According to “Zippy’s mom” Carole Womack, Zippy the Chimp was “discovered” by Bob Smith, “Buffalo Bob” of the long running and famous “Howdy Doody Show” while on vacation in New Orleans. Zippy stole a cherry out of Bob’s drink and was rewarded with a five year contract.
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Besides The Ed Sullivan Show [1953], Zippy The Chimp was on the Captain Kangaroo, Gary Moore and Jackie Gleason television shows. He also played the role of Cheetah in the Tarzan movies and appeared in numerous television commercials.
There are conflicting stories about Zippy; “he” may have been a 4 year old female named Debbie. When she grew too large to handle, she retired from performing and was sent to the Bronx Zoo in 1960.
In reality there were many performing chimpanzees named Zippy, and most of them were trained by Lee Ecuyer. In 1953, Ecuyer and Buffalo Bob Smith published Zippy the Chimp, a children’s book with photos of young Zippy.
An apartment is left exposed where a corner of the residential building collapsed in the Bronx borough of New York, on Dec. 11, 2023. Yuki Iwamura/Associated Press.
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