He came swinging into theaters and into the hearts of millions of Americans for the first time in 1932, at the end of a jungle vine. By the time Johnny Weissmuller’s movie career was essentially over in 1955, he had become a cultural icon and one of the most admired celebrities in the world.
Weissmuller was born on June 2, 1904 in what was then Hungary, but before World War I changed the boundaries of his homeland, Johnny and his family had moved to the United States and settled in Chicago. As a young boy, he became intensely interested in swimming and enjoyed early success with a local YMCA swimming team before impressing William Bachrach, coach of the great swimming teams of the Illinois Athletic Club. Under Bachrach’s tutelage, Johnny refined his swimming style, incorporating techniques of several of the great swimmers of the day to produce his own unique style, and then he exploded onto the sports world at the 1924 Olympics in France.
There, Johnny won three gold medals and set an Olympic record in the 400-meter freestyle - but that was only the beginning of his competitive swimming career. He spent the years between 1924 and 1928 winning every swimming event he entered internationally, and by the time the Olympics rolled around again in 1928 at Amsterdam, Weissmuller was one of the great athletes of the world, and was the American standard-bearer during the opening procession. He again won gold medals in all his events, capping off an incredible unbeaten streak which had lasted
Weissmuller had difficulty converting his athletic renown into a post-competitive career however, and for several years could do no better than accept promotional jobs for companies like BVD, trading on his sports recognition. Then in 1932, he happened to be swimming a few workout laps at the Hollywood Athletic Club in Los Angeles when he was spotted by Cyril Hume, a screenwriter at MGM. By an extraordinary coincidence, Hume was involved at that time with a project to bring ‘Tarzan, the Ape Man’ to the big screen, and when he saw Weissmuller’s powerful athletic build and still-blazing speed through the water, he was immediately convinced that the part of Tarzan was cast. And so it was.
Weissmuller signed a contract with MGM for the paltry sum of $250 per week, and went to work as the animal-loving, jungle-dwelling hero of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ famous novel. When ’Tarzan, the Ape Man’ was released in 1932, Johnny Weissmuller became an overnight sensation. He went on to play Tarzan on screen in a dozen films, many of which were quite successful at the box-office, and along the way he introduced several little pieces of Americana which are recognized to this day. For instance, the Tarzan yell has been reproduced countless times since its introduction, and while it is true that it is not entirely Johnny’s voice doing the yelling (an operatic tenor was used to record part of the sequence), it is still one of the most familiar outbursts in all of filmdom. During World War II, homesick G.I.’s requested that Weissmuller’s Tarzan yell be broadcast to them at the battlefront, both as a connection to home, and for the inspiration it gave.
1939 Film Fantasy Playing Card Tarzan in Exile featuring Johnny Weissmuller and Maureen O'Sullivan1939 Film Fantasy Playing Card Tarzan in Exile featuring Johnny Weissmuller and Johnny SheffieldAnother of the immortal offerings produced by Weissmuller was the famous line from ’Tarzan, the Ape Man’ which he uttered to his jungle mate, Jane. “Me Tarzan, you Jane” was not originally in the script, nor was it part of Mr. Burroughs’ novel dialogue - it was actually conceived by Weissmuller himself. When he first met Maureen O’Sullivan in the parking lot of the MGM studios, she was struggling with an overstuffed suitcase, and recognizing his co-star from photos, he assisted her, and laughingly made his introductions with that famous line. It was overheard by other members of the crew, who later suggested that it be inserted in the film, being the perfect interplay for the two screen mates’ meeting.
By 1948, Johnny Weissmuller had done all he could do for the ‘Tarzan’ franchise, and never played the role again. However, he was recruited to play another jungle hero called Jungle Jim by Sam Katzman of Columbia Pictures, and in this movie series he got a chance to speak more dialogue, wear more clothes, and even make more money. The Jungle Jim series became very lucrative, and for a time at least, Weissmuller enjoyed some financial stability. During a seven year span through 1955, he filmed 15 movies, and although not all were connected with the Jungle Jim character, they did keep money in his bank account. With the end of the Jungle Jim movies, Johnny’s movie career foundered, and he appeared only briefly in two more forgettable movies before he retired altogether from films.
( Written By Ken Lashway .
Johnny Weissmuller's Tarzan movies are
TARZAN THE APE MAN (1932) TARZAN AND HIS MATE (1934) TARZAN ESCAPES (1936) TARZAN FINDS A SON (1939) TARZAN'S SECRET TREASURE (1941) TARZAN'S NEW YORK ADVENTURE (1942)
TARZAN TRIUMPHS (1943) TARZAN'S DESERT MYSTERY (1943) TARZAN AND THE AMAZONS (1945) TARZAN AND THE LEOPARD WOMAN (1946) TARZAN AND THE HUNTRESS (1947) TARZAN AND THE MEERMAIDS (1948)
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DISCLAIMERS: All rights to Tarzan are owned by Edgar Rice Burroughs Inc.; Warner Brothers seems to hold the rights to most of the Tarzan movies. Western Publishing Co. published the Dell/Gold Key Tarzan comics that had cover photos of Gordon Scott, Lex Barker and Ron Ely. All comic book cover and other pictures on my website are from my own personal collection unless otherwise noted (or from ebay). No attempt is made to infringe on any of these copyright; no rights given or implied. Used for entertainment purposes only.
Please do not use any of the pictures on this website without permission. It takes a lot of time and effort to put together a website like this one. NOTE: David Fury's "KINGS OF THE JUNGLE" and Bill Feret's "LURE OF THE TROPICS" books were used for reference material and a few photos. The commentaries and reviews are my own. William Armstrong, webmaster; DOWN MEMORY LANE WITH TARZAN JOHNNY WEISSMULLER website was created in February 2010.
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