circa 1935: Two women with Mac the Mechanical Man the radio-controlled robot invented by Leighton Hilbert. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
[Note: I don’t think Mac is radio-controlled, but there is certainly is a visual suggestion of being remotely controlled via a umbilical cord and a control box. Most likely part of the illusion. Mac is most probably a fake, a “man-in-a-costume”, given the air holes, eye holes in the ‘neck’ and strange shaped chest/neck/head, and stability in the sand! ]
03 Apr 1934, Venice, Los Angeles, California, USA — Venice Ca: Introducing Mac,the mechanical man; Weighing 250 pounds, and 7.5 Feet in Height. This unique robot is controled by remote control. These Venice Beach Girls are taking Mac out for a dip in the Ocean with the aid of the inventor. Leighton Hilbert at the control box. Photograph, 4/3/1934. — Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
Pics from the LA Picture Library.