Desmond Morris, the scientist and author best known for his popular 1967 book, The Naked Ape, has died at 98, the New York Times reports.
Morris, a native of Purton, England, was educated at the University of Birmingham and the University of Oxford, where he studied zoology. He hosted Zoo Time, a British television documentary series, before publishing his first book, Curious Creatures, in 1961; he followed that up a year later with The Biology of Art.
In 1967, he published The Naked Ape, which looked at human beings as just another variety of primate. The book became a bestseller, and was (very loosely) adapted into a 1973 film starring Johnny Crawford and Victoria Principal.
Desmond’s other books include Intimate Behavior, Animal Days, Horsewatching, and The Naked Man. An accomplished surrealist painter, he wrote about the movement in The Lives of the Surrealists and 101 Surrealists.
His son, Jason Morris, paid tribute to him, saying, “His was a lifetime of exploration, curiosity and creativity. A zoologist, manwatcher, author and artist, he was still writing and painting right up until his death. He was a great man and an even better father and grandfather.”
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
