Dick Gautier

Richard Gilbert Gautier (Go-tee-AY; October 30, 1931 – January 13, 2017) was an American actor. 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, as well as for originating the role of Conrad Birdie in the Broadway musical Bye Bye Birdie.

Career Gautier started his career as a singer and a nightclub comic at the hungry i in San Francisco. He joined ASCAP in 1959 after serving in the United States Navy. 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. Tattletales; Showoffs; You Don't Say!; Liar's Club; Password Plus; Body Language; Super Password; Win, Lose or Draw; Whew!; and the TV version of Can You Top This?

Batman 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.

Voice-over roles 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.

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

Personal life and death

Richard Gilbert Gautier was born in Culver City, California, on October 30, 1931. and his final marriage was to Tess Hightower, a psychologist.

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

Filmography