Richard Gautier (Go-DEE-eh)(October 30, 1931 – January 13, 2017) was an American actor, comedian, singer, and caricaturist. He was known for his television roles as Hymie the Robot in the television series Get Smart, and Robin Hood in the TV comedy series When Things Were Rotten,[1] as well as for originating the role of Conrad Birdie in the Broadway musical Bye Bye Birdie.

Dick Gautier
Gautier as Robin Hood in When Things Were Rotten (1975)
Born
Richard Gilbert Gautier

(1931-10-30)October 30, 1931
DiedJanuary 13, 2017(2017-01-13) (aged 85)
Occupations
  • Actor
  • comedian
  • singer
  • caricaturist
Years active1959–1993
Spouses
  • Beverly J. Gerber
    (m. 1954; div. 19??)
(m. 1967; div. 1979)
Tess Hightower
(m. 2003)
Children3

Career

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Gautier started his career as a singer and a nightclub comic at the hungry i in San Francisco.[2] He joined ASCAP in 1959 after serving in the United States Navy.[2] In 1960, he portrayed fictional rock 'n roll star Conrad Birdie in the original Broadway theatre production of Bye Bye Birdie, receiving a Tony Award nomination for his performance.[3] He would later appear with two of his Birdie stars in two films: with Kay Medford in Ensign Pulver in 1964, and with Dick Van Dyke in Divorce American Style in 1967.[2]

 
From the TV series Here We Go Again (1973). From top: Dick Gautier, Nita Talbot, Larry Hagman and Diane Baker.

Game show panelist

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During the 1970s and 1980s, Gautier was a frequent game show panelist.[2] He appeared on Match Game; Family Feud;[4] Tattletales; Showoffs; You Don't Say!; Liar's Club; Password Plus; Body Language; Super Password; Win, Lose or Draw; and the TV version of Can You Top This?

Batman

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In 1973, when Burt Ward and Yvonne Craig reprised their Batman roles (as Robin and Batgirl, respectively) for a TV public service announcement about equal pay for women, Adam West, who was trying to distance himself from the Batman role at the time, declined to participate. Gautier filled in for West as Batman on this occasion.[5]

Voice-over roles

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Gautier performed several voice-over roles in animation, including Rodimus Prime in the third season of The Transformers animated series from 1986 to 1987, as well as Serpentor in the G.I. Joe series, Louis from the 1986 cartoon Foofur, Spike the Dog in Tom & Jerry Kids, some additional voices in Hanna-Barbera's The New Yogi Bear Show, Wooly Smurf in The Smurfs, and several voices for Inhumanoids, including Crygen and Pyre and their combined form, Magnakor.[6]

Celebrity caricatures

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Gautier was known for his caricatures of celebrities and wrote several instructional books on caricature, drawing, and cartooning.[7]

Personal life

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Gautier and Misty Rowe in When Things Were Rotten, 1975

Richard Gilbert Gautier was born in Culver City, California, on October 30, 1931.[2] His father was a grip and his mother was a costume seamstress.[2]

Gautier was first married to Beverly J. Gerber; the marriage ended in divorce after they had three children together. His second wife was actress Barbara Stuart,[8] and his final marriage was to Tess Hightower, a psychologist.[3]

His son Randy, nicknamed Rand, had both a brief stint in pornography under the name Austin Moore, and would in 1995 steal a videotape from the home of Tommy Lee and Pamela Anderson, containing footage they had filmed of themselves having sex while on vacation. Rand, along with a distributor, released it on the Internet, and it became one of the first widespread celebrity sex tapes.[9][10]

Gautier died from pneumonia on January 13, 2017, at an assisted living facility in Arcadia, California, following a long illness.[2][3]

Filmography

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Year Title Role Notes
1964 Ensign Pulver Stefanowski
1965 Gidget Mark Hillman
1965–1970 Get Smart Hymie the Robot 6 episodes
1966 Bewitched Monsieur Ober Episode: “Samantha the Dressmaker”; Season 2, Episode 24
1967 Mr. Terrific Hal Walters
1967 Divorce American Style Larry Strickland
1968 Maryjane Bearded prisoner Uncredited/Writer
1969 The Flying Nun Bruce 2 episodes (two-part story arc) – "The Great Casino Robbery" Season 2, Episodes 16 & 17
1972 Wild in the Sky Diver Writer and producer
1973 The Mary Tyler Moore Show Ed Cavanaugh Episode: "Hi There, Sports Fans"; Season 4, Episode 5
1974 Hawkins Episode: "Murder in the Slave Trade"; Season 1, Episode 5
1974 Kolchak: The Night Stalker Carl Kolchak's swinging roommate on the cruise Episode: "The Werewolf"; Season 1, Episode 5
1974 The Rockford Files Carl Episode: "The Countess"; Season 1, Episode 3
1975 The Manchu Eagle Murder Caper Mystery Oscar Cornell
1975 When Things Were Rotten Robin Hood 13 episodes
1976 Charlie's Angels Barry Kingsbrook Episode: "Homes, $weet Homes"; Season 4, Episode 18
1977 Fun with Dick and Jane Dr. Will
1977 The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries Tail Gunner Episode: "The Mystery of the Flying Courier; Season 1, Episode 9
1977 Billy Jack Goes to Washington Governor Hubert Hopper
1978 Wonder Woman (TV series) Count Cagliostro Episode: "Diana's Disappearing Act"; Season 2, Episode 15
1978 The Eddie Capra Mysteries Lee Harriman Episode: "The Intimate Friends of Janet Wilde"; Season 1, Episode 7
1979 $weepstake$ Victor Season 1, Episode 7
1980 Marathon Bud TV movie
1981 Happy Days Dr. Ludlow Episode: "Welcome to My Nightmare"; Season 8, Episode 11
1985–1989 The Smurfs Wooly Smurf Voice
1985–1986 Inhumanoids Crygen, Magnakor, Pyre Voice
1986 Foofur Louis Voice
1986–1987 The Transformers Hot Rod/Rodimus Prime Voice
1986 G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero Serpentor Voice
1986 GoBots: Battle of the Rock Lords Brimstone / Bugsie / Klaws / Narlihog Voice
1987 G.I. Joe: The Movie Serpentor Voice
1987 DuckTales Shifty's Pal / Mr. Wolf 2 episodes; Voice
1987 Matlock Bobby Freemont Episode: "The Gambler"; Season 2, Episode 7
1988 Glitch! Julius Lazar
1988 The New Yogi Bear Show Additional Voices
1989 Get Smart Again Hymie the Robot (Returning from 1960s series)
1990–1993 Tom & Jerry Kids Spike Bulldog Voice
1992 Batman: The Animated Series Teddy Guest star/Voice
1992 The Naked Truth The Bartender
1992 Garfield and Friends Skip Yenta Guest star/Voice

Bibliography

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  • Gautier, Dick (1989). The Creative Cartoonist. Perigee Books. ISBN 0-399-51434-1.
  • Gautier, Dick (1993). Child's Garden of Weirdness. Tuttle Publishing. ISBN 978-0804818254.
  • Gautier, Dick (1994). Drawing and Cartooning 1,001 Figures in Action. Perigee Books. ISBN 978-0399518591.
  • Gautier, Dick (1995). Drawing and Cartooning 1,001 Caricatures. Perigee Books. ISBN 978-0399519116.
  • Gautier, Dick (1997). Creating Comic Characters. Perigee Books. ISBN 978-0399523519.

References

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  1. ^ Blake, Meredith (January 14, 2017). "Dick Gautier, best known as 'Get Smart's' Hymie the robot, dies at 85". Los Angeles Times.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Keepnews, Peter (January 17, 2017). "Dick Gautier, 85, of 'Bye Bye Birdie'". The New York Times. p. A16. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c Barnes, Mike (January 14, 2017). "Dick Gautier, Hymie the Robot on Get Smart, Dies at 85". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 14, 2017.
  4. ^ "Family Feud (1989): Funny Men vs Funny Women" on YouTube
  5. ^ Lamar, Cyriaque (June 19, 2011). "In this bizarre PSA, Batgirl almost kills Batman over unequal pay". io9. Archived from the original on October 6, 2021. Retrieved January 14, 2017. In this 1971 PSA ...″ ″[2024 ed.note: copyright date is clearly 1973]
  6. ^ "Dick Gautier Biography". Retrieved January 14, 2017.
  7. ^ "Dick Gautier Chats with the Café". Classic Film and TV Café. April 2013. Archived from the original on May 23, 2013. Retrieved January 14, 2017.
  8. ^ Grimes, William (May 19, 2011). "Barbara Stuart, TV Actress, Is Dead at 81". The New York Times.
  9. ^ "Where Is Rand Gauthier From 'Pam & Tommy' Today?". Bustle. January 27, 2022. Retrieved February 7, 2022.
  10. ^ Clair, Josh St (February 2, 2022). "The True Story of Rand Gauthier, Who Stole the Pamela Anderson Sex Tape". Men's Health. Retrieved February 7, 2022.
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