Doctor Zira was a chimpanzee psychologist and veterinarian, who specialized in the study of humans. She headed the study of George Taylor, and escaped the destruction of Earth by traveling to the past. She was the wife of Cornelius and the mother of Caesar.
Zira was the fiancée (later wife) of Cornelius, and both were ultimately responsible to the Minister of Science, Dr. Zaius. Her work involved both working with humans under laboratory conditions (e.g. learning and behavioural experiments), and working on them physically (lobotomy and other brain surgeries, vivisection, physical endurance and tolerance experiments, and subsequent autopsies). Zira was an outspoken liberal by nature, deploring war and militancy (and despising the gorillas, who seemed to make both a way of life), and eager to seek and develop intelligence anywhere it could be found. Zira literally stood for her principles - or refused to stand, as the case may be.
In the first movie, Zira met American astronaut George Taylor, who was shot in the throat when he was captured by gorillas, and could not speak, just as the native humans of her world could not. She tended to his throat wound, discovered Taylor had intelligence beyond any human she'd seen, and paired him with Nova, also intelligent, hoping the two will breed. When Taylor stole Zira's notepad and wrote his own name on it, Zira abruptly dropped the nickname "Bright Eyes" she'd given him, and took Taylor to meet Cornelius. Both disbelieved Taylor's story that he was from another planet, but supposed that he might be a missing link, to explain the similarities between ape and human behaviour and anatomy... and the strange artefacts Cornelius found at an archaeological dig the year before. She seemed to be fond of the humans that she worked with and gave them nicknames, such as an old one she named "Old Timer". Zira was ultimately surprised to discover that Taylor could talk and even defended him against the ape tribunal in order to discuss his origins. She later helped Taylor and Nova to escape the world of the apes, coming to appreciate each as thinking creatures like herself, as well as having a plain fondness for them. In the end, she and Taylor kissed goodbye – even though, as she told him, "You're so damned ugly".
Sequels[]
Cornelius and Zira arrive at their destination
Beneath the Planet of the Apes showed Zira and Cornelius married and at home (after Zira made a political spectacle of herself at an Ape gathering), when another human entered their lives; the astronaut Brent, sent to rescue Taylor but then needing help himself. Zira was surprised to find yet another talking human but treated the bullet wound Brent had sustained, and she and Cornelius sent him and Nova (who met Brent when she had sought Zira, after Taylor had vanished) back out of the city, to spare them from the latest human round-up. When Dr. Zaius visited, he told Cornelius and Zira he planned to appoint them as his proxies, while he was away on a military campaign with General Ursus. Zaius admonished them both to maintain the status quo, and keep their more liberal values in check. Zira and Cornelius promised to do so, and Zaius departed. In the novelization of the movie, they subsequently began a chimpanzee revolt, with Zaius and the gorilla army gone.
Zira gives birth to Caesar
Escape from the Planet of the Apes had the pregnant Zira (with Cornelius and their friend Dr. Milo) making a space flight in Taylor's restored craft the Icarus, when they realised their world was doomed. In a reverse of Taylor's experience, the spaceship traveled back in time to a few years after his mission began, splashing down off the California coast. The movie followed Zira and Cornelius (after the accidental death of Dr. Milo) through their discovery of, and eventual rejection by, human society. A large portion of the rejection came from Zira's drugged confessions of the details of her human experiments, to the shock of the reactionary Presidential Commission, who declared them atrocities, since they were done to humans. Zira's and Cornelius' accounts of their origins, and of humanity's coming downfall, further stigmatised the couple. Zira seemed to better understand this turn of events, as everything she admitted was indeed true about Dr. Zaius and the Ape society. When Cornelius denounced the humans for "jabbing needles into my pregnant wife", Zira remarked she was in no position to judge as back home she performed similar experiments on human women and the Apes were guilty of worse barbarisms.
Their baby was born (named Milo after their friend, but later called Caesar), but Zira and Cornelius were murdered a few days afterwards. Circus owner Armando took them in when the baby came; Zira switched her newborn baby with a circus chimp when she and Cornelius had to go into hiding, leaving Armando a clue in case they didn't return.
Zira made no further appearances in the Apes movies, although she was mentioned by name in the remaining sequels, and appeared in video stills (while her recorded voice told the story of their space flight, and of the Earth's destruction) the adult Caesar plays back, to learn more about his parents, in Battle for the Planet of the Apes.
Malibu Graphics Continuity[]
Sins of the Father[]
Back when she was a child, her father, Pardel, was on his way to pick her up when she discovered the lifeless body of General Ignatius' daughter, Camille. Pardel mentioned the incident to a group of apes before meeting Doctor Augustus.
BOOM! Studios Continuity[]
Zira’s arrival on Earth became a myth among apes by the time of the Lawgiver Zeno era. The iconography depicting her in astronaut gear became known as the "Holy Mother."
Her sister Cassia was killed when the destruction of the Moon caused a huge wave to hit Ape City, eight years before Taylor's arrival. Zira dutifully looked after Cassia's son Lucius, with the help of Prisca, who was a major influence in Zira's life. Zira briefly became involved in a chimpanzee plot to murder Zaius and expel all orangutans and gorillas, but backed out at the last moment and instead helped to bring calm between the ape factions.
Novels[]
Death of the Planet of the Apes[]
After Taylor's final departure for the Forbidden Zone, there is a rapprochement with Zaius, prompted by his need for allies against Ursus and Sabian. Thus, Zira and Cornelius receive promotions, are appointed to the Citizen's Council, and are married by Zaius. In their new positions they discover yet more secrets of ape history, such as the Lawgiver's true identity and the story of Aldo, and are forced to flee Ape City to Milo's spaceship repair site.
Notes[]
Kim Hunter undergoes her transformation into ZiraThe role of Zira was played by Linda Harrison in the 1966 Screen Test alongside Charlton Heston, Edward G. Robinson and James Brolin. She would go on to play Nova in the first two movies, though she in fact had more lines of dialogue in the ten-minute screen test than in the two movies combined.
Roddy McDowall with Natalie WoodTurning down the part of Zira was one of Ingrid Bergman's greatest regrets. She later confided to her daughter Isabella Rossellini that in hindsight the film would have been an ideal opportunity for her to "disregard her regal bearing", and that she also regretted missing the opportunity of working with Charlton Heston.[1] Natalie Wood had also been suggested for the part.
The role was due to be played by Julie Harris as late in production as April 1967, weeks before shooting began.[2]
Ape actors were usually required to wear brown contact lenses if their eyes were not suitably dark, but Zira remained hazel-eyed, as make-up designer John Chambers explained, "We all thought it would add a "human" touch".[3]
Makeup artist Leo Lotito Jr. worked with John Chambers to create the "Dr. Zira" make-up for Planet of the Apes, and also worked on Beneath the Planet of the Apes.[4]
An early Rod Serling script noted that Zira presented her findings on the remarkable human at the 'National Academy of Science'.[5]
According to The Ape newspaper distributed in theatres showing the movie in 1968, Taylor was initially held at the "Academy of Ape Science".[6]
A scene written by Michael Wilson had Zira, Cornelius, Lucius, Taylor and Nova flee initially to the farm of Zira's father Brutus.[7]
Pop/Rock band Redd Kross's 1990 Atlantic Records release Third Eye includes the track "Zira", an homage to the simian heroine written by lead guitarist Robert Hecker.
