Apes On Set: Planet Of The Apes (1968)

Behind the scenes as cinematic history is made.

Dodge & Landon

Lieutenant Thomas Dodge (1942-3978), Science Officer, and Lieutenant John Landon (1940-3978), navigator, portrayed respectively by Jeff Burton and Robert Gunner in Planet Of The Apes (1968), were the two surviving crew of Liberty 1 who accompanied Taylor across the Forbidden Zone. 

Their fate is well documented: Dodge was killed in the hunt in which Taylor was shot and captured, and ended up a stuffed exhibit in the Museum Of Natural Science (a.k.a.the "Zaius Museum"). It's been stated (in the Escape From The Planet Of The Apes novelisation) that Dodge was considered a "unique specimen" as the apes had never encountered a black human before. Landon was captured alive, but subjected to brain surgery during which the ape scientists lobotomised him and turned him into a vegetable. In Beneath The Planet Of The Apes Cornelius hints that Landon was also displayed in the Zaius Museum.

Jeff Burton (Dodge)

Jeff Burton (John A. Jones) was born on 28th March 1924 in Worcester, Massachusetts. After eleven years of service with the U.S. Army, he rose to the rank of captain, then began acting in theatrical stock. While best known for his role as Dodge in Planet of the Apes (1968), he also appeared in Coffy (1973), Madame X (1966) (which incidentally also featured Ricardo Montalbán) and many TV shows including McMillan And Wife (1971/74), The F.B.I (1970/72), The Partridge Family (1971), The Bill Cosby Show (1970), McCloud (1970) and Batman (1968). In later years, he supplemented his income by working as a parole department official in Los Angeles. He died on 18th January 1988, aged 63, in Boston, Massachusetts.

Robert Gunner (Landon)

Robert Gunner (Robert Wolfmayer) was born on 27th July 1931 in North Plainfield, New Jersey. He was best known for Planet of the Apes (1968), Caprice (1967), The Jackals (1967) Our Man Flint (1966) and the TV shows The Green Hornet (1966) and Frontier Circus (1961). He died on 18th December 2001, aged 70, in Los Angeles, California.

 

 

Information taken from IMDb. Jeff Burton and Robert Gunner.