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Doctor Cornelius

Actor	(James Brolin), Roddy McDowall, David Watson
Gender	Male
Race	Chimpanzee
Born	Unknown
Died	1973
Continuity	Movies
Appearances
First Appearance: Planet of the Apes Last Appearance: Escape from the Planet of the Apes

Cornelius was a male chimpanzee from the films Planet of the Apes, Beneath the Planet of the Apes and Escape from the Planet of the Apes, based on the character of Cornélius from the original novel, La Planète des singes by Pierre Boulle. He was the fiancée (later husband) of Zira and the eventual father of Milo, who would grow up to take the name Caesar.

An archeological scientist, Cornelius was reluctantly supportive of Zira's theories and views. He really would have preferred the quiet life with less controversy but deeply loved Zira and stood by her, though he did try to smooth over the confrontation with the orangutan elders and the gorilla soldiers. He himself had alarmed Zaius also by conducting digs in the Forbidden Zone, which threatened to undermine Ape society if he discovered what Zaius already knew. He was thus discouraged from further studies by the authorities. He grudgingly helped Zira to defend Taylor to the authorities and to escape subsequently but was cynical of Taylor's stories of an intelligent human race, and retained his respect for Zaius.

In the third Ape movie we were informed that Zira and Cornelius, after the visit of Brent, travelled into the Forbidden Zone to visit their friend Milo, who had discovered and repaired Taylor's ship. Together the three attempted to fly it but it launched onto a fixed return path to Taylor's time and the Apes escaped just as the Alpha-Omega Bomb device destroyed the world. Landing on Earth in 1973, the Apes were cautiously welcomed as a novelty by the bemused population. However when they accidentally revealed details of Earth's final days and Zira became pregnant with a child that could spawn an intelligent Ape race, the human authorities became suspicious and ultimately plotted the deaths of Zira, Cornelius and their son (Dr. Milo having already died). Escaping, they were tracked down to a disused boat, where they were finally killed by Otto Hasslein despite Cornelius' attempt to defend himself and his family. The child, initially named after Milo but subsequently renamed Caesar, had been saved however, and would eventually do just what Hasslein had feared.

Many years later, Caesar named his own son after his father, whom he had never known.

NotesEdit

In Rod Serling's early script treatments, Cornelius was the head of the 'Fourth Northern Archeological Expedition'.^[1]

The role of Cornelius was played by James Brolin in the 1966 Screen Test alongside Charlton Heston, Edward G. Robinson and Linda Harrison.

Rock Hudson was apparently considered for the part of Cornelius,^[2] though Roddy McDowall had been told about the role by Arthur P. Jacobs in person "a year before production", while on a flight back from London.^[3]^[4]

Makeup artist Don Cash sr. transformed Roddy McDowall into 'Cornelius' on the original Apes movie.^[5]

Roddy McDowall was unavailable to reprise the role of Cornelius for Beneath the Planet of the Apes as he was set to direct the film 'Tam Lin' while it was being filmed. The part was handed over to actor David Watson, with McDowall returning to the role for Escape from the Planet of the Apes