New Jersey’s decorator, who made a fake Clark Griswold mannequin based on the 1989 Christmas Vacation holiday movie, was caught out by a local fire company.
Doug Peterson (Decorator), Oceanport made the automated mannequin. He posted the joke on TikTok.
This mannequin is meant to resemble Clark Griswold from Vacation, played by Chevy Chase. He’s portrayed as a family-oriented man who wants his family the best Christmas holidays.
Inspired by a classic scene, Griswold hanging Christmas lights from the ladder before it falls. He is then trapped on the roof and calls for help.
The virality of a decoration prank that was inspired by 1989’s Christmas Vacation is due to its resemblance to a scene in which Clark Griswold struggles to place his holiday lights at his house.
The local fire department was apparently called, as the man believed that the mannequin belonged to a true decorator who was hanging from the roof.
Chevy Chase plays Clark Griswold as a family-loving man who wants to make Christmas special for his loved ones. One memorable scene is when Griswold tries to set his lights on.
Peterson created the mannequin and posted video footage of him performing the same scene.
Peterson also posted another video of the fire department coming by his house. They may have assumed that the mannequin represented a decorator calling for help.
The fire department may have been part of the joke or trying to assist the faux decorator.
DailyMail.com reached Peterson to get his opinion.
Doug Peterson, a New Jersey decorator built the figure by himself. He installed a motor system to support his legs and also a sound system that he could use for his voice.
Peterson added Griswold’s costume to the mannequin. He then hung the mannequin from his home’s edge, hanging him from the roof.
Peterson posted several videos about the faux decoration since then. It has been viral on social media.
In a second video, he explains how the decorations were made to create a real effect.
To create the Griswold mannequin, he had previously used a Michael Myers character from 1978’s Halloween.
He used a motor to make the legs swing back and forth, and also added sound machines and lights to the scene.
The Griswolds’ signature outfit was then put on the mannequin before being hung on top of the house.
To recreate the famous scene, a string of hanging lights was added and also a ladder that fell from the ceiling.
Since then, the clever joke has been enjoyed by social media users. His first TikTok clip of the decoration had more than 4,000,000 views.
“911 What’s your emergency?” A guy ……nevermind commented.
@user9383762215540 posted the comment, “How often have cops been called to his house?”
‘Ha ha! “Ha ha! As a 911 dispatcher, I used to receive calls each year about houses that had hung bodies for Halloween. This is so much better,” @Porcha said.
Peterson was a funny, realistic decorator. Social media users laughed at his jokes.
Also, this isn’t the first Christmas Vacation detriment to go wrong. A Texas family did a similar joke on their neighbors in 2018.
Austin’s Heerlein family created an identical scene in the movie, which led a passerby mistakenly to believe that someone was hanging from the roof.
An elderly man, a veteran of Vietnam, tried to save the body. NestCam footage was used to capture the scene from the front.
He had also called out for help from other neighbors and local police were dispatched to the scene.
Officers were then informed by the family’s nanny who was at home at that time.
A sign was posted by the family saying, “Clark G has been added to our Christmas display. Please do not call 911.”
A family member also apologized to the man who had walked by, after having initially believed that the incident was fake.
In 2018, a family in Austin, Texas created an identical decoration.
NestCam caught a male passerby trying to save the mannequin. He assumed that it was an actual decorator hanging on his roof.