in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, California, to a Russian father and a Canadian mother, he spent his childhood in
Pasadena
Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district.
Its ...
, California. Tufeld attended the
Northwestern University School of Communication
The Northwestern University School of Communication is an undergraduate and graduate institution devoted to the academic study of communication arts and sciences, located on Northwestern University's campus in Evanston, Illinois, United States ...
, then known as the university's School of Speech. In 1945, he obtained a job as an engineer at
KLAC
KLAC (570 AM) is a commercial sports radio station licensed to Los Angeles, California, serving Greater Los Angeles and much of surrounding Southern California. Owned by a joint venture between iHeartMedia, Inc. and the Los Angeles Dodgers bas ...
, a radio station in Los Angeles.
[Anthony Haywar]
"Dick Tufeld: Actor who voiced Robbie the Robot in 'Lost in Space'"
''The Independent'', 28 February 2012
Career
Tufeld's voice career began in radio. He was the announcer on
ABC's ''
The Amazing Mr. Malone
''The Amazing Mr. Malone'' (initially known as ''Murder and Mr. Malone'') is an American Radio programming, radio crime drama series based on the John Malone series of mystery novels by Craig Rice (author), Craig Rice. The series ran on American ...
'' in early 1950 (before the show moved to New York and
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
); then on
Alan Reed
Alan Reed (born Herbert Theodore Bergman; August 20, 1907 – June 14, 1977) was an American actor, best known as the original voice of Fred Flintstone on ''The Flintstones'' and various spinoff series. He also appeared in many films, includin ...
's ''Falstaff's Fables'', a five-minute ABC radio program that began in the fall of 1950. From October 25, 1952 to March 19, 1955, Tufeld was the announcer for the entire run of
ABC Radio's ''
Space Patrol''.
Tufeld moved to television in 1955,
working in ABC daytime programming and anchoring ''The Three Star Final'', a 15-minute newscast on
KABC-TV
KABC-TV (channel 7) is a television station in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast of the United States, West Coast Flagship (broadcasting), flagship of the American Broadcasting Company, ABC network. ...
,
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
. It debuted on October 3, 1955 at noon (replacing ''Wrangler Jim''), then moved to 11 p.m. on April 2, 1956.
Tufeld was often heard as the announcer on
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
television shows, including the 1957–1959 series ''
Zorro
Zorro (Spanish language, Spanish for 'fox') is a fictional character created in 1919 by American pulp magazine, pulp writer Johnston McCulley, appearing in works set in the Pueblo of Los Angeles in Alta California. He is typically portrayed a ...
'' starring future ''Lost in Space'' lead
Guy Williams. He had periods as the house announcer on two ABC variety series, ''
The Hollywood Palace
''The Hollywood Palace'' was an hour-long American television variety show that was broadcast weekly Saturday nights (except September 1967 to January 1968, when it was seen Monday nights) on ABC from January 4, 1964, to February 7, 1970. Title ...
'' and ''
The Julie Andrews Hour
''The Julie Andrews Hour'' was a television variety series starring Julie Andrews that was produced by ATV and distributed by ITC Entertainment. It aired on the ABC network in the United States. Known as the Julie Andrews Show in the UK and air ...
''.
In 1954, he was cast in assorted roles in fifteen episodes of
Gene Autry Productions's
syndicated television series
A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...
, ''
Annie Oakley
Annie Oakley (born Phoebe Ann Mosey; August 13, 1860 – November 3, 1926) was an American sharpshooter who starred in Buffalo Bill's Wild West show.
Oakley developed hunting skills as a child to provide for her impoverished family in western ...
'', which starred
Gail Davis
Gail Davis (born Betty Jeanne Grayson; October 5, 1925 – March 15, 1997) was an American actress and singer, best known for her starring role as Annie Oakley in the 1950s television series ''Annie Oakley''.
Life and career
Early years
The d ...
and
Brad Johnson.
Tufeld is perhaps best known as the voice of the B9
Robot
A robot is a machine—especially one programmable by a computer—capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically. A robot can be guided by an external control device, or the control may be embedded within. Robots may be c ...
in the
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
television series ''
Lost in Space
''Lost in Space'' is an American science fiction television series, created and produced by Irwin Allen, which originally aired between 1965 and 1968 on CBS. The series was inspired by the 1812 novel ''The Swiss Family Robinson.'' The series fo ...
'', a role he reprised for the 1998
feature film
A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...
. He also provided narrations for many other
Irwin Allen
Irwin Allen (born Irwin O. Cohen, June 12, 1916 – November 2, 1991) was an American film and television producer and director, known for his work in science fiction, then later as the "Master of Disaster" for his work in the disaster film gen ...
productions, such as ABC's ''
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
''Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea'' is a 1961 American science fiction disaster film, produced and directed by Irwin Allen, and starring Walter Pidgeon and Robert Sterling. The supporting cast includes Peter Lorre, Joan Fontaine, Barbara Eden, M ...
'' and ''
The Time Tunnel
''The Time Tunnel'' is an American color science fiction TV series written around a theme of time travel adventure starring James Darren and Robert Colbert. The show was creator-producer Irwin Allen's third science-fiction television series and ...
'', and did voice work for the 1978 animated television series ''
Fantastic Four
The Fantastic Four is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in ''The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover dated Nov. 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism in the medium. It was the first ...
''. He narrated several episodes of ''
Thundarr the Barbarian
''Thundarr the Barbarian'' is an American Saturday morning animated series, created by Steve Gerber and produced by Ruby-Spears Productions. The series ran for two seasons on ABC from October 4, 1980, to October 31, 1981, and was rerun on NBC ...
'' (1980). He was the main title narrator on the 1979
DePatie-Freleng series,
''Spider-Woman'', as well as the main title announcer on the 1981 Marvel Productions show ''
Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends may refer to the following shows:
* ''Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends'' (1981 TV series), a 1981 cartoon series
* ''Spidey and His Amazing Friends'' (2021 TV series), a 2021 Disney Junior cartoon
{{Disam ...
''.
Personal life, death and legacy
Tufeld was married to Adrienne Tufeld (1948–2004, her death), and commissioned a home by architect
Gregory Ain
Gregory Samuel Ain (March 28, 1908 – January 9, 1988) was an American architect active in the mid-20th century. Working primarily in the Los Angeles area, Ain is best known for bringing elements of modern architecture to lower- and medium- ...
in 1952.
Tufeld died in 2012 of
congestive heart failure
Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, a ...
.
His son,
Bruce Tufeld, was a talent agent; he died in 2019.
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tufeld, Dick
1926 births
2012 deaths
Male actors from Los Angeles
American people of Russian-Jewish descent
American people of Canadian descent
American male voice actors
American male television actors
Burials at Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery
Jewish American male actors
Northwestern University School of Communication alumni
21st-century American Jews