Johnny Weissmulller (1904-1984)

Bookplate picture 'As Jungle Jim with Kimba' nicely signed- as an added bonus reverse picture shows scenes from 'Oklahoma!' and is signed by 'Bambi Linn'


When Weissmuller was introduced to the first Cheetah in his Tarzan films in 1931 (he worked with 8 chimpanzees altogether), the chimp's trainer told him to show no fear or the animal would attack him. As Weissmuller, dressed in his Tarzan loincloth and hunting knife, walked up to the animal, it bared its teeth, growled at him and lunged as if to attack him. Weissmuller took the knife out of the sheath and held it in front of the chimp's nose, to make sure he saw and smelled it. He then slammed the animal on the side of the head with the knife handle. He put the knife back in its sheath and held out his hand to the chimp. It glared at him, bared his teeth again, then changed its mind, grinned at Weissmuller and jumped up and hugged him. Weissmuller never had any further problems with the chimp--although other cast and crew members did--and it followed him around like a puppy dog during all the pictures they worked together.

On his role as Tarzan(some 20 films between 1932 and 1949) "How can a guy climb trees, say "Me, Tarzan, you, Jane," and make a million? The public forgives my acting because they know I was an athlete. They know I wasn't make-believe."

Won 5 Olympic Gold Medals 1924-28 for swimming. Broke the record in each race. From 1921-29 he won every free style race he entered.


Biography from Leonard Maltin's Movie Encyclopedia:
Casting the leading role in Tarzan, the Ape Man (1932), MGM director W. S. Van Dyke dismissed Charles Bickford (not young enough), Johnny Mack Brown (not tall enough), Clark Gable (not muscular enough), and countless other studio contractees before choosing Olympic swimming champ Weissmuller, whose motion picture experience had been limited to a brief appearance in Glorifying the American Girl (1929). But he looked great in a loincloth, and acting experience didn't count for much with dialogue like "Umgawa!" MGM's lavish production was a spectacular hit, making Weissmuller an overnight star and prompting a long string of sequels: Tarzan and His Mate (1934), Tarzan Escapes (1936), Tarzan Finds a Son! (1939), Tarzan's Secret Treasure (1941), and Tarzan's New York Adventure (1942), all of which teamed the former University of Chicago student with petite Maureen O'Sullivan.

Diminishing returns-and the increasing unhappiness of O'Sullivan-led MGM to sell its character rights to independent producer Sol Lesser, who distributed his films through RKO. Lesser started off well with Tarzan Triumphs (1943), a topical story pitting the Ape Man against invading Nazis (sans Jane). It was followed by Tarzan's Desert Mystery (1943), Tarzan and the Amazons (1945), and Tarzan and the Leopard Woman (1946), but an aging, thickening Weissmuller, weaker scripts, and smaller budgets took their toll on the popular series by the time of Tarzan and the Huntress (1947). After completing Tarzan and the Mermaids (1948), Weissmuller hung up his loincloth for good.

Cheapie producer Sam Katzman, operating on the theory that you can take the boy out of the jungle but you can't take the jungle out of the boy, offered Weissmuller the leading role in his new "Jungle Jim" series, based on a well-liked comic strip, for Columbia. Weissmuller, told he could keep his clothes on, agreed. Jungle Jim (1948) launched the series adequately, but succeeding stanzas saw already-skimpy budgets reduced and increasing reliance on stock footage. Later entries included The Lost Tribe (1949), Mark of the Gorilla, Pygmy Island (both 1950), Jungle Manhunt (1951), Voodoo Tiger (1952), and Cannibal Attack (1954). After seven years and 15 films, the series went out with a whimper; by this time Katzman had stopped licensing the "Jungle Jim" character and had Weissmuller playing himself. After Devil Goddess (1955), the star left Africa behind-for a few years, anyway. He was back as Jungle Jim on a 1958 TV series. Weissmuller made his last screen appearance playing himself (accompanied by Maureen O'Sullivan) in The Phynx (1970), but the film was shelved and never saw the light of day. In the nearly 25 years that constituted his starring career, he only made two "civilian" pictures: Stage Door Canteen (1943, as himself) and Swamp Fire (1946), a drama of the bayous that pitted him against fellow Olympic swimming star (and former Tarzan) Buster Crabbe.

Copyright © 1994 Leonard Maltin