22 Old-School Cool Chimps We'd Love to Chill With

Carly Tennes Published 07/18/2024 in wow

Despite their historic penchant for hanging around, snacking on bananas, and grappling with the universe-altering consequences of touching a mysterious monolith, chimpanzees get up to way more than just typical "monkey business." Case in point? These cool, vintage orangutans who smoke, visit outer space and are a whole lot cooler than we'll ever be.

From Elvis' pet to Zip the monkey's entire existence, here are 22 old-school chimps we'd actually want in our blunt rotation.

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1.
“Elvis Presley with his Chimpanzee ‘Scatter’ - 1960s. Scatter wore clothes, drank beer(!), and often hung out with Elvis and his friends.”
2.
“A woman and her pet monkey in the crowd at Woodstock 1969.”
3.
“Central Park Zoo, New York, 1967.”
4.
“My Grandfather and his beer monkey, 1970s.”
5.
“My grandad Doug and his pet monkey Charlie, who gatecrashed his foxhole mid-bombardment and stayed with him for the duration of the war. Burma (Myanmar), 1944. British Army.”
6.
“A young girl from Brighton plays a game of chess with Fifi the chimpanzee at London Zoo, 1955.”
7.
“Astronaut chimp, Ham, gets an apple after his first successful flight into space. January 31, 1961.”
8.
“Man walking a monkey in Paris, 1976.”
9.
“Mister Rogers and Koko in 1998.”
10.
“Zippy the Chimp actor, relaxing on a couch, smoking a cigarette, in a sweater with ZIP written on it. (1955).”
11.
“My Grandpa and his Pet Chimp, World War II 1943, North Africa.”
12.
“Ham the chimp returns to Earth, 1961.”
13.
“Dondi Penn with Chimp, 1959, by Bunny Yeager.”
14.
“A young Steve Martin goofing around with a chimpanzee in the early 1980s.”
15.
“Michael Jackson and his Chimpanzee in the 80’s.”
16.
“A Chimp Named Ham Spaces Out, Jan. 31, 1961.”
17.
“Ham the chimp.”
18.
“Zippy the performing chimp watching TV in 1955.”
19.
“Chimpanzees playing Donkey Kong, 1980s.”
20.
“Dorothy Lamour, playing with 'Jiggs' the chimpanzee, while on location for "Her Jungle Love", directed by George Archainbaud.”
21.
22.
“Me in a members only jacket and a monkey in a space suit. Somewhere in Spain, probably Madrid. Early 1980s.”
23.
“Negotiations between the zoo director and escaped chimpanzee. Belgrade, Yugoslavia 1988.”

1.
“Elvis Presley with his Chimpanzee ‘Scatter’ - 1960s. Scatter wore clothes, drank beer(!), and often hung out with Elvis and his friends.”
2.
“A woman and her pet monkey in the crowd at Woodstock 1969.”
3.
“Central Park Zoo, New York, 1967.”
4.
“My Grandfather and his beer monkey, 1970s.”
5.
“My grandad Doug and his pet monkey Charlie, who gatecrashed his foxhole mid-bombardment and stayed with him for the duration of the war. Burma (Myanmar), 1944. British Army.”
6.
“A young girl from Brighton plays a game of chess with Fifi the chimpanzee at London Zoo, 1955.”
7.
“Astronaut chimp, Ham, gets an apple after his first successful flight into space. January 31, 1961.”
8.
“Man walking a monkey in Paris, 1976.”
9.
“Mister Rogers and Koko in 1998.”
10.
“Zippy the Chimp actor, relaxing on a couch, smoking a cigarette, in a sweater with ZIP written on it. (1955).”
11.
“My Grandpa and his Pet Chimp, World War II 1943, North Africa.”
12.
“Ham the chimp returns to Earth, 1961.”
13.
“Dondi Penn with Chimp, 1959, by Bunny Yeager.”
14.
“A young Steve Martin goofing around with a chimpanzee in the early 1980s.”
15.
“Michael Jackson and his Chimpanzee in the 80’s.”
16.
“A Chimp Named Ham Spaces Out, Jan. 31, 1961.”
17.
“Ham the chimp.”
18.
“Zippy the performing chimp watching TV in 1955.”
19.
“Chimpanzees playing Donkey Kong, 1980s.”
20.
“Dorothy Lamour, playing with 'Jiggs' the chimpanzee, while on location for "Her Jungle Love", directed by George Archainbaud.”
21.
22.
“Me in a members only jacket and a monkey in a space suit. Somewhere in Spain, probably Madrid. Early 1980s.”
23.
“Negotiations between the zoo director and escaped chimpanzee. Belgrade, Yugoslavia 1988.”