Remembering Dick Tufeld

Dick Tufeld and friend

In the history of Hollywood and television, there have been many distinct voices that resonate in our memories, either from the quality of the voice, or a saying or phrase that is tied to it. We sometimes never known their names, or much about them, but we recognize their voices, and what they say and have said in the past that make them memorable.

Dick Tufeld is one of those individuals. When you see or hear his name, only the most attentive fan of science-fiction will recognize it. However, if you say the phrase that one of the characters he gave voice to has said in the past, memories are instantly triggered and smiles come to the faces of fans. All you have to do to remember him is to hear the words, “That does not compute,” or “Danger, Will Robinson, Danger, Danger!”

While Tufeld is best known for being the voice of The Robot in both the 1965-1968 TV series, “Lost in Space,” and the 1998 movie, his voice has been heard over the years in many different shows, including “Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea,” “Time Tunnel,” and, of course, he was also the introductory narrator for “Lost in Space.”

He also did voice over work for many cartoon shows, including “Fantastic Four” (1978), “Thundarr the Barbarian,” “Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends,” and reprised the role of The Robot in episodes of “The Simpsons.”

Tufeld was a man who knew adversity. For several years, he suffered from a tumor on one of his vocal cords which left him unable to speak at all for sometime, until he had surgery which not only removed the tumor, but left his voice just as strong and clear as it was in the 1960′s. There is a story told about Tufeld about when he did the voice over work for Gallo Wines. The company had decided to change ad agencies, and were trying out new voices for their ads, and Tufeld was not invited. Tufeld submitted an audition tape under an assumed name, and was called in for an interview. When the ad manager discovered who he was, he was embarrassed, and Tufeld got to keep the job with Gallo.

When death finally stilled his voice this week, the world of science-fiction lost one of those treasured voices that will live on not only in the recordings of DVDs, but also in the minds, memories, and ultimately the hearts of fans of science-fiction around the world. All of us at SoEntertain.Me send out our thoughts and prayers to his friends and family at this sad time.