Taxidermist to the stars

Karen S. Kim

SOUTH SAN FERNANDO DISTRICT -- Brown rats, white mice, birds,

squirrels, bears, caribou, baboons, boars, horses, lions, tigers and even

an ostrich stand lifelike in the display room of Bischoff’s Taxidermy &

Animal EFX.

The business has been providing taxidermy services to game hunters

since 1922, but in the last six years, Bischoff’s has taken on a new base

of clients.

About 90% of Bischoff’s customers today work for the entertainment

industry.

“That was my reason for getting into it,” said Gary Robbins, who

bought the business six years ago. Robbins, 47, practiced taxidermy as a

hobby for years, but he quit his construction business to run Bischoff’s.

His goal was to change the focus of the business from game hunting to the

movie and television industry.

“I like to travel, go on the sets and work with my animals,” Robbins

said. “It’s never boring. When the phone rings, you never know what

you’re going to get.”

Bischoff’s work can be seen in movies, television shows, commercials

and magazine advertisements almost every day, Robbins said.

The company’s recent credits include “Ace Ventura,” “There’s Something

About Mary,” “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me,” “Outbreak” and “The

Animal.”

But the job isn’t all glamour and glitz. Taxidermy is a difficult art,

Robbins said.

Many of Bischoff’s pieces are made from real animal hides. On Tuesday

morning, employees at Bischoff’s were skinning a deer’s head. The skin

would be tanned, stretched, glued onto a model and detailed.

Robbins said though he uses real animal hides a lot of the time,

animal activists don’t usually bother him.

“Our animals usually take the place of a live animal on set and save

them the stress of, let’s say, sitting under lights for five hours while

the scene is set up,” Robbins said.

Sometimes, a customer will require a model of an animal whose hide

can’t be supplied by the out-of-state trappers Robbins usually uses. A

cat or a dog has to be found through another source, a source Robbins

calls his least favorite part of the job.

For these animals, Robbins will look to animals that have been

euthanized by animal shelters.

“I get to go down and sort through a pile of dead animals,” Robbins

said.

THE BISCHOFF’S FILE

WHAT: Bischoff’s Taxidermy & Animal EFX

WHERE: 54 E. Magnolia Blvd.

CREDITS: “The Birds” and ducks on AFLAC commercials.

PRICE: $300 to more than $30,000.

INFO: 843-7561, www.bischoffs.net.