Johnny Weissmuller is the world’s best-known and best-loved Tarzan.
Born in 1904 in Hungary, his first brush with fame came in 1924 Olympics in France, where he won three Gold Medals and set a World Record in swimming. He spent the next four years winning a multitude of international swimming events and then returned to the Olympics in 1928, again taking home the Gold. He was one of the most famous athletes in the world.
But that was only the beginning. In 1932, Johnny was cast as Tarzan (alongside Maureen O’Sullivan’s Jane) and went beyond celebrity, becoming an icon by fulfilling the back-to-nature sexual fantasies of men and women everywhere. The first several Tarzan movies were made before the enforcement of the Hays Code and were quite risque for the time, even including nudity; later films were more demure. He eventually made twelve Tarzan movies, before moving on to a series of Jungle Jim films. But it is as Tarzan that Johnny is remembered as one of the greatest heroes in American cultural history.
He was a hero in real life as well. In 1927, when a storm capsized an excursion boat, Johnny and his brother risked their lives to swim out to the sinking vessel repeatedly, and brought twenty people to shore; eleven of them were saved.
Johnny Weissmuller died in 1984 at the age of 80, but lives on in that magical, timeless jungle of Tarzan the Ape Man, alongside Jane, Boy and Cheetah.
The Weissmuller Tarzan movies are among my favorite films, especially the first two; I love the quaint risque flavor, I love jungle movies and I love the leftover 1920s ambiance. And I always loved Tarzan's bond with the jungle animals. Thumbs up to the original Tree Hugger.
Born in 1904 in Hungary, his first brush with fame came in 1924 Olympics in France, where he won three Gold Medals and set a World Record in swimming. He spent the next four years winning a multitude of international swimming events and then returned to the Olympics in 1928, again taking home the Gold. He was one of the most famous athletes in the world.
But that was only the beginning. In 1932, Johnny was cast as Tarzan (alongside Maureen O’Sullivan’s Jane) and went beyond celebrity, becoming an icon by fulfilling the back-to-nature sexual fantasies of men and women everywhere. The first several Tarzan movies were made before the enforcement of the Hays Code and were quite risque for the time, even including nudity; later films were more demure. He eventually made twelve Tarzan movies, before moving on to a series of Jungle Jim films. But it is as Tarzan that Johnny is remembered as one of the greatest heroes in American cultural history.
He was a hero in real life as well. In 1927, when a storm capsized an excursion boat, Johnny and his brother risked their lives to swim out to the sinking vessel repeatedly, and brought twenty people to shore; eleven of them were saved.
Johnny Weissmuller died in 1984 at the age of 80, but lives on in that magical, timeless jungle of Tarzan the Ape Man, alongside Jane, Boy and Cheetah.
The Weissmuller Tarzan movies are among my favorite films, especially the first two; I love the quaint risque flavor, I love jungle movies and I love the leftover 1920s ambiance. And I always loved Tarzan's bond with the jungle animals. Thumbs up to the original Tree Hugger.
