Orange Julius
Orange Julius was a gorilla who resided at the Bronx Zoo during the first half of the latter part of the mid twentieth century.
Perhaps best known for his love for taking tomato juice baths, which was thought to have contributed to his somewhat unusual coloration, those who frequented the Zoo and didn't just read about him in the Sunday Supplements are more likely to remember Julius for his habit of playing air chess with passersby.
However, his most lasting impact was probably in the area of linguistics, where his monograph, "On the Grammar of Apeness", remains very highly regarded. It was written during his Lower East Side period, after he had retired from the Zoo and moved into a small apartment in Queens.
In Julius' later years, his philosophy and politics drifted to the left, and his work in linguistics gave way to a series of rants published in the Daily Worker vilifying upper class zookeepers and the flunkies who clean cages, frequently without removing the animals first. His love for Cuban cigars, reinforced by a brief audience with Fidel Castro on the occasion of the latter's 53 1/4 birthday celebration, may also have had an impact on his social views.