Is he plugged in?

Fair-goers are amused and amazed by unusual ‘robot’ Augusta — This character amazed many at the New Jersey State Fair, Sussex County Farm and Horse Show this year. Located in the center of the action at the Home Economics building was a “person” in a bright red suit. He was a robot-type man who was interacting with the passing crowd. In years past an aluminum robot who had a human counterpart with a microphone entertained the fair-goers. This fooled small children but no one over the age of 7. This year’s robotic creature had a pasty, corpse-like skin tone, blank eyes and an electrical wire protruding from his suit jacket. Shaking hands, tipping his hat, smiling and with various facial expressions, he had the fair-goers stopping and staring, as they debated if this was man or machine. As the crowd observed, the “robot” pulled his own electrical cord with a pop, clapped his hands and took a break from his gig at the Fair, much to the surprise of the crowd. The “robot” is really Randy Burns, The Mechanical Man. “I’ve been called “lifeless-like,” Burns said. ”Some people have even held a mirror under my nose to see if I’m breathing.” Burns has been fooling and shocking crowds and audiences for 30 years. He began his career as a comedy stage actor in Canada, but moved to Los Angeles to try his hand at film acting. Burns has a theatre arts degree and attended Lee Strasberg’s Actor Studio in Hollywood. He later landed a job on the Queen Mary in Long Beach, Calif., where he perfected his mechanical man skills. — Janet Redyke