Joseph Dixon
UPDATE: Foster Brooks’ granddaughter, Teri Elmendorf McLean, came across this story and contacted us with a crucial detail that was missing…
McLean shared that she had reached out to the MGM Grand years ago, following the robot’s removal from the casino floor and after Brooks’ passing, to inquire if she could buy the robot.
“They informed me that he had already been dismantled, and the parts were used elsewhere,” she said.
Thus, the Foster Brooks robot is now spread across the MGM Grand.
EARLIER: In December 1993, guests at the MGM Grand expected to see Dorothy, Scarecrow, Cowardly Lion, and Tin Man as they followed the yellow brick road through the casino. Kirk Kerkorian’s newly relocated resort showcased its ownership of all MGM movie rights by recreating the Emerald Forest right in the heart of the casino.
But a surprise awaited the travelers on this road when they passed the first bar on the right. Something called out to them.
It wasn’t magical talking trees, but something stranger. Animatronic Foster Brooks came to life every half hour, lip-syncing to a 20-minute comedy routine recorded by the real Brooks decades ago.
“I said: ‘I’m going to buy a condominium,’” the robot mimicked the recording. “She said: ‘I don’t care, I’m still going to take the pill.’”
The Other Tin Man
So WTF was an animatronic Foster Brooks doing in the Emerald Forest? And why, of all the entertainers that a multimillion-dollar entertainment corporation could have immortalized at a Las Vegas bar in 1993 — from Dean Martin to Dudley Moore to anyone from “Cheers” — did it choose Foster Brooks for the animatronic treatment?
We’ll have the answers to all the questions for you shortly.
As someone on the theme park podcast @PodcastTheRide tweeted last year, “If you’re looking for a new most obscure reference book on Earth, try Foster Brooks’ drunken animatronic in the MGM Grand lobby bar.”
“Foster Brooks’ robot is like Nedra Harrison among robots,” noted SpongeBob SquarePants screenwriter Jack Pendarvis in his 2008 Blogspot blog. “Neglected by our culture! Why does the lack of information about Foster Brooks the robot depress me?”
Well, Jack, here you go. We guess 16 years late is better than never.
By the way, since we didn’t know either, Nedra “Kewpie” Harrison served as the basis for the Dragon Lady in the 1939 comic book Terry and the Pirates, a model for Salvador Dali’s paintings, and a secret agent for the OSS during World War II. However, if you type “Nedra Harrison” into Google today, you’ll find the surgeon from Scottsdale, Arizona, on the first page and a half.
Who The Hell Was Foster Brooks?
Foster Brooks built a career pretending to be a drunk, calling himself “The Loveable Lush.” His act, full of mumbling and hiccupping, was a hit in nightclubs, on talk shows, and during Dean Martin Roasts. One of his most famous jokes was about founding “Alcoholics Unanimous.”
Brooks got his break when Steve Allen invited him on his show in the early ’60s. Perry Como also played a key role, insisting Brooks open for him in Las Vegas despite initial pushback. Brooks went on to become a top-paid opening act on the Strip in the ’70s.
By 1993, his career had slowed, but he eagerly accepted a $10K-per-year deal with MGM Grand to license his likeness for a robot attraction.
So Who’s To Blame For The Robot?
The Foster Brooks robot at MGM Grand was commissioned by Fred Benninger, the chair of MGM Grand Inc., simply because Brooks was one of his favorite comedians. The robot, built by Sally Dark Rides for $150K and requiring 825 man-hours, was highly realistic for its time, with 30 lifelike movements powered by compressed air.
However, Wood’s company did a great job of creating this thing, considering the technology of the time.
Its 30 lifelike movements were achieved with compressed air, so every time it swiveled in its chair, it sounded much quieter, like an auto repair shop at work. But it appeared totally realistic. In fact, one night during the graveyard shift, a man, who was as tipsy as Brooks pretended to be, observed the robot without realizing it wasn’t a real person.
At the end of the set, according to a Betty Boop bartender, the guy left the robot a tip at its feet, apparently because it wouldn’t take the $2 from his hands.
Meeting Of The Brooks Brothers
Veteran Vegas entertainment journalist Mike Weatherford came up with the clever idea to bring Foster Brooks, who lived part-time in Las Vegas, to see his robotic double for the first time in April 1994 and write about it for his column in the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
“I arranged the whole thing myself,” Weatherford told Casino.org. “When I reached Foster Brooks, I was surprised he had never seen his robot before. I remember having to pick him up at his house and drive him there.”
At 81, Brooks moved slowly with a cane due to severe gout. Weatherford recalled, “I could feel every painful step he took.”
When the meeting occurred, a small crowd gathered, likely intrigued by the unusual sight of a man observing his robotic twin while a professional photographer took pictures.
Brooks stared intently at his robotic replica and finally said, “I look like an old man, which is what I am. It’s better than I’ll look when I’m dead, I guess.”
Terminated
The Brooks robot, along with the non-animated “Wizard of Oz” figures, was removed during a renovation between 1996 and 1997. According to some accounts, the figures were in poor condition and were discarded.
A popular but unverified story suggests that Mike Tyson, upset by the robot, destroyed it before one of his fights at MGM Grand. “I never heard that one,” said Wood, adding that he attempted to buy the robot back, but MGM refused to sell it.
Brooks also wanted the robot when MGM was finished with it, Weatherford noted, but that never happened. Brooks retired to Encino, California, where he passed away at 89 in 2001—eight years into the robot’s 10-year contract.
It’s comforting to think that the robot might be found one day in an old MGM warehouse or storage unit. Weatherford remains hopeful. “Somebody has it,” he said. “Anything with that kind of curiosity value? I’m sure.”
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