In 1953, the Soviet acrobat, athlete, illusionist Anatoly Sokol (his real surname was Sadokha) has prepared an original attraction “The Miracles without Miracles”. The stunts, built on the use of telemechanics, high frequency currents, ultrasound, radio engineering (radio engineers A. Tyushkevich and V. Sidyakin), were performed for the first time in this attraction.
In 1966 Anatoly Sokol completed the work on the second cycle of the attraction. The new personage, “Stainless Administrator”, – a Mechanical Robot (moving independently around the arena) played the hapless assistant. The viewers were invited to talk (right from their places) on any phone number (using for this purpose a bottle of champagne), to roast an omelet (pouring the eggs on the cold frying pan in hands of illusionist). Also, above the arena, the chandelier was switched on, under which the various objects hung.
The son of Anatoly Sokol, Oleg, took over leadership of the attraction in 1967.
By the way, transliterated word “Sokol†can be translated to English as “Falconâ€.
See also here and here.
[March, 2012 – Thank you Vadym Shvachko in proving the corrections and additional text.]
[June 2013 – Vadym now has his own web site and allowed me to add these new pictures above from a more exhaustive article on Oleg Sokol. Thanks Vadym.]
A different Oleg, the famous artist of circus, actor Oleg Popov with a person, dressed as robot.
Oleg Popov is the world’s oldest clown (he was born in 1930). Oleg Popov lives and works in Germany since 1991. German audiences call him “Happy Hansâ€.
See also here.
See other early Humanoid Robots here.