“Ruffnik’s moniker was a riff on the name of the first Russian space satellite “Sputnik,” launched the same year that 3-D Danny premiered on Channel 13. Constructed by the prop department at WKY-TV, Oklahoma City, and shipped to Channel 13 in a large, coffin-shaped crate, “Ruffnik” was a virtual duplicate of the robot used in the Oklahoma City version of 3-D Danny. (3D-Danny was Danny Williams)
Ed Scott and Red Koch sort through viewer’s entries
in a contest to name the show’s robot. The winning entry: Ruffnik!
See other early Humanoid Robots here.