Before he swang through jungles as Tarzan, Johnny Weissmuller was among the world's leading swimmers.
Born in 1904 in present-day Romania, he spent most of his early life in the U.S. Weissmuller captured five Olympic gold medals and set 67 world records, helping him develop a persona of American athleticism in the 1920s and early 1930s.
The Hollywood Offer That Changed Everything
After the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics, he soon found himself with a Hollywood offer. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) was seeking a performer for the lead role in Tarzan the Ape Man, which was inspired by the character made famous by Edgar Rice Burroughs.
Although Weissmuller had no formal acting experience, he impressed the producers of the film during his screen test and was cast as Tarzan in the film (1932). His character depicted a being of great brute strength with little sense of innocence.
The Birth of an Icon
The character as portrayed by Weissmuller was instantly iconic, leading to a staggering twelve sequels over the remaining twenty years.
He also contributed to the creation of the now legendary Tarzan yell, developed into a sound effect recognizable as one of motion picture history's most iconic audio trademarks.
Legacy of Legend
Weissmuller went on to become more popular as Tarzan than he had as an Olympic hero or international hero, cementing his reputation as the preeminent Tarzan in the history of film.
Weissmuller never lost a single competitive swimming race as an amateur or professional—one of the more astonishing records of competitive sports history, matched only by Tarzan's feats in the jungle!
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