A frozen corpse of a modern day hominid in a block of ice making the side show circuit you say? Sign me up, that's just the sort of weird, pseudoscientifically cryptozoological ineptness that I love to dig in too and find the truth behind...
This one is just as interesting as the Patterson-Gimlin Bigfoot Hoax, which I previously debunked thoroughly. For more information on that see my myriad of posts regarding that subject...
But this one shares a commonality with my expose of the truth behind the Rock Ape legends of the Vietnam war....
So, let's begin...
in the late 1960s (right around the time of the Patterson-Gimlin hoax film) there was a sideshow carny by the name of Frank Hansen who had a trailer with a purported modern day hominid in a block of ice. This sideshow gaff was viewed by a gentleman by the name of Terry Cullen, who was an aspiring naturalist and had observed the carcass at the International Livestock Exposition’s annual fair in Chicago.
Hansen claimed that he was only the temporary ward of the body and that it belonged to an undisclosed owner (widely rumored to be actor Jimmy Stewart).
I believe the Jimmy Stewart connection comes in due to the fact that Jimmy Stewart had been embroiled in a bit of a conspiracy involving his smuggling of the Pangboche Hand, which is supposedly the mummified hand of a Yeti from the Himalayas.
Mr. Stewart had hid the hand with his wife's clothing inside some luggage and smuggled it out of the country you see.
So I believe that this is where the legend of Jimmy Stewart's involvement with the Minnesota Iceman originated.
The Yeti hand which he had smuggled was a monkey hand and was a hoax itself. But that is another story....
So anyway, Hansen took this travelling exhibit around the country and charged people to come in a view it, just like any other sideshow exhibit. His story of where the creature came from changed many times......
Initially, Hansen claimed that the body had been discovered floating in a block of ice off the Siberian coast by a Russian seal-hunting vessel. Later, he said that a Japanese whaling ship found the body. Later still, he said that it had been found in a deepfreeze facility in Hong Kong (Heuvelmans 1969, Sanderson 1969, Napier 1973, Shackley 1983, Coleman & Clark 1999).
And later still it was said that the animal had been shot on a hunting trip in the Whiteface Reservoir region of Minnesota. For all these suggestions, the most popular idea about the body’s origin is that it was collected in Vietnam and flown to the United States in a body bag. Heuvelmans connected it with the story of a ‘huge ape’ killed in Danang, Vietnam, in 1966, supposedly close to where Hansen had been stationed during the war.
Which is absolutely not true as the so-called "Rock Apes" of the Vietnam war have been thoroughly debunked by myself along with photos of the actual "Rock Apes", real stories about them direct from soldiers involved and the creatures themselves which I have identified as the Red-Shanked Douc Langur (Pygathrix nemaeus), a known primate species native to the region and which still lives in that very region to this day.
So we will just go ahead and debunk that theory right now. It was absolutely not a "Rock Ape" as it is not the species described and photographed.
For in-depth analysis of that subject see my post at:
Frank Hansen, a former Air Force captain and pilot, recounted his extraordinary encounter with a mysterious creature in the pages of Saga Magazine in 1970. According to Hansen, the story began in 1960 when he was stationed at the 343rd Fighter Group in Duluth, Minnesota. During the 1960 deer hunting season, Hansen was part of a hunting party that included Lieutenant Roy Asfedt, Lieutenant Dave Allison, and Major Lou Szrot. The group left their cabin at approximately 6:00 am on the second morning of the trip, and Hansen began to make his way to a narrow neck of swamp. After sitting motionless for almost two hours, Hansen spotted a large doe staring at him. Suddenly, a shot was fired on the opposite side of the swamp, and the deer ran towards Hansen. He opened fire and hit the animal, but before he could take another shot, the deer vanished into the heavy brush.
Hansen followed the trail of blood and signs of direction, eventually finding himself lost in the swamp. As he walked, he noticed a strange gurgling sound ahead and, upon approaching, found three large creatures tearing at the insides of the deer. Two of the creatures were on their knees, while the third was crouched about 10 feet away, making a weird screeching sound. Hansen fired his rifle at the creature, hitting its eye and sending it spinning to the ground. The two remaining creatures ran away, and Hansen fled in the opposite direction.
After recovering from his ordeal, Hansen returned to the swamp with a swamp-buggy and re-traced his route. He eventually found the body of the creature, which was frozen and covered in blood. Hansen realized that the creature was not human but a "freak of nature." He decided to leave the body in the swamp, fearing that hunters might stumble upon it and summon the authorities.
Hansen returned to Duluth and told his wife about the encounter, showing her the gigantic corpse. The couple decided to remove the meat from the freezer and replace it with the body. They eventually moved the corpse to their basement, where it remained for over a month. As the spring thaw approached, Hansen and his wife decided to encase the body in ice in their freezer.
Hansen continued to wrestle with the idea of trying to thaw out the body and transport it somewhere for burial. His plans were delayed until his retirement approached, at which point he moved to a farm near Rollingstone, Minnesota. Hansen realized that he could not risk hiring a moving company to transport the freezer, so he rented a truck and moved the freezer himself. During the seven-hour ordeal, the top layer of ice began to melt, and Hansen became paranoid about the body thawing. He purchased a generator for the new home to ensure that the power would never go out.
In November 1965, Hansen retired from the Air Force and joined his family on the farm. With time on his hands, he began to read and ran across some books and articles on the "abominable snowman." The more he read, the more certain he was that the creature in his freezer was one of these elusive beasts. He made a few discreet inquiries about the statute of limitations on murder in Minnesota and learned that there was no time limit. Even though he was sure the creature was not human, he decided to keep the corpse hidden in the freezer for a while longer.
A little over a year later, Hansen met a veteran showman who recognized his boredom with civilian life and suggested that Hansen exhibit a rare old John Deere tractor that he had acquired and had loaned to the Smithsonian Institution. The showman suggested that Hansen take the tractor on the state fair circuit. Hansen was pleased with the idea but had other "things" in mind. He asked his friend if the body of a hairy creature that resembled a prehistoric man would make a good attraction? The showman assured him that it would but when he asked Hansen where he would get something like that, Hansen told him that he could have a model made.
Hansen decided to consult with his attorney concerning the legalities of displaying the creature he had killed in the woods. The attorney didn't believe a word of the story until Hansen drove him out to the farm and showed him what was in the freezer. The attorney was stunned but advised Hansen that he could possibly get into legal trouble by displaying the body. There could be a murder charge if the creature was determined to be human, he said, and there were also laws about transporting dead bodies.
Hansen continued to press him about displaying the body as an exhibit though. The attorney considered his ideas for a moment. "You have the original body," he finally said. "The authorities will be after it because this thing is the scientific find of the century. However, it might be possible to create a model as you suggested. Maintain a record of the model's construction but show the real creature instead. If the officials pressure you, it's a small matter to produce photos of the model taken during different phases of fabrication." Hansen agreed and then came up with an even better idea. He would exhibit the model only for the first year so that the "carnies" would accept it as a bogus sideshow exhibit.
In January 1967, Hansen made sketches of the creature and then went to Hollywood to confer with some makeup artists who created special effects for the movies. He spoke with Bud Westmore, the head of makeup effects for Universal, and told him that a believable model could cost as much as $20,000 to produce. He told Hansen that he didn't have time to make the model for him but if needed, he would provide technical support. Hansen then consulted with the Los Angeles County Museum and it was suggested that he contact Howard Ball, an independent artist who had created life-sized animal exhibits for the La Brea Tar Pits. Hansen hired Ball to create the model and was also told by John Chambers from Fox that a small wax studio in Los Angeles could implant the hair according to Hansen's specifications. With Chambers' introduction, Hansen hired Pete and Betty Corral, who implanted the model's hair individually with needles.
Hansen now had a model that he had spent thousands of dollars on, but no guarantee that it would make any money as an exhibit. He decided to put the final touches on the creature himself (rather than spend more money) and he and a friend from Pasadena added bloody eyes, a broken arm, and blood-soaked hair to make it look as close to the original in Hansen's freezer as possible. Hansen then rented a freezer where he could encase the model in ice to get it ready for its debut on the west coast.
The exhibit debuted on May 3, 1967, as what the carnival folks called a "What is It?" show. Hansen explained that the creature had been found frozen in the Bering Straits by Japanese fishermen. He had created this cover story and stuck to it for the next two years. The tour continued until November 1967, when Hansen closed at the Louisiana State Fair and returned home to Minnesota. By March 1968, he had convinced himself that it was now safe to replace the model with the real specimen for the upcoming fair season. He had been told by carnival experts that the model was a sensational attraction but that it had too many flaws to fool anyone with an expert knowledge of anatomy. He was sure that word had gotten out that the exhibit was a fake and that he would be safe to put the real cadaver on display.
Hansen then got to work unthawing the real body so that he could cut the tendons in the arms and legs and make it look like the model. He froze it again and then prepared to hit the fair circuit. The attention that the exhibit got was different than when Hansen had been showing the model though. While most of the onlookers had been impressed with the old exhibit, the real corpse was drawing a different crowd. Now, doctors, college students, and scientists were coming to examine and photograph the "missing link." At the Oklahoma State Fair, one prominent surgeon visited the exhibit on nine separate occasions, each time bringing a different colleague with him. At the Kansas State Fair, the county pathologist was so intrigued that he sent many of his associates to see the display.
Hansen was displaying the creature as the "real thing," which he maintained that it was, although he continued his cover story that the monster was actually owned by a California millionaire and that it had been recovered in the icy waters of the ocean. While the creature was drawing attention, Hansen was still able to keep its existence quiet and to maintain, despite some nagging doubts, that it was merely a carnival exhibit.
After Terry Cullen viewed the Iceman he contacted notable cryptozoologists Bernard Heuvelmans and Ivan Sanderson. Now I do want to point out that Sanderson and Heuvelmans have been debunked thoroughly in many instances...one of which is an incident in which Heuvelmans postulated that footprints left on a Clearwater Beach were left by giant 15 foot penguins...so yeah...they kind of fit into the frame with Bill Munns whom I have debunked and just look at my post about the Munns Debunk or Meldrum whom I also debunked and you can look at my post about Skookum for more info on that... but these two gentlemen fit right in with the other cryptozoologists who ignore the scientific process and always end up with a proverbial pie in the face.
Anyway, Sanderson and Heuvelmans examined the iceman in December 1968 at Hansen’s home where it was being stored off-show for the winter. Both became convinced of its reality, so much so that they prepared detailed illustrations and planned to have the creature described in the technical literature. The body was that of a robust, barrel-chested male with a thick neck and large hands and feet. Its face was broad, flattened and possessed a short, upturned nose and prominent brow-ridges. An eyeball dangled from one of the sockets, apparently resulting from a gunshot to the back of the head, and a bend in the forearm was interpreted as evidence for a fractured radius and ulna. Sanderson and Heuvelmans were intrigued by its enormous hands. Its thumb was slender, tapered and long, its nails were flat, yellow and of an appearance that almost looked manicured (Sanderson 1969), and a heel-like pad was present on the palm’s outer side, a feature suggested by Sanderson to be indicative of habitual quadrupedal behaviour (Sanderson 1969). At one point during the examination, the glass over its case cracked, releasing an odor described as that of decomposing flesh.
Sanderson, believing it to be real referred to it as "Bozo". It is fitting that the official name of the Minnesota Iceman is "Bozo". Which aptly describes the so-called scientists who were viewing the subject.
Heuvelmans’ opinion – expressed without equivocation – that there was no replacement model, and that the object said to be such was actually the original carcass, reposed after thawing and re-freezing, and ‘hidden in plain sight’. This view flatly contradicts popular cryptozoological lore in which it is widely stated that the iceman viewed by people after the Heuvelmans-Sanderson pronouncements of 1969 was a replica and not the original.
There is an in-depth account of the 3 day study of the Minnesota Iceman in the Bernard Heuvelmans' book, Neanderthal, which offers a comprehensive account of the case, providing a unique perspective from the author himself. The book delves into Heuvelmans' favored hypotheses on various topics, which were previously discussed in his other works but not exhaustively explored. As an intellectual figure, Heuvelmans occupied a distinct intellectual landscape, characterized by his promotion of nearly 140 unknown animal species (Heuvelmans, 1986). His imaginative reconstructions of these creatures were situated within unconventional evolutionary scenarios, diverging from the prevailing views of his contemporaries. This book likely provides the most insight into Heuvelmans' opinions and interpretations of evolutionary patterns, surpassing other works (excluding those yet to be translated from the original French). Consequently, the book holds significant value for scholars interested in the history of cryptozoological thought, speculative evolutionary hypotheses, and the history of 20th-century thought on hominin evolution
In regards to the theories that Hansen had replaced the real specimen with a fake one...
Here is what Heuvelmans (2016) says: “There was only one point on which my views diverged from Sanderson’s, as well as from all others who had looked into the matter, and that was on the nature of the specimen exhibited by Hansen after April 20 (1969). I was the only one to believe that it was still the actual corpse [emphasis in the original]. True, I had a definite advantage over everyone else – I was the only one to have many excellent photos of the original exhibit … I had been sent a few color slides of Hansen’s new exhibit. After a comparison with my own, I had to agree with the evidence: it was the same and only specimen [emphasis in original].”
John Napier of the Smithsonian recognized it as a latex model on first sight.
The creature was actually created by Howard Ball, who was a sculptor for Disney Studios was the actual sculptor of the hoax. He sculpted it in latex and had it frozen in a block of ice. Latex, when frozen and thawed puts off a pungent odor like that of rotten flesh.
In comparison, cryptozoologists have perpetuated the myth that special makeup effects artists believed that the Patterson film was hard, if not impossible, to fake. This article should lay to rest any notion that makeup experts were generally impressed by the Patterson film. In reality the FX Makeup Community is very secretive and tight lipped.
I spoke with Don Glut, the person who told Alex Downs the Chambers rumor. Alex, you may recall, was the first person who passed the information on to me. Glut recalls:
I used to be a member of the California Skeptics Society and they had a lecture on Bigfoot in which they ran [the Patterson] footage. And when they ran it, the guy who ran it--I don't remember who ran it--he claimed that Rick Baker had looked at the footage and totally authenticated it. He said, "Based on my knowledge of ape suits and things that this could not possibly have been faked." So I then asked Jim McPherson, who worked with Rick, and I said, "Did you ever hear about Rick Baker substantiating or authenticating this footage?" And he said, "We know in the special effects business here, that it's kind of common knowledge that that footage was faked by John Chambers."
I am in the awkward position of knowing more than I can tell at this time. One aspect of either Chambers' career or the legends surrounding it is the buzz about Chambers' involvement in government-sponsored "black box" work. No one has ever been willing to go on the record concerning this alleged work, but within the Hollywood makeup community it is generally believed that such work did occur and that it has added to the secretiveness of Chambers and his closest associates. The tight-lipped attitude of those in the know has only contributed to the spread of rumors and speculation in the Hollywood makeup community. Widespread rumors in the makeup community depict Chambers applying a wig and prosthetics to a cadaver to fake the death of a foreign ruler and engaging in a number of "Company"-sponsored "nontheatrical" projects. These black box rumors are all reminiscent of Mission Impossible plots, many of which relied on disguises-some courtesy of Chambers' makeup prowess. One rumor depicts the CIA watching Mission Impossible on television and getting disguise ideas from it, then going after the makeup artist-Chambers-to work for them. (Actually, Chambers did the makeup on the pilot while Bob Dawn was responsible for the eyecatching work on most of the series.) While there is no proof that Chambers was involved in covert activities, we do know for a fact that Hollywood makeup artists have been instrumental in various military/intelligence projects. In this regard I interviewed Bob Schiffer (The Shaggy Dog,The Birdman of Alcatraz), the head of Disney's makeup and hair department with over sixty years in the business. The veteran makeup master touched on this sensitive topic:
John did mention to me at one time that he was involved in something for the government. Some of us, including myself, were recruited during World War II by [then Lieutenant] Gordon Bau for undercover work of a certain type. Sometimes we did not know what the makeup was used for. A lot of us did camouflage work in World War II. I was also involved in the years after the war. In the Bay of Pigs invasion we made up people to look Cuban.
For the record, Schiffer opines that the Patterson film Bigfoot "looks like someone in a suit."
The makeup community is a secretive group, to be sure, with more than its share of secrets. There is an old adage in Tinseltown: "If the makeup artists told what they learned in their chairs, it would bring down Hollywood."
If Chambers made the Patterson suit, it would not have been the only Bigfoot-related hoax that he was involved in. He was also responsible for the fabrication of an elaborate, phony Bigfoot carcass, and he may have consulted on the creation of the infamous Minnesota Iceman. Thus, he was not averse to being involved in hoaxes and other secretive "nontheatrical" projects, as the makeup artists refer to non-movie projects.
The Burbank Bigfoot was a 900-pound, seven-foot-four-inch Bigfoot model created by Chambers and his crew in the makeup artist's Burbank garage. According to makeup artists Tom Burman and Werner Keppler, the body was an alginate life casting of the actor Richard Kiel, best known for his role as "Jaws" in two James Bond films. Chambers worked on the face to create an "apeman" look and ultimately the whole body was cast in plaster. The plaster body was meticulously painted by Chambers and then covered in three pounds of human hair, the hair alone requiring a week of work. "Body hairs were placed on the figure a few at a time, and blended with various colors to match the patterns found on gorillas, monkeys, and humans. After the hair was set in place, Chambers and his men cut and trimmed it carefully, to give the entire hair covering an even natural look," according to an article in Hollywood Studio Magazine ("'Bigfoot' Born in Burbank?," June, 1970). Werner Keppler clearly recalls the laborious fabrication process and the way that the huge plaster body was hoisted out of the studio-garage by rented crane.
Who commissioned the fake Bigfoot? No one is talking and the only clues are in the Hollywood Studio Magazine article:
The creature was ordered by a man who specializes in sideshow attractions and wanted something new to haul around the country this summer. ...the man came to Chambers with a number of magazine articles and clippings purporting to show the mysterious ape-man and asked for a duplicate in plaster. Big Foot will soon be on its way to the mid-west as a curiosity similar to the famed Cardiff Giant of the last century, except John Chambers makes no claims for the creature other than the fact it is one of the most impressive studies in plaster he has ever done.
The article suggests that if a scientist in the future discovers the ostensibly petrified Burbank Bigfoot, "you can bet John Chambers will be looking down from that big makeup lab in the sky with a grin on his face."
As to whether or not Chambers played a part in the Frank Hansen Iceman hoax, all that can be said is that in an article in the July 1970 issue of Saga magazine Hansen wrote that he had consulted with Chambers concerning the hair implantation on the Iceman, writing, "John Chambers, a makeup artist and academy award winner from 20th-Century Fox suggested that a small wax studio in Los Angeles could implant the hair according to my specifications." Now Hansen denies that Chambers played any role at all in the Iceman fabrication. Rather, Hansen, who changes his stories like other people change shirts, now insists that he met with Chambers concerning the fabrication of a cryogenic display. (Those who have followed the Minnesota Iceman saga over the years may find it interesting that makeup artist Mike McCracken, Sr. described to this investigator how he met Hansen when the showman came to Universal Studios to talk to the effects team there about building him a phony crashed saucer, including occupants.)
I shall leave this source unnamed but this is from an individual whom i have spoke too through my connections with first hand knowledge:
“John Chambers was interested in the direction I was going with the Studios, and became involved in a couple of our projects, specifically creating or advising “prehistoric men” for showmen Jerry Malone (John created this “dead” Neanderthal) and Frank Hansen (we referred Frank to La Brea Tar Pit/Natural History Museum sculptor Howard Ball who cast this figure in hot melt; John joined us in consultation of the project)."
John Napier of the Smithsonian had launched an official investigation into the origins of the Minnesota Iceman contrary to the claims by cryptozoologists that it was never looked in to or not taken seriously.
Mr. Napier located the company which Howard Ball had worked and discovered that they had been contacted by Hansen in 1967. It was discovered that they had successfully made an "Iceman" for him prior to the attraction having made a single public appearance.
They stated that it would be wrong to call it a replica as they had never seen an original to copy in the first place.
So again, put a fork in it, it's done. The Minnesota Iceman was just a frozen latex TV Dinner (As the moniker for such frozen treats were referred too during that time).
Incidentally, if you would like to see Mr. Ball's sculpt it currently resides with Steve Busti at the MUSEUM OF THE WEIRD in Austin, TX.
I wanted to see it while I was there because I was aware of the history behind it and given the chance I simply wanted to see it for myself….
I was given special permission to take some photos of it. Here they are....
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