Winchester Chuck E. Cheese V1 (Animatronic)

The Winchester Chuck E. Cheese V1 bot is an animatronic which debuted at the first Pizza Time Theatre location at San Jose, CA (370 S Winchester Blvd) in May of 1977. It would be surpassed by an upgraded design at the store a short time later.

History

Proof of Concept Animatronic

The animatronic first began as a concept prototype made by Harold Goldbrandsen and his team at Fantasy Forest Manufacturing. This initial concept had the same general shape and style as the final animatronic, but took many more queues from the Ricky Rat Walkaround, being without clothes, a pink stomach, and more fur coverage around the mouth.

Final Animatronic

The final robot would be done by the store's opening, complete with a plaid vest, yellow shirt, pink bowtie, and the iconic red derby hat.

Version 2 Upgrade

The bot would later be upgraded to the Winchester Chuck E. Cheese V2 animatronic sometime in 1977 to 1978. This would be a complete overhaul of the bot, allowing more movements, alongside an added microphone and cigar. It would be upgraded alongside the Crusty the Cat animatronic presumably to raise the quality standard of the show.

Corporate Move

After the upgrade to the V2 bot, the V1 would presumably be sent somewhere else for storage or display. It isn't clear where the bot was located, though by 1980 the corporate office would be moved to its final California location in Sunnyvale, CA, where the bot can be spotted displayed in an unknown room. By this point the V1 bot was also given a microphone, though it is unclear if this change was made after its removal from the Winchester location.