Crane by Robert Crane & Christopher Fryer

Author:Robert Crane & Christopher Fryer
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780813160757
Publisher: The University Press of Kentucky
Published: 2015-07-16T16:00:00+00:00

27

Crane in the Hutch, 1986

Despite Kari’s protestations, I continued to write for Playboy. At least I could count on a semiregular paycheck (I was competing with at least a half dozen other Q&A monkeys jockeying for the twelve “20Q” slots a year). From her workroom, Kari could hear me lowering the volume on my phone voice as I pitched names to Rezek. The giveaway was when I periodically exploded into hysterical laughter as John weighed in on my proposals. Anything even remotely related to scantily clad Playmates always brought a frown to Kari’s otherwise wrinkleless face.

“How about Jamie Lee Curtis?” was my first fastball to Rezek.

“[David] Rensin did her already.”

“Sigourney Weaver has two big films coming out.”

“She’s in the works.”

“Chevy?” I waited. “Chase?” There was a deafening silence.

“Tom Hanks? He did Splash and has a few films coming out.”

“Too soon,” Rezek countered. “Let’s see what develops.”

“How about Kathleen Turner from Body Heat and Prizzi’s Honor?”

“[David] Sheff did her for an upcoming interview.”

“Martin Short?”

“Refresh my memory.”

“Late of SCTV and now a regular on Saturday Night Live.”

“Let’s wait.”

“George Harrison? His company is producing films now with the Monty Python guys, among others.”

“We did Lennon and McCartney already.”

“Tommy Lasorda? Outspoken manager of the Dodgers.”

I could hear the wheels grinding. “No.”

“Tom Cruise? A bunch of movies coming out.”

“In next month’s issue.”

“Julia Louis-Dreyfus? Very cute, funny performer from Saturday Night Live.”

“What does she have coming up?”

“Making the transition from television to movies,” I said, trying to make that transition sound irresistible.

“Let’s wait,” Rezek resisted.

“Well,” I sighed, figuring next month’s rent would be late, “how about Koko?”

“Who?”

“Koko, the cat-cradling, American Sign Language–communicating gorilla.”

This time the wheels were whirring. “Look into that one. Let me know what you find out.”

“Thanks, John.”

“We’ll talk soon.”

Like most people who had read Dian Fossey’s courageous and moving memoir, Gorillas in the Mist, the closest I’d ever been to a real gorilla was sitting in a movie theater watching Sigourney Weaver’s inspired performance in the film of Fossey’s life in the Virunga Mountains. But now I was proposing a sit-down, face-to-face interview with a gorilla for the world’s leading men’s magazine. How would Hefner react to having an ape, gorilla gorilla graueri, grace the pages of Playboy? Rezek, shockingly, gave me the go-ahead. He was clearly taking a chance, but a successful roll of the dice could pay off big in terms of publicity for Playboy.

Dr. Penny Patterson was the director of the Gorilla Foundation in Woodside, California, and it sounded like she dropped the phone when I requested an interview with Koko, not for Scientific American but for the legendary publication with a bunny for a logo. “Are you serious?”

“Absolutely,” I answered. “This piece will introduce Koko to a whole new audience. An audience with lots of disposable income for donations to research foundations.”

“You know we’re located in the mountains west of Palo Alto.”

“I do. In fact, I think one of your neighbors is Neil Young,” I said, showing my fondness for research.

“Yes,” said the slightly befuddled Patterson. “How much time

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