- LOS ANGELES - Most of the
pictures of Bigfoot, a legendary ape-like
- creature that is said to live in the forests of the American
- north-west, are in reality a hoaxer's wife dressed in
a gorilla suit,
- the man's relatives have revealed.
-
- For decades until his death last month, Mr Ray Wallace
tantalized
- America with pictures of footprints, recordings and photographs
of the
- creature.
-
- But his family admitted it had all been an elaborate
practical joke,
- the Electronic Telegraph reported yesterday.
-
- Mr Dale Lee Wallace, the hoaxer's nephew, was quoted
as saying: 'He did
- it for the joke and then he was afraid to tell anyone
because they'd be
- so mad at him.'
-
- The first 'evidence' for Bigfoot - a series of huge footprints
- was
- found by Mr Jerry Crew, a worker at Mr Wallace's construction
company
- in August 1958.
-
- They were, in fact, created by his boss with wooden carved
feet to
- 'freak him out'. But a local newspaper ran a front-page
story on the
- prints the next day and coined the term 'Bigfoot', the
Telegraph report
- said.
-
- The tale was then taken up by newspapers across the United
States and
- the public, fascinated at the time by tales of the Himalayan
yeti,
- eagerly embraced the notion of a homegrown version.
-
- Mr Wallace continued with the prank for years, producing
photographs of
- Bigfoot eating elk and frogs. These were, in fact, members
of his
- family - usually his wife Elna - dressed in a hairy ape
suit with giant
- feet stuck to the bottom, the report added.
-
- The most famous evidence for Bigfoot's existence, a grainy,
cinefilm
- image of an erect ape-like creature, was taken by Mr
Roger Patterson, a
- rodeo rider, in 1967.
-
- It was another of Mr Wallace's fakes, the family said.
-
- The family decided to reveal the truth after Mr Wallace,
84, died.
-
- The news is said to be a serious setback for the Bigfoot
industry
- spawned by the legend. Dozens of books have been written,
guides offer
- tours to search for sightings, and there is even an International
- Bigfoot Society in Hillsboro, Oregon.
-
- http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/techscience/story/0,4386,159530,00.html
-
- _____
-
-
- Family Of Late Bigfoot Prankster Wallace Says
It Was All Hoax
-
- KMBC TheKansasCityChannel.com
- 12-8-2
-
- Ray Wallace, who started one of the most notorious myths
of our time -- the legend of Bigfoot -- has died.
-
- KMBC's Jeremy Hubbard reported Thursday that Wallace's
family feels that they can finally reveal the truth: Wallace made up Bigfoot.
-
- Hubbard said that for the last 40 years, the legend of
Bigfoot has grown larger than the mythical monster itself.
-
- Wallace, a native of Clarksdale, Mo., used photos, footprints,
and Sasquatch sightings that convinced some people that Bigfoot was real.
But his family says it was all a hoax. However, some of Wallace's friends
and Bigfoot believers are not so willing to believe accept that explanation.
-
- "People just don't associate Kansas City and Bigfoot,"
said Cliff Lebrecque, a Bigfoot believer.
-
- Lebrecque told Hubbard that the big beast left an imprint
on him some 25 years ago.
-
- "I got the, you know, shook out of me and it scared
me to death," Lebrecque said.
-
- From his small Independence shop, Lebrecque said that
he remembers the Missouri man who first spotted Sasquatch.
-
- "In fact, that casting right there was sent to me
by Ray Wallace," Lebrecque said.
-
- Lebrecque said that he even filmed Bigfoot years ago
and insisted that the creature is not a man in a monkey suit.
-
- "And look real close and see if you can see any
zippers and buttons and stuff like that," Lebrecque said.
-
- Lebrecque insists the Bigfoot story measures up.
-
- "From toe to heel, it's about 21 inches. That's
big. That makes Shaq look small," Lebrecque said.
-
- Lebrecque told Hubbard that he is retiring next year
and will likely show his Bigfoot artifacts at shows around the country.
He said that despite what Wallace's family says, there are thousands of
Bigfoots out there and thousands of believers.
-
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