Buck Kartalian, who played Julius in Planet Of The Apes (1968)
and Frank in Conquest Of The Planet Of The Apes (1972),
sadly died yesterday at 93 years of age.
Born August 13th 1922 in Detroit, Michigan, Buck appeared as Julius the animal keeper in Planet Of The Apes (1968) and as Frank the gorilla waiter in Conquest Of The Planet Of The Apes (1972). He's also well known for his appearances in Cool Hand Luke (1967) and The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976). Despite being only 5'3" he was a successful professional wrestler in the early fifties, before being discovered in the gym. That was where his acting career began. In 2011 he was honoured by the writers of Rise by having a gorilla character named after him.
Buck died on 24th May 2016 of natural causes at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills, California, aged 93. He is survived by his children Julie, Aram and Jason.
Goodbye to an old friend, who lived a long, happy, fulfilled life, the envy of many of us. Thanks, Buck, you old monkey!
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