(Courtesy of Minard Coons)
Ray Corrigan ... older and in civilian dress


(From Old Corral image collection)

As the B western era was close to the end, Republic produced a Roy Rogers oater named TRAIL OF ROBIN HOOD (1950) which had a bunch of 'guest stars'.  In the lobby card above are, from L-to-R: Allan 'Rocky' Lane, Monte Hale, Kermit Maynard, Tom Keene, Tom Tyler, heroine Penny Edwards, youngster Carol Nugent, Roy Rogers, Gordon Jones ... and on the white horse is Ray Corrigan (with his hand on Tom Tyler's shoulder).

A question comes to mind relative to this film --- if Corrigan had difficulties with salary at Republic, and that was the cause of his exit, I wonder why he came back to Republic for this film.  Since he opened Corriganville to the public around 1949, I wonder if his appearance in TRAIL OF ROBIN HOOD was an attempt to re-introduce himself to Saturday matinee audiences who might not recall his earlier Three Mesquiteers films.  Perhaps this was around the time he was planning that new 'The Buckskin Rangers' trio series for television that was mentioned earlier.



(Courtesy of Minard Coons)		On the left is Ray in his famous gorilla costume. Corrigan had the gorilla suit made to his specs.  It was constructed with human hair, and to add some realism, the nostrils even pulsated.  Corrigan's gorilla impersonation also included the required grunts, chest beating and kicking dust into the air, and this was all done while perspiring under the hairy costume.

He performed this role in many films over a span of twenty or more years, and you can take a look at the Internet Movie Database link and find references to some of his ape appearances - examples are KILLER APE (1953), one of the 'Jungle Jim' adventures with Johnny Weissmuller as well as the serial THE MONSTER AND THE APE (Columbia, 1945).

Competing against Corrigan for gorilla roles in the 1940s was Emil Van Horn who was the ape named 'Satan' in the cliffhanger PERILS OF NYOKA (Republic, 1942) as well as other films.

In addition to the gorilla outfit, Corrigan also wore some other 'costumes' in various movies, and an example is below.



(From Old Corral image collection)



(Courtesy of Minard Coons)
Above, Ray with pretty Gloria Winters (Penny in the SKY KING TV show) at the 1959 Sheriff's Rodeo, Sunnyside, California
(Courtesy of Minard Coons)
Ray Corrigan - 1976 photo


(Courtesy of Donn & Nancy Moyer)
Ray and his son, Tommy Corrigan


ADDITIONAL CORRIGAN INFO ON THE OLD CORRAL

Don't forget to check out the Cowboy Trios section on the Old Corral.  There, you'll find more info on Ray Corrigan under the Three Mesquiteers and Range Busters.  Make sure to checkout Dennis Landadio's reviews of the Mesquiteer films.  And there's info and photos on Corriganville in the section marked Corriganville Movie Ranch.


Jerry L. Schneider's Movie-Making Locations Guide website on Hollywood film locations is at: http://www.movielocationsplus.com/

and his expanded site on Ray Corrigan's Corriganville is at: http://www.corriganville.net/

Author Stephen Lodge worked at Corriganville and reminisces about Crash Corrigan's movie ranch in several articles:
"And Meanwhile...Back A The Ranch: Can You Remember Corriganville": http://www.authorsden.com/visit/viewarticle.asp?AuthorID=12206&id=8414
"Ken Maynard: One of the Good Guys": http://www.authorsden.com/visit/viewArticle.asp?id=26883

  Although some of the data is incomplete or inaccurate, the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) has information on Ray Corrigan, Max Terhune, and Monogram producer George W. Weeks. Click below:
     Ray Corrigan: http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0181003/
     Max Terhune: http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0855579/
     George W. Weeks - Producer: http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0917316/

Jim Tipton's Find A Grave website notes that Corrigan is buried in an unmarked grave at Inglewood Park Cemetery, Inglewood, California: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=10030572

The Museum of Musical Instruments website has a lengthy writeup on Corrigan and his Gibson SJ-200 Super Jumbo flat-top guitar:
http://www.themomi.org/museum/singcowboys/1936GibsonSJ-200CrashCorrigan.html
http://www.themomi.org/museum/articles/singingcowboys/3.html

The Astounding B Monster website mentions Corrigan wearing a rubber suit and portraying the titled monster in IT, THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE (1958): http://www.bmonster.com/scifi16.html


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