The Bigfoot Hoax - Was Ray Wallace of Tacoma the Official Mastermind?

According to a December 5 2002 Seattle Times article by Bob Young, the perpetrator of the "big foot hoax" was named Ray L. Wallace, a resident of Tacoma, WA who died on Nov. 26 of 2002 at the age of 84. According to the article, Wallace was a prankster and big kid his entire life and manufactured the hoax in 1958 when "Bigfoot" officially became a part of American lingo when a tractor operator noticed some 16-inch footprints allegedly created by Wallace and reported them to the media who coined the phrase Bigfoot.

According to the late StrangeMag.com editor Mark Chorvinsky and Wallace's' nephew Dale Lee, Wallace had a friend with notable carving skills create Bigfoot's feet out of alder wood which Wallace attached to his boots and used to create the famous giant footprints that ended up being plaster casted and used as evidence of the hairy creature's existance. Apparently, Wallace just did it for laughs but it took on a life of it's own and went beyond his control, becoming a legend. According to Wallace's family, he was too afraid to put a stop to it for fear of people getting "mad at him."

Wallace, however, couldn't help but fuel the flames of the legend by producing a record of Bigfoot sounds and taking videos of an alleged Bigfoot hanging around ponds and eating frogs. Wallace's son admitted that Ray even employed his own mother to wear the Bigfoot suits for his cheesy nature films.

According to StrangeMag.com, Wallace consulted with Roger Patterson and Bob Gimlin of Yakima who shot the famous "Patterson film" in 1967. In a 1982 interview with a researcher, Wallace allegedly claimed that he acted as director of the Bigfoot film in Bluff Creak, CA. According to Chorvinsky, Wallace knew the identity of the man in the suit but insisted on taking it to his grave and would only say he was a Yakima American Indian.

In an article published in StrangeMag.com Hollywood director John Landis clearly admits that Hollywood makeup artist John Chambers created the suit used in the Patterson film.

Wallace was kept in obscurity probably because too many people had a vested interest in keeping the legend alive. Family members claimed in the Seattle Times article that he meant no harm and had no idea it would take off. He just couldn't help himself and was a natural prankster.

Obviously, if Bigfoot were real there would be skeletal evidence, one found dead or alive. Instead, there is only anecdotal evidence, grainy films and legendary tales. Regardless of the evidence or lack thereof, if people want the legend to continue, and it can't be absolutely disproved, Bigfoot will live on in the minds of many.

Sources:

Seattle Times. Bigfoot is dead. Really. December 5 2002 Bob Young

StrangeMag.com

Bigfoot, Fact or Fantasy http://home.clara.net/rfthomas/bigfoot.html