Who Played Bigfoot In Harry And The Hendersons

Bigfoot is quite a fascinating creature that exists in American tales which has distinctively and incredibly unique features. People talk about an ape looking creature but more hairy, larger in size and fully bipedal. It is said to reside in mountains and forests more specifically of the Pacific Northwest. There have been people who have claimed to have seen this incredible beast but these claims have scientists disqualify as false tales, misidentification or just scams.

These disqualifications are due to lack of adequate evidence to prove its existence apart from a huge footprint hence the name Bigfoot. Some people have developed an intense interest in this creature so much so that they have formed self-financed groups of investigators purposing their time to finding and proving the existence of Bigfoot. On this basis books have been written, documentaries have been made, and even movies produced. One of these movies is Harry and the Hendersons which is a 1987 film which has won an Oscar for Best Makeup, seven other nominations and inspired a follow-up TV series of the same name.

The “Harry and the Hendersons” Movie

Bigfoot Harry And The HendersonsThe Henderson family coming from a family hunting trip accidentally run over a Sasquatch which is another name for the creature Bigfoot. This situation forces the Henderson family to take the Sasquatch home under the misunderstood impression that it is dead. It later awakens and soon their circumstances transforms into an adoption case and the Sasquatch who happens to be called Harry becomes an adopted member of the Henderson family. Later on, however, as expected Harry’s existence in the Henderson family is threatened by relevant authorities and also a hunter obsessed with catching Bigfoot. This excellent movie stars John Lithgow who played as George Henderson, Margret Langrick playing as Sarah Henderson, Melinda Dillon as Nancy Henderson and Joshua Rudoy playing as Ernie Henderson; all of which form the Henderson family. The film earned mostly mixed reviews and was a success at the box office during its release, earning thrice its budget. But there is one important character that most classically forgets on the credits list giving rise to one question, “who played Bigfoot in Harry and the Hendersons?”.

Who Played Harry The Bigfoot?

Well, it would be absurd to assume that Harry was an actual Sasquatch in the movie. Besides, Bigfoot had not been confirmed to exist yet, and if Harry were a real one, it would be highly unlikely that he would conform to a movie script. Well, Harry the Sasquatch was played by one Kevin Peter Hall. Kevin who has a height of seven foot two also played the monster in “Monster in the Closet” and also was the original Predator. One could say his height made him a natural for these roles, but Kevin Peter Hall included his acting prowess into these roles which made him a better choice for these characters. Unfortunately for Kevin Peter Hall, five years after his role as Harry in the movie, he met a tragic demise after a devastating procedure. After a terrible car accident in Los Angeles, Kevin got a blood transfusion to replenish blood lost during the crash. Unluckily for Kevin, the blood that transfused into his system was HIV infected, therefore infecting him. He later died on 1991 of AIDS-related pneumonia at the age of thirty-five years. His talent and charm on and off the movie set made Kevin Peter a highly potentiated actor in the film scene, but now a cherished memory by most.

  • Directed and produced by William Dear, and starring John Lithgow, Melinda Dillon, Don Ameche, David Suchet, Margaret Langrick, Joshua Rudoy, Lainie Kazan, and Kevin Peter Hall.
  • Steven Spielberg served as the uncredited executive producer of this film while Rick Baker provided the makeup and the creature designs for Harry.
  • In the United Kingdom the film was originally released as Bigfoot and the Hendersons, though the TV series retained the American title. The DVD and all current showings of the movie in the UK now refer to the movie by its original title.
  • The film had a TV series called Harry and the Hendersons. Kevin Peter Hall reprised Harry until his death in 1991. Following Kevin Peter Hall’s death, Harry was performed by Dawan Scott in 1991-1992 and by Brian Steele in 1992-1993 while Harry’s vocal effects were provided by Patrick Pinney.
  • The film was released in January 2011 on DVD entitled Harry and The Hendersons Special Edition. A single-disc Blu-ray of the film was released on March 4, 2014.

Leave a Comment