And Otto did stuff for Dugan in those first few times, and Dugan had just limited time to film him in the old facility that were kind of fun as it was filmed. And then, of course, it was anesthetized and taken over to the new building, and showed his… Read More
I originally asked a man named Warren Wirth to perhaps try to document this move, and he’d been with “Zoo Parade” for years, he was an NBC veteran. And he had conflict with time and schedule. And I think he may have been the one that recommended Dugan to us. Read More
One of the things that happened happily in the Old Monkey House, where I mentioned Bushman years ago, living at the corner, that would be the Southeast cage of the Old Monkey House. In that part of the building we had some larger cages where we housed our few big… Read More
And so I went to a lunch with Ray and came out with 100, not 100, a million dollar check. And that time I was, of course, walking on air and walking on water with that. And the money from Ray, not only built us the commissary hospital, but there… Read More
How did the documentary and the project “Otto Zoo Gorilla” come about?… Read More
Another thing that we didn’t touch on, but the first project for the Lincoln Park Zoo Society in fundraising was to develop the farm in the zoo. And at that time it was, I think, a pioneering effort in the city of Chicago, we built a five-acre miniature sort of… Read More
We have had people several times during my tenure at the zoo, visitors that had a heart attack or a serious medical issue, and were taken by ambulance to a hospital, some of which may have died, but from a safety standpoint that was to me, a real good feeling… Read More
Another thing that I felt good about in reflecting back on my time at the Old Zoo was the fact that I could tell Mayor Daley, the father, and I could tell Mayor Daley, the son that I thought and believed sincerely that Lincoln Park was probably the only happy… Read More
So these two McCormick ladies certainly were very helpful in some of my early frustrating years to get- You left the job, what would you say were the strengths and weaknesses of the zoo when you left?… Read More
In reflecting on the years at Lincoln Park Zoo, 30 years is a long time to think about, but to condense it, I think the highlight of my time at Lincoln Park was the fact that I started the rebuilding of the Old Zoo. I mentioned earlier that Marlin was… Read More
And another wonderful, wonderful lady with the same name was Marilyn McCormick, the widow of the Colonel McCormick of the Chicago Tribune Corporation. And Marilyn lived in the near north side and Hope brought her on as zoo society board. Marilyn also served on the Anti-Cruelty Society board with me,… Read More
So I think as I reflect back, these were probably some of the sorta frustrating times working within a large municipal bureaucracy. Again, I mentioned earlier that happily I could run the zoo, as I thought it was important to make it go. And then over a period of time,… Read More
I used to think to myself, we had animals in jail. The old barred cages that were accepted 50 years, 80, 100 years ago were no longer acceptable, and it was important to improve the Old Zoo. So the Zoo Society made things happen at the Park District. And one… Read More
But in reality in Chicago, anyway, it was an extension to City Hall. The mayor would appoint the commissioners with the approval of the City Council. And so these were all friends of the mayors and the bureaucratic overlay was comparable to what it would be at city, same at… Read More
What were some of the frustrations you had as zoo director?… Read More
I think in looking back at my time at Lincoln Park Zoo, that the biggest frustrations would be the bureaucratic overlay. There were times that you’d wanna see things done better, quicker. And it just doesn’t work that way in a city bureaucracy. And the Park District is just a… Read More
But anyway, she was then, and still is a trustee of this Animal Foundation, and I’ve been part of it for 30 or 40 years. And so three times a year at our meetings, Betty and I would always have a dinner together at one of the nights of the… Read More
How did you meet Betty White, who was a actress and personality?… Read More
Well, one of my favorite animal people, I guess, in the whole world is a woman named Betty White. Betty has been around Chicago and the country for forever, she’s about the same age I am. And one time in the Chicago area, I’d been involved with a group called… Read More
And when he came, there’d be an entourage, and he would arrive, and was the presence, the man is here. and he very, very much cared about his zoo. And let me know that the reason that he enjoyed the zoo was that when he was a youngster, the zoo… Read More