Cappy
I was channel hopping the other night (as I often do in the vague hope of finding something watchable – particularly as the TV guide is far from reliable) when I paused briefly at the History channel.
It was a program that seemed to be about wild animals in general being kept in captivity in the US and chimpanzees seemed to be the featured species.
I am not going into the rights and wrongs of keeping wild animals (or the stupidity of the untrained people who do so) as that is not what this article is about. There have been some absolutely horrific attacks by “pets” in general and chimpanzees in particular in this regard and I think they speak quite eloquently for themselves.
Knowing what you are doing and legitimately keep a wild animal is one thing. Not knowing and keeping one because you think it’s cool is another thing entirely.
What caught my attention was the statement that in December of 1963, Florida police pulled over a car that was being driven by a chimpanzee. Allegedly at 70 mph. The chimpanzee had apparently been trained or taught to drive – I assume as part of an act.
Can you imagine the look on a cop’s face – drawing alongside a speeding car – when he realized it was being driven by a chimpanzee? Priceless!
I would dearly love to know more about this incident so if anyone has more info I would be grateful.
Update – Many thanks to…
- Bill, who provided this picture of Cappy.
- Tara, who let me know Cappy passed of old age on 12/6/2013. Very sad.
I know the man who owned and trained that chimp. He died several years ago and I can’t recall his name. That’s how I found this sight. I was hoping I could find Bob’s last name. If/when I remember his last name I’ll let you know.
Bob Slover owned and trained that chimp. Bob was a member of a yacht club here in Florida. He died several years ago but the way he told the story is that the chimp (I can’t remember his name, it took all I had to remember Bob’s last name, that’s how I found your blog). Anyway, Bob said they couldn’t ticket the chimp because he wasn’t breaking any Florida laws. He was not speeding and was actually using hand signals. Evidently, there was no law on the Florida books that said a chimpanzee couldn’t drive. Go figure
Thanks for letting me know Vanessa!
Link
I was curious myself and Vanessa’s reply let me find this
This was actually a question in Trivial Pursuit, The 60s Edition.
Thanks Bix! I think it’s amazing that such an event is still being talked about 47 years later. I wonder whether Florida law has been amended?
The first time I heard about this episode was from Bob’s daughter who I worked with. It seems I remember there was a magazone cover photo of Bob slumped back in the car with a hat over his eyes as “Cappy” drove…is this accurate?
I saw that chimp driving as a child in St. Petersburg. First was an exhibition at the local shopping mall, but later in the day, I saw him driving on the street.
I remember reading about the ticket incident, and as I recall, the Florida legislature sprang into action and passed a bill prohibiting animals from driving.
You may be interested to know that in 1982 I am the person that adopted Cappy the Chimp when Bob Slover had to give her up. I was working for Circus World theme park at the time. Bob came to the park in a last ditch effort to try to find her a home after many rejections from other facilities mainly because she had never lived in a group atmosphere and he didn’t want her bred or harmed by another chimp. The park turned down the offer and I took her home to prevent Bob from having her put to sleep. Cappy is still alive and well and living in St.Cloud,Florida. She will be 72 years old this year. The article and picture of Cappy driving the car is in the January 17, 1964 Life Magazine. There is also a story of the driving incident on the internet written by Tony Zappone who covered the story for The Tampa Tribune newspaper. Cappy is enjoying her retirement and loves to get company.
I didn’t realise that Cappy was still alive Bill. If you have a photo I could post I’d love to have one.
I will be happy to “e” mail you a current picture of Cappy to post. Bill
Admin–I need to have an e mail address in order to send the pictures of Cappy. You can e mail instructions to me, Bill
yah i met cappy…i live in st. cloud and we went by….he drank a slurpy and give u hand shakes…i also heard stories of him smoking and drinking beers. that chimp is the shit
Bob slover is actually my grandfather (moms dad) I wish Bob was alive to see these comments..I have heard some great stories about Cappy whom actually put my mom and 2 aunts through College. @Bill thanks for taking care of Cappy she really was a part of my family.I’d like to come see her with my mom.Please contact me at guruthekat@yahoo.com
Thanks
@adm I can send you a bunch of photos if you like.
Hi Ryan. Yes I’d love to have some photos. I’ll e-mail you with an address.
Happy too will ask my mom…Btw she is st illin Tampa Fla she owns a florist if you want to hear some of the great stories You should ask her.
My husbands aunt lives about 1/4 of a mile down the road from Bill and Cappy. The last time we flew down to Florida was in April 2006. We took many walks up the road to visit Cappy. We brought her snacks, drinks, and yes, a beer. She cracks it open herself and chugs it. If she wants to “check you out” she will put her arm out of the cage and with a finger gester, she will call you over. From feet to hair and head, she felt my clothes, gently touched my skin, even going up the leg of my pants to feel my legs; she played with the drawstring of my pants, fingered my earrings, button on my shirt, felt my hair. She is awesome! I hear that the mail carrier actually shares his lunch break with Cappy. I’m glad to hear she is still alive and well and I’ve thought about her many times over the years. Cappy was one of the highlights during my visit to Florida!
I took film of Cappy driving for the Tonight Show when I was 16. Johnny Carson requested the film so it could be shown while he was interviewing Bob Slover, owner of the chimp. While we were filming in downtown Tampa, Cappy bit onto my hand and WOULD NOT LET GO!!! The more I pulled away the harder it bit. I was sitting in the middle, Cappy was driving, Slover was to my right on the passenger’s side. We were at a light.
Slover worked to calm the Chimp…I had done nothing whatsoever to provoke Cappy. It took about 45 seconds to get my hand released from Cappy’s teeth grip…45 of the most painful seconds of my entire life.
My association with Cappy, however, led to a lifelong friendship with Karl Slover, who Bob had adopted. Karl was one of the Munchkins in the Wizard of Oz and worked for Southern Amusement Enterprises…a traveling carnival of which Cappy was a part and which was owned by Bob Slover. Karl recently passed away at 93.
Yes, I was there when Cappy got the ticket. A judge dismissed the case because there was no law that said a chimpanzee had to have a driver’s license. That was changed by the Florida legislature the following year. Sometimes those kind of details fall through the cracks.
After that biting incident, I occasionally said hello to Cappy but kept my distance.
Hi Tony – Yes things like that certainly do fall through the cracks! I mean… who would ever have thought that a chimpanzee could drive??
Hey!! We have been waiting a year to hear from Tony ! We wanted to know if he wanted to come and visit Cappy. Mr. Slover led us to believe when we adopted Cappy in 1982 that she was 7 years old when Mr. Slover adopted her in 1945. We have always wanted that verified. Slover’s grandson gave us his mom’s phone number but we have misplaced it! So, I hope to hear from Tony and hope to hear from Slover’s grandson again to get his mom’s phone number. Thanks. Cyndy Hall
BILL,
I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR SHARING CAPPY WITH US THIS WEEKEND. I SEE THE GREAT LOVE YOU HAVE FOR HER. SHE IS SO VERY LUCKY TO HAVE YOU IN HER LIFE. YOU TRUELY HAVE A LOVING HEART. THANK YOU SO MUCH, DEBI
Cappy has passed. I have previously posted on here, in 2011. My husbands aunt lives down the road from Cappy and her owners. She passed of old age on 12/6/2013 of old age. Very sad. My aunt let us know today. 🙁
Hi Tara, She certainly did live to a ripe old age but it’s still sad to hear that such a unique being has passed. Thank you for letting me know.
I have the car that cappy drove
Hi Scarlet, I did originally see a newspaper clipping somewhere on the Internet of Cappy in the car but it was not in the public domain so I couldn’t use it.
Im so sorry to hear that cappy has passed,
but now she can be where she belongs with Bob and his wife Jo up in heaven driving around..ha ha
RIP Cappy
@Scarlet would you please send me any old pics youhave and of just the car (for a scapbook)
thanks
Hi Scarlet. How did you end up with the Austin-Healy car? Bill and i would love to see it? Do you live in Florida? And are you on Facebook? I haven’t pulled up this website in a long time. I always tell people to do it so they can learn about Cappy. We miss her so much!!! Cyndy and Bill Hall
Hey Ryan. We found a picture of Cappy in the car driving outside Atlanta while searching Ebay. We bought the picture. And someone else found a picture of her on Ebay and bought that and gave it to us. Amazing what you can find on Ebay. Don’t know how well the car shows up in that picture. I will check it out when I am home. Cyndy
Hi Cyndy and Bill. I’ve just stumbled across this site. I’m Scarlett’s mum. We still have the Healey , it’s in the uk with us. We’ve had it about 5 years.