Primate time TV

June Casagrande

“Friends” fans still recovering from last night’s tear-jerker should

brace themselves for a shock they weren’t expecting: Marcel the

monkey is a girl.

As if that weren’t enough, the duck from “Friends” is actually

somewhere between 12 and 18 ducks. And, the icing on the cake: Marcel

wasn’t so tight with her TV owner, Ross, played by David Schwimmer.

In fact, it was Courteney Cox Arquette who bonded best with the

diminutive monkey.

“She ended up working with Monica most so I’d say they got along

the best,” said Chad Dunn, trainer for Studio Animal Services, who

worked with Marcel on the set of “Friends.”

The “Friends” animals threw a farewell party and screening for the

show’s final episode at Diedrich Coffee on Jamboree Road, with a

little help from the people at Star 98.7.

The station had its “Friends” finale party Thursday night at the

coffee house, where about 70 or 80 lucky listeners got to watch the

final episode on two big-screen TVs alongside radio personalities

Lisa Foxx and Jason Pullman. The event was just one of many across

the country to mark the end of the 10-year-long NBC sitcom that

spawned everything from movie careers to fashion and hairstyle

trends.

“We love Orange County,” Pullman said. “We have a lot of listeners

in the O.C. and we always have a good time here.”

The event included a “Friends” look-alike contest, in which

Michelle McCarter of Newport Beach and Gary King of Fullerton won

first place as Monica and Ross, respectively.

“My kids said, ‘you have to do it, Mom,’” McCarter said.

“People have been telling me I look like Ross for 10 years now, so I figured, why not?” King said.

The animals had varying reactions. Marcel was a cautious host,

clearly overwhelmed by the noise and crowds, but one who found

comfort in a chewy chunk of pizza crust.

Marcel is a white-throated Capuchin monkey, a species commonly

referred to as organ grinder’s monkeys. In captivity they live to

about 30 or 35 years old. Marcel is still 7. The duck, sometimes

called “Quacky” by trainer De Ann Zarkowski, was clearly more of a

party animal, flapping about happily.

“There are about a dozen and a half ducks we use, and it’s

impossible to know them by name,” Zarkowski said. “I just call him

Quacky.”

Fans who came out for the event varied from die-hard “Friends”

enthusiasts to people like Katie Olsen of Laguna Beach, who won

admission to the Star 98.7 party through a Deidrich’s drawing.

“I’ve never won anything like this before,” Olsen said. “This is a

fun thing to attend.”