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  • From: Traderbeck <traderbeck AT aol.com>
  • To: monkeywire AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [monkeywire] Cheeta the Chimp takes up his paintbrush to aid Monkees cause
  • Date: Mon, 15 Oct 2007 07:54:28 -0700

LuxuriaMusic.com Enlists Tarzan's Painting Pal Cheeta in Campaign to Get
The Monkees Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Launches
On-Air/Online Push Capped by Charity Auction of Three Monkees-Themed
"Ape-Stract" Paintings by Cheeta. This effort also supports
six-times-turned-down Cheeta in his quest for a"Star" on Hollywood's Walk of
Fame

First, The Monkees, the best band to come out of TV and the top-selling
recording artists of 1967, get slighted for nomination by the Rock and Roll
Hall of Fame. Then Cheeta, the "Susan Lucci of Movie Animals," gets passed
over for a "star" on Hollywood's Walk of Fame for the sixth time! When it
comes to officially signifying fame, it seems that the gatekeepers from the
worlds of music and movies have a thing against entertainment's great ape
acts.
Through LuxuriaMusic.com, a kick-ass Internet radio station dedicated to such
offbeat genres as EZ Listening, Surf, Bubblegum, Bollywood, Psych, '60s Punk
and Novelty music, the public will be able to make its voice heard and turn
up the pressure, on both the Rock-and-Roll Hall of Fame's nominating
committee and Johnny Grant, the de facto arbiter for the Hollywood Walk of
Fame.
LuxuriaMusic has brought together Cheeta and The Monkees for a month-long
campaign to build awareness of and gain signatures on petitions to finally
gain them the honors they deserve.

The Monkees' much-loved singer/tambourine player Davy Jones is thankful for
the support from campaign-driver LuxuriaMusic.com and the movies' greatest
monkey star. "The slight from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is something
that really seems to hit our fans almost harder than us," said Jones.
"Anything we can do to help this effort and help them gain satisfaction is
welcome. We're thankful to LuxuriaMusic for picking up the mantle and also to
Cheeta, for picking up his paint brush!"
About Cheeta
Cheeta, aka "Jiggs," turned 75 on April 9, 2007 and has been recognized by
the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's oldest living non-human
Primate.
In his "Hollywood heyday", Cheeta was an international simian superstar and
shared the big screen with Johnny Weissmuller and Maureen O'Sullivan in over
a dozen of the classic Tarzan films of the 30's and 40's.
Vaudevillian Dan Westfall inherited Cheeta in 1992 from his uncle Tony
Gentry, a well-known animal trainer who obtained the chimp from Africa in the
1930s.
Cheeta has now reinvented himself as the "Grandma Moses" of the animal
kingdom, taking up the paintbrush and raising thousands of dollars for animal
rights charities and now, through LuxuriaMusic, to help the Monkees gain
support for a spot in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
When not painting, Cheeta spends his days socializing under the California
desert sun with his grandson Jeter and other fellow primates at the
C.H.E.E.T.A. Primate sanctuary in Palm Springs.
Indie Filmmaker Matthew Devlen took up the cause to secure Cheeta a star on
Hollywood Boulevard 4 years ago while researching a documentary on Johnny
Weissmuller. A self professed "primate provocateur," he is working with
partners, including LuxuriaMusic, to go Boulevard or Bust on his fifth
attempt at seeing this animal megastar take his rightful place alongside two
other iconic screen counterparts, Lassie and Rin Tin Tin.
Over the next 8 months, Devlen will oversee GoCheeta.com as the clearinghouse
for all monkey business in regards to the Cheeta's campaign for a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame. Official announcement regarding 2009 inductees from
Johnny Grant's office is expected in June 2008. More information can be found
at his official website, www.cheetathechimp.org and his just-launched
campaign website, www.gocheeta.com and a MySpace page at
http://www.myspace.com/cheetathechimp

"When you see cartoon characters like Kermit the Frog, Donald Duck, Bugs
Bunny, Woody Woodpecker and even Winnie The Pooh with their names emblazoned
on the Boulevard, you have to wonder what's going on", commented Devlen. "I
would love for Cheeta to be "energizer chimp" and always be around, but our
dear friend has one foot in the grave and the other on a banana peel. I, for
one, am happy to work with Luxuriamusic and any other passionate party to 'go
bananas' to see both the Monkees and Cheeta reach out across the chromosomal
divide, join forces and shaking up the status quo in what constitutes fame in
Hollywood. Collectively, these guys were a big part of pop culture then and
resonate with even more importance today, considering what is passing for
fame these days."

The Monkees Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Petition is at:
http://www.petitiononline.com/Kretch07/petition.html

The Cheeta Walk of Fame petition is at:
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/GoCheeta/
Cheeta Ape-Scape Art Auction
Three paintings by Cheeta will auctioned on eBay starting on Monday October
15, 2007 at http://stores.ebay.com/LuxuriaMusic-Store .


"Cheeta Meets The Monkees"

"Pleasant Valley Sunday"
"Day Dream Believer"


These works will be auctioned off to benefit the buzz-building campaign,
C.H.E.E.T.A, the Palm Springs based sanctuary that provides residence, care,
and rehabilitation for homeless or unwanted ex-show business primates, as
well as the Jane Goodall Foundation, which is at the forefront of saving the
endangered chimpanzees in the wild. A recent painting from the Jane Goodall
event in Los Angeles where one of Cheeta's paintings brought in a
record-setting $10,000! Each painting includes a certificate of authenticity.



  • [monkeywire] Cheeta the Chimp takes up his paintbrush to aid Monkees cause, Traderbeck, 10/15/2007

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