Something less than two years ago I spoke with Paul Williams, the pop singer, who was filled with stories of the wonder of his first major acting assignment: playing an orangutan in the film "Battle for the Planet of the Apes."
     During the shooting, Mr. Williams rose at 3:30 a.m., then stayed in makeup for three hours. During one such session, the makeup man, Kenny Chase, began discussing at length the merits of what was the favorite drink of both of them, the margarita.
     "He drove me crazy talking about margaritas," Mr. Williams said. "By noon I couldn’t take it anymore. I was really freaked out. I grabbed Kenny and pulled him into my car."
     The car was a 1935 Bugati, "not an inconspicuous car in any case, but here is this Bugati driving down Pico Boulevard at lunchtime with an orangutan behind the wheel. We drove to the Casa Escabar and went inside. Kenny took me by the arm and went up to the maitre d’. He asked him, ‘Can we have a table in a dark corner? We want to be alone.’"
     Nearly two years later, and more than seven since the whole "Planet of the Apes" phenomenon began, men and women in ape costumes still can be found bouncing around the Hollywood Hills. After five highly successful movies, Pierre ("Bridge Over the River Kwai") Boulle’s creation is a successful weekly television series. And, as was the case with four of the five movies, it stars Roddy McDowall in the role of the friendly, science-minded chimpanzee.