Thursday, January 31, 2019

IT'S NATIONAL GORILLA SUIT DAY!!!



It’s January 31st, the end of the first month of 2019.  So you know what that means….


From Wikipedia:
In 1963, Don Martin published National Gorilla Suit Day in a collection Don Martin Bounces Back, in which Fester Bestertester mocks the (then fictitious) concept of a National Gorilla Suit Day, and suffers a series of incredible assaults from gorillas and other creatures in gorilla and other suits.


Subsequently, Don Martin fans have celebrated National Gorilla Suit Day on January 31. 


Taking their cue from one of Martin's more celebrated stories, National Gorilla Suit Day, fans have celebrated National Gorilla Suit Day by wearing gorilla suits on January 31. No specific date is given in the story, which appeared in the 1963 paperback book Don Martin Bounces Back.



We don’t often celebrate National Gorilla Suit Day here at Toobworld Central.  A few years ago we showcased Tracy the Gorilla, co-star of the 1975 TV series ‘The Ghost Busters’.  It was a tip of the hat to Bob Burns, one of the premiere gorilla suit wearers in the golden days of Hollywood.

And this year, we’re celebrating a semi-cousin of Tracy's, Herbie the Gorilla who was a member of the extended Clampett family in ‘The Beverly Hillbillies’.

But Herbie was actually an actor named Tom Kelly who was hired by Milburn Drysdale to portray the gorilla (hoping the Cla\mpetts would never notice the ruse.)  It turned out to be a nesting doll of a role - Herbie was played by Tom Kelly who was played by George Burrows.  Now that is a true example of Gorilla Suit Day as seen in Toobworld!

Here are his two episodes from ‘The Beverly Hillbillies’.  I hope you enjoy them.  



Now go out there and let loose your inner gorilla!




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