Mole Richardson 612 "Sputnik" Hollywood Film Spotlight | 1950s Bayerischer Rundfunk Studio Light on Bundeswehr Tripod

Step into the golden age of television with this extremely rare Mole Richardson 612, better known by its nickname, the Sputnik. Its round fibreglass body and three protruding legs earned it that name on set floors in the 1950s, for its resemblance to the satellite that had just made headlines around the world, and the name stuck. This particular example carries its own documented history: it once worked for Bayerischer Rundfunk, Germany's public broadcaster, and still wears its original identification tags.

At a glance

The story

Mole-Richardson was founded in Hollywood in 1927 by Peter Mole, a Sicilian immigrant who had worked for General Electric before turning his attention to film lighting. His timing could not have been better: the arrival of sound film made the buzzing carbon arc lights of the silent era a liability, and Mole's silent incandescent tungsten fixtures became the new standard almost overnight. In 1935, the company introduced the Fresnel Solar Spot, adapting the lighthouse lens for the film set, an innovation that won the first of four Academy Awards the company would go on to receive. During the Second World War, Mole-Richardson turned its expertise to searchlights for the Allied war effort, before returning to lighting film and television sets around the world. The company expanded to England in 1936, founding Mole-Richardson (England) Limited, the factory responsible for this fixture.

The 612 gained its nickname honestly. Its round fibreglass housing and three splayed support legs gave it a passing resemblance to Sputnik, the satellite whose 1957 launch captured the world's attention, and film and television crews on set floors started calling it that instead of its model number. The name outlived the Cold War fascination that inspired it and has stuck to this design ever since.

This particular unit has real, traceable history: it once served Bayerischer Rundfunk, the public broadcaster for Bavaria and one of the founding members of Germany's ARD network, still carrying its original Bayerischer Rundfunk identification tag alongside its Mole Richardson factory tag. Studio lighting like this ran for years under demanding daily use in broadcast studios, which explains the honest wear it carries today.

We mounted it on a vintage green wooden surveyor's tripod from the German Bundeswehr, height-adjustable and substantial enough to give the spotlight real presence as a floor lamp. If you would rather display it without the tripod, the Sputnik was built to stand on its own three legs, so it works equally well set directly on a floor, shelf, or plinth.

The spotlight has been fully rewired for safe home or studio use, fitted with an E27 socket, an inline switch, an EU plug, and roughly 3 metres of cable, so it accepts any standard LED or incandescent bulb. The one shown in the photographs is included. The original barndoors remain in place.

Suited to collectors of Hollywood and broadcast lighting history, interior designers and set decorators looking for a genuinely rare, instantly recognisable statement piece, and anyone furnishing a museum, restaurant, shop, or designer interior who wants a piece of film history with a story that holds up under questioning.

PLEASE NOTE: ANY CUSTOM DUTY WILL BE PAID BY THE BUYER IN THEIR COUNTRY.