The bot would be at Winchester from Summer 1978 until its removal in 1981 when Winchester would receive Cyberamics.
History
Pre-Production
In or Before Summer 1978, Pizza Time Theatre would ask Fantasy Forest & Harold Goldbrandsen to create a second model version of the Chuck E. & Crusty bots.
Release
San Jose, California (370 South Winchester Boulevard)
The bot would replace the V1 bot in Summer 1978, with it being in the RIght main entrance wall corner. The bot was programmed to the Madame Oink I Showtape. The bot would later be programmed to the Foxy Colleen I Showtape. The final confirmed Showtape the bot had was Madame Oink II. The bot would appear in an Australian broadcast known as Four Corners in mid to late 1979. The bot was also seen in the Great All American Pizza Show Franchisee pamphlet. The bot was sent to the Pizza Time Theatre Sunnyvale, CA Corporate Office in 1981 when Winchester got Cyberamics.
Bankruptcy
Once Pizza Time Theatre went bankrupt, Jul Kamen, a costume designer at PTT, rescued it and two other animatronics from Winchester, Pasqually and Jasper T. Jowls. Jul Kamen had the three animatronics on display in her home, even creating specific patterns to have Jasper and Chuck E. match the curtains in her home.
Post-Merger
After the SPP / PTT merger, Jul Kamen gave permission to the newly formed Showbiz Pizza Time to display the Winchester animatronics in their Support Center. The three animatronics were rigged to a button to short Pizza Time Theatre skit. The characters wore down to a point where they could not properly function. Brian Hagan of the Entertainment Department made an attempt to repair the characters, even replacing the original cylinders with the newer Bimba branded cylinders. However, this got to a point where they had to be turned off and only had the skit audio playing.[1]
In 2004 during a remodel, the Pasqually and Jasper animatronics were destroyed; presumably ordered by Gene Cramm. Chuck E. was rescued by the Entertainment Department and displayed in the programming room for the time being. The bot had also deteriorated slightly over time.
Present
Gabriel Vasquez urged Jul Kamen to get the Chuck E. animatronic back into her possession. Sr. Director of CEC, Paul Tenayuca, managed to return the animatronic back to Jul Kamen. The next summer she moved and no longer had the space to put the animatronic. In 2011, Jul got into contact with Gabriel and sold him the animatronic, however Gabriel also didn't have the space to put it on display, so he then sold it to Travis Schafer in 2014. The animatronic now sits on display with Crusty The Cat (V2).[2]
Design
Base
The bot had a tan latex mask, tan ears, & tan hands. The bot had Gray fur around its body & head. The bot's head was only half a circle, which was most likely also the case with the V1 bot. The bot had yellow eyes, Gray eyelids, & black eylashes. The bot also had eyebrows that were only on the V2 Bot, they were not on the v1 or Kooser bots. The bot had a black nose & a buck tooth piece.
Suit
The bot had a orange & white vest, a Yellow Undershirt, 3 black buttons, a black bow-tie, and a red & yellow derby hat.
Oddly, a Blue & white suit version was seen at the Support Center & Dept. 18. This outfit had a Blue vest/over shirt, a white Undershirt, & only 2 buttons. The Dept. 18 outfit had all 3 buttons. Strangely, The bot is missing it's bow-tie as of now.
An Uncle Sam hat was created & used from 2002/2003 up until 2004. AN image of the bot shows a Black hat on the bot.
Accessories
The bot had a gray & black mic, and a cigar. The bot's cigar was removed sometime between its time at Sunnyvale to Dept. 18 in 2006. The bot currently has no mic.
Movements
Mouth
Eyes Left
Eyes Right
Eyes Up
Eyes Down
Eyelids
Ears
Head Up
Head Tilt
Head Turn Right
Body Turn Right + Left Arm Twist
Right Arm Up
Right Elbow
Parts
The Eye Assembly is the mechanical assembly that would've moved the eyes of Chuck E. up, down, left, and right.
The double-acting cylinder that makes it possible for the animatronic to move its eyes up and down is mounted to the fiberglass shell and onto the assembly of the double-acting cylinder that makes the eyes turn left and right.
Part Gallery
The Eyelid Assembly is the cylinder assembly that controlled the eyelids of Chuck E.
The two single-acting cylinders that control the eyelids would be bolted into the base of the head and would connect to the eyelids via the piston rods alongside springs going back onto the cap of the cylinder. These eyelids would be synchronized in movement by being connected by a 3-way connector piece.
Part Gallery
Chuck E.'s torso is a gray faux fur coat-like cosmetic with a zipper in the back that would reveal the hole in Chuck E.'s back for maintenance.
The Chuck E. and Crusty animatronics both used the same hand molds for their respective props, for Chuck E., he had a microphone in his right hand. The prop microphone had a black head and a silver body with a cord coming out from the end that would lead into the other side of the frame Chuck E. originally was placed in.
in Chuck E.'s left hand was his infamous prop cigar. The cigar gave the appearance of being already lit with the intentional wear and tear and redness given to the outside end of the prop. The prop also appears to be split in half so it could give the impression of it being held by his left hand.
Gallery
Chuck E. Cheese with Scott Wilson, former voice of the character.
Chuck E. Cheese on display at the SPT Support Center, 1996
Chuck E. with an Uncle Sam hat.
Chuck E. Cheese on display in Dept 18, 2006
Close up, 2011
Chuck E. upon arrival in Travis Schafer's collection, 2012
Chuck E. in a newly built display area in Travis Schafer's collection, 2021
