(Historic) Bob Heironimus
Robert "Bob" Heironimus (b. 1941 in Yakima, Washington) is an individual claiming to have worn a modified gorilla suit in the Patterson-Gimlin film (PGF).
According to the book The Making of Bigfoot: The Inside Story by author Greg Long, Heironimus was approached in 1998 by Long and asked if he was the man in the suit. Heironimus basically responded to Long that maybe he was, maybe he wasn't. Long went back to Yakima in 2001 after continuing his research into the identity of the man in the alleged suit shown in the PGF. He reportedly confronted Heironimus point-blank who then claimed that he was the man in the suit. He even showed Long how he allegedly walked like the PGF subject.
Originally, in 1999, newspaper writer David Wasson wrote a story about an unknown individual, represented by attorney Barry Woodard, claiming to be the man in the suit shown in the PGF (it was an unnamed Heironimus), but the story really went nowhere. In 2004 (March 1st), Heironimus, along with Long, researcher Kal Korff and television producer Robert Kiviat, appeared on the Jeff Rense program to debut Heironimus to the general public as the alleged man in the suit. However, according to some, Heironimus has told many contradicting stories as to the origin of the suit and his participation in the filming.
One story is that Heironimus allegedly wore a three-piece suit made of a skinned horse. A second Heironimus story is that he wore a six-piece suit made by costumer Philip Morris and allegedly modified by Roger Patterson. In a third story, Heironimus said (or was quoted as saying) to KATU-2 TV in Portland, Oregon, in May 2004, that the man who made the alleged suit for the PGF was John Chambers, not Morris. Finally, Heironimus' late sister is said to have called Mrs. Patricia Patterson, the widow of Roger, and asked her to go along with a story of a gray horsehide suit being worn in the film by Heironimus so they could all make money from it (citation needed).
Heironimus' accounts have been heavily criticized by the bigfoot community and picked apart by several individuals, most notably Seattle, Washington, native Roger Knights. So far, Heironimus' claims have changed few opinions regarding the film's authenticity, except in the eyes of the popular media.
