The Bell Data Communications Seminar was an annual seminar hosted by The Bell System. In 1963, Jim Henson created two films for the seminar starring a puppet robot: a 3-minute short film discussing the relationship between man and machine; and a 7-minute film, "Charlie Magnetico," focusing on communication problems at Magnetico Electronics and featuring Jerry Juhl as Charlie (and all other on-camera characters, with a supporting cast of unidentified hands).

The same robot had previously been used in a sketch for a food fair appearance in Germany in 1961, and later appeared on The Jack Paar Program in 1965 and The Mike Douglas Show in 1966.

External links

• AT&T Archives Robot YouTube Video
• AT&T Archives Charlie Magnetico YouTube Video
• Henson Archives Food Fair YouTube Video (robot at 1:29)
• Jim Henson's notes and sketch ideas for the AT&T seminar, 1963.