Happy Birthday Gill-Man: Facts, stories and Trivia celebrating Creature of the Black Lagoon turning 65 years old

When one thinks of the classic Universal Monsters of the 1930s, a plethora of classic monsters come to mind: Dracula, the Wolf Man, Frankenstein, The Mummy, but another character also comes to mind: The Creature from the Black Lagoon. This full bodied amphibious creature first premiered on March 5th, 1954 and several decades later, you can find his signature mug on everything from shampoo, action figures and horror themed pinball machines or even tattooed on fan's bodies. With the last living cast member Julia Adams having passed away this Februrary, let us explore some lesser known trivia and stories about this unusual yet wonderful horror classic.



According to Bloody Disgusting, the idea came to producer William Alland at a dinner party hosted at Orson Welles' house. At the party, a South American guest told a story of an amphibious creature called the Yacuruna who look like humans who rise from the Amazon river to seduce and lure people into the water, particularly fisherman and young women. The story, which its narrator Gabriel Figueroa insisted was true, stuck with Allard and he wrote up a treatment that years later would be directed by Jack Arnold, who had just finished It Came From Outer Space in 1953.



With a star studded cast of Julie Adams, Richard Carlson, and Richard Denning as a group of scientists who search for proof of an amphibious humanoid creature in the Amazon, they quickly discover the movies break out star, the Gill Man. Played by two separate actors ( Ben Chapman on land, Ricou Browning in the water), the first full body creature's design and appearance came from makeup designer Millicent Patrick. Basing its appearance on 17th century depictions of creatures called the Sea Monk and the Sea Bishop,  Patrick and her team created an character that struck a chord with audiences that would continue to resonate decades after its premiere. However, due to the limitations of film and costumes at that time, there were more than a few interesting stories that reiterate the amount of work, improvisation, and often hilarity that goes into film-making overall.

Did you know:


1. Actor Ricou Browning had to hold his breath for up to 4 minutes at a time while filming the underwater scenes. The director believed that the air would flow from the creatures gills so thus air bubbles from his nose and face would not make sense so the costume was made without an air tank. However, other films featuring the creature would disregard such logic and easily show air bubbles trailing from such places.



2. Filming for the fight scene between Gill-Man and Zee almost proved fatal due to an accident between the actors. Ben Chapman and Bernie Gozier rehearsed the fight scene days in advance where Zee would attempt to attack the creature with a machete and the creature would grab his hand before he could complete the full motion. However due to the costumed limited mobility and vision, Chapman missed Grozier's hand and the blade swiftly connected with the creatures head. Fortunately, the blade was not especially sharp and the thick rubber foam from the costume's headpiece protected the actor inside from any real harm.




3. When famous paleontologist Jenny Clack discovered a new fossilized amphibian in the remains of what once was a swamp, she named it Eucritta melanolimnetes which translates to " The Creature From the Black Lagoon".



4. Make-up artist Bud Westmore worked with Milicent Patrick in creating the look and design of Gill-Man. However, Westmore deliberately made sure that he received sole credit for the creature's creation and downplayed Patrick's involvement for half a century. He apparently objected to a woman being credited with the work on the costume.



5. Browning recalled a hilarious incident during filming when he had to make a sudden impromptu bathroom visit. After being underwater the entire time, Browning breached the water in full costume next to an unaware mother and daughter on the nearby shore. His overall appearance and entrance was so terrifying that the couple fled in absolute terror, which should have been an early sign that the movie would indeed frighten and entertain its audience upon release.



The creature would appear alongside famous comedians Abbott and Costello in Abbott and Costello Meet the Creature from the Black Lagoon prior to the film's release with Ben Chapman reprising his role as Gill-Man.

                                 

 The Gill Man would also return in the film's sequel Revenge of the Creature and in The Creature Walks Among Us, both films focused on scientists capturing and studying the creature. The last film had Gill-Man endure a surgical operation that caused it to shed their gills and develop lungs, bringing it closer to being human. Unfortunately, the events that followed it transformation ended with Gill-Man rejecting humanity and returning to the ocean.

 

Gill-Man also made appearances as Uncle Gilbert in The Munsters and alongside other classic monsters in Fred Dekker's The Monster Squad. 

Happy Birthday Gill-Man. Thanks for reminding people to be afraid of the water long before Speilberg traumatized us with Jaws.

And because I enjoy a good laugh, here's a recording of Abbott and Costello's interaction with the birthday boy.

Remembering John Candy: 20 facts to appreciate his career and memory.

                                           

While the world mourns the recent death of actor Luke Perry due to complications from his recent stroke, today also marks 26 years since comedian John Candy passed away from a heart attack. The Canadian actor was known for his roles in hit films such as Stripes, Blues Brothers, Splash, Home Alone, Uncle Buck and Spaceballs to name a few and his cheerful smile and presence is still remembered fondly today. To commemorate his life and career, we've assembled 20 fun and hilarious facts about Candy that'll make you smile and remember whichever movie of his was your favorite growing up.

                                 
1. Improvised product placement in The Blues Brothers. At the bar, John Candy's Burton Mercer ordered three orange whips. The line was not in the script but one Candy improvised, referencing a cocktail that provided refreshment to the crew during the long, all-night shoots for the film. The costumer Sue Dugan was the daughter of Orange Whip's director of Sales and she requested that the brand be mentioned in the film.

                         

2. The Mud Wrestling scene in Stripes was improvised on set. The famous scene where Bill Murray's John Winger convinced Candy's  Dewey "Ox" to mud wrestle a group of women was made up on the spot by director Ivan Reitman. Candy was extremely uncomfortable filming the entire scene but fortunately Reitman was able to talk him through until it was completed.

                 

3. Psycho and Ox in Stripes became real friends during filming. Actor Will Conrad had fond memories of portraying Francis " Psycho" Soyer and had nothing but fond memories of his co-star Candy. He recalled the actor inviting the entire platoon of actors to his place during filming for a homemade spaghetti dinner before watching the famous Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Roberto Duran fight. He also remembered that only him and Candy knew the lyrics to "Doo Wah Diddy" and taught them to the entire company for the film's use of the song as military cadence.

                

4. Candy's role in National Lampoon's Vacation happened due to poor audience reaction with the original ending. Director Harold Ramis had to remedy the horrible audience reaction to the original ending for his 1983 film. He remembered Candy's character Wally Wpyzypychwk from his stand-up and television appearances which Candy used as a basis for the nervy security guard Lasky who accompanies the Griswold family when they finally reach Wallyworld in the new ending. He was paid $1 million dollars for his role in the film.

                 

5. The racquetball scene in Splash was done in one. In the 1984 film Splash, Candy's Freddie Bauer's scene at the racquetball court where he serves and the ball hits him in the head was completed in one take.
                 
6. In Summer Rental, John Candy was compared to a famous Oakland Raiders Coach. In the film when the lifeguards next door are going to the beach, one of them mentions Candy's Jack Chester "looks like John Madden". Unfortunately, he is not referring to their face or personality but drawing parallels to their physical resemblance.

                

7. Candy's character in Volunteers was one driven by ideals instead of emotion. In the film which reunited Candy with his Splash co-star Tom Hanks, his character Tom Tuttle was described by the writers as " a true believer who buys all the myths and 60's rhetoric without question. But at the first sign of trouble, he changes."

              

8. Candy was originally offered the role of Mr. Mushnik in Little Shop of Horrors. Although he was originally offered the role of Mr. Mushnik in Frank Oz's Little Shop of Horrors, Candy asked if there were other smaller roles available. He was more interested in portraying the loud radio host Wink Winklson who interviews Seymour about his Audrey II plant early in the film.

             

9. John Candy could have been Louis Tully in Ghostbusters. In the original script for Ghostbusters, Candy was to play nerdy accountant Louis Tully but the actor left the project after he got frustrated that nobody agreed with his interpretation of the character. He imagined Louis having a German accent and owning a pair of schnauzer dogs. When these ideas were rejected, Candy left and the role was filled by actor Rick Moranis. Candy would cameo in Ray Parker Jr's "Ghostbusters" music video and his interpretation of the Louis Tully character would make an appearance years later in the IDW Ghostbusters comic book.

            

10. The character Barf in Spaceballs took three people to operate during filming. Although Candy was the actor portraying Lone Starr's faithful companion Barf, it took two additional people to help make Candy's Maug believable. Candy operated Barf's tail using a hidden control in his paw while two assistants each controlled one of his ears. Barf's overall costume was powered by a thirty-pound battery that the actor wore on his back during scenes.

          

11. Candy's Del Griffith impersonates Elvis in the bathroom and doesn't let a little hair stop him from enjoying a brownie. In Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, which was one of both actors favorite movies they ever made, there is a scene during their meal on the plane where a passenger in front lets their hair down, completely covering Martin's brownie. Seeing as his neighbor isn't going to eat the dessert, Del fishes through the hair in order to retrieve and eventually eat it. The scene didn't make it to the theatrical version but sometimes appears in the television version.  Another scene that was featured in the trailer but not in the finished film features Candy's character impersonating Elvis with a hairbrush. He sings while doing other things in the bathroom of the first motel the mismatched pair stays in together.

              

12. A Ghostbusters line was used during a scene with Candy and Dan Aykroyd in The Great Outdoors. In the scene where Roman and Chet are attempting to catch and subdue the rogue Bat, it lands on Chet's face in which Roman nails it with a broom and the stunned creature falls to the floor. Roman yells " We got it, We got it", which is the same line Aykroyd's character Ray Stantz used in Ghostbusters when they emerged victorious with a smoking trap following their battle with Slimer in the Sedgewick hotel ballroom.

  

13. In the interrogation scene during Uncle Buck, Candy helped his co-star Macaulay Culkin remember his lines. During the scenes where Miles hilariously interrogates his Uncle Buck in a back and forth round of consecutive questions, it was revealed that Candy wrote out the scripts dialouge and wore it on his head to help Culkin read his lines. This helped the young actor read them at a quick pace that fit the pace of the scene.

   

14. Every single line of John Candy's character in Home Alone was improvised. Keeping true to director John Hughes encouragement of improvisation, Candy filmed his scenes as Gus Pulanski in one, 23-hour day and improvised everything, including his memorable monologue about forgetting his son at a funeral home. He also filmed the role for free.



15. John Candy voiced the albatross Wilbur in Disney's Rescuer's Down Under. When the sequel to 1977's The Rescuers was made with the insistence that all the original actors reprise their roles, they hit a slight speed bump with the albatross Orville whose voice actor Jim Jordan had died two years before the films release. John Candy was cast as Orville's brother Wilbur which was also completed the previous reference to the Wright Brothers, Orville and Wilbur.



16. Candy in drag inspired his friend Dan Aykroyd to write the film Nothing But Trouble. According to Aykroyd, the idea came to him one day when he imagined Candy dressed in drag which would make him burst into laughter. This image and the accompanied laughter would continue for several weeks until he finally decided to write a movie that incorporated that idea. Unfortunately, the movie was a critical and commercial failure at the box office.


17. Maureen O'Hara refused to agree to star in Only the Lonely until she met Candy in person. Although she loved the script, she refused to agree to sign the contract for the movie until she met her co-star John Candy. Of course, O'Hara and Candy immediately created a strong rapport that not only continued throughout the film but also had O'Hara commit to the film without hesitation.


18. Although he was a big guy, John Candy was quite a dancer. In the 1991 film Delirious, John Candy and Emma Samms' characters Jack and Rachel danced without the use of stunt doubles. Although the technique of how the scene was filmed makes this difficult to tell, Samms later complimented Candy for being a graceful and talented dancer despite his size.


19. Candy couldn't stop sweating during his scenes in JFK. That wasn't some movie magic when you see John Candy's face during his scenes with Kevin Costner's Jim Garrison. The actor was reportedly petrified working in a serious film with actors such as Gary Oldman and Donald Sutherland. He sweat through every scene he had in the Oliver Stone directed film about the famous John F. Kennedy assasination.




20. Upon his passing, his funeral procession got presidential treatment. According to frequent collaborator Eugene Levy, John Candy was so well-liked by the public that when the procession was heading to the cemetery where John was to be interred, Levy looked and noticed there was no traffic on the 405 Freeway. He saw Police officers sanctioned at the on-ramps where they held traffic which upon asking, he found it was a decision made by the LAPD. The only other times the LAPD did such a thing was for Presidential motorcades or when the Pope was visiting L.A. 


In the end, John Candy was one of the best comedians ever to grace the big screen and his work continues to make generations laugh to this day. All hail the King of Polka.

Remembering Luke Perry: 5 Facts the 52 year-old actor's career

Today we learned actor Luke Perry passed away due to complications from his recent stroke. The actor was known for his portrayal as Dylan McKay on Beverly Hills, 90210 as well as roles on Oz, Jeremiah,  Criminal Minds, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and his recent role as Fred Andrews on the CW series Riverdale. While we mourn his unexpected passing, here's 5 facts from the short but memorable career of a man that Fox's Family Guy once tried to convince us was a closeted homosexual.



1. The Simpsons thought Latin America wouldn't know Perry's name.  In the 1993 Simpsons episode "Krusty Gets Kancelled", Perry was one of the first guest stars to confirm for the episode that dealt with several script changes and guests dropping out at the last minute. In the Latin American dub, Perry was renamed Robert Redford because the producers believed the country's public would not know who Luke Perry was. This choice was a confusing one at best especially when a Peephole magazine is shown in the episode, displaying Perry's correct name.

2. Perry voiced Napoleon Brie on Biker Mice from Mars. Perry voiced a frequent antagonist on the award-winning animated series, Napoleon Brie who was Lawrence Loctavius Limburger's chief Plutarkian rival from Detroit. Brie was known to be a successful owner of a large collection of face masks although he only ever wore one that had crazy eyes and spoke in an accent similar to Looney Tunes Elmer Fudd.

3. He had a longstanding voice acting career. In addition to his role as Napoleon Brie, Perry also voiced Sub-Zero in Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm, Rick Jones in The Incredible Hulk, Stewart Walldinger in Pepper Ann , multiple characters in The Legend of Calamity Jane. Ponce de Leon in Clone High, Fang in Pound Puppies, and appeared as himself in Johnny Bravo where he helped coach Johnny through a date.

                                 
4. Dylan on Beverly Hills, 90210 was supposed to be a one-off character. Perry will be forever remembered for his role of bad boy Dylan McKay on the classic 90s show but the character was originally only to appear in one or two episodes. At the time, Fox executives weren't sold on Perry's acting abilities but producer Aaron Spelling believed in his casting so much that he paid for Perry's Salary out of his own pocket for the initial episodes. Fortunately, the positive audience response guaranteed Dylan's addition to the cast.

5. His last role will be in an upcoming Tarantino movie. Although he was filming scenes for Riverdale when he experienced his fatal stroke, Perry's final role will be in writer-director Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Taking place in 1960s Hollywood during the Charles Manson murders, Perry portrays Wayne Maunder who co-starred on the western television series Lancer. The film is scheduled to be released on July 26th, 2019.

Perry is survived by his fiancee Wendy Madison Bauer and his two children, Jack and Sophie, from his previous relationship with Rachel Minnie Sharp.

In the end, lets hope that Luke Perry is at peace and isn't still stealing Adam West's water.

A New Chapter

Hello everybody, Thank you for clicking on the link and welcome to Mollo Vida, a source for nerd news, information, and at times opinion told by me, Drew Mollo.

My background: I have a Bachelor's in History from SUNY Purchase and a Masters in Publishing from Pace University. Among the odd jobs, I've written articles for such sites as Spandexless, VG Tribune, Iron Age Studios and most recently, Comic Book Resources.

I have been interested in comics and movies since I was a child. I have an almost uncanny ability to quote movies and remember comic book events immediately. I also own a collection of over 4,000 comic book issues, most of which are signed by some of the best writers/artists/creators in the industry. I've also dabbled in cosplay where I accomplished my life long dream of becoming a Ghostbuster but also learned how to do voices while making memories that I never thought I'd have. It's been a crazy, strange and wonderful wild ride and I can't wait to see where this takes me.

I want to continue to work on and improve my voice in the industries that I love and continue to grow as an individual. Thank you for being here and as Old Bruce Wayne once said, welcome to my world.


-DM