Sometimes, Production is a Monster

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Janos Prohaska works on an ape sculpture in his workshop.
Blame Janos Prohaska – the designer and stunt performer inside of the glob-like Horta costume. Bjo Trimble, who was visiting the set as Roddenberry’s guests, explained “It would have been difficult for Janos to navigate the rocky floor. He stood about six-four, but he could contort himself into the most amazing positions. He was down on his hands and knees, so they needed it to be a smooth floor; he was in a bad enough position as it was.”Robert Justman concurred, saying, “That was a seven day production. We spent six of the seven days in those tunnels and catacombs. That meant the man in the Horta costume spent six of  those seven days on his hands and knees. Correction: elbows and knees – crawling, turning, pouncing, scurrying away. And we were fond of the man in the Horta costume. We hoped to see him be able to stand up and walk away from this job.”
                       
Justman added, “There were many other creatures scurrying about – production people, camera operators, actors, each a potential lawsuit, should one fall and break one’s neck. And this is why stage floors are usually flat. You may recall that the Horta turned out not to be a beast after all. The real beast is the inherent short schedules of television production. If The Devil in the Dark were a feature film, we would have been in those tunnels for several weeks instead of several days. Speaking only for myself, I was happy we were not in those tunnels for several weeks. It was not an easy production.”And now you know one of many interesting tidbits concerning the making of The Devil in the Dark.

And now you know one of many interesting tidbits concerning the making of The Devil in the Dark.

Know all there is about the making of this classic episode, and all the original Star Trek® episodes, by reading These are the Voyages – TOS, Season One scheduled for release in July 2013 by Jacobs/Brown Press.
Watch for These are the Voyages — TOS, Seasons Two and Three, set for publication by Jacobs/Brown Press later in 2013.