Doctor Who: Ray Cusick, Designer Of The Dalek Dies, Aged 84

Ray Cusick, the man who brought us the iconic deign of the classic Doctor Who nemesis The Daleks has died peacefully in his sleep, aged 84. Cusick designed the unfeeling mega villains back in 1963 when Terry Nation's script for the Who serial "The Daleks" called for him to design a frightening new alien. What he came up with was the shuttle cock shaped robots with what looks like a plunger protruding from them which is now one of the most well known and iconic designs in the history of Science Fiction. He later admitted that the entire design was chosen because it made it far easier to fit a human controller inside. In an interview with Doctor Who Confidential Cusick had the following to say about the evolution of his creation:

"When I'm asked what I was inspired by I suppose it was really a system of logic because I realised that you've got to have an operator to operate them. If you had anything mechanical, 10 to one on the take it would go wrong, so you've got a human being in there who would be absolutely totally reliable. I then thought 'Well, the operator's got to sit down', drew a seat, ergonomic height, 18 in., got the operator down, and then drew round him. That's how the basic shape appeared."

In 2008 he also admitted that he got his idea for the shape from a simple pepper pot which he'd used in a meeting to illustrate how a Dalek should move:

"People do say I was inspired by a pepper pot -- but I always think 'If that's all it takes to become a designer then it's a doddle."

The design may have changed somewhat over the years but it is Ray's original design that will make an appearance in An Adventure in Space and Time, a dramatised account of how the show made it to TV half a century ago. It's just a shame that Mr Cusick will not be around to see his work come back to life. Cusick is survived by two daughters and seven grandchildren as well as countless number of fans who will always remember him as the father of the Dalek. Doctor Who celebrates its half centenary with a star studded special later this year.