When Kokomo Jr. was three months old he was walking upright and at a year old he says "ma-ma" and grins, showing his little teeth.
He's quite intelligent -- for a chimp, that is.
And soon, his owner, Nick Carrado of Rome, will take him to a New York psychologist and they'll work on increasing his vocabulary.
"Don't take his saying 'ma-ma' so lightly," said Carrado. "It took so long to teach him. Chimps don't ordinarily talk."
But Kokomo Jr. is no ordinary chimpanzee. He is the son of the famous Kokomo Jr., which Carrado got 10 years ago and trained for appearances on national TV shows and in movies.
Kokomo Jr., the son, was in Syracuse this week for a preview of his new TV films in this test market. Unit 5 Film Corp. of New York City has made several film shorts of the chimp in human situations, such as making pizza, fixing an auto or acting as an assistant zoo keeper.
"I give him a shave and a haircut once a week," said Carrado of his young charge. "we travel by car -- and Kokomo likes to sit and watch around him -- or by plane."
Kokomo's light brown eyes have a curious or mischievous look and he's quick to reach out his hand for a firm "man's handshake" or to offer a cracker to a mini-skirted girl reporter. He's all boy, this chimp!
His regular diet consists of almost everything, from steaks to chicken and all types of fruits and vegetables. For the past week he's been on a grape-eating kick, and next week it may be bananas.
For his Syracuse appearance, he wore a green sweater over a pink shirt, and grey pants. His accessories consist of big shiny-jewel cufflinks, a red-banded wrist watch and a sporty bow tie. His black and whites were especially made in Germany.
Kokomo's verbal communication may be limited to "ma-ma," but he peers at you with very intelligent eyes as if to say, "What goes with this typing bit?"
He'll soon be saying "pa-pa" if Carrado and the psychologist can communicate with him.
When he was through with the "interview," Kokomo left the city room -- wearing his red wool cap and his wool lined coat. He was marching alone down the hall -- walking erectly... all 3 feet of him -- and nearly ran into the night editor coming to work. Kokomo takes people in stride, but the editor, seeing a chimp in boys' clothing, nearly collapsed.
photo caption
And I Said to the Psychologist...
Kokomo Jr., one-year-old chimpanzee, contemplates the events in
his life while seated at a typewriter at The Post-Standard.