Tales from the Crapped: The Creature

Inspired by one of my own recent posts, I'm going to try to blog every Wednesday about one of the countless pieces of sentimental junk I have around the house.
Today, it's a Creature from the Black Lagoon toy.

I love this guy! Where do I start? He's a promotional toy from a fast food chain's kid's meal-- Burger King, I think. His arms and legs are pose-able; he's got awesome translucent green plastic skin; and he spits! There's a tiny little hole in his mouth. Hold his head under water, squeeze his tummy to push out air, let go to suck in water, then pull him out and you have a secret water gun! What could be cooler than that!?

This particular item was given to me by my good friend Flynn. He and I share a love for the old Universal monsters (and their movies): Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster, The Wolfman, The Mummy, and of course The Creature. It's hard to pick a favorite among those guys, but if pressed I'm willing to bet we'd both pick The Creature.

The Creature (or Gill Man, but I hate that name) is rather unique among the other big monsters. His story originated with the movie, rather than from literature or folklore. His movie was also in 3D, just another gimmick that bounces around Hollywood every 20 years or so. He was played by an unknown who was hired for his swimming ability rather than his acting skills. There is a lot of trivia about this movie that makes for fascinating reading.

He was also the star of one of my favorite pinball machines, named the same as the movie. This gives me an excuse to post this great picture of it that I found online. Using a small lens (I assume) on the playfield makes this picture look like it was taken in a giant hallway.


I was playing this machine at the Pinball Hall of Fame in Las Vegas when my time ran out. I had to leave behind the three free credits I'd won! Someday I'll own this one. Someday!

So there you have it. Do I have any need for him? No, of course not. But I can't bear to part with him! Were it only this one indulgence, I might not feel so bad. But as you will see in coming weeks, I have tons of these little doodads. I can't really think of anything more to add, so I guess that's it for the inaugural edition of Tales from the Crapped!