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Cholly, by golly! Loyal user 251 Posts |
I have always been a big fan of the Girl To Gorilla sideshow illusion. It was a cash cow in it's heyday and always entertaining, even when you knew the secret. The illusion was just the setup... the real fun began when the lights went out(Look at 'em run!).
In this modern age of cynicism and CGI, could a sideshow based on the Pepper's Ghost illusion make money today? Last I heard there were still one or two Girl To Gorilla shows making the rounds... but are they making money? Opinions, please! |
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ryman New user 45 Posts |
Uh.. sorry I have no idea on what you r talkng about
but.. by the way do you know how to make a giant fan/double fan?? |
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DonDriver Inner circle 1790 Posts |
The Gorilla show is called a" Back end Show" meaning its always sets up on the back end of a carnival lot.If you framed(made)a show like this and took it on the road it won't be cheap.Besides a big tent and the illusions its self,you'll need a box truck (like a moving truck)to haul it all.For a gorilla show to really work and take in the money you need a really GOOD gorilla suit,not a cheap one.Than you'll need a crew to up and down it.The rent for a show like this is high on carnival's.They aslo take a percentage of you box(ticket sales).Insurance is getting out of sight these days and you'll need no less than a million dollar liability policy maybe more.
You would have to work all the big State Fairs in the U.S.Lots of miles and gas for that big turck.Motel rooms or a R.V. You also have to house's your crew.Don't forget the weight stations all over the U.S.They love to find something wrong and fine you or make you get a mechanic come out to the weigh station and fix what ever they said was wrong before you can drive off.I have known show owners to drive 300 miles out of the way on two lane roads just to by-pass a weight stations,really. With all this expense you might still have a shot of showing a profit after a season.The one thing I promise you won't over come is your help.You can't keep help today like you used to years ago.The'll walk off in a heart beat.Its the last night of the show.Its 1:00AM and the show has to come down and you have to hit the road that night to make the next spot and its raining..really hard.The crew says NO way and walks off...hehehe. Need I say any more? Later,Don |
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Doug Higley 1942 - 2022 7152 Posts |
Agreed with above except one thing...I've seen the show a success with the rattiest fakest crapiest Gorilla Suit you can imagine. Doesn't matter...If the lecturer is creating the hypnotic moment...when the 'suit' breaks out of the cage they run no matter what it looks like.
BUT there is a really NICE suit always avail on eBay darn cheap...so no need for the the old fluffy pajamas and a face mask. also Chooly, by golly: The lights never went out in the G TO G, many times there were no lights except the one for the working of the Illusion itself. You could not have darkness in such a chaotic situation of the crowd panicing out of the top...just ambient light was good enough. As to the 'Black Out' you're thinking of the old time Live Spook Shows. They got dark! With a G to G today...IF you have a Family situation where you do not need to hire stiffs to work it, I think you could do OK. It still has draw power. I'd put it at a Flea Market! hahaha Doug
Higley's Giant Flea Pocket Zibit
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Cholly, by golly! Loyal user 251 Posts |
Doug,
The very first time I saw the Girl To Gorilla was at the S.C. State Fair @ 1982. It was called Atasha The Ape Girl. In that show, the lights were turned out just as the gorilla escaped from the cage (Get back, Atasha! Back!). Someone then opened the tent flap and everyone ran out onto the brightly-lit midway! This may have been an attempt to update the classic show... a way of making it even scarier for modern (80's) audiences. It worked... I just about wet myself! |
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Slim King Eternal Order Orlando 18012 Posts |
How about a Girl to Sasquach? That's kind of an update....Even though the Gimlin film was in the sixties. That would explain why no one can catch one. She just turns back into a girl.LOL
THE MAN THE SKEPTICS REFUSE TO TEST FOR ONE MILLION DOLLARS.. The Worlds Foremost Authority on Houdini's Life after Death.....
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Clifford the Red Inner circle LA, California 1941 Posts |
Hey...I think you've got a pretty good tale there!
"The universe is full of magical things, waiting for our wits to grow sharper." Eden Philpotts
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olivertwist Special user Nashua, NH 588 Posts |
In the 70's I worked as the Park Artist at an amusement park. They featured the 'Girl to Ape' illusion and it went over well, but their illusion had dirt or chipping paint on some reflective surfaces that took away from the effect.
The principle is solid. Good acting on the part of the ape and the girl, combined with quality equipment can make it a great illusion. It could be used to morph something into anything compatible in size. Oliver |
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Cholly, by golly! Loyal user 251 Posts |
Sasquatch, huh? Cool. Over the years the effect has been used to imply ghosts, werewolves, vampires, aliens, demons... the list goes on and on.
What if you claimed to have captured a real ghost in a high-tech "spectral containment unit?" Just show'em an empty chamber then slowly fade your ghost in and out? The possibilities are endless. |
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Slim King Eternal Order Orlando 18012 Posts |
When I was a kid I went through the Haunted Mansion in Disneyland close to a dozen times (My first day), determined to figure out every secret. Now living in the Orlando area almost 40 years later, The Haunted Mansion still looks amazing to me. It's a classic!
THE MAN THE SKEPTICS REFUSE TO TEST FOR ONE MILLION DOLLARS.. The Worlds Foremost Authority on Houdini's Life after Death.....
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oscarquella New user 32 Posts |
The only time I saw it was at the MN State Fair iin the early '90s and it was cheap! It was all a film- filmed girl, filmed gorilla. And the gorilla was just sort of morphed over the girl- the girl would fadeout as the gorilla would fade in.
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Cholly, by golly! Loyal user 251 Posts |
Oscarquella,
Are you sure it was a film? It sounds like what you saw was a badly done pepper's ghost effect? |
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Doug Higley 1942 - 2022 7152 Posts |
Cholly...I do remember a G to G that did use lights out...but it didn't go dark...the tent leaked too much light and the lights were weak anyway hahaha... at night, the lights were low and creepy...I don't remember them turning off, too much risk of injury in the panic. I may be wrong though...of course I never saw all of 'em!
I think rather than Atasha, could it have been Natasha? Natasha is pretty standard (there's a few other names too). Oscarella: Doubt if it was film...too expensive and pointless when all the illusion needs is a rheostat and two light bulbs and a piece of glass or plexi. (pocket change.) In all the G to G, the girl fades out as the gorilla fades in. That's the illusion. Doug
Higley's Giant Flea Pocket Zibit
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oscarquella New user 32 Posts |
It was definately the girl to gorilla. Maybe it wasn't a film- I seem to remember it that way because it was all grainy. And the gorilla never moved if I remember correctly. I could be wrong about that stuff, I think I was about 11.
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Todd Robbins V.I.P. New York 2922 Posts |
There have been some pretty murky G to Gs out there. I don't know of anyone that has used film. It was probably just a dusty gaff. Dusty Gaff? Did he work a razzle joint on the Strates shows in the fifties?
By the way, there is a very well respected magician that once worked a razzle joint when he was a young man. I won't say who it is. Out of respect for his privacy I will "mask" his idenity. |
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Doug Higley 1942 - 2022 7152 Posts |
Well Oscar if the Gorilla never moved, either it was the worst G to G ever or the guy who was playing the Gorilla didn't show and it was a coat rack behind the glass. Without the Gorilla coming forward and rattling the door the Crowd doesn't run out and if the crowd doesn't run out the tip doesn't materialize.
Todd...PM me with the 'Counter'. Curious. Doug
Higley's Giant Flea Pocket Zibit
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Dr_Stephen_Midnight Inner circle SW Ohio, USA 1555 Posts |
With materializing a ghost or demon, the critter wouldn't even have to be a live actor; it could be a humbly animated mannequin using small servo motors.
Steve
Dr. Lao: "Do you know what wisdom is?"
Mike: "No." Dr. Lao: "Wise answer." |
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Cholly, by golly! Loyal user 251 Posts |
Cool idea, Doc! But after years of operating a haunted attraction, I really hate animatronics. They're expensive and almost as unreliable as live actors.
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oscarquella New user 32 Posts |
Yeah, as I said I could remember it wrong, I was only about 11 (but that wasn't too long ago...). Some people did still scream- that much I remember, but I also remember thinking "this is so cheap". That same day I did see a headless girl illusion that was pretty cool. There's nothing like that on our midway anymore. All we have now are rides. Ten bucks says someone posts an angry message at me here because that was their show and I am wrong about it!!
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Todd Robbins V.I.P. New York 2922 Posts |
There are still a few single-os and grind shows out there. Jack Constentin, Tim Deremer, Jim Zychek and a couple of other showmen have small units out there. They have to squeeze them in between the rides, so the days of the 150 foot fronts on shows are gone. As was reported here and on sideshow central, Ward Hall's show is going out on the road again with a new owner. I hope they can make a go of it.
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