Gill-man
Encyclopedia
The Creature, sometimes referred to less ambiguously as the Gill-man, is the titular character of the 1954
black-and-white science fiction
film Creature from the Black Lagoon
and its two sequels Revenge of the Creature
(1955) and The Creature Walks Among Us
(1956). Ricou Browning
portrays the underwater Gill-man throughout the three films. Ben Chapman
plays the Gill-Man on land in the first film, followed by Tom Hennesy in the second, and Don Megowan in the third. The Gill-man's popularity as an icon
ic monster of cinema has led to numerous cameo appearance
s, including in an episode of The Munsters
, the motion picture The Monster Squad
and a stage show.
, the idea behind the film was originally thought up by an unnamed Brazilian director whom he met at the home of Orson Welles
. The unnamed man spoke of a friend of his who disappeared in the Amazon in an attempt at filming a documentary on a rumored population of fish people. There were various designs for the creature. William Alland envisioned the creature as a "sad, beautiful monster" and the sculpture
of it was much like that of an aquatic development of a human. Alland said, "It would still frighten you, but because how human it was, not the other way around
". Originally, the creature's design was meant to incorporate a sleek, feminine eel
-like figure, which did not have as many bumps and gills as the final version. The designer of the approved Gill-man was Disney
animator Millicent Patrick, though her role was deliberately downplayed by makeup artist Bud Westmore
, who for half a century would receive sole credit for the creature's conception. The Gill-man suit was made from airtight molded sponge rubber and cost $15,000. The underwater sequences were filmed at Wakulla Springs
in North Florida (today a state park), as were many of the rear projection images. Part of the film was shot in Jacksonville
, Florida
on the south side of the river near the foot of the old Acosta Bridge
. The underwater Gill-man suit was painted yellow for greater visibility in the dark waters. Air was fed into the suit with a rubber hose.
signed on as director to a Creature from the Black Lagoon remake. "As a kid, I remember loving Jack Arnold's original version of this film," he explained. "What I really want to do is update an iconic image from the '50s and bring in more of the sci-fi sensibility of Alien
or John Carpenter
's The Thing." Eisner spent six months designing the new incarnation of the Gill-man with Mark McCreery (Jurassic Park
, and Davy Jones
's designer). The director said the design was "very faithful to the original, but updated", and that the Gill-man will still be sympathetic.
, capable of breathing both in and out of the water. As shown in the first film, it is vulnerable to rotenone
. It also possesses superhuman
strength, which is flamboyantly displayed in the second and third films. It also possesses large, webbed hands with sharp claws on the tip of each finger. The Gill-man's scaly skin is extremely tough, which combined with a fast acting healing factor, allows it to survive wounds which would be fatal to humans, such as gunshots and full immolation. As shown in the third film, the creature has a dormant set of lung
s, should its gill
s be irreparably damaged. The Gill-man is slightly photophobic
, due to its murky water habitat. 35% of the Gill-man's blood is composed of white corpuscles
lacking a nucleus.
The last surviving member of a race of amphibious humanoids which lived during the Devonian
age, the Gill-man (as christened by Dr. Thompson) dwelled in a lagoon
located in a largely unexplored area of the Amazon Rainforest
. The creature was apparently known to the natives, as the captain of the boat Rita mentioned local legends of a "man-fish".
After having found the fossilized remains of another Gill-man, a marine biology
institute funds an expedition to the Amazon in order to find more remains. Though the Gill-man reacts violently to the intrusion, he develops a soft spot for the team's only female member, Kay and repeatedly tries to abduct her, going as far as building a makeshift dam to prevent their boat from escaping. After having killed numerous members of the expedition, the creature takes Kay to his underwater lair, where he is tracked down by the remaining survivors and riddled with bullets. The creature sinks into the depths of the lagoon.
Revenge of the Creature
The Gill-man survives and is captured and sent to the Ocean Harbor Oceanarium in Florida
, where he is studied by an animal psychologist and his ichthyology
student. The psychologist's attempts at communicating with the Gill-man are hampered by his attraction to his student. The Gill-man breaks free from his tank and escapes into the ocean. It is not long before he begins stalking the ichthyology student and kidnaps her. The Gill-man is soon tracked down and once again repeatedly shot, forcing him into the ocean.
The Creature Walks Among Us
After living for a short while in a Florida
river, the creature is found again, and after a vicious struggle, is accidentally immolated. The Gill-man's injuries are so severe that his scales and gills fall off, forcing his captors to perform surgery on him to prevent suffocation. X-ray
s on the creature show he has begun developing a land animal's lung structure, so a tracheotomy
is performed, opening an air passage to the lungs, transforming the Gill-man into an air-breathing, nearly human animal. Dressing him in a suit made of sail cloth, the creature is taken to a California
estate where he is imprisoned within an electric fence. Though they initially try to integrate the creature into human society, one of its captors frame it for a murder, and the creature ultimately escapes into the ocean.
said in March 2007 that the Gill-man's origin would be reinvented, with him being the result of a pharmaceutical corporation polluting
the Amazon. "It’s about the rainforest
being exploited for profit," he said.
giant, almost as big as the Rita itself, weighing in at 30 tons. This Gill-man is both cold blooded and warm blooded and also has a long whiplike tail. The gigantic creature is dubbed "AA", for "Advanced Amphibian," by the expedition team members. After slaying most of the team members, destroying a Sikorsky helicopter, and kidnapping Kay more than once, the creature is killed by the crew of a United States Navy
torpedo boat.
's novel Time's Black Lagoon, the Gill-man is depicted as descending from a race of extraterrestrial
s who came to Earth
during the Devonian period on a giant spaceship called The Mother. The Gill-people have the ability to communicate telepathically
among themselves and among the human characters. Alphas such as "Fleshmolders", "Mudshapers", and "Fishcallers" are highly telepathic individuals in their tribal communities.
The Creature from the Black Lagoon itself is a degenerate member of this race, descended from an individual who explored deep in the ocean and became exposed to archaebacteria
, becoming deformed and insane, driven to infect others with the disease. Eventually there were no healthy gill-people left, and the race's numbers dwindled over the epoch
s to one individual in the 1950s, which is the one that appears in the original film.
theme park in Los Angeles
, California
. It is scheduled to tentatively debut in the spring of 2009, when it will replace Fear Factor LIVE.
1954 in film
The year 1954 in film involved some significant events and memorable ones.-Events:*May 12 - The Marx Brothers' Zeppo Marx divorces wife Marion Benda...
black-and-white science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
film Creature from the Black Lagoon
Creature from the Black Lagoon
Creature from the Black Lagoon is a 1954 monster horror film directed by Jack Arnold, and starring Richard Carlson, Julia Adams, Richard Denning, Antonio Moreno, and Whit Bissell. The eponymous creature was played by Ben Chapman on land and Ricou Browning in underwater scenes...
and its two sequels Revenge of the Creature
Revenge of the Creature
Revenge of the Creature is the first sequel to Creature from the Black Lagoon. The film is notable for being the only 3-D film to be released in 1955; the only 3-D sequel to a 3-D film; and for being the first screen role for Clint Eastwood. The movie was released May 11, 1955, in the United States...
(1955) and The Creature Walks Among Us
The Creature Walks Among Us
The Creature Walks Among Us is the third and final installment of the Creature from the Black Lagoon horror film series from Universal Pictures, following 1955's Revenge of the Creature. The film was released April 26, 1956, in the United States....
(1956). Ricou Browning
Ricou Browning
Ricou Browning is an American film director, actor, producer and underwater cinematographer and action specialist.Browning was born in Fort Pierce, Florida and was a physical education major at Florida State University. He grew up to start a career in water shows, moving on to produce shows...
portrays the underwater Gill-man throughout the three films. Ben Chapman
Ben Chapman (actor)
Benjamin F. Chapman, Jr. was an American actor best known as playing the Gill-man on land in the 1954 horror film Creature from the Black Lagoon...
plays the Gill-Man on land in the first film, followed by Tom Hennesy in the second, and Don Megowan in the third. The Gill-man's popularity as an icon
Icon
An icon is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, from Eastern Christianity and in certain Eastern Catholic churches...
ic monster of cinema has led to numerous cameo appearance
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
s, including in an episode of The Munsters
The Munsters
The Munsters is a 1960s American family television sitcom depicting the home life of a family of monsters. It starred Fred Gwynne as Herman Munster and Yvonne De Carlo as his wife, Lily Munster. The series was a satire of both traditional monster movies and popular family entertainment of the era,...
, the motion picture The Monster Squad
The Monster Squad
The Monster Squad is a comedy/horror film written by Shane Black and Fred Dekker and directed by Fred Dekker . It was released by Tri-Star Pictures on August 14, 1987. The film features the classic monsters , led by Count Dracula...
and a stage show.
Concept and design
Original
According to producer William AllandWilliam Alland
William Alland was an American actor, producer, writer and director of science fiction and western films. He is perhaps best known for his role as reporter Jerry Thompson, who investigates the life of newspaper tycoon Charles Foster Kane in Orson Welle's Citizen Kane...
, the idea behind the film was originally thought up by an unnamed Brazilian director whom he met at the home of Orson Welles
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
. The unnamed man spoke of a friend of his who disappeared in the Amazon in an attempt at filming a documentary on a rumored population of fish people. There were various designs for the creature. William Alland envisioned the creature as a "sad, beautiful monster" and the sculpture
Sculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
of it was much like that of an aquatic development of a human. Alland said, "It would still frighten you, but because how human it was, not the other way around
Uncanny Valley
The uncanny valley is a hypothesis in the field of robotics and 3D computer animation, which holds that when human replicas look and act almost, but not perfectly, like actual human beings, it causes a response of revulsion among human observers...
". Originally, the creature's design was meant to incorporate a sleek, feminine eel
Eel
Eels are an order of fish, which consists of four suborders, 20 families, 111 genera and approximately 800 species. Most eels are predators...
-like figure, which did not have as many bumps and gills as the final version. The designer of the approved Gill-man was Disney
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
animator Millicent Patrick, though her role was deliberately downplayed by makeup artist Bud Westmore
Bud Westmore
Bud Westmore was a make-up artist in Hollywood.Son of George Westmore, a member of the Westmore family prominent in Hollywood make-up. He is credited on over 450 movies and television shows, including To Kill a Mockingbird, Man of a Thousand Faces, The Andromeda Strain and Creature from the Black...
, who for half a century would receive sole credit for the creature's conception. The Gill-man suit was made from airtight molded sponge rubber and cost $15,000. The underwater sequences were filmed at Wakulla Springs
Wakulla Springs
Wakulla Springs is located south of Tallahassee, Florida and east of Crawfordville in Wakulla County, Florida at the crossroads of State Road 61 and State Road 267...
in North Florida (today a state park), as were many of the rear projection images. Part of the film was shot in Jacksonville
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
on the south side of the river near the foot of the old Acosta Bridge
Acosta Bridge
The Acosta Bridge spans the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida on a fixed span. It was named for City Councilman St. Elmo W. Acosta, who convinced voters to approve a $950,000 bond issue for the original bridge. It carries SR 13 with the two-track JTA Skyway in the median. Prior to its...
. The underwater Gill-man suit was painted yellow for greater visibility in the dark waters. Air was fed into the suit with a rubber hose.
Remake
In October 2005, Breck EisnerBreck Eisner
Michael "Breck" Eisner is an American television and film director.-Early life:Eisner was born Michael Eisner in California, the son of Jane Breckenridge, a business advisor and computer programmer, and Michael Eisner, the former Walt Disney Company chief executive...
signed on as director to a Creature from the Black Lagoon remake. "As a kid, I remember loving Jack Arnold's original version of this film," he explained. "What I really want to do is update an iconic image from the '50s and bring in more of the sci-fi sensibility of Alien
Alien (film)
Alien is a 1979 science fiction horror film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, John Hurt, Ian Holm and Yaphet Kotto. The film's title refers to its primary antagonist: a highly aggressive extraterrestrial creature which...
or John Carpenter
John Carpenter
John Howard Carpenter is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, editor, composer, and occasional actor. Although Carpenter has worked in numerous film genres in his four-decade career, his name is most commonly associated with horror and science fiction.- Early life :Carpenter was born...
's The Thing." Eisner spent six months designing the new incarnation of the Gill-man with Mark McCreery (Jurassic Park
Jurassic Park (film)
Jurassic Park is a 1993 American science fiction adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Michael Crichton. It stars Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenborough, Martin Ferrero, and Bob Peck...
, and Davy Jones
Davy Jones (Pirates of the Caribbean)
Davy Jones is a fictional character and antagonist in the Pirates of the Caribbean series. Davy Jones is the captain of the Flying Dutchman , roaming the seas in search of souls to serve upon his vessel for a century...
's designer). The director said the design was "very faithful to the original, but updated", and that the Gill-man will still be sympathetic.
Biology
The Gill-man is fully amphibiousAmphibian
Amphibians , are a class of vertebrate animals including animals such as toads, frogs, caecilians, and salamanders. They are characterized as non-amniote ectothermic tetrapods...
, capable of breathing both in and out of the water. As shown in the first film, it is vulnerable to rotenone
Rotenone
Rotenone is an odorless chemical that is used as a broad-spectrum insecticide, piscicide, and pesticide. It occurs naturally in the roots and stems of several plants such as the jicama vine plant...
. It also possesses superhuman
Superhuman
Superhuman can mean an improved human, for example, by genetic modification, cybernetic implants, or as what humans might evolve into, in the near or distant future...
strength, which is flamboyantly displayed in the second and third films. It also possesses large, webbed hands with sharp claws on the tip of each finger. The Gill-man's scaly skin is extremely tough, which combined with a fast acting healing factor, allows it to survive wounds which would be fatal to humans, such as gunshots and full immolation. As shown in the third film, the creature has a dormant set of lung
Lung
The lung is the essential respiration organ in many air-breathing animals, including most tetrapods, a few fish and a few snails. In mammals and the more complex life forms, the two lungs are located near the backbone on either side of the heart...
s, should its gill
Gill
A gill is a respiratory organ found in many aquatic organisms that extracts dissolved oxygen from water, afterward excreting carbon dioxide. The gills of some species such as hermit crabs have adapted to allow respiration on land provided they are kept moist...
s be irreparably damaged. The Gill-man is slightly photophobic
Photophobia
Photophobia is a symptom of abnormal intolerance to visual perception of light. As a medical symptom photophobia is not a morbid fear or phobia, but an experience of discomfort or pain to the eyes due to light exposure or by presence of actual physical photosensitivity of the eyes, though the term...
, due to its murky water habitat. 35% of the Gill-man's blood is composed of white corpuscles
White blood cell
White blood cells, or leukocytes , are cells of the immune system involved in defending the body against both infectious disease and foreign materials. Five different and diverse types of leukocytes exist, but they are all produced and derived from a multipotent cell in the bone marrow known as a...
lacking a nucleus.
Creature trilogy
Creature from the Black LagoonCreature from the Black Lagoon
Creature from the Black Lagoon is a 1954 monster horror film directed by Jack Arnold, and starring Richard Carlson, Julia Adams, Richard Denning, Antonio Moreno, and Whit Bissell. The eponymous creature was played by Ben Chapman on land and Ricou Browning in underwater scenes...
The last surviving member of a race of amphibious humanoids which lived during the Devonian
Devonian
The Devonian is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic Era spanning from the end of the Silurian Period, about 416.0 ± 2.8 Mya , to the beginning of the Carboniferous Period, about 359.2 ± 2.5 Mya...
age, the Gill-man (as christened by Dr. Thompson) dwelled in a lagoon
Lagoon
A lagoon is a body of shallow sea water or brackish water separated from the sea by some form of barrier. The EU's habitat directive defines lagoons as "expanses of shallow coastal salt water, of varying salinity or water volume, wholly or partially separated from the sea by sand banks or shingle,...
located in a largely unexplored area of the Amazon Rainforest
Amazon Rainforest
The Amazon Rainforest , also known in English as Amazonia or the Amazon Jungle, is a moist broadleaf forest that covers most of the Amazon Basin of South America...
. The creature was apparently known to the natives, as the captain of the boat Rita mentioned local legends of a "man-fish".
After having found the fossilized remains of another Gill-man, a marine biology
Marine biology
Marine biology is the scientific study of organisms in the ocean or other marine or brackish bodies of water. Given that in biology many phyla, families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others that live on land, marine biology classifies species based on the environment rather...
institute funds an expedition to the Amazon in order to find more remains. Though the Gill-man reacts violently to the intrusion, he develops a soft spot for the team's only female member, Kay and repeatedly tries to abduct her, going as far as building a makeshift dam to prevent their boat from escaping. After having killed numerous members of the expedition, the creature takes Kay to his underwater lair, where he is tracked down by the remaining survivors and riddled with bullets. The creature sinks into the depths of the lagoon.
Revenge of the Creature
Revenge of the Creature
Revenge of the Creature is the first sequel to Creature from the Black Lagoon. The film is notable for being the only 3-D film to be released in 1955; the only 3-D sequel to a 3-D film; and for being the first screen role for Clint Eastwood. The movie was released May 11, 1955, in the United States...
The Gill-man survives and is captured and sent to the Ocean Harbor Oceanarium in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, where he is studied by an animal psychologist and his ichthyology
Ichthyology
Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish. This includes skeletal fish , cartilaginous fish , and jawless fish...
student. The psychologist's attempts at communicating with the Gill-man are hampered by his attraction to his student. The Gill-man breaks free from his tank and escapes into the ocean. It is not long before he begins stalking the ichthyology student and kidnaps her. The Gill-man is soon tracked down and once again repeatedly shot, forcing him into the ocean.
The Creature Walks Among Us
The Creature Walks Among Us
The Creature Walks Among Us is the third and final installment of the Creature from the Black Lagoon horror film series from Universal Pictures, following 1955's Revenge of the Creature. The film was released April 26, 1956, in the United States....
After living for a short while in a Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
river, the creature is found again, and after a vicious struggle, is accidentally immolated. The Gill-man's injuries are so severe that his scales and gills fall off, forcing his captors to perform surgery on him to prevent suffocation. X-ray
X-ray
X-radiation is a form of electromagnetic radiation. X-rays have a wavelength in the range of 0.01 to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 petahertz to 30 exahertz and energies in the range 120 eV to 120 keV. They are shorter in wavelength than UV rays and longer than gamma...
s on the creature show he has begun developing a land animal's lung structure, so a tracheotomy
Tracheotomy
Among the oldest described surgical procedures, tracheotomy consists of making an incision on the anterior aspect of the neck and opening a direct airway through an incision in the trachea...
is performed, opening an air passage to the lungs, transforming the Gill-man into an air-breathing, nearly human animal. Dressing him in a suit made of sail cloth, the creature is taken to a California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
estate where he is imprisoned within an electric fence. Though they initially try to integrate the creature into human society, one of its captors frame it for a murder, and the creature ultimately escapes into the ocean.
Breck Eisner remake
Producer Gary RossGary Ross
Gary Ross is an American writer, director, and actor. He is best known for directing Pleasantville and Seabiscuit, both of which featured Tobey Maguire in the lead role...
said in March 2007 that the Gill-man's origin would be reinvented, with him being the result of a pharmaceutical corporation polluting
Pollution
Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into a natural environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms. Pollution can take the form of chemical substances or energy, such as noise, heat or light...
the Amazon. "It’s about the rainforest
Rainforest
Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...
being exploited for profit," he said.
Creature from the Black Lagoon novelization
The 1977 novelization of Creature from the Black Lagoon by Carl Dreadstone offers a completely different origin for the Gill-man, who in this version of the story is a hermaphroditicHermaphrodite
In biology, a hermaphrodite is an organism that has reproductive organs normally associated with both male and female sexes.Many taxonomic groups of animals do not have separate sexes. In these groups, hermaphroditism is a normal condition, enabling a form of sexual reproduction in which both...
giant, almost as big as the Rita itself, weighing in at 30 tons. This Gill-man is both cold blooded and warm blooded and also has a long whiplike tail. The gigantic creature is dubbed "AA", for "Advanced Amphibian," by the expedition team members. After slaying most of the team members, destroying a Sikorsky helicopter, and kidnapping Kay more than once, the creature is killed by the crew of a United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
torpedo boat.
Time's Black Lagoon
In Paul Di FilippoPaul Di Filippo
Paul Di Filippo is an American science fiction writer. He has been published in Postscripts...
's novel Time's Black Lagoon, the Gill-man is depicted as descending from a race of extraterrestrial
Extraterrestrial life
Extraterrestrial life is defined as life that does not originate from Earth...
s who came to Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
during the Devonian period on a giant spaceship called The Mother. The Gill-people have the ability to communicate telepathically
Telepathy
Telepathy , is the induction of mental states from one mind to another. The term was coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Fredric W. H. Myers, a founder of the Society for Psychical Research, and has remained more popular than the more-correct expression thought-transference...
among themselves and among the human characters. Alphas such as "Fleshmolders", "Mudshapers", and "Fishcallers" are highly telepathic individuals in their tribal communities.
The Creature from the Black Lagoon itself is a degenerate member of this race, descended from an individual who explored deep in the ocean and became exposed to archaebacteria
Archaea
The Archaea are a group of single-celled microorganisms. A single individual or species from this domain is called an archaeon...
, becoming deformed and insane, driven to infect others with the disease. Eventually there were no healthy gill-people left, and the race's numbers dwindled over the epoch
Epoch (reference date)
In the fields of chronology and periodization, an epoch is an instance in time chosen as the origin of a particular era. The "epoch" then serves as a reference point from which time is measured...
s to one individual in the 1950s, which is the one that appears in the original film.
Theme park attraction
The gill-man will be the star of Creature from the Black Lagoon- The Musical, an upcoming Live performance show to be added to the Universal Studios HollywoodUniversal Studios Hollywood
Universal Studios Hollywood is a movie studio and theme park in the unincorporated Universal City community of Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is one of the oldest and most famous Hollywood movie studios still in use...
theme park in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. It is scheduled to tentatively debut in the spring of 2009, when it will replace Fear Factor LIVE.
In popular culture
Live Action
- In an Abbott and CostelloAbbott and CostelloWilliam "Bud" Abbott and Lou Costello performed together as Abbott and Costello, an American comedy duo whose work on stage, radio, film and television made them the most popular comedy team during the 1940s and 1950s...
sketch, on TV's Colgate Comedy Hour, Gill-man appears in a haunted house after Frankenstein's monsterFrankenstein's monsterFrankenstein's monster is a fictional character that first appeared in Mary Shelley's novel, Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus. The creature is often erroneously referred to as "Frankenstein", but in the novel the creature has no name...
faints at the sight of Lou CostelloLou CostelloLouis Francis "Lou" Costello was an American actor and comedian best known as half of the comedy team of Abbott and Costello, with Bud Abbott...
. - The creature made a cameo appearance on an episode of TV's The MunstersThe MunstersThe Munsters is a 1960s American family television sitcom depicting the home life of a family of monsters. It starred Fred Gwynne as Herman Munster and Yvonne De Carlo as his wife, Lily Munster. The series was a satire of both traditional monster movies and popular family entertainment of the era,...
as visiting Uncle Gilbert. - The Gill-man reappears in Fred DekkerFred DekkerFred Dekker is an American writer and director of the cult classic films Night of the Creeps and The Monster Squad . He contributed the story ideas for both House and Ricochet...
’s The Monster SquadThe Monster SquadThe Monster Squad is a comedy/horror film written by Shane Black and Fred Dekker and directed by Fred Dekker . It was released by Tri-Star Pictures on August 14, 1987. The film features the classic monsters , led by Count Dracula...
, where it shows little interest in human females as opposed to its classic counterpart. Instead, it allies itself with Count DraculaCount DraculaCount Dracula is a fictional character, the titular antagonist of Bram Stoker's 1897 Gothic horror novel Dracula and archetypal vampire. Some aspects of his character have been inspired by the 15th century Romanian general and Wallachian Prince Vlad III the Impaler...
, Frankenstein's monsterFrankenstein's monsterFrankenstein's monster is a fictional character that first appeared in Mary Shelley's novel, Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus. The creature is often erroneously referred to as "Frankenstein", but in the novel the creature has no name...
, the MummyThe MummyA mummy is an embalmed corpse.Mummy may also refer to:-Things:*Mummy brown, a pigment derived from mummies*Mummy paper, a paper derived from mummies*Mummy , a monster in the Dungeons & Dragons role playing game...
and the Wolfman in order to secure a magical amulet which will allow them to conquer the world. After snapping the necks of several police-men, the Gill-man is killed by Monster Squad member Horace, who shoots it with a shotgun. For its appearance in The Monster Squad, the gill-man was redesigned by Stan WinstonStan WinstonStanley Winston was an American visual effects supervisor, makeup artist, and film director. He was best known for his work in the Terminator series, the Jurassic Park series, Aliens, the Predator series, Iron Man, Edward Scissorhands, and Avatar...
in order to merely suggest Milicent Patrick’s original design due to licensing issues. The Gill-man was the first costume portrayal of Tom Woodruff, Jr. who would later work prominently in the Alien film seriesAlien (franchise)The Alien film series is a science fiction horror film franchise, focusing on Lieutenant Ellen Ripley and her battle with an extraterrestrial lifeform, commonly referred to as "the Alien"...
. - A gill-man appears alongside a vampireVampireVampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...
(based on Count DraculaCount DraculaCount Dracula is a fictional character, the titular antagonist of Bram Stoker's 1897 Gothic horror novel Dracula and archetypal vampire. Some aspects of his character have been inspired by the 15th century Romanian general and Wallachian Prince Vlad III the Impaler...
), a werewolfWerewolfA werewolf, also known as a lycanthrope , is a mythological or folkloric human with the ability to shapeshift into a wolf or an anthropomorphic wolf-like creature, either purposely or after being placed under a curse...
, a mummyMummyA mummy is a body, human or animal, whose skin and organs have been preserved by either intentional or incidental exposure to chemicals, extreme coldness , very low humidity, or lack of air when bodies are submerged in bogs, so that the recovered body will not decay further if kept in cool and dry...
and a Frankenstein monster in the film The Castle of the MonstersThe Castle of the MonstersEl Castillo de los Monstruos is a 1958 Mexican horror comedy directed by Julián Soler.-Plot summary:...
. - It appears as one of Bruno Aleixo's friends in the Portuguese comedy series "O Programa do Aleixo".
- The Japanese action series Kamen Rider KivaKamen Rider Kivais the title of the 2008 Kamen Rider Japanese tokusatsu television series produced by Toei Company and Ishimori Productions. It premiered on January 27, 2008, following the finale of Kamen Rider Den-O. It aired as a part of TV Asahi's 2008 Super Hero Time block with Engine Sentai Go-onger...
includes a race inspired by the Gill-man called the Mermen, their last surviving member bring Basshaa. - In the action series Big Bad BeetleborgsBig Bad BeetleborgsBig Bad Beetleborgs is an American television series produced by Saban Entertainment. It aired for two seasons on Fox Kids between September 7, 1996 and March 2, 1998. Reruns later aired on UPN Kids during 1998-1999...
, there is a monster named Charterville Charlie who is based on the Gill Man who is really a comic book character from the BeetleBorgs comics. - The Gill-man resided at Count DraculaCount DraculaCount Dracula is a fictional character, the titular antagonist of Bram Stoker's 1897 Gothic horror novel Dracula and archetypal vampire. Some aspects of his character have been inspired by the 15th century Romanian general and Wallachian Prince Vlad III the Impaler...
's castle in the first draft of Van HelsingVan Helsing (film)Van Helsing is a 2004 American action horror film directed by Stephen Sommers. It stars Hugh Jackman as vigilante monster hunter Gabriel Van Helsing, and Kate Beckinsale...
. The Gill-man was to have surfaced briefly for a cameo though this never came to fruition. It is somewhat implied that if a sequel were made, it would appear, as would Jack GriffinGriffin (The Invisible Man)Griffin is a fictional character, the eponym and antagonist of H. G. Wells's science fiction novel The Invisible Man, first published in 1897. Griffin is a young scientist who wants to create the ultimate humanoid by creating a race of invisible people....
.
Animation
- Mad Monster Party, a 1967 stop-motion animated comedy film by Rankin/BassRankin/BassRankin/Bass Productions, Inc. , also known as Rankin/Bass Animated Entertainment, was an American production company, known for its seasonal television specials, particularly its work in stop-motion animation. The pre-1974 library is currently owned by Classic Media,while the post-1974 library is...
, included the Creature, among other famous monsters; albeit visually different than his normal look and purple-ish. - A creature somewhat similar in appearance to the gill-man, though more massive and capable of emitting plasma blasts from its mouth, appears in the Teen TitansTeen Titans (TV series)Teen Titans is an American animated television series based on the DC Comics characters of the same name. The show was created by Glen Murakami, developed by David Slack, and produced by Warner Bros. Animation. It premiered on Cartoon Network on July 19, 2003, and the final episode "Things Change"...
episode "Episode 257-494" as the Creature From Jones Lake. - The Creature from the Black Lagoon appeared in the Robot ChickenRobot ChickenRobot Chicken is an American stop motion animated television series created and executive produced by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich along with co-head writers Douglas Goldstein and Tom Root. Green provides many voices for the show...
episode "Shoe" voiced by Seth GreenSeth GreenSeth Benjamin Green is an American actor, comedian, voice actor, and television producer. He is well known for his role as Daniel "Oz" Osbourne in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, as Dr. Evil's son Scott in the Austin Powers series of comedy films, Mitch Miller in That '70s Show, and the voice of Chris...
. He complains that he prefers to be called the "Creature from the African AmericanAfrican AmericanAfrican Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
Lagoon." In the episode "We Are a Humble Factory" the Creature (voiced by Breckin MeyerBreckin Meyer-Early life:Meyer was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the son of Dorothy Ann , a travel agent and former microbiologist, and Christopher William Meyer, a management consultant. As a child of divorced parents, he lived in California, Texas, West Virginia and New Jersey. He has an older brother,...
) tried to create his own cereal called "The Creature with the Black Macaroons". - The Gill-man alongside the rest of the Universal monstersUniversal MonstersUniversal Monsters or Universal Horror is the name given to a series of distinctive horror, suspense and science fiction films made by Universal Studios from 1923 to 1960...
appears in the animated television show Monster ForceMonster ForceMonster Force was a 13-episode animated television series created in 1994 by Universal Cartoon Studios and Canadian studio Lacewood Productions. The story is set in approx. 2020 and centers on a group of teenagers who, with help of high tech weaponry, fight off against classic Universal Monsters...
. - The Monsters vs. AliensMonsters vs. AliensMonsters vs. Aliens is a 2009 American computer-animated 3-D science fiction film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Paramount Pictures...
character Missing Link shares some physical attributes with Gill-Man. - The Disney series Kim PossibleKim PossibleKim Possible is an American animated television series about a teenage crime fighter who has the task of dealing with worldwide, family, and school issues every day. The show is action-oriented, but also has a light-hearted atmosphere and often lampoons the conventions and clichés of the...
had a mutant villain named Gill who bared a resemblance to the creature in features and abilities. Furthering his parody, he was called the 'creature from the muck lagoon' in one of his appearances. - The animated series Ugly Americans (TV series)Ugly Americans (TV series)Ugly Americans is an American animated television series created by Devin Clark and developed by David M. Stern. The program focuses on the life of Mark Lilly, a social worker employed by the Department of Integration, in an alternate reality version of New York City inhabited by monsters and other...
contains lagoon men as a race which can occasionally be seen around the city, among its other creature inhabitants, and episode 10 entitled "Sympathy for the Devil", featured a politician who's appearance was essentially a gill-man wearing a Toupée and a suit. - Teenage Mutant Ninja TurtlesTeenage Mutant Ninja TurtlesThe Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are a fictional team of four teenage anthropomorphic turtles, who were trained by their anthropomorphic rat sensei in the art of ninjutsu and named after four Renaissance artists...
action figure line by Playmates made an official Universal Monsters series in 1994, which included Leonardo as the Creature from the Black LagoonCreature from the Black LagoonCreature from the Black Lagoon is a 1954 monster horror film directed by Jack Arnold, and starring Richard Carlson, Julia Adams, Richard Denning, Antonio Moreno, and Whit Bissell. The eponymous creature was played by Ben Chapman on land and Ricou Browning in underwater scenes...
in series 2, after Leo portrayed the Wolfman in series 1. - Monster HighMonster HighMonster High is an American line of fashion dolls created by Garrett Sander with the illustrations done by Kellee Riley. They were officially released in July 2010 but made in 2007....
, a MattelMattelMattel, Inc. is the world's largest toy company based on revenue. The products it produces include Fisher Price, Barbie dolls, Hot Wheels and Matchbox toys, Masters of the Universe, American Girl dolls, board games, and, in the early 1980s, video game consoles. The company's name is derived from...
fashion line of dolls and related series, features Lagoona Blue, daughter of a Sea MonsterSea monsterSea monsters are sea-dwelling mythical or legendary creatures, often believed to be of immense size.Marine monsters can take many forms, including sea dragons, sea serpents, or multi-armed beasts. They can be slimy or scaly and are often pictured threatening ships or spouting jets of water...
and a nereid, and her boyfriend Gill Werberton.
Video Games
- The character of Rikuo (a fishman creature also known as Aulbath) from CapcomCapcomis a Japanese developer and publisher of video games, known for creating multi-million-selling franchises such as Devil May Cry, Chaos Legion, Street Fighter, Mega Man and Resident Evil. Capcom developed and published Bionic Commando, Lost Planet and Dark Void too, but they are less known. Its...
's Darkstalkers series is a similar being, and also named in honor of Ricou Brownings's portrayal of the Gill-Man from Creature from the Black Lagoon. - Gill-men have appeared in Konami Wai Wai WorldKonami Wai Wai World, "wai wai" being a Japanese onomatopoeia for a noisy, crowded area, is a 1988 Family Computer platform video game released only in Japan by Konami. The game itself stars various Konami created characters as well as Mikey and King Kong, who appeared in two Konami-produced, movie-based...
and in the CastlevaniaCastlevaniaCastlevania, known as in Japan, is a video game series created and developed by Konami. The series debuted in Japan on September 26, 1986, with the release of for the Family Computer Disk System , followed by an alternate version for the MSX 2 platform on October 30...
games CastlevaniaCastlevania (video game)Castlevania, known as in Japan, is a console video game developed and published by Konami for the Family Computer Disk System in Japan in September 1986. A year later, in May 1987 it was ported to cartridge format and released in North America for the Nintendo Entertainment System followed by a...
, Vampire KillerVampire KillerVampire Killer, known as in Japan, is a platform-adventure game produced by Konami and released in for the MSX2 computer platform in Japan, Europe, and Brazil. It was never released in North America. It was in development around the same time as the Nintendo Entertainment System game...
, Haunted CastleHaunted Castle (arcade game)Haunted Castle, known as in Japan, is the first arcade game in the Castlevania series, released by Konami in 1988. It was later re-released on the PlayStation 2 exclusively in Japan, as part of the Oretachi Game Center Zoku collection....
, Castlevania II: Simon's QuestCastlevania II: Simon's QuestCastlevania II: Simon's Quest, known in Japan as , is an action-adventure role-playing platform game produced by Konami. It was originally released for the Family Computer Disk System in Japan 1987 and for the Nintendo Entertainment System in North America in 1988. It is the second Castlevania...
, Castlevania III: Dracula's CurseCastlevania III: Dracula's Curse-Reception and legacy:Nintendo Power listed it as the ninth best Nintendo Entertainment System video game, praising it for its strong improvements over previous entries in the series.A 1991 Captain N episode was based on this game....
, Castlevania: Rondo of BloodCastlevania: Rondo of BloodCastlevania: Rondo of Blood, known in Japan as is a platform video game developed by Konami for the PC Engine. The tenth installment of the Castlevania video game series and a 2D side-scroller, it acts as a middleground between the earlier, typically linear Castlevania games and the later...
, Castlevania: Symphony of the NightCastlevania: Symphony of the NightCastlevania: Symphony of the Night, known in Japan as , is an action-adventure game developed and published by Konami in 1997. It is the 14th installment of the Castlevania series, the first installment released for the PlayStation, and a direct sequel to Castlevania: Rondo of Blood.Symphony of the...
, Castlevania: Harmony of DissonanceCastlevania: Harmony of DissonanceCastlevania: Harmony of Dissonance, known in Japan as , is an action-adventure game developed and published by Konami for the Game Boy Advance. Belonging to Konami's Castlevania video game series, it is the second installment of the series on the Game Boy Advance...
, Castlevania: Lament of InnocenceCastlevania: Lament of InnocenceCastlevania: Lament of Innocence, released as in Japan, Europe, and Australia, is an action-adventure video game developed by Konami for the PlayStation 2 console. Belonging to Konami's Castlevania video game series, it is the first installment of the series on the PlayStation 2 and the third to...
, Castlevania: Aria of SorrowCastlevania: Aria of SorrowCastlevania: Aria of Sorrow, known in Japan as , is an action-adventure game developed and published by Konami for the Game Boy Advance. It is part of Konami's Castlevania video game series, and the third installment of the series on the Game Boy Advance. The game was released in North America on...
, Castlevania: Dawn of SorrowCastlevania: Dawn of SorrowCastlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, known in Japan as , is an action-adventure game developed and published by Konami. It is part of Konami's Castlevania video game series and the first Castlevania game to be released on the Nintendo DS. The game is the sequel to Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow and...
, Castlevania: Curse of DarknessCastlevania: Curse of DarknessCastlevania: Curse of Darkness, known in Japan as , is a console video game developed by Konami for the Xbox and PlayStation 2. Despite that it was released for Xbox and PlayStation 2, Japan was only able to see a PlayStation 2 release. However, An Xbox version was released in Asia under the...
, Castlevania: Portrait of RuinCastlevania: Portrait of RuinCastlevania: Portrait of Ruin, known in Japan as , is an action video game developed and published by Konami. The game was released on November 16, 2006 in Japan, and in the US on December 5, 2006 for the Nintendo DS handheld game console...
and Castlevania: Order of EcclesiaCastlevania: Order of EcclesiaCastlevania: Order of Ecclesia, known in Japan as , is the third Nintendo DS installment of the Castlevania franchise, developed by longtime Castlevania developer Koji Igarashi.-Gameplay:...
under different names - There are creatures in Fallout 3Fallout 3Fallout 3 is an action role-playing game released by Bethesda Game Studios, and the third major installment in the Fallout series. The game was released in North America, Europe and Australia in October 2008, and in Japan in December 2008 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360...
and Fallout New Vegas, called Mirelurk King and Lakelurk, respectively, which are very similar to the gill-man. - In the 1995 MicroProseMicroProseMicroProse was a video game publisher and developer, founded by Wild Bill Stealey and Sid Meier in 1982 as Microprose Software. In 1993, the company became a subsidiary of Spectrum HoloByte and has remained a subsidiary or brand name under several other corporations since...
game X-COM: Terror from the DeepX-COM: Terror from the DeepX-COM: Terror from the Deep is a strategy video game released in 1995 for the PC. It is the sequel to UFO: Enemy Unknown, and the second part of the X-COM series.-Gameplay:...
, the Gillmen are a central race in the alien forces, but one not alien of origin. They are a pre-historic Earth race of intelligent, amphibious humanoids thought to have been destroyed when mammals became dominant on Earth. In fact they were instead forced into a symbiotic relationship with the aliens who had cashed on Earth.
Comics & Graphic Novels
- DC ComicsDC ComicsDC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
' Lagoon BoyLagoon BoyLagoon Boy is a fictional character a superhero published by DC Comics. He first appeared in Aquaman vol. 5 #50 , and was created by Erik Larsen and Eric Battle.-Fictional character biography:...
name and appearance are inspired by the creature. - Abe SapienAbe SapienAbraham "Abe" Sapien is a fictional character in the comic book series Hellboy, created by Mike Mignola. He takes his name from "Icthyo sapiens," the fanciful species designation chosen for him by his colleagues in the 19th-century Oannes Club, and from Abraham Lincoln, on whose assassination date...
, of the HellboyHellboyHellboy is a comic book superhero created by writer-artist Mike Mignola. The character first appeared in San Diego Comic-Con Comics #2 , and has since appeared in various eponymous miniseries, one-shots and intercompany crossovers...
series, has a similar design to that of a gill-man.
Literature
- Gill-man and his race are mentioned in passing in the second volume of League of Extraordinary Gentlemen where they are connected to the Silurians and Sea Devils from Doctor WhoDoctor WhoDoctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
. - The creature also appears in the novel ItItIt may refer to:* It , a third-person neuter pronoun in English* IT , often refers to information technology-As a name:* Cousin Itt, a monster character in the TV series The Addams Family...
by Stephen KingStephen KingStephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
.
Similar sighting and hoaxes
- In 1972 near Thetis Lake in British Columbia, Canada, a creature known as the Thetis Lake MonsterThetis Lake monsterThe Thetis Lake monster is a reptilian humanoid cryptid claimed by many proponents of cryptozoology to have been seen in 1972 by Thetis Lake, outside of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. The legend has been attributed to the mistaken identification of an escaped Tegu lizard, and remains mostly...
was said to be similar to Gill-Man in appearance.
See also
- Universal MonstersUniversal MonstersUniversal Monsters or Universal Horror is the name given to a series of distinctive horror, suspense and science fiction films made by Universal Studios from 1923 to 1960...
- List of piscine and amphibian humanoids
- Swamp monsterSwamp monsterSwamp monsters have been a staple of comics for years. From the 1940s to the present many murk-dwellers have made their muddy mark in comics. Swamp creatures are humanoid creatures similar to fish or resembling living piles of swamp mire. They live underwater and occasionally come to the surface,...
- Sea monsterSea monsterSea monsters are sea-dwelling mythical or legendary creatures, often believed to be of immense size.Marine monsters can take many forms, including sea dragons, sea serpents, or multi-armed beasts. They can be slimy or scaly and are often pictured threatening ships or spouting jets of water...