

#Gorilla suit series
In later decades, in addition to abounding in B movies such as Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla, the gorilla suit came to prominence in television, in a wide range of series, from 1960s sitcoms like The Addams Family and The Beverly Hillbillies, which typically attempted to present their gorillas as "real," to more recent series such as L.A. The early history of the art of gorilla impersonation is foggy, but seems to date at least to the late 1920s, with the rise of Charles Gemora, an early practitioner of the art in such short films as Circus Lady and the Our Gang entry Bear Shooters. More often, it's used for a gag in which a character wears a gorilla suit, and at some point, becomes entangled with the real thing (typically, played by another actor in a suit). It has also seen extensive use in film, television, and comics, sometimes to symbolize a "real" gorilla. The traditional gorilla suit embodies both, and as such has become a popular Halloween or masquerade party costume. Gorillas have long fascinated audiences, as a source of both awe and horror (as illustrated by King Kong), but also humor. Gorilla suits are full-bodied costumes loosely resembling gorillas or other large primates. Bunsen Honeydew is not being eaten by a man in a gorilla suit. Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.Dr. Window.FB.Event.subscribe('xfbml.render', function() (document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk')) They get together with fans of “MAD” magazine to celebrate this unofficial holiday in memory of the artist and the suits themselves. This paperback was called “Don Martin Bounces Back,” and although the book itself is out of print, the holiday lives on through Don Martin fans. This character is then assaulted by gorillas and people in gorilla suits, in trademark “MAD” magazine’s absurdly hilarious style. In 1963, one of “MAD” magazine’s ‘Maddest Artists’, Don Martin, wrote a 56-page comic about a character mocking the then-fictitious Gorilla Suit holiday. Baker kept away from special effects and illusions, using the gorilla suit instead to appear in movies like “Schlock,” and “The Thing With Two Heads.” A few followers of the good old times - Rick Baker, for instance - kept the gorilla suit alive. No longer were men in costumes required computers could take care of it all. This went on for the next few decades, until the 1950s, when their scare factor went down.Īn innovation came into existence - special effects.

#Gorilla suit movie
This made the initial gorilla suits somewhat questionable representations of the real animal.īy the time Gemora’s realistic suit came around, the movie industry - and gorillas - were enjoying a lot of popularity. This was because Westerners had not laid eyes on this primate until the 1860s, and even then, this animal was something of a curiosity back in the early 20th century. His study of real gorillas from the San Diego Zoo coupled with his make-up expertise gave his suit authenticity.īefore Gemora’s gorilla suit, movies had a version, which was unfortunately not very close to the real thing. The very first suit was handmade in the 1920s by Carlos Cruz Gemora, a Hollywood make-up artist.
