Using casts of alleged Bigfoot footprints found in the Northwest woods, he theorized that they could have come from Gigantopithecus, a giant ape species thought to have become extinct during the Pleistocene era, but which he suggested might still be alive and lurking about. He appeared in several Bigfoot documentaries and became a hero of sorts to Sasquatch true-believers--at least until he suggested that, if any real Sasquatches were found, they should be killed and dissected. He also worked in several more-accepted topics of human ancestry, and wrote 10 scholarly books. In recent years, he publicly advocated preserving the "Kennewick Man" skull found in Oregon, which he believed might be that of an ancient human resident of non-Native American ancestry. Krantz died February 14 in his Port Angeles home of pancreatic cancer.
Charles H. Lough, 92, ran Lough Motors on Rainier Avenue South since 1947. The landmark South Seattle lot sold, at various times, Jeep, Hudson, GMC, various RV brands, pickup canopies, TVs, appliances, electric cars, and finally, Isuzu heavy-duty trucks. Lough died February 12 of undisclosed causes.
The Northgate Theater closed February 21 after 51 years. The first shopping-mall cinema in the U.S., the Northgate was Seattle's largest remaining single-screen movie house, with over 1,000 seats. Its totem-pole themed design "modernized" and toned down the old prewar movie-palace look, with a huge screen and other amenities intended to emphasize the differences between cinema and TV. The Northgate was finally done in by multiplex competition, long-planned redevelopment plans at the mall, and by the bankruptcy-forced retrenchment plan of its current operator, Loews Cineplex (formerly Cineplex Odeon). The chain had let the Northgate lapse into decay for over a decade; many seats were left broken, the carpets had been ripped out, the interior walls had stains and holes. But at its peak, as a flagship of the locally based Sterling Recreation Organization circuit, it housed the exclusive first runs of many blockbusters, and gave many lonely suburban kids a glimpse of life's more glamorous possibilities.
Chuck Jones, 89, was a Spokane boy who became the world's most influential director of cartoon shorts. (And everyone knows it's really duck season; and if you buy anything from Acme, always get a warranty.)
obits@thestranger.com
