Costume-maker Philip Morris got an unusual phone in 1967 call from a person asking about a gorilla costume. He had been advertising party costumes in trade magazines, so was used to getting such phone calls, but this was slightly different.

The caller wanted to buy a gorilla costume and asked if it looked like a real gorilla.graduate. he was assured that it looked like a real gorilla, but said he wanted something that looked more Neanderthal. What he wanted was in fact Bigfoot.

Intrigued, Morris asked Patterson what the costume was for. “He said the costume was for a prank, but I thought that was pretty odd because these were expensive suits,” said Morris. “Our customers were movie studios and famous magicians, the suits cost $450 back then. That is like over $1,000 today. I thought it was odd to spend so much on a prank, but I sent him the costume.”

2 weeks after dispatching the costume, Morris got another phone call from Patterson. “He asked me to send him some extra fur and asked how to hide the zipper in the back and how to make the person in the costume look larger,” Morris said. “I told him to brush the fur over the zipper and use hair spray to hold it, and then get some football shoulder pads and sticks for the arms to give the illusion of being taller, and use stuffing to get more bulk.”

2 months later, Patterson was all over the news with a video he “captured” of Bigfoot while hunting in northern California. “I was watching TV when I saw Patterson and his film on the news,” Morris said. “I called my wife from the other room and said, `Look it’s our gorilla costume.”’
So next season I think we’ll choose to promote our pirate costume. Less likely to be used as a disguise.