King Kong

King Kong
King Kong character
King Kong featured in the original 1933 film
First appearance	King Kong (1933)
Last appearance	Kong: Skull Island (2017)
Created by	Edgar Wallace Merian C. Cooper
Portrayed by	Willis O'Brien (1933) (animator) Rick Baker (1976) Peter Elliot (1986) Andy Serkis (2005) Terry Notary(2017)
Information
Aliases	The Eighth Wonder of the World
Species	Giant Gorilla
Family	Kiko (son) Lady Kong (wife) Kong Jr. (son)

Godzilla film series character
King Kong
Relations	Mechani-Kong (robot replica)
First appearance	King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)
Last appearance	King Kong Escapes (1967)
Created by	Merian C. Cooper
Portrayed by	Shoichi Hirose (1962) Haruo Nakajima (1967)

King Kong is a giant movie monster, resembling a colossal ape, that has appeared in various media since 1933. The character first appeared in the 1933 film King Kong, which received universal acclaim upon its initial release and re-releases. The film was remade in 1976 and 2005. The character has become one of the world's most famous movie icons, having inspired countless sequels, remakes, spin-offs, imitators, parodies, cartoons, books, comics, video games, theme park rides, and even a stage play. His role in the different narratives varies, ranging from a rampaging monster to a tragic antihero.

The King Kong character was conceived and created by American filmmaker Merian C. Cooper. In the original film, the character's name is Kong, a name given to him by the inhabitants of "Skull Island" in the Indian Ocean, where Kong lives along with other oversized animals such as a plesiosaur, pterosaurs and other dinosaurs. An American film crew, led by Carl Denham, captures Kong and takes him to New York City to be exhibited as the "Eighth Wonder of the World".

Kong escapes and climbs the Empire State Building (the original World Trade Center in the 1976 remake), only to fall from the skyscraper. Denham comments, "It was beauty killed the beast," for he climbs the building in the first place only in an attempt to protect Ann Darrow, an actress originally offered up to Kong on Skull Island as a sacrifice. (In the 1976 remake, her character is named Dwan.)

A mockumentary about Skull Island that appears on the DVD for the 2005 remake (originally seen on the Sci-Fi Channel at the time of its theatrical release) gives Kong's scientific name as Megaprimatus kong and states that his species may be related to Gigantopithecus, though that genus of giant ape is more closely related to orangutans than to gorillas.