Morris, an alligator who appeared in numerous films and television shows, most notably in the movie “Happy Gilmore,” died on Monday in Mosca, Colo. He was at least 80.
The cause was old age, according to the Colorado Gator Farm, which announced his death.
“His exact age was unknown, but he was nine feet long in 1975, and by his growth rate and tooth loss, we can estimate his age at over 80 years,” the farm said.
“He started acting strange about a week ago; he wasn’t lunging at us and he wasn’t taking food,” Jay Young, the farm’s operator, said in a video accompanying the announcement. Tearfully stroking the gator’s head, he said: “I know it’s strange to people that we get so attached.”
Morris was 10 feet 11 inches long and weighed 640 pounds at the time of his death.
He was discovered in Los Angeles, but not at Schwab’s Pharmacy like so many actors of yore. Rather, he was found in a backyard, where he was being kept as an illegal pet. His acting career began in 1975 and ended in 2006, when he retired to the farm.
His most memorable onscreen role came in the rollicking 1996 comedy “Happy Gilmore,” with Adam Sandler in the title role as a failed hockey player who becomes an unlikely sensation on the professional golf circuit.
Morris’s big scene comes when he grabs a golf ball, leading Happy to confront him with an iron. Happy notices that the gator has one eye, recognizing it as the same one that had bitten off the hand of his mentor, Chubbs, played by Carl Weathers. (“Damned alligator just popped up, cut me down in my prime,” Chubbs says in one of the film’s many beloved quotes.)
This leads a revenge-minded Happy to chase the alligator into a lake, where a violent confrontation ensues. (The reptile lost.)
But the alligator is not done, even posthumously. Happy presents Chubbs with a surprise gift: the alligator’s head. This startles Chubbs, who proceeds to fall backward through a window to his death.
Morris’s other film credits include “Interview With the Vampire” (1994), “Blues Brothers 2000” (1998) and “Dr. Dolittle 2” (2001).
A sequel, “Happy Gilmore 2,” is coming to Netflix on July 25. Given his advanced age, Morris did not appear in the sequel. Also, of course, his character died in the first film.
Alligators might live 30 to 50 years in the wild but can live decades longer in captivity. Muja, a resident of the Belgrade zoo, is generally considered to be 90, or very close to it.
Much like character in “Happy Gilmore,” Morris will have a role even after death.
“We have decided to get Morris taxidermied so that he can continue to scare children for years to come,” the farm said. “It’s what he would have wanted.”
Victor Mather, who has been a reporter and editor at The Times for 25 years, covers sports and breaking news.
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