Star Trek TOS Gorn

T

Tony Hardy

Well-Known Member
RPF PREMIUM MEMBER
I recently had the privelige of acquiring a casting of the screen used Gorn head that was created by Wah Chang for the TOS Trek episode "Arena." I remolded it as the original is latex and will not last forever. I made a hard casting and recreated the teeth too.

A couple of weeks ago friend Mike Scott (in the Anovos Trek tunic) and IMAX film producer Pietro Serapeglia and I went out to the Vasquez Rocks for a photo shoot with the old Gorn. Needless to say he was quite the hit of the party, as everyone out there recognized him.

This bust pictured is now in the collection of Bob Burns. I am going to auction another one of these completed busts on eBay beginning Sunday October 14th. It will be the only one auctioned to help offset some of the expenses incurred during the restoration

It was fun to restore a real piece of sci fi TV history!
 
This is SERIOUSLY the COOLEST prop I could imagine owning. Oh man, what a find!!! Gawd, would I love having this. I'll definately be watching out for this on eBay, though I doubt it will be in my price range.

What a treat for the people who happened to be at the right place at the right time in the desert that day...to see THE GORN in his natural habitat.....:lol

Thanks for letting us know about this.
 
Glad you enjoyed it guys, because that's why I did it. And a big tip of the hat to Tom Spina who played a major part in me acquiring this thing.

There were two Gorn costumes created for the episode. Both were painted a little differently. The teeth didn't exactly match either. Two suits make sense because you'd need one for backup in case one was damaged. You wouldn't want the crew standing around because the Gorn was damaged on-set. Also, two suits allowed the crew to get more setups per day. The main unit could be filming Shatner with the Gorn, while a smaller 2nd unit could be off filming inserts of the Gorn by himself.

After the episode was completed, both costumes ended up in Bob Justman's office. After the series ended...who knows. One of the costumes ended up in the collection of Cinefantatique editor Frederick Clarke. Unfortunately his cats urinated all over it, plus it rotted over time. The head has survived in reasonably good shape, and Fred's estate auctioned the only surviving screen used Gorn mask through "Profiles" a couple of years ago. If I remember correctly it sold for $30,000.00 or higher. The rubber is rotting though. It won't last forever.

The latex casting I have was pulled out of the original mold back in the day, but was never used for filming. It's still in reasonably good shape, but I wanted to create a safety mold so the old Gorn would be preserved forever.
 
:D

gorn.jpg
 
Looks like the old Gorn arrived safely! That's a big relief. I always worry that things like this will get smashed in transit. The only other finished copy of this Gorn exists in the Bob Burns collection, so Phase Pistol has bragging rights!
 
Thanks Tony! :D

Yes I am thrilled to have the Gorn. I still can't believe I was the only bidder! Well no matter, it went to the right person. ;)

K
 
There is this one photo on HMS's site, referring to having restored one of the two original heads.

gornproject2.jpg


Profiles auction
gornPIH_04.jpeg


This thing looks different from EVERY angle due to its wonky shape and asymmetry... but it's uncanny how you can spot specific patterns of bumps and divots. :love

replica-vs-screengrab-02.jpg


replica-vs-wahchangpic-01.jpg


replica-vs-screengrab-01.jpg


gorn-vs-casting.jpg
 
Yes, it definitely went to the right person. And if you look at more screen grabs from the episode, you'll notice that the paint job changes too. That's because they had two different costumes. The paint details and teeth were a bit different. Wah Chang made these things in a hurry, so it's understandable.
 
Now I need to get ahold of some funky Gorn cloth so I can make the collar... looks like gold metallic fabric, with a pattern stenciled on there with paint or something... there only seem to be a few specific patterns there that repeat...

Has anybody seen this tunic in person or have better photos? It's in the "Out of This World" traveling exhibit of Sci Fi Experience costumes, in Florida now I think.

gorntunic.jpg
 
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