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L.I.S.A.
CONVENTIONS by
This is an incomplete history of the Lost in Space Australia Conventions. It is incomplete as it contains, at present, only my photos and memories. It is my aim though to gather other fans photos and memories to show these Conventions from the perspective of the fans. So, for the time being, have a read, enjoy the photos and see what L.I.S.A Conventions are all about.
L.I.S.A Conventions have become something of a legend in the world of Lost in Space fandom having grown from simple get togethers to spectaculars involving overseas guests. The club itself has grown over the years and now includes many overseas members as well as sporting a very healthy local base. The L.I.S.A Club is one of the few, if not the only Lost in Space Fan club that holds regular conventions. In New South Wales the Club holds Conventions three times a year at the Bankstown Sports Club as well as organising Overseas spectaculars. Demand from fans in other states has become so great that in recent years the Club has taken their Convention to Melbourne and plans to take it to other state capitals are being discussed.
The Conventions began back in 1992 on September the 12th as part of a DOUBLE TREAT MINICON with Astrex (a Star Trek Fan Club). While the Trek portion of the day took up most of the morning with debates and screenings the L.I.S.A portion delivered the first of what would be many Guests for the Club. That guest was Michal Dutkiewcz. Michal is an unassuming friendly man who was at the time the artist for Innovations Comics Lost in Space Series. He also happened to be an Australian and was flown in from Adelaide to be the Minicon’s special guest. L.I.S.A Cons have a reputation for being friendly affairs and this first event was no exception. This MINICON was my first ever Convention and like so many others there I was amazed to see so many other fans of Lost in space there. For most of the morning I frequented the dealer tables and did very little mingling and was happy just to watch and listen to the others there. I noticed a man sitting by himself at a table. On this table he had a very large brief case and after sometime curiosity got the better of me and I approached the man to ask him what was in the case. This man was Michal Dutkiewicz and he was only to happy to not only display his art work for the series but also draw every thing and anything for Convention goers. On that day my son, Chris, and I became the first people there to have Michal sketch us some L.I.S and Trek related pictures - mine was Penny and the Robot, Chris opted for the Enterprise D. He is a very interesting man and discussed the direction of the Innovations Comic and how he became the artist for the series. Michal
became a regular guest at L.I.S.A. Conventions and was guest
of honour at the
In addition to building the Robot Lewis has built several props for many motion pictures and for the Bob May - Dick Tufeld Tour Lewis constructed a copy of Robby the Robot as part of the show. Robby, like the Lost in Space Robot, has become a regular guest at the L.I.S.A Cons. Guest regularly have photos of themselves taken with both Robots and attract both adults and children alike. The
first international guest for the L.I.S.A Club was none other
than Dr. Smith himself, Jonathan Harris in the "Never
fear, Smith is here" tour of 1994. The Tour was
a The Club centred on local Conventions after this tour and delighted fans with special and rare footage of the stars and the series, provided by Glenn. Glenn has been the man responsible for bringing out the Lost in Space Stars and maintains a very close relationship with them all. Two years later in 1996 the L.I.S.A Club played host to it’s next guests with ‘The Robinson Robot - The Body and Soul Tour’ featuring Dick Tufeld and Bob May. Bob and Dick are both very friendly people but as different as you can get. Dick is a quiet man who has had a successful and lengthy career as an announcer in the film industry and is happy to remain out of the camera’s lens.
He is still amazed that after the volume of work he has made he is still best remembered for being the Robot’s voice. Bob on the other hand is from the old school of performing, vaudeville, and entertains at every opportunity. Both men told tales of their dealings with L.I.S producer Irwin Allen and this tour was the first time anywhere in the world where they had appeared together. While they never met much on the set of L.I.S I found it interesting to hear how their paths crossed many times. Both featured in many of Allen’s various television shows and both had worked with the only true KING of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley! Dick did the voice overs for ELVIS - That’s the Way it is, while Bob starred with Elvis in two feature films, Jailhouse Rock and Roustabout. A small segment of Jailhouse Rock featuring Bob was shown where Bob demonstrated another of his many talents, Dancing! This tour was held over two weeks which included a two Convention, several dinners, a Robot Movie night where both men showed their favourite episodes and gave commentary on them as well as the regular guest spots for the media. The two day Convention day was broken into three parts that saw Bob and Dick perform separately and then together. Dick gave an example of how his voice was dubbed in after each episode was filmed while Bob showed just how hard it was for him to work inside the Robot. After each performance both Bob and Dick mingled with the audience to talk and take photos. Again after their visit both men, like Jonathan, write exclusively for Alpha Control. Bob also has his own Internet Site and regularly chats with fans via the Net.
The trip down to Melbourne saw the Bus stop at several places and the Crew play tourist while on the road the bus was rocking with singing and laughter. Committee member Dai Buckley performed the super human task of piloting the Bus most of the way there while Ken McLenahan and Glenn shared driving chores at other times. The return trip saw Glenn and Ken serve most of the driving duties. This is amazing when you consider the amount of work ALL the crew did over the one day stay in Melbourne! One curious occurrence on the downward trip was that on many occasions the Bus was passed by cars where the occupants were giving us the two finger salute! The reason for this became evident when the Bus stopped at Gundagai and discovered that Robby the Robot’s torso had slid over and his hand was now pointing upwards giving other road travellers the afore mentioned salute! Special mention should be given to my son, Chris, who was 10 years old at the time and the only child on the bus. Trapped in a small space with a dozen or so manic L.I.S fans, it is to his credit that he arrived in Melbourne with his sanity intact! 200 fans attended the Convention at St. Hilda’s College and enjoyed several L.I.S episodes as well as clips from the then unreleased movie and snippets from the Jonathan Harris and Body and Soul Tours. When asked if the fans wanted L.I.S.A to return, the result was a resounding YES!!!!!!! When L.I.S.A returned home it was time to prepare for the Mark Goddard Tour. |
first independent L.I.S.A Convention held several months later.
Along with Michal that Convention featured the first appearance
of the L.I.S.A Club’s most popular and regular guest, the Robinson
Robot. This Robot was built by Lewis Morley
and was initial used as a prop in a series of Commercials for
Mitshubishi Star wagons before being purchased by Glenn
for the Club. Lewis not only built the Robot but also played
inside it against such stars as Jonathan Harris, Dick
Tufeld, Bob May and Mark Goddard on their Australian
Tours. Lewis delighted fans by telling tales of the Robot’s
construction and then by showing how actor Bob May climbed into
the Robot to perform.
success with each of Jonathan’s performances and personal appearances
becoming sell outs. Jonathan was wanted by all areas of the
Australian Media and made appearances on such shows as ‘Midday’
and ‘Hey, Hey it’s Saturday’ as well
as several news programmes and radio shows. Jonathan hosted
several dinners with fans and entertained them with stories
about his Hollywood career as well as his time on Lost in Space.
As a result of his appearances here and the warm feelings he
has for his Australian Fans Jonathan now writes exclusively
for Alpha Control, L.I.S.A’s club magazine. Jonathan
makes it a habit to reply to all his fans and, like fans here,
is looking forward to returning to Australia.
