Lumpy the cook
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Lumpy is the name of an elderly sailor aboard the Wanderer in the novelization of King Kong by Delos W. Lovelace, in place of the character of Charlie the Chinese cook. Described as being very old and grizzled, Lumpy has a pet monkey named Ignatz and, despite his tough exterior, is a kind gentleman and treats Ann Darrow very nicely. Twice in the novel, Lumpy wants to participate in the action but is turned down because he is too old: the first time is when the group first arrives at Skull Mountain Island and Jack Driscoll deliberately chooses him to be one of the fourteen crew members to stay aboard the Wanderer. Later, he tries to go along on the mission to rescue Ann from the clutches of Kong, but is once more made to stay put, this time with Captain Englehorn to guard the gate.
Lumpy also appears in a similar function, along with Ignatz, in the 1991 Monster Comics official adaptation by Don Simpson. Here, he somewhat resembles Popeye the sailor and seems to serve as the second mate of the Venture.
Lumpy is also the name of the ship's cook in Peter Jackson's King Kong film. He is played by Andy Serkis. Presumably, Lumpy is just a nickname, but no other one is suggested at any time in the film.
Lumpy is not only the chef on the Venture, but he is also the dentist, barber, veterinarian and chief medical officer. His meals are very unappetising, and all contain walnut sauce. Despite the commanding presence of Hayes and Captain Englehorn, Lumpy seems to have some control over the crew, which explains when Choy tells Englehorn it was Lumpy who ordered the chloroform to be placed inside the cage Jack Driscoll opened. Lumpy has a close relationship with Choy, another member of the crew, and seems to love him as a brother. Lumpy has a pet bird which is seen inside his kitchen. He is also a chain smoker.
When Ann Darrow is captured, Lumpy is one of the first to go to help her, following in Jack's boat.
When Jack Driscoll plans to save Ann, Lumpy is one of the first to choose to go with him, as well as Hayes, Jimmy and Choy. When he sees Kong's footprint, he believes it to be the Abominable Snowman, and he soon starts to regret going after her. When Carl Denham 'disturbs' the brontosaurus, Lumpy is one of the first to flee, but one of the ones lagging in the back. He survives, but witnesses the deaths of four of the crew. As soon as Bruce Baxter starts a mutiny, Lumpy contemplates leaving, but soon changes his mind when Choy refuses to leave. When the group cross the swamp on rafts, Lumpy watches as the raft Choy, Jack, Preston and others are on gets attacked. When he sees Choy swimming for his life, he dives in after him, disobeying Hayes' command to stay on the raft. After seeing another two friends die, Lumpy and Choy make it out alive. Lumpy also helps Jimmy see that Hayes cares for him, despite his rough attitude.
When Hayes, Jack and the others cross the log, they are soon pushed back on it when Hayes is caught and killed by Kong. Kong then attacks the log, killing some unlucky men. Lumpy fires on Kong relentlessly, and even has time to kick Carl Denham's camera down into the pit. However, Lumpy loses his friend Choy, despite Lumpy's attempt to help him.
Kong tosses the log down into the pits below, with the few survivors hanging onto it. When he regains consciousness, Lumpy moves straight to Choy, who is now dead. When the dwellers of the pit come out to eat the dead and the living, Lumpy holds a last stand to defend Choy's body from the worm like Carnictis (Vile Meat-Weasel). He manages to kill several of the Carnictis's with his machete but one gets a hold of his leg and another graps and begins to devour his arm. As he trys to fight them both off a third comes up from behind him and begins to slowly devour his head, thus ending the cooks life.
- Early in the novel, you see a scene about Lumpy and Choy talking about bodybuilding and training. Throughout the novel, Choy seems to bring up the training he is doing to get muscular, and Lumpy just finds it amusing. That is also Choy's excuse for not abandoning the search for Ann.
- In the novel of the film, Lumpy finds Choy at the end partly alive, and the two have their last conversation:
Choy: "What you think he say about this?"
Lumpy: "Who?"
Choy: "My guy... Charlie Atlas. (swallows) training, see? training make all the difference. Anyone else... after a fall like that... be curtains for sure."
Lumpy: (Slight quavering in his voice) "Yeah, I used to think it was a waste of time. but you held up."
Choy: (seeing anguish in Lumpy's face) "Hey, dont worry. It's oh-kay."
After that, Lumpy tries to hold back tears as Choy passes on.
- In the film, Lumpy fights to his death against Carnictis to defend Choy's corpse, yet in Christopher Golden's novelisation, Lumpy does not fight, and is automatically devoured as he attempts to carry Choy's body to safety.
- In King Kong: the Official Game of the Movie, Lumpy is rarely seen, and does not travel with you. You only see him three times. First time you see him is when you are all in lifeboats, and he is in the one with Preston. The second time you see him is when he is still in his boat, getting carried away by the current. The final time you see him is on the V-Rex level, and you witness him getting torn into by the V-Rex. His death completely contradicts the one in the film and the book, and he isn't even alive to be in the brontosaurus level.
- In the game, Lumpy dies early, yet on the webpages of the game, He is seen with Denham and Hayes on the brontosaurus level.
Quotes from book, film and game.
Book:
Lumpy: "Have you ever had body lice?"
Ann: "Body lice!"
Ann: "I am starting to wonder, I thought you were the cook."
Lumpy: "Correct, madam. I am the cook, veterinarian, dentist, barber and chief medical officer."
Ann: "What does a girl have to do to get breakfast around here?"
Carl: "Lumpy, you heard the lady!"
Lumpy: "Porridge aux walnuts."
Lumpy: (after reding Choy's muscle-building pamphlet) "Choy, you are not and never will be Charles Atlas."
Choy: "This only day three! On day seven, I am a man!"
Film:
Lumpy: (discussing the island with Denham and Preston)"Seven years ago... me and Mr Hayes, we were working our passage on a Norwegian barque." (continued) "His ship had run aground on an island. way west of Sumatra. An island hidden in fog. He spoke of a huge wall, built so long ago, no one knew who had made it"
(continued)"A wall, a hundred foot high. as strong today as it was ages ago."
(continued)"the castaway, he spoke of a creature neither beast nor man, but something monstrous living behind the wall."
Preston: "what else did he say?"
Lumpy: "nothing. we found him the next morning... he stuck a knife through his heart."
Lumpy: "bloody nora! there's only one creature of leaving a footprint that size... the abominable snowman!"
(cut out part of speech)"and i, for one, have no desire to meet it face to face. believe me fellas, against something this big, we've got no chance."
Lumpy: "bugger this, i'm off!"
Lumpy: "Bloody hell, Choy! Here, here!"
game:
Lumpy: "Rocks! Look out for the rocks!"
Lumpy: "The current's too strong! Row, row, row!"
Lumpy: "Run Jimmy, run!"
