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Alligator that starred in 'Happy Gilmore'
dies of old age in Colorado
[May 15, 2025]
By THOMAS PEIPERT
DENVER (AP)
— An alligator that appeared in numerous TV shows and films over three
decades, most notably the 1996 Adam Sandler comedy “Happy Gilmore,” has
died at a gator farm in southern Colorado.
Based on
his growth rate and tooth loss, Morris the alligator was at least 80
years old when he died, the Colorado Gator Farm said in a Facebook post
Sunday. He was nearly 11 feet (3.3 meters) long and weighed 640 pounds
(290 kilograms). |
This photo provided by Colorado Gators shows Matt Jordan, employee at
Colorado Gators, as he pulls the tail of Morris the alligator, an
alligator that appeared in numerous TV shows and films over three
decades, most notably the 1996 Adam Sandler comedy “Happy Gilmore,” in
Mosca, Colo., June 9, 2024. (Jay Young/Colorado Gators via AP) |
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"He
started acting strange about a week ago. He wasn’t lunging at us
and wasn’t taking food,” Jay Young, the farm’s owner and
operator, said in a video as he tearfully stroked Morris' head
in an animal enclosure.
“I know it's strange to people that we get so attached to an
alligator, to all of our animals. ... He had a happy time here,
and he died of old age," he said.
Morris, who was found in the backyard of a Los Angeles home as
an illegal pet, started his Hollywood career in 1975 and retired
in 2006, when he was sent to the Colorado Gator Farm in the tiny
town of Mosca. He appeared in several films, including
“Interview with the Vampire,” “Dr. Dolittle 2" and “Blues
Brothers 2000." He also appeared on “Coach,” “Night Court” and
“The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” featuring the late wildlife
expert Steve Irwin.
But his most famous role was in “Happy Gilmore,” a film about a
failed and ill-tempered hockey player who discovers a talent for
golf. The title character played by Sandler confronts Morris
after hitting a golf ball that ends up in the gator's mouth.
Sandler posted a tribute to Morris on Instagram on Wednesday.
“We are all gonna miss you. 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,"
Sandler wrote. "The day you wouldn’t come out of your trailer
unless we sent in 40 heads of lettuce taught me a powerful
lesson: never compromise your art.”
The Colorado Gator Farm, which opened to the public in 1990,
said it plans to preserve Morris' body.
“We have decided to get Morris taxidermied so that he can
continue to scare children for years to come. It’s what he would
have wanted," the farm posted on Facebook on Monday.
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