Happy 86th birthday to actor, Ron Ely, Ely who played the title role in the 1960s series “ Tarzan”. During the show’ s filming, Ely performed all of his stunts and along the way suffered two dozen major injuries including two broken shoulders and various lion bites. Somehow the handsome actor survived and was comforted by some beautiful women including Ursula Andress, Dyan Cannon, and Britt Ekland.
In 1912, Tarzan swung into the literary world via Edgar Rice Burroughs novel “Tarzan of the Apes,” In the story, John Clayton is the son of Lord and Lady Greystoke, who perish in an airplane accident over the jungle. The boy is rescued and raised by a troop of gorillas. This unique upbringing provides him with valuable survival skills and an ability to relate to all jungle creatures. He adopts the name Tarzan, which means “white skin” in ape language.
Soon after the first Tarzan novels were published, the character became a hit with silent movie audiences and has remained iconic for over one hundred years. Many actors have taken on the role including:
Elmo Lincoln starred in 1918’s ‘Tarzan of the Apes’ a faithful adaptation of Burroughs’ novel. In his three Tarzan movies, Lincoln amazed audiences with his ability to fight wild beasts.
After performing stunts for Elmo, Frank Merrill, an award-winning gymnast, nabbed the starring role for two Tarzan films.
Herman Brix was cast to play Tarzan in 1932 but broke his shoulder before filming began. He was replaced by Johnny Weissmuller who began a seventeen year reign as the character.
Popular actor, Buster Crabbe portrayed Tarzan in the 1933 serial film “Tarzan the Fearless” which was released to compete with Weissmuller’s films. Buster’s performance was considered bland and inferior to Weissmuller’s work.
After Weissmuller resigned in 1949, many actors starred in the crowd-pleasing films including Lex Barker, Gordon Scott, Jock Mahoney, and former NFL linebacker, Mike Henry.
Christopher Lambert starred in 1984’s “Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan” which offered a different take. After being discovered in the jungle, Tarzan returns to civilization to reclaim his title as Lord Greystoke but struggles with the drastically different environment. Considered one of the best Tarzan movies, it was the film debut of Andie MacDowell who plays Jane.
Here’s Johnny
Weissmuller was born in 1904 in a small village in the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. The Weissmullers moved to Chicago where Johnny’s father abandoned the family when the boy was twelve. Forced to quit school and find a job, Johnny vowed to overcome his impoverished upbringing. He decided his excellent swimming ability might be his ticket. He was mentored by the swimming coach at a local YMCA. Throughout his teenage years Johnny dominated swim meets across the US. He became an international celebrity by winning a combined five gold medals at the 1924 Paris Olympics and 1928 Amsterdam games.
Throughout his Tarzan tenure, Weissmuller performed his own stunts, riding untamed rhinos and elephants. He forged deep connections with the animals including the vicious and unpredictable chimpanzees that played “Cheetah”. The beautiful Maureen O’Sullivan, who played Jane, claimed that the chimps developed an uncanny relationship with Weissmuller however they left her with “lots of scrapes and bites”.
Me Tarzan- You Jane
21 actresses have played Jane in movies and television shows. Ms. O’Sullivan played Jane in six Tarzan films starring Weissmuller,
Bo Derek starred in the 1981 film “Tarzan, the Ape Man” directed by her then-husband John Derek. This film tried to be unique by telling the story from Jane’s point of view, but many critics cited it as the ultimate bomb. It was nominated for six Golden Raspberry Awards (Razzies) and Bo won the Worst Actress title.
International Icon
Johnny Weissmuller was attending a celebrity golf tournament in Cuba during the late fifties when a band of violent Fidel Castro aligned revolutionaries stopped the car carrying Weissmuller. The terrified bodyguards dropped their weapons to appease the revolutionaries. With guns pointed at him, the quick thinking Weissmuller stood up in the open vehicle and let out his Tarzan yell. The revolutionaries instantly recognized Weissmuller and became his party’s escort to and from the tournament.
Ungawa, Cheetah!
Have a great weekend.
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