Dr. Cornelius
Fictional Character / Archaeologist
Dr. Cornelius and his mate Zira are the "good apes" in the 1968 sci-fi film Planet of the Apes. Cornelius is a chimpanzee archaeologist who is sympathetic to human astronaut George Taylor (played by Charlton Heston). Cornelius was played by actor Roddy McDowall in the 1968 film and in the sequel Escape From the Planet of the Apes (1971), in which Cornelius and Zira venture to modern-day Earth. In an earlier 1970 sequel, Beneath the Planet of the Apes, Cornelius was played by actor David Watson.Extra credit: In later films McDowall also played Cornelius's son Caesar... Cornelius is not featured in the 2001 Tim Burton remake of The Planet of the Apes.
Dr. Cornelius appears with Koko the Gorilla in our loop Great Apes!
Blog posts mentioning Dr. Cornelius:
Gary Coleman is 40
Four Good Links
Planet of the Apes Characters
Good intro to Cornelius, Zira, and the others
Those Damned Dirty Apes!
2000 Frontier article, a fine recap of the whole Apes phenomenon
Ape City
Brief info and some photos from the movie and television series
On TV: Continuity & the Apes Timeline
Breakdown of what happens in the movies and on the TV show
Vital Stats
Birth
1968
(age 40)
Birthplace
Death
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Best Known As
The good chimp in The Planet of the Apes
