He Was 'Grumpy' Long Before Land of the Lost: How Wah Chang's Dinosaurs Captured the Hearts of a Generation


 Written by Ken Hulsey

This morning I was going through more of my photos from the Monster Island News archive when I stumbled across this one of the puppet used for 'Grumpy' the Tyrannosaurus who menaced the Marshall family in the 70s Saturday morning science fiction series Land of the Lost. I believe that the image originally came from a 1998 Sid & Marty Krofft memorabilia auction when it was sold to a private collector.

Land of the Lost: Season 1 DVD - $39.99 @ Amazon.com

Interestingly enough, good old 'Grumpy' wasn't actually created for Land of the Lost at all. In fact, both the puppet and the full-sized stop-animation model seen in the series made their first appearance in a short educational film produced in 1970 entitled 'Dinosaurs: The Terrible Lizards.' In fact, most of the dinosaurs that ended up populating ' The Land of the Lost' were in the film also. These terrible lizards were created by sculptor and artist Wah Chang, who also created the flip-open communicator from the original Star Trek series, along with many other props and creature costumes, including the Gorn from Arena. The dinosaurs were animated by Doug Beswick, who later worked on animation for the original Star Wars Trilogy.

"I wonder why he's so grumpy?" - Holly Marshall

Check out Dinosaurs: The Terrible Lizards and look for some of your favorites from Land of the Lost:





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Brief Stopover At The Southern California Railway Museum

Image
Photos and Story by Ken Hulsey  I have to admit that one of my favorite places to explore is the grounds of the Southern California Railroad Museum (at the time these photos were taken, it was known as the Orange Empire Railroad Museum). Several years ago I was traveling through Perris, so I decided to take a break wandering around the grounds. Time limitations didn't allow for much wandering, so I just poked around the southern end of the property.
Read More »

Vincent Hill Station's Wonderful Caboose Collection - Acton, California

Image
 Photos & Story by Ken Hulsey It’s fitting that a restaurant housed in an old train station would boast the finest collection of vintage railroad cabooses in Southern California. Located just off the Sierra Highway (California Highway 14) in Acton, Vincent Hill Station is a fine dining establishment that features live music and dancing. Interestingly, my main reason for stopping off the desert highway was not the food, but rather the impressive collection of cabooses visible from the road.
Read More »

Grand Trunk Western Locomotives on the Canadian National Railway in Baton Rouge

Image
Photos and Story by Ken Hulseu One of the great things about working in Baton Rouge is watching all the different types of locomotives in operation on the Canadian National. I have to tip my hat off to the CN for not repainting all of their locomotives in their signature colors like all other railroads. I love to drive by the CN engine facilities near downtown because I never know what I'm going to see in the yard. 
Read More »

Our Walmart Life - Beware The Aisles of the Living Dead

Image
 Written By Ken Hulsey As most of you already know, Terri and I are from different parts of the country. I hail from California, with short stints in Texas and New Mexico, but I lived most of my life there. Terri is from Texas, but being part of a military family, she lived all over the place, ranging from Germany to New Jersey. She actually spent most of her life in North Carolina. The fact that we both have lived in vastly different parts of our great country, each with different kinds of people, all with different foibles and different ways of doing this thing called life. Despite all of these different experiences under our belts, none of it prepared us for life in the South. 
Read More »

Ignite Your Independence: Join Us for a Spectacular 4th of July Celebration in Vernon!

Image
 Celebrate Independence Day with Vernon’s 4th of July Celebration! As the summer heat begins to rise, so does the anticipation for one of the most beloved events in Vernon, Texas: the 4th of July Celebration at the Santa Rosa Rodeo Grounds! Mark your calendars, gather your loved ones, and prepare for an evening filled with excitement, delicious food, and stunning fireworks lighting up the night sky.
Read More »

Nature's Call: How Our National Parks Inspired a Deeper Connection with the Environment

Image
 Written By Ken Hulsey If you have been following this blog over the past few months, you have likely seen several posts about how much Terri and I have enjoyed watching documentaries about our nation's breathtaking natural parks. If you're interested in starting to explore these documentaries yourself, I recommend beginning with Ken Burns' PBS documentary, The National Parks: America's Best Idea. In this series, you will learn how each park was chosen for preservation and the significant roles that influential figures like John Muir and Teddy Roosevelt played in their development. Like Terri and me, you will likely find yourself captivated by the stunning scenery and nature footage.
Read More »

Be Sure to Love the Loving

Image
"Most likely you have one in your family—the extremely loving caring person always looking out for others and helping them in every and any way possible. They usually always have a smile on their faces and will stop what they're doing and help you at the drop of a hat. Everyone always enjoys being in their company and loves the feeling of love and happiness they share with those around them. We love them. We're inspired by them to be more loving ourselves, but too often we forget to give back to these people the love that they've given to us. They, of course, would never ask for anything from us, as serving others truly makes them happy, but they need to receive love just as much as they need to give it. Yet too often, we take them for granted, and sadly, sometimes even take advantage of their kindness. Look around at your friends and family and remember to look out for and love the selfless ones. These selfless individuals mirror the love of God to us; we nee...
Read More »

The Independence Gamble: Inside the Continental Congress of 1776

Image
The Path to Independence: A Pivotal Moment in History As we look back at the tumultuous events leading up to the American Revolution, one point is particularly crucial: the deliberations within the Continental Congress during the summer of 1776. On June 10 of that year, Congress took a significant step towards independence by appointing a committee made up of five key figures to draft a Declaration of Independence. This famed committee comprised Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Robert R. Livingston, and Roger Sherman, with Jefferson tasked with the momentous job of authoring the statement that would articulate the colonies’ intentions toward their governance and relationship with Great Britain.
Read More »

Stand Firm on the Word

Image
"When most people hear the word idolatry, they think of pagans worshiping statues and assume, "That's one subject that can't apply to me." Oh, yes it can. You don't have to keep a carved, wooden tiki idol in your backyard to be an idolater. You don't have to visit a Buddhist shrine. Any time you worship the thing God created as a god, that's idolatry. We can get so caught up in the things of this world - jobs, money, people, material things - that we forget our purpose here on earth. We should live in the world but not of the world. Spend some time analyzing your walk with the Lord. Are there things that you are placing above your relationship with God? Ask Him to reveal things in your life that are being placed above God." - Tony Evans 1 John 2:15-17 15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. 16 For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of...
Read More »