Wacky Packages Monkey Fun

Here are some beautiful examples of products we all need...especialy us knuckled draggers.

Why GI TOE you ask ?

Look what he's beating up on the side of the box !

Wacky Packages are a great example of parody at it's best !

Collect them all !

George has a Date with the Angels

 

The great George Barrows shows up for more hairy hi-jinx on the not so classic series Date with the Angels.
The series starred Betty White as Vickie Angel and Bill Williams as Gus Angel .
The stories revolved around the newlywed Angels, and their day to day adventures in their all-American middle class neighborhood.
In this episode, the Angels return home from vacation to find a stuffed gorilla in their bedroom,
victims of Gus's practical joking co-workers at his insurance offices.
Gus decides to up the ante by hiring gorilla impersonator, Mr.Kelly (George Barrows).
Needless to say, all doesn't go quite as planned, and hilarity ensues....well , OK, maybe not hilarity exactly, more like a few chuckles, but you get the idea.
George really gets to show his comedy skills here and you get to see a lot of him with the mask off !
Truly a rare treat if ever there were one !

Date with the Angels ran from 1957-58, and lasted a  33 episodes.

Watch it here, kids !
http://archive.org/details/DateWithTheAngels-TheGorilla

Topstone Savage Gorilla !

As you read this blog celebrating the great gorilla men of the past,you may find your self wondering, "why would anyone want to specialize in dressing up like a gorilla  ?"
Well, the easy answer would be brain damage, but it's actually a little more complex than that.
for me it kind of started when I was about 12 years old, while reading comics and monster magazines.
 I was always seeing a fantastic ad for"The Savage Gorilla" mask.
Gorillas were a favorite movie subject for me, so naturally I thought it was the coolest thing ever !
The drawing illustrating the mask was incredible, a really monstrous looking thing .
It was shortly thereafter that I realized that, " with this mask, I can Rule the World ! mmmwwwaaahahahahaaaa !!!
Several weeks worth of allowance later ,the order form was hastily clipped out,and those hard earned few dollars were sent off to buy the stuff dreams are made of !
Back then, this type of purchase could take anywhere from 3 to 6 weeks till you got your goodies.
The first few weeks were spent meticulously drawing  the mask I had ordered.
Then, after 5 weeks af checking the mail with no results, it finally arrived !
At first I was puzzled as to how they were able to get the Savage Gorilla into that small Manila envelope.
I tore open the flap and saw a large hunk of black hair attached to it.
The glue on the flap had bonded to the "hair" on the mask .
After carefully removing the wad of paper thin latex goodness, I was immediately disappointed because this wasn't at all what I'd imagined.
The wrinkled mess that I held, looked nothing like the illustration in the comic book.
It was molded in a pale tan  (almost white) latex, with red and black detailing that looked like it had been applied with a can of spray paint . On top of the mask, was the remains of the mat of shaggy fiber hair.

After what seemed like an eternity staring at it in despair, I finally went to a mirror and put the thing on.
I don't know exactly how it happened, but once it was on, the wrinkles flattened out and the mask started to actually look somewhat like a gorilla. The smell of the latex cast its spell on me, as I watched in the mirror and moved my mouth and face and the mask did the same.
I tested the range of motion, smirking, grimacing, making all manner of faces and the Savage Gorilla matched me in my every move.
The more the mask moved around, the more creases and wrinkles worked out of it.
I was actually having fun with the goofy thing !
My mom got a huge kick out of me making a complete fool of myself with all manner of gorilla noises coming from inside the mask.
I knew It wasn't the mask I had imagined but it no longer mattered to me.
That goofy little mask was literally worn to death.
After several years of a well played with life, the Savage Gorilla started to fall apart.
I still have a fondness for that goofy little monkey mask,as it was the first gorilla mask I ever had, and miss having it.
Thankfully, because there are collectors of Topstone masks, the makers of the gorilla and other great characters, they will live on, documented for posterity !
I want to thank Ray Castile for the use of his photos of the Savage Gorilla !
Ray is one of the foremost collectors of Topstone masks, and an expert in vintage monster toys as well. I highly recomend his great website The Gallery of Monster Toys !
http://thegalleryofmonstertoys.com/

This is more like what the mask looked like while being worn.

                   This photo shows a thick casting that captures the look of the original sculpt.

As you can see, the sculpture is very good.

Well, there it is. This goofy little wad of rubber and hair was all it took to warp my young mind forever,and I've been dressing up as a gorilla ever since ! 

Hey Kids ! Get your very own Hollywood Gorilla Man !

Hey Gorilla Gang !

The fine folks at Moebius Models and Cult TV Man ( Steve Iverson ) have teamed up to bring you the official Bob Burns' KOGAR the Gorilla collectible model kit.

the basic KOGAR kit will be available through both the sites mentioned above and most Hobby retailers.

The deluxe set, exclusive to CultTVmanShop.com will also have a Kathy Burns kit included.

This amazing kit features 3 different heads, you get "KOGAR", Bobs original mask, "Tracy"

from the classic Ghostbusters TV series ( with separate propeller beanie), and last but not least, the man himself Bob Burns !

The Kogar kit is sculpted by uber talented Jeff Yager, with box art by Vincent DeFate.

The Kathy Burns kit features a sculpted likeness by Ray Santoleri

These kits are 1/12th scale, the same as the classic Aurora Monsters of the Movies, and Monster scenes kits.

For more information and additional photos, go to http://culttvman.com/main/?p=21927

Also, please visit http://www.moebiusmodels.com/ to see the other exciting models they produce, including the full line of Monster Scenes kits !

Beast Wishes Premier!

The long awaited documentary chronicling the exploits of Bob and Kathy Burns is finally here !

Co- producers Frank Dietz and Trish Geiger,have done an amazing job on this labor of love for a great many of the fans and friends of Bob and Kathy.

They are having the premiere screening at the ArcLight Cinema in Hollywood on April 12th. Tickets are available at www.creaturefeatures.com.

Frank and Trish will provide info for DVD sales as soon as it is available.

The special guests are a veritable who's who in Hollywood, featuring some of the finest the movie industry has to offer. See above for a few of the guests.

Besides being the most beloved gorilla man ever, Bob is the worlds foremost historian of cinematic simians.

Gorilla man and myself have have invaluable information of the historic gorilla men given to us by Bob, and through Bobs generosity, we pass the information on to you, the readers of this humble blog.

A huge thanks to Frank and Trish for making this awesome film happen !

Calvert and Corrigan doin' the jungle boogie !

Our friend Doctor Kiss has outdone himself with his amazing discovery of stock footage reels of Steve Calvert, and possibly Ray Corrigan ( or at least Corrigan's ape suits), doing pass after pass in front of the cameras from either Jungle Jim's, Mark of the Gorilla , or the Lost Tribe.
It becomes humorously apparent that the two monkey men are running in a circle around the camera, in the first clip.
While the second clip features Calvert VS. a lion in a fierce battle to stay awake long enough to get the shot.
The poor lion even lies down after his first sniff of Calvert's suit.
Old Leo mustered up enough energy to prop himself up on furry adversary to get some semblance of combat.
It goes to show how skilled film editors can turn a feline snooze fest into a terrific battle !
The truly amazing thing about these clips, is the clarity of the film.
I've never seen such clear footage of these masters of monkey menace !
The gorilla footage in the first clip start at approx. the 6 min. 28 second mark.
http://www.archive.org/details/PET996_R-4B?start=386.5

http://www.archive.org/details/PET996_R-5A

Both these incredible clips are found on Internet Archive, and can be downloaded from there.

A Rare Treat !

One thing you'll find as an ardent admirer of all things gorilla , is that trying to find

a detailed article about gorilla men can be darned difficult....Well, outside of this blog that is !

I found on ebay recently, a 3 page article on gorilla man and creature creator Janos Prohaska.

It was featured prominently in the pages of TV Guide is the Jan. 25th-31st, 1969 issue.

The TV Guide was purchased for the Prohaska article, but as I flipped through the pages, I was transported to an awesome time when Lost In Space, Bonanza, Time Tunnel ,Batman, etc. were the current prime time programing. It was quite surreal looking into the past, the ads were especially insightful to the current fads and cultural habits of the time.

The cigarette ads would be banned from publications a few years later, but were fascinating never the less.

But I digress, so without further ado, here is the article...ENJOY !!!

Click here for larger views.

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