Animal actor. He was best known for playing the role of Clyde, the sidekick to Clint Eastwood in the 1978 cowboy comedy "Every Which Way But Loose."
According to a 1992 article reported by the UPI:
SAN ANTONIO -- The beer-drinking orangutan who helped a pair of Clint Eastwood movies climb high at the box office was moved Sunday to a haven for apes with nowhere to go after spending five years in a roadside zoo and nearly dying of pneumonia.
But don't call him Clyde, his name in the 1978 Eastwood film 'Every Which Way But Loose' and the 1980 sequel 'Any Which Way You Can.'
The 15-year-old orangutan was comatose and near death when he was brought to the Dallas Zoo from the Texas Safari, a wildlife park in Clinton, Texas, in January. The wildlife park, a drive-through facility about 90 miles southwest of Dallas, bought the ape in 1985 from a California animal trainer.
'It broke my heart, the condition he was in when he got here,' said zookeeper Michele Whitehouse, the driving force behind the orangutan's comeback. She said he stayed on his back for weeks after arriving at the zoo, but that she eventually managed to coax him to walk, and later to climb, by placing his favorite foods slightly out of his reach.
The orangutan's story of movie stardom; life -- and nearly death -- in a roadside zoo; and his recovery is the focus of a National Geographic Society documentary on people who care for animals.
'He came in here near death, and because of their work, he's the beautiful, gentle animal we see here today,' said filmmaker Allison Argo.
The documentary will show the relationship that caring keepers have with animals, Argo said, commenting that the relationship between Whitehouse and the ape is 'extraordinary.'
'The respect she has for him is reflected in the way he responds to her.
Dallas zoo officials rarely take in exotic animals but made an exception in the orangutan's case because he is endangered and was nearly dead.
Swett said his facility decided to take the ape because there are no alternatives. 'There is no place for Punkin', and we were asked to take him.'
The ape, born at the Kansas City Zoo, is a cross between a Sumatran Orangutan and Bornean Orangutan and therefore not suitable in zoo breeding programs aimed at rebuilding an endangered species.
'Zoos no longer want to breed subspecific hybrids,' Swett said.
The zookeeper at the Kansas City facility sold the animal to a West German animal broker in 1979, who later sold him to a Hollywood animal trainer, he said.
A Department of Agriculture inspector told Swett that the orangutan's living quarters were substandard. 'When it got cold last fall, he became hypothermic, couldn't control his body temperature and was on the verge of death,' Swett said.
Primarily Primates is home for about 350 primates and various other species of other mammals and birds. One of the facility's recent acquisitions is a female chimpanzee that was kept in the private zoo of former Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega, Swett said.
According to a 1992 article reported by the UPI:
SAN ANTONIO -- The beer-drinking orangutan who helped a pair of Clint Eastwood movies climb high at the box office was moved Sunday to a haven for apes with nowhere to go after spending five years in a roadside zoo and nearly dying of pneumonia.
But don't call him Clyde, his name in the 1978 Eastwood film 'Every Which Way But Loose' and the 1980 sequel 'Any Which Way You Can.'
The 15-year-old orangutan was comatose and near death when he was brought to the Dallas Zoo from the Texas Safari, a wildlife park in Clinton, Texas, in January. The wildlife park, a drive-through facility about 90 miles southwest of Dallas, bought the ape in 1985 from a California animal trainer.
'It broke my heart, the condition he was in when he got here,' said zookeeper Michele Whitehouse, the driving force behind the orangutan's comeback. She said he stayed on his back for weeks after arriving at the zoo, but that she eventually managed to coax him to walk, and later to climb, by placing his favorite foods slightly out of his reach.
The orangutan's story of movie stardom; life -- and nearly death -- in a roadside zoo; and his recovery is the focus of a National Geographic Society documentary on people who care for animals.
'He came in here near death, and because of their work, he's the beautiful, gentle animal we see here today,' said filmmaker Allison Argo.
The documentary will show the relationship that caring keepers have with animals, Argo said, commenting that the relationship between Whitehouse and the ape is 'extraordinary.'
'The respect she has for him is reflected in the way he responds to her.
Dallas zoo officials rarely take in exotic animals but made an exception in the orangutan's case because he is endangered and was nearly dead.
Swett said his facility decided to take the ape because there are no alternatives. 'There is no place for Punkin', and we were asked to take him.'
The ape, born at the Kansas City Zoo, is a cross between a Sumatran Orangutan and Bornean Orangutan and therefore not suitable in zoo breeding programs aimed at rebuilding an endangered species.
'Zoos no longer want to breed subspecific hybrids,' Swett said.
The zookeeper at the Kansas City facility sold the animal to a West German animal broker in 1979, who later sold him to a Hollywood animal trainer, he said.
A Department of Agriculture inspector told Swett that the orangutan's living quarters were substandard. 'When it got cold last fall, he became hypothermic, couldn't control his body temperature and was on the verge of death,' Swett said.
Primarily Primates is home for about 350 primates and various other species of other mammals and birds. One of the facility's recent acquisitions is a female chimpanzee that was kept in the private zoo of former Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega, Swett said.
Animal actor. He was best known for playing the role of Clyde, the sidekick to Clint Eastwood in the 1978 cowboy comedy "Every Which Way But Loose."
According to a 1992 article reported by the UPI:
SAN ANTONIO -- The beer-drinking orangutan who helped a pair of Clint Eastwood movies climb high at the box office was moved Sunday to a haven for apes with nowhere to go after spending five years in a roadside zoo and nearly dying of pneumonia.
But don't call him Clyde, his name in the 1978 Eastwood film 'Every Which Way But Loose' and the 1980 sequel 'Any Which Way You Can.'
The 15-year-old orangutan was comatose and near death when he was brought to the Dallas Zoo from the Texas Safari, a wildlife park in Clinton, Texas, in January. The wildlife park, a drive-through facility about 90 miles southwest of Dallas, bought the ape in 1985 from a California animal trainer.
'It broke my heart, the condition he was in when he got here,' said zookeeper Michele Whitehouse, the driving force behind the orangutan's comeback. She said he stayed on his back for weeks after arriving at the zoo, but that she eventually managed to coax him to walk, and later to climb, by placing his favorite foods slightly out of his reach.
The orangutan's story of movie stardom; life -- and nearly death -- in a roadside zoo; and his recovery is the focus of a National Geographic Society documentary on people who care for animals.
'He came in here near death, and because of their work, he's the beautiful, gentle animal we see here today,' said filmmaker Allison Argo.
The documentary will show the relationship that caring keepers have with animals, Argo said, commenting that the relationship between Whitehouse and the ape is 'extraordinary.'
'The respect she has for him is reflected in the way he responds to her.
Dallas zoo officials rarely take in exotic animals but made an exception in the orangutan's case because he is endangered and was nearly dead.
Swett said his facility decided to take the ape because there are no alternatives. 'There is no place for Punkin', and we were asked to take him.'
The ape, born at the Kansas City Zoo, is a cross between a Sumatran Orangutan and Bornean Orangutan and therefore not suitable in zoo breeding programs aimed at rebuilding an endangered species.
'Zoos no longer want to breed subspecific hybrids,' Swett said.
The zookeeper at the Kansas City facility sold the animal to a West German animal broker in 1979, who later sold him to a Hollywood animal trainer, he said.
A Department of Agriculture inspector told Swett that the orangutan's living quarters were substandard. 'When it got cold last fall, he became hypothermic, couldn't control his body temperature and was on the verge of death,' Swett said.
Primarily Primates is home for about 350 primates and various other species of other mammals and birds. One of the facility's recent acquisitions is a female chimpanzee that was kept in the private zoo of former Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega, Swett said.
According to a 1992 article reported by the UPI:
SAN ANTONIO -- The beer-drinking orangutan who helped a pair of Clint Eastwood movies climb high at the box office was moved Sunday to a haven for apes with nowhere to go after spending five years in a roadside zoo and nearly dying of pneumonia.
But don't call him Clyde, his name in the 1978 Eastwood film 'Every Which Way But Loose' and the 1980 sequel 'Any Which Way You Can.'
The 15-year-old orangutan was comatose and near death when he was brought to the Dallas Zoo from the Texas Safari, a wildlife park in Clinton, Texas, in January. The wildlife park, a drive-through facility about 90 miles southwest of Dallas, bought the ape in 1985 from a California animal trainer.
'It broke my heart, the condition he was in when he got here,' said zookeeper Michele Whitehouse, the driving force behind the orangutan's comeback. She said he stayed on his back for weeks after arriving at the zoo, but that she eventually managed to coax him to walk, and later to climb, by placing his favorite foods slightly out of his reach.
The orangutan's story of movie stardom; life -- and nearly death -- in a roadside zoo; and his recovery is the focus of a National Geographic Society documentary on people who care for animals.
'He came in here near death, and because of their work, he's the beautiful, gentle animal we see here today,' said filmmaker Allison Argo.
The documentary will show the relationship that caring keepers have with animals, Argo said, commenting that the relationship between Whitehouse and the ape is 'extraordinary.'
'The respect she has for him is reflected in the way he responds to her.
Dallas zoo officials rarely take in exotic animals but made an exception in the orangutan's case because he is endangered and was nearly dead.
Swett said his facility decided to take the ape because there are no alternatives. 'There is no place for Punkin', and we were asked to take him.'
The ape, born at the Kansas City Zoo, is a cross between a Sumatran Orangutan and Bornean Orangutan and therefore not suitable in zoo breeding programs aimed at rebuilding an endangered species.
'Zoos no longer want to breed subspecific hybrids,' Swett said.
The zookeeper at the Kansas City facility sold the animal to a West German animal broker in 1979, who later sold him to a Hollywood animal trainer, he said.
A Department of Agriculture inspector told Swett that the orangutan's living quarters were substandard. 'When it got cold last fall, he became hypothermic, couldn't control his body temperature and was on the verge of death,' Swett said.
Primarily Primates is home for about 350 primates and various other species of other mammals and birds. One of the facility's recent acquisitions is a female chimpanzee that was kept in the private zoo of former Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega, Swett said.
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