The King Leaks

After a troublesome nine-month gestation, King Kong is alive and well and going through toilet training in Hollywood. The 40-ft. star of Dino De Laurentiis' $22 million ape epic made his public debut at MGM's back lot and, considering that his innards are almost as complex as those of a Polaris missile, the king showed surprisingly few kinks. (The ape whose death was staged last June at Manhattan's World Trade Center for the film's final scene was a Styrofoam stand-in.)

Weighing in at a trim 6 1/2 tons, with a 20-ft. chest and 20-ft. arm span, the $2 million anthropoid is animated by 4,500 ft. of electrical wiring, 3,100 ft. of hydraulic hose and 50 hydraulic jacks that control his movements. The critics may term his acting mechanical, but at least the bionic baboon has seven distinct facial expressions, which is six more than the bionic man can claim. Kong's most embarrassing problem: because of leaky jacks, a steady stream of fluid oozes down his right leg.

The Paramount movie will be released at 1,000 theaters just before Christmas. Then Kong will go into rehearsal for the sequel, King Kong in Africa. By that time, perhaps, someone will have devised a Kong-size diaper.

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