Claude

Claude
First appearance:	"The Missing Link"
Created by:	Lee Falk & Sy Barry

Claude is an ex-circus performer who travelled to The Misty Mountains to live as a hermit. He fell in love with Elaine Weeber.

According to the newspaper strip

Claude is a circus performer who had performed in a gorilla suit. Eventually, he became tired of circus life and decided to travel to the Misty Mountains to live as a hermit. He took his gorilla suit with him so that he could scare off anyone who tried to venture into his part of the Mountains. However, one day when he was in his suit trying to scare off a leopard he was photographed by the fiancé of Elaine Weeber. Elaine's fiancé died of an unknown disease and thus Elaine convinced her father to accompany her to the Misty Mountains to find the “missing link” her fiancé had photographed.

However, Franz and Elaine’s helicopter crashed and they became stranded in the Mountains. Being made aware of this by Colonel Worubu, the Phantom journeyed to the Misty Mountains to rescue them. While there, the secret behind the “missing link" was revealed; it was actually Claude in a gorilla suit. Claude and Elaine fell in love. The Missing Link

According to Frew Publications

After their adventures in the Misty Mountains, Claude and Elaine returned to the circus. Joining Circus Bonodi, Claude and Elaine became embroiled in a smuggling operation which was using the circus as a cover. They once again meet The Phantom when he appears at the circus to shut the smuggling operation down. The Links in the Chain

Appearances

Daily/Sunday stories

Title	Writer	Artist	Comments
"The Missing Link"	Falk	Barry

Frew Publications Stories

Title	Writer	Artist	Comments
"The Links in the Chain"	Eriksson	Rodriguez