Carmen Nigro (October 10, 1905 – September 24, 1990)[1][2] was an American
chef who professed to have worked for three decades as a
Hollywoodstuntman under the
professional nameKen Roady. From 1969 he gained notability through media interviews in which he announced he had acted in a
gorilla suit in many Hollywood films, most famously as the title role in the 1933 classic King Kong.[3][4]
While Nigro's claims were accepted as fact by some journalists and authors during his lifetime,[5][6][7] film historians generally have disputed his account,[8][9][10][11] and regard him as an
impostor.[12][13]
Alleged Hollywood career
In 1969, Nigro came forward with his account of having acted in a gorilla suit in King Kong (1933). He was quoted in the Chicago Sun Times under an alias, Ken Roady, as saying that he "got paid $150 a week and never could get along with either
Fay Wray or
Robert Armstrong, who were the stars of the picture."[11][14] In 1976, when the
remake of King Kong was in production, Nigro attracted much media attention as "the man who was known for 25 years as the Hollywood Apeman."[3] His alleged participation in the original King Kong and other films was reported on by journalist
Bob Greene:
"They used an animated doll for most of the sequences of the gorilla," Nigro said ... "But for all of the scenes where they needed someone to act like a real gorilla – that was me. It was me on top of the Empire State Building, for example." ...
Nigro said that King Kong wasn't the only gorilla he played in the movies... "I spent all that money to have my suit made. It took six bear skins to make it and it cost me $3500. I only made $7000 for King Kong. I was also in Mighty Joe Young,
Tarzan of the Apes,
Tarzan and His Mate,
Ape Man – I played gorillas in about 25 or 30 movies. But I made about 133 movies in all, as a stunt man.
There was a fellow in Hollywood named
Charles Gearmer[sic] who wanted the part, but he wasn't very good at being a
gorilla. He was more like a
chimpanzee or an
orangutan. Then there was another fellow, name of
Van Horn, who wanted the part. But I got it because I had a better costume to begin with and I knew how to act like a gorilla better. I had been to Africa with
Frank Buck, the great animal hunter, and I knew how an ape walked."[15]
Controversy
Nigro's claims were widely accepted at face value by the lay media during his lifetime, notably by journalist
Bob Greene, who interviewed Nigro on at least three occasions, and reported on his death in 1990. However, professional film critics have remarked that no evidence exists of Nigro's Hollywood career other than his own assertions, and have generally rejected his claims as spurious or unverifiable.[9][16][17]
The consensus of film historians is that the giant ape in King Kong was an animated model created by special-effects expert
Willis O'Brien.[11][18]Donald F. Glut wrote that "there was no human actor inside a gorilla costume playing the colossal simian... in Nigro's case the claim seems to have been simply fraudulent."[13] Author
James Van Hise referred to Nigro as "the Counterfeit Kong," and quoted surviving cast and crew members of King Kong who repudiated Nigro's claims, including
Fay Wray and production assistant Zoe Porter.[12]
In newspaper interviews Nigro said he had worked as a
rodeo cowboy in his youth.[21] Sources indicate that he worked as a dining-car chef on the
Santa Fe Railway for 32 years, retiring from that role in 1970. He then worked as a security guard for a Chicago insurance company.[22] In 1983 it was reported that had disposed of his
gorilla suit because it had developed
mildew and his wife Evelyn was allergic to it. (However, a 1990 obituary reported that Nigro had bequeathed the head of the costume to a nephew.) During his retirement he also addressed schools and
Boy Scout meetings about his alleged participation in King Kong.[23][1]
^
ab"United States Social Security Death Index". FamilySearch. Retrieved December 19, 2016. Carmen Nigro, 24 Sep 1990; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File
^
ab"'King Kong' reminisces about life on sky scraper". The Prescott Courier. March 22, 1976. A barrel-chested 5-foot-6, Nigro was the hairy beast in Mighty Joe Young, The Unholy Three, Tarzan and His Mate, Night of Horror and Ape Man Nabonga [sic]. His last gorilla movie was Gorilla at Large in 1954.
^Glut, Donald F. (2005). "His Majesty, King Kong - IV". In Woods, Paul A. (ed.). King Kong Cometh!. London: Plexus. p. 64.
ISBN9780859653626. Nigro's claims are unable to be substantiated.
^
abcGoldner, Orville; Turner, George E. (1975). The Making of King Kong: the Story behind a Film Classic. New Jersey: A.S. Barnes & Co. p. 87.
ISBN0498015106. The fact is that no gigantic motorised robots or men in ape-suits were used at any time in the making of the film.