As a kid, I would stop in my tracks at the first sign of anything ape related on TV.
I lucked out one day when my mother called me into the living room to look at the show she was watching.
There on the tube,was an Orangutan interviewing an older gentleman about the make-up from the Planet of the Apes. I listened for a while, and discovered that the simian interviewer was Mike Douglas himself !
This was one of many TV appearances the denizens of the monkey planet made during the 70's.
The smiling gentleman to the left of Mike Douglas is master Make-up artist Dan Striepeke.
Striepeke and John Chambers received a special Oscar for their work on Planet of the Apes.
This episode of the Mike Douglas Show originally aired on 9/17/1974.
The world was a wonderful place for monkeys back then!
Here is a great example of some of the cool photos our grave-digging friend E-Gor has unearthed .
This is very interesting, because all of the apes are "little People".
It has been autographed to E-Gor by Clarence Swensen, who is the ape performer kneeling to the left of Johnny Sheffield in the front row, in that gathering.
Clarence is best remembered as one of the Munchkin gaurds in the classic, "Wizard of Oz".
Also VERY interesting is that the photo was original autographed TO Clarence by Tarzan himself, Johnny Weissmuller!
Here is a very cool poster, for Charlie Chan at The Circus, starring Warner Oland.
The artwork is beautifully done in classic noir-ish style.
The brightly colored hero and heroine are being watched over by the somber toned looming visage of Charlie Chan. They are all being stalked by a monstrous beast of a gorilla emerging from the shadows.....Now that's a poster!!!
From what I was able to make out on this print on YouTube, the gorilla appears to be one of Charlie Gemora's gorilla suits.
Who's in the suit? Well...I've come to realize that you can't judge an ape by it's cover.
There have been recent discoveries of other men wearing Charlies outfits, and those who had suits built by Charlie.
Because of this confusion,(the norm for gorilla men) it's damned hard to say who exactly this little gorilla is.
Whoever it is, he does one hell of a good job as this fierce Little beastie!
At any rate, the great detective, found himself embroiled in a monkey mystery with our even more mysterious little gorilla friend in.....
Hiya gorilla gang!
This will be the first in a series, showcasing the premium primate contributions of the
great George "E-gor" Chastain.
George has been instrumental in finding a ton of gorilla goodies and simian signatures as he tirelessly scours the web, and auction sites for an undiscovered gorilla treasure, and generously shares them here!
So lets get E-gors Gorilla Goodies kick-started with autographs of two of the stars of the classic Saturday morning series...Filmation's, The Ghost Busters!
The show that made Tracy the gorilla a household name, and introduced an entire generation to the coolness of Gorilla Men!
This great photo is autographed by Larry Storch and Bob Burns, "Spenser and Tracy" respectively.
They are on either side of the late Forrest Tucker as the leader of the Ghost Busters, "Kong".
Keep watching here gang, for more monkey madness from old "E-gor"!
If you've ever wondered what it's like to be a gorilla man, or any kind of monster man for that matter,
then this is the documentary for you !
I got this incredible film from my dear gorilla brother Kogar as a gift, and I can't stop praising it.
The steps one goes through, both physically and mentally in preparing for a suit performer role,
are brilliantly spelled out through a series of interviews by the biggest names in the business.
Not only does writer/director Frank Woodruff introduce you to a host of modern practitioners of this fantastic art form, but you are also treated to the reminisces of some of the legendary monster masters as well.
Men who's creature alter egos have terrorized and thrilled audiences for over 60 years!
And who are these mad men? On film you may know him as Godzilla, but now you can meet Haruo Nakajima, and hear his stories of destroying Tokyo as not only Godzilla, but many of the other famous Toho Studios monsters as well!
You will also hear hilarious tales of monkey madness, with master Gorilla Men, Bob"Kogar"Burns, John"Gorillas in the Mist"Alexander,and Don"American Tourister" Mcleod.
Don's story of his gorilla's encounter with Minnie Mouse, is worth the price of the disc alone!
There is touching tribute to the monster men of old as well, men like Charles Gemora, Ray"Crash"Corrigan, Ben Chapman, Regis Parton, George Barrows, and a host of others too numerous to list here.
You will also be introduced to the new generation of the creature crew in the likes of Doug" Abe Sapien"Jones. Tom "Aliens"Woodruff Jr., Misty "Congo"Rosas, and the really big guys, Doug Tait, and Brian"Hellboy"Steele.
Witness the creation of a state of the art creature called Abominog, from the casting of actor Douglas Tait, to footage of the actual filming of this awe inspiring eight foot terror from the depths of hell! If you see a creature in a current film, that's over seven feet tall, it's likely Douglas Tate, or Brian Steele!
But this being a site about Gorilla men, I am of course, a bit biased toward the furrier members of this crowd, and Gorillas are well represented !
Besides the legendary Gorilla Man Bob Burns, you get the equally legendary Don Mcleod, you get current monkey masters, John Alexander and Tom Woodruff Jr.!
And as a special treat, we'll meet Hollywood Gorilla Woman, Misty Rosas!
There is a great deal of behind the scenes footage of these great actors doing what they do best, and keep a sharp eye out for Verne "Mini-Me"Troyer as a Baby Gorilla in footage from the movie "Instinct".
This film runs the gamut from rampaging reptiles to Robby the Robot, from Creature from the Black Lagoon, to Alien. If it's ever creeped, lumbered, slithered, swam, flown, or loped across the screen, chances are you will find the guy who played it here!
