By way of the Mind Hacks blog, New Scientist presents the story of Elektro, "one of the world's first celebrity robots."
From the article:
Elektro was one of the world's first celebrity robots. Built by electrical manufacturer Westinghouse, and with electrical controls that were remarkably advanced for the time, he drew huge crowds at the 1939 New York World's Fair. During the Second World War, the robot was stored in the basement of the Weeks's family home in Ohio, where he became 8-year-old Jack's playmate. After the war, Elektro went back on the road, touring the US to adoring crowds, but his star soon began to wane. Shortly after 1960 and the release of Sex Kittens - in which Elektro starred alongside blonde bombshell Mamie Van Doren and a chimp called Voltaire - the robot's career hit a low. Not long after that, Elektro disappeared entirely.
A CAREER LOW?!?!? I think not.
Here's the trailer for Elektro's one and only feature film: Sex Kitten's Go to College. The following clip is not safe for workplaces from the late 1950s.
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2 comments:
Somewhere I have the longer version of this film that interpolates some extraordinarily hot softcore scenes (all presented as Thinko/Elecktro's dream sequence!) - sadly I don't know where I've stashed it as it made this otherwise pretty lame film quite watchable... nice trailer though, I like the way it explains who the guest stars are ('Steve Allen's TV Pal'- thanks, that clears a lot up).
Every possibility of intelligent comment left my brain thanks to the combination of robot, chimp and sexploitation.
Well done.
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