1967/08/05 - Book - Roger Patterson Buys This Exact Gorilla Costume From Philip Morris

[Trogluddite]

As noted in the background entries on Philip Morris and the Morris Costume Company (or the Morris Magic Company in 1967), Phil Long's otherwise execrable book The Making of Bigfoot does provide a useful service by locking in Philip Morris's claims about selling Roger Patterson a gorilla (not Bigfoot) suit.  Rather than enrich Long any further by buying his book, which demonstrates only that he failed his classes on investigative journalism, those who don't have the book should get it from their local library.

 

On page 446, Morris begins recounting the phone call he supposedly received from a man who identified himself as Roger Patterson, a rodeo cowboy.  While describing the back and forth between himself and Patterson, Morris surmises (in other words, guesses) that Patterson found his company's advertisement in a weekly magazine called Amusement Business.  See p. 448.  

 

Amusement Business was published weekly; the issues published on August 12 and August 26, 1967, were Volume 79, Issues 31 and 33 respectively.  Thus, the earliest issue which Roger Patterson could have seen this advertisement based on Philip Morris and Greg Long's speculation was the August 5, 1967 issue.  

 

Philip Morris provided Greg Long with a photograph of "the exact same type of gorilla suit Roger Patterson Roger Patterson bought ... in or about August 1967."  These are the words of either Greg Long or Philip Morris.  Here is that photograph from Greg Long's book, included in this post for the limited purpose of reporting and commenting on, and critically evaluating, Philip Morris’s claim. 

 

                 

 

Forums member Apeman found an article which gave credit for the ape suit in a 1967 movie called The Perils of Pauline to the Morris Costume Company.  There does appear to be a similarity, although IMDb identifies Marcel Delgado as the creator of that suit.  

 

                                               

 

                                               

Edited 2 hours ago by Trogluddite
To correct B. Gimlin to R. Patterson in one spot and to correct an omitted word.