Winchester Chuck Walkaround
Units Produced: 3 (1 Costume, 3 Designs)
Manufacturer: Fantasy Forest
The Winchester Chuck E. Cheese Walkaround was the second ever Pizza Time Theatre costumed character, used at the San Jose, CA (370 S Winchester Blvd) store from May 5, 1977 to sometime between 1980-1985.
History
The costume would be produced by Fantasy Forest between late 1976 and early 1977. The costume would look very similar to the Rick Rat Walkaround used in early promotions. Gene Landrum noted as meeting with a Warner executive that had a Harvard MBA at the San Jose, CA (370 S Winchester Blvd) location after it had opened, and on the topic of the walkaround he mentioned it cost $5,000 for Fantasy Forest to produce, to which the executive exclaims Gene is nuts and that isn’t economically viable. Gene later states by the opening of Sparks, NV (530 Greenbrae Dr) the cost of other walkaround variations had dropped to $300. The character was set in its early history to come out every 20 minutes to greet guests, though this wasn’t always followed as noted by interections between Gene and the first store manager. [1]
Redesign
In 1978, the costume would be refurred to be a darker gray with thinner fur. This would be the same fur used in the Kooser Chuck Walkaround. Alongside this, his eyelids would be painted blue, the eye mesh would be redone, the latex pieces repainted, and the ear fur swapped from a deep red to a pale pink. It is likely the head was completely redone for this design, but it is unconfirmed. It is unclear if this refur was done before the Kooser walkaround was created, or after, nor is it clear why either costume changed to this design. The costume would still retain its bare feet, compared to the Kooser design recieving shoes.
Age & Wear
In 1978, just after the redesign, the hat would become noticably damaged on its right side, with a large portion of the paint scraped off, revealing the white material underneath. Photos also show Chuck’s tooth missing, which would be missing multiple times over the years. In the Four Corners footage in 1979, Chuck’s mask would be seen extremely dirty, alongside his vest completely missing. Photos and videos of the vest missing would also be seen. On multiple occasions the orignal damaged hat would be swapped out for a Pizza Time Theatre logo derby.
Second Redesign
By the 1979 Franchise Brochure’s photography session, the Chuck Walkaround would recieve another redesign. This would feature the redesigned head sculpt seen from the Kooser Chuck Walkaround with a more open mouth. The skin would be painted more pink, and the original hat would see a remake in a softer material. The photo also shows Chuck with a cigar and microphone prop, which is unknown if it was used in-store. It is unknown how long the costume lasted, whether it was eventually replaced by the 1980’s costume, or if it remained in the store until its closure in February of 1985. The whereabouts of the costume currently are unknown.
References
