Gort (The Day the Earth Stood Still)

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Gort full body view.

Gort upper chest and head.

Gort firing beam weapon.

Gort is a fictional robot in the movie The Day the Earth Stood Still, played by 7'7" tall actor Lock Martin. He is famous in part due to the phrase "Gort! Klaatu barada nikto!" from that movie, a favorite bit of trivia for film buffs. This phrase has subsequently been used in many movies, games, and other works of popular culture. The Gort suit was designed and built by Addison Hehr.

Gort is loosely based on Gnut, the robot protagonist of "Farewell to the Master" by Harry Bates, the original short story upon which the movie is based.

On screen, Gort is a large "seamless" robot that appears to be constructed from a single piece of "flexible metal". To achieve this effect, two costumes were used; one that was laced up in the back, and one that was laced in the front. Depending on the requirements of the shot, Martin would change costumes so this would not be detected.

In the original short story it becomes clear at the end that Gnut, not Klaatu, is the master. In the film, the relationship between the robot and the humanoid is less clearly defined, although Klaatu does at one point describe Gort as being part of an interstellar police force "to patrol the planets… and preserve the peace." He also claims that "There's no limit to what [Gort] could do. He could destroy the Earth."^[1]

A life size replica of Gort is on display at the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame in Seattle.^[2]