Monkey Shines Last Time Around at the Shrine

Streakers, technical snafus, opening the wrong envelope . . . you get them all at the Academy Awards. But a gorilla?

In 1948--the last time the Oscars were handed out at Shrine Auditorium--a gorilla and two escorts arrived by limousine, hustled past security guards and paraded up and down the auditorium aisles, causing a commotion before the show began. The gorilla, of course, turned out to be a rent-a-gorilla--USC student Vic Wiggington. His two cohorts were two other USC students--who grew up to be TV-film producer David L. Wolper and columnist Art Buchwald.

The whole thing “was for publicity,” recalled former USC Daily Trojan managing editor Lloyd Hearn, who was in the audience observing the stunt. “It was to advertise a student (drama) show.”

Wolper said he accompanied the gorilla “in the role of student newspaper photographer and as publicist for the show. It was just for kicks.” He said he and Buchwald had “just gotten the wild idea and decided to do it.” Buchwald had a special interest in publicizing the student show, titled “No Love Atoll.” He wrote it.

During their moment of glory, Buchwald carried a sign that read, “Award Winner, S. C. Varsity Show.” Wolper ran around snapping photos. “Somehow we got past the guards,” Wolper recalled. A Times’ report of the incident described the “guardians of the law” as having been “astonished.”

Wolper said his photos were “plastered on the front page” of the Daily Trojan and they made some of the Los Angeles daily newspapers as well.

But not everybody liked the publicity. Wolper said during photo sessions with Lana Turner and Dorothy Lamour, “enraged publicists for the stars started shouting and the guards escorted us out.”