June 2
TARZAN DAY
He was born on this day in 1904 in Freidorf, near Timisoara, Romania. From the age of three, he was raised in the asphalt jungle of Chicago, but reached the pinnacle of his fame in a tropical jungle. Johnny Weissmuller played the role of Tarzan more than any other actor in a decade of Tarzan films.
Weissmuller was a star athlete, however, way before he became a Hollywood star. An Olympic Gold Medalist, Johnny Weissmuller won a total of five gold medals in swimming in the 1924 and 1928 Olympics. He also collected 52 U.S. and 67 world swimming records.
Without much competition in the swimming pool or in the Tarzan movies, we could say that Weismuller’s only competition was his co-star, Maureen O’Sullivan. Their first [1932] Tarzan movie was Tarzan the Ape Man; the last together was in 1942, titled, Tarzan’s New York Adventure.
“Me Tarzan, you Jane.”
Those Were the Days, the Today in History service from 440 International
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