The recent post by Gorilla Man, about the comedic antics of Charlie Gemora, sparked my memory of one of my favorite Gemora funny bits.
The OUR GANG short BEAR SHOOTERS was a favorite when I were but a wee little gorilla man.
The way the gorilla hopped around after the kids burned a lasting memory in my childs brain. BEARS SHOOTERS also marked the first time I'd seen of a gorilla man being unmasked.
In the short, Charlie plays one half of a criminal duo of robbers who have decided to hide out in the woods until the coast clears. Charlie's character "Charlie" ( yes, they used his real name)has been delegated to wear a gorilla suit to scare off intruders.
Needless to say, the Little Rascals have decided at that moment to go bear hunting in the same woods. Charlie is sent forth to scare off those pesky kids , but the fierce band of little hunters are not about to loose their quarry, much to the misfortune of poor Charlie !
After suffering the indignities of being kicked in his furry backside by a mule, falling hands first into a bear trap after having been tripped by a rope snare, he is shot repetedly in the keester with a pellet gun and arrows, then Charlie sits on a beehive the rascals have placed under him.
The panic striken primate then calls upon his criminal cohort to save him, but his rescuer is chased off by Petey the dog after the villain removes Charlies ape head.
Charlie is hoplessly caught in the bear trap to be ravage by bees !
From that scene, I learned about the eye make-up that is a big part of being a gorilla man.
As a small child, at first I thought the black around Charlies eyes was a mask, like old school villains would wear, but later I reasoned out the purpose.
Charlie was the leader of the " Sweaty guys with racoon eyes " club !