Raise your lighters. A legend of the reptilian acting community has been lost.
Adam Sandler is mourning the death of one of his most memorable costars: Morris, the octogenarian alligator who nearly sabotaged the Tour Championship chances of Sandler’s titular character in classic comedy Happy Gilmore.
“Goodbye, Morris. We are all gonna miss you,” Sandler wrote in a cheeky yet poignant tribute on social media on Wednesday. “You could be hard on directors, make-up artists, costumers — really anyone with arms or legs — but I know you did it for the ultimate good of the film.”
The beloved actor, 58, jokingly continued, “I will miss the sound of your tail sliding through the tall grass, your cold, bumpy skin, but, most of all, I will miss your infectious laugh. Thanks to Mr. Young for taking care of you all these years, and vaya con dios, old friend.
The Colorado Gator Farm, to which Morris retired after his long and illustrious show business career in 2006, announced his death on Sunday. Noting that his showbusiness tenure began way back in 1975, the Farm’s official tribute shared that Morris’ “exact age was unknown, but he was 9 feet long in 1975 and by his growth rate and tooth loss, we can estimate his age at over 80 years. While we knew this was inevitable, we are very saddened by his passing to old age. RIP Morris.”
Morris’ longtime caretaker Jay Young, who owns and operates the Colorado Gator Farm, cradled the deceased reptile in his arms in a video that accompanied the announcement. Young noted that Morris “started acting strange about a week ago, he wasn’t lunging at us and wasn’t taking food.” Breaking down in tears, Young reflected that it may be “strange to people that we get so attached to an alligator,” but he was glad that Morris “had a happy time here and he died of old age.”
Morris built up an impressive filmography over the course of his three decades in Hollywood, snatching the spotlight from the likes of Tom Cruise, Eddie Murphy, and Dan Aykroyd in films like Interview with the Vampire, Dr. Doolittle 2, and Blues Brothers 2000. He also won the starring role of the killer alligator in 1980’s Alligator and its 1991 sequel, Alligator II: The Mutation.
But Morris’ critical role in Happy Gilmore gave him the best showcase of his career. Morris’ character is referenced early on, when Happy’s mentor, played by Carl Weathers, opens up about losing his hand to an alligator. Later, Happy’s hopes of winning the prestigious Tour Championship are nearly crushed — or crunched — when Morris waddles up from a water feature and clamps down on Happy’s golf ball.
The pair wrestle in the water before Happy is able to knock him unconscious. After his win, Happy presents Weathers’ character with the the head of the alligator as a thank you gift. Sandler joked about the gesture in his tribute, writing, “I know your character’s decapitation in the first movie precluded your participation in the sequel, but we all appreciated the fruit basket and the hilarious note.”
The long-awaited Happy Gilmore sequel was officially announced last May. While details are still under wraps, it’s now clear that Morris won’t be participating, though he lives on in the hearts of all who love the first film.
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The post Adam Sandler mourns the death of Morris, the hand-chomping alligator from “Happy Gilmore”: ‘Vaya con dios’ appeared first on Entertainment Weekly.
