Richard Gautier

Richard "Dick" Gautier
Born	Richard Gauthier October 30, 1931 (1931-10-30) (age 80) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1959–present
Spouse	Barbara Stuart (m. 1967, divorced)
Website
http://www.dickgautier.com/

Richard "Dick" Gautier (born October 30, 1931) is an actor, comedian, composer, singer and author. Among his most well-known television roles are for Hymie the Robot in the television series Get Smart,^[1] and Robin Hood in the short-lived TV comedy series When Things Were Rotten, a Mel Brooks send-up of the classic legend.^[2]

Career

Early career

Gautier started his career as a night-club comic and a singer for dance orchestras; 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.^{[citation needed]} He also portrayed the clumsy robot "Hymie" on TV's Get Smart.

As a game show panelist

During the 1970s and 1980s, Gautier was a frequent game show panelist, appearing on Match Game, 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?.^{[citation needed]} He also briefly tried his hand at emceeing on the early 1970s celebrity couples game It's Your Bet.^{[citation needed]}

Batman

In 1972, 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) was absent. Instead, Gautier filled-in for West as Batman.^{[citation needed]}

Voice-over roles

Gautier has performed several voice-over roles in animation, including Rodimus Prime in the third season of the Transformers animated series from 1986–1987 (taking over for Judd Nelson, who previously performed the role in the 1986 Transformers movie), as well as Serpentor in the G.I. Joe series. He was also narrator for Discovery Channel's Search for Adventure.^{[citation needed]}

Caricatures of celebrities

He is known for his caricatures of celebrities, and has written several instructional books on caricature, drawing, and cartooning, including Drawing and Cartooning 1001 Caricatures, Drawing and Cartooning 1001 Figures in Action and Creating Comic Characters.

Personal life

Gautier has three children from his first marriage. He was divorced from his second wife, actress Barbara Stuart, and is currently married to psychologist Dr. Tess Hightower.

References

1. ^ "Get Smart (1965) - Full cast and crew". IMDb.com, Inc.. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058805/fullcredits#cast. Retrieved 2009-07-17. 
2. ^ "When Things Were Rotten (1975)". IMDb.com, Inc.. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072585. Retrieved 2009-07-17. 

External links

• Official website
• Richard Gautier at the Internet Movie Database
• Richard Gautier at the Internet Broadway Database
• Interview at The Transformers.net

Preceded by Adam West

Actors to portray Batman 1972

Succeeded by Adam West

Preceded by Judd Nelson

Voice of Hot Rod/Rodimus Prime 1986-1988

Succeeded by Paul Dobson

Persondata
Name	Gautier, Richard
Alternative names	Gauthier, Richard
Short description	American actor, comedian, composer, singer and author
Date of birth	1931-10-30
Place of birth	Los Angeles, California, United States
Date of death
Place of death