In Loving Memory of Dick Tufeld
Dick Tufeld (born December 11, 1926 - died January 22, 2012) was an American actor, announcer, narrator, and voice actor from the 1950s onward.
He is perhaps best known as the voice of the Robot in the TV series Lost in Space, a role he reprised for the 1998 feature film. He also provided the narration voiceover for many other Irwin Allen productions, such as Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea and The Time Tunnel, and did voice work for the 1978 animated television series Fantastic Four.
His voice career began in radio. He was the announcer on The Amazing Mr. Malone on the American Broadcasting Company in early 1950 (before the show moved to New York and NBC), then on Alan Reed's Falstaff's Fables, an ABC five-minute program, starting in the fall radio season of 1950. From October 25, 1952 to March 19, 1955, he was the announcer for the entire run of ABC Radio's Space Patrol. He moved to television news, anchoring The Three Star Final, a 15-minute newscast on KABC-TV, Los Angeles, which debuted on October 3, 1955 at 12 noon (replacing Wrangler Jim), then moved to 11 p.m. on April 2, 1956.
He was often used as the announcer on various Disney TV shows including the 1957-59 series, Zorro, which starred future Lost in Space lead Guy Williams. He had stints as the house announcer on two ABC variety series The Hollywood Palace and The Julie Andrews Hour.