Ben Chapman

 Ben Chapman was born in Oakland, California, and was raised in Tahiti, relocated to the U.S. in 1940 and went to school in the Bay Area of San Francisco. Working as a Tahitian dancer in nightclubs led to his first movie job, a bit in MGM's "Pagan Love Song" (1950); other small film roles followed before Korean War duty temporarily sidetracked his modest screen career. Talent scouts from Universal-International "discovered" Chapman upon his return, and for a year he became a U-I stock player--and, at six-foot-five, an ideal choice for the finny title role in "Creature from the Black Lagoon" (1954). Chapman is the Creature in scenes where the camera is out of water; Ricou Browning is the Creature in scenes where the camera is underwater.

"They were the interlopers. They came to his home. It'd be the same thing if you went home tonight and you found eight or ten or twelve people having a party in your living room. How would you feel?"

Ben also worked bartending roles between night club gigs and movies. He was tending bar when he first met Peter Lawford and later John F. Kennedy when he was still a Senator and would later enjoy parties at the Lawford home.

Happy Birthday, Ben Chapman!