FIRST THERE WAS A BOOK

It all started about 450 years ago when the Frenchman, François Rabelais
wrote an excruciatingly epic and longwinded story titled,
& PANTAGRUEL.

was a man of giant stature who was educated according to the
noblest ideas of the humanist renaissance, and noted for his enormous
physical and intellectual appetite. (zzz...I know... read the Cliff Notes)
The point is, he was LARGE - as in .

ALONG CAME A GORILLA

In the 1930s, legend has it that a drunken sailor sought revenge on a Sea
Captain by trying to murder his precious cargo - a baby gorilla. The sailor
threw nitric acid onto the face and chest of the sweet smiling simian and
left him for dead - but the bloodied little fella refused to die. The
panicked Captain contacted an eccentric woman animal extremist by the name of
Gertrude Lintz, who immediately adopted and subsequently saved the life of
the hirsute toddler.

Unfortunately, the acidic ordeal left the gorilla's face horribly disfigured.
His scarred eyes now had a smooth, almost human appearance. His flat nose
looked more like that of a pig than a gorilla, and his mouth was left in a
perpetual malevolent sneer.

Gertrude named her new charge Buddy and soon he became an accepted member of
an already strange household that consisted of another gorilla, several
chimpanzees, dogs, cats and birds and countless micro-organisms. Sounds like
it was a good place for a Stick Up. Anyway, Buddy soon grew to be a fine
young gorilla who Gertrude often dressed and took on her Sunday drive through
the friendly streets of Brooklyn. Yo, I got yer gorilla right here!

Buddy mostly lived in a cage in the basement but had a penchant for escaping
and wandering around the house. One stormy evening, the gorilla primal fear
of thunder made him hightail it out of his cage and headed upstairs to be
closer to his Mommy. He silently ambled up the stairs then headed into
Gertrude's bedroom where he settled, undetected, next to her in bed. Who
knows whether it was his hot breath or the intense funk that gorillas give
off - but it must have been one helluva rude awakening.

Gertrude knew it was time for Buddy to go buh-bye. She also knew that a life
sentence in a zoo would be a cruel fate for him. She took a gamble and called
The RINGLING BROS AND BARNUM & BAILEY CIRCUS.

The financially struggling Ringling Circus saw the opportunity of a
sensational new crowd drawing attraction and immediately purchased Buddy.
They commissioned the Crane Company to build an airtight and air-conditioned
semi-truck cage for the beast. The cage was designed not only to keep Buddy
in - but to keep the diseases of the sneezing hordes out.

The uncertain 1938 season rapidly approached and the Ringlings, eager to
capitalize on Buddy's size and gruesome scowling appearance, dubbed him,
THE GREAT,
THE WORLD'S MOST TERRIFYING LIVING CREATURE!


IT WORKED! With the help of even more exaggerated ballyhoo and blood curdling
circus posters in vivid color, the public couldn't get enough of the "THE
LARGEST GORILLA EVER EXHIBITED" The overwhelming interest in beefed
up the Ringling Bros Circus attendance enough to actually save it from extinction.

Over the years, Gargantua scowled at MILLIONS and thrilled children and
adults from New York to Los Angeles. Gargy even managed to acquire a love
interest - a vivacious and buxom female called M'Toto. The two simian
sweethearts never actually shared a dwelling, but did have adjacent twin cages.

On another fateful stormy night in 1949, the most famous gorilla since KING KONG,
died peacefully in his sleep.
He saved The Circus - HE DIED A HERO.

AND NOW HE SELLS FABULOUS FREAKY FRENETIC FICKLE FINE PHOTOS!

Come on, cheer up kids!
Because LIVES AGAIN!
This time as the supreme simian purveyor
of the quirkiest images on the Internet!

WANNA SEE MORE CIRCUS GORILLAS?

WANNA SEE CIRCUS GORILLA BABIES?

WANNA SEE SOME CLASSIC GORILLA POSTCARDS?

WANNA SEE THE GREATEST GORILLA BOOKS OF ALL TIME?

WANNA SEE GROOVY GORILLA STATUES?

WANNA SEE SOMETHING FREAKY?

GORILLA SCHMORILLA! TAKE ME TO THE PHOTOS FOR SALE!