King Kong - Fifty-foot ape on the Saturday morning animated cartoon KING KONG/ABC/1966-69. King Kong was the lovable pet of a small boy living in the New York area who used his gorilla's great strength to battle evil. The cartoon series was based on the original motion picture King Kong (1933) which starred Fay Wray as the "beauty" who "killed the beast." The film was conceived by filmmaker Merion C. Cooper and mystery writer Edgar Wallace. Special effects wizard, Willis O'Brien created the movie magic that turned an 18-inch ape model made of rubber flesh and rabbit fur into a towering monster. King Kong also appeared in the unsuccessful motion picture remake King Kong (1976) produced by Dino De Laurentis and starring Jessica Lange. In 2005, director Peter Jackson (of  Lord of the Rings fame) will debut his take on the story of Kong in an update of the classic beauty and the beast tale.