TV Funnyman Dick Gautier Dead At 85

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com)  —TV funnyman Dick Gautier had died.

The actor was 85.

He died Friday in Arcadia at an assisted living facility. He was born in Culver City on Oct. 30, 1931.

Gautier first came to fame in the Broadway musical "Bye Bye Birdie" playing an Elvis-like hip swinging singer. He was nominated for a Tony but bypassed for the role when the play was turned into a smash Hollywood film.

He was perhaps best known to TV audiences for playing Hymie the Robot on "Get Smart," playing Robin Hood in the 1975 Mel Brooks spoof "When Things Were Rotten" and countless game shows (including "Match Game," "Tattletales." "Body Language," "Win, Lose or Draw" to name a few) where he told shameless and self-deprecating stories.

He only appeared as Hymie in six episodes (and once in a "Get Smart" TV movie) but he made an indelible mark playing the likable but intellectually-challenged and clumsy robot.

Gautier was once quotes as saying, "Hymie never stifled my career. He only enhanced it. I know kids who were named Hymie because they looked like me."

Often cast as "the handsome guy," his other credits included "Mister Terrific," "The Patty Duke Show," "Charlie's Angels,""Wonder Woman," "Bewitched," "Love Boat," "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" "Nip/Tuck,"and "Murder, She Wrote."

His film credits included "Divorce, American Style," "Billy Jack Goes To Washington" and "Fun With Dick And Jane."

In his later years, Cautier became a voice over artist for cartoons  ("Transformers," "Smurfs," "Duck Tales") and an artist who was known for illustrations and caricatures.

He was married three times. Gautier is survived by three children, four grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

For more about Gautier, click here for his official website.