Adam Sandler Eulogizes the ‘Happy Gilmore’ Alligator

Just when we were finally getting over the tragic death of the otter that looks like Tracy Morgan, it’s been reported that the alligator from Happy Gilmore has ed away. According to NBC News, Morris the alligator was “at least 80 years old” judging from his “growth rate and tooth loss.”

Morris had quite the eclectic filmography. He appeared in Interview with the Vampire, Doctor Dolittle 2 and Blues Brothers 2000, in a scene that begs the question: Can an alligator feel embarrassment?

But Morris was obviously best known for his work in Happy Gilmore, playing the nefarious one-eyed gator that bit off Chubbs’ hand. Happy ends up encountering the reptile on the golf course and opts to beat him to death in front of a crowd of cheering spectators. Amazingly, the rest of the movie isn’t about Happy being dogged by protests from the Humane Society.

Happy later severs the gator’s head and gives it to Chubbs as a present. Unfortunately, the fright of seeing his old nemesis leads Chubbs to fall out a window and die, in a scene that caused Carl Weathers to suffer from “excruciating pain” for years afterwards. 

Last fall, Morris’ owner, Jay Young, told TMZ that Morris was willing to come out of retirement for Happy Gilmore 2, even though he couldn’t actually be transported out of the Colorado Gators Reptile Park in Mosca where he lived. While Adam Sandler and company didn’t take Young up on his offer, Sandler did recently offer up a eulogy of sorts for Morris on social media.

“Goodbye, Morris,” Sandler wrote. “We are all gonna miss you. You could be hard on directors, makeup artists, costumers — really anyone with arms or legs — but I know you did it for the ultimate good of the film. The day you wouldn’t come out of your trailer unless we sent in 40 heads of lettuce taught me a powerful lesson: never compromise your art.”

Sandler also recalled a time when they “split the Three Musketeers bar” and Morris let him have “the bigger half.”

Sandler clarified that Morris doesn’t appear in Happy Gilmore 2, for what should be obvious reasons. “I know your character’s decapitation in the first movie precluded your participation in the sequel,” Sandler reasoned, “but we all appreciated the fruit basket and the hilarious note.” He also thanked Young for taking care of Morris, ending the message by saying, “Vaya con dios, old friend.”

No doubt Morris the alligator is in a better place now, hanging out with Carl Weathers and Abraham Lincoln.