It is a rare thing for an actor to play an iconic role without having to say anything or even show his or her face, yet that was the case with Ben Chapman.
Like so many people in show business, Chapman was born in California. He was a decorated Marine in the Korean conflict and worked in real estate for most of his civilian career.
Chapman, 6'5" tall, had found a few small roles in films, including one in a Ma and Pa Kettle movie, before he landed (no pun intended) the part of the Creature, or Gill-Man, in the 1954 horror film The Creature from the Black Lagoon.
Wearing a rubber suit that zipped in the back, he was appropriately scary in this 3-D movie set in the Amazon, especially when he nabbed the pretty girl.
Chapman returned to real estate sales, in Hawaii, and died in 2008 at age 79.
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