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IMDbPro

Johnny Weissmuller(1904-1984)

  • Actor
  • Music Department
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Johnny Weissmuller Circa 1932 MGM
Official Trailer
Play trailer1:36
Jungle Moon Men (1955)
13 Videos
99+ Photos
Johnny Weissmuller was born as Peter Johann Weißmüller in Freidorf, today a district of the city of Timisoara in Romania, then a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Weissmuller would later claim to have been born in Windber, Pennsylvania, probably to ensure his eligibility to compete as part of the US Olympic team. Weissmüller was one of two boys born to Petrus Weissmuller, a miner, and his wife Elisabeth Kersch, who were both Banat Swabians, an ethnic German population in Southeast Europe. A sickly child, he took up swimming on the advice of a doctor. He grew to be a 6' 3", 190-pound champion athlete - undefeated winner of five Olympic gold medals, 67 world and 52 national titles, holder of every freestyle record from 100 yards to the half-mile. In his first picture, Glorifying the American Girl (1929), he appeared as an Adonis clad only in a fig leaf. After great success with a jungle movie, MGM head Louis B. Mayer, via Irving Thalberg, optioned two of Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan stories. Cyril Hume, working on the adaptation of Tarzan the Ape Man (1932), noticed Weissmuller swimming in the pool at his hotel and suggested him for the part of Tarzan. Weissmuller was under contract to BVD to model underwear and swimsuits; MGM got him released by agreeing to pose many of its female stars in BVD swimsuits. The studio billed him as "the only man in Hollywood who's natural in the flesh and can act without clothes". The film was an immediate box-office and critical hit. Seeing that he was wildly popular with girls, the studio told him to divorce his wife and paid her $10,000 to agree to it. After 1942, however, MGM had used up its options; it dropped the Tarzan series and Weissmuller, too. He then moved to RKO and made six more Tarzans. After that he made 13 Jungle Jim (1948) programmers for Columbia. He retired from movies to run a private business in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
BornJune 2, 1904
DiedJanuary 20, 1984(79)
BornJune 2, 1904
DiedJanuary 20, 1984(79)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • Awards
    • 1 win

Photos257

Johnny Weissmuller in Tarzan Finds a Son! (1939)
Suzanne Dalbert, Trudy Marshall, Onslow Stevens, and Johnny Weissmuller in Mark of the Gorilla (1950)
Johnny Weissmuller in Mark of the Gorilla (1950)
Trudy Marshall and Johnny Weissmuller in Mark of the Gorilla (1950)
Abel Fernandez, Johnny Weissmuller, and Vera Francis in Devil Goddess (1955)
Jean Byron, Jean Dean, and Johnny Weissmuller in Voodoo Tiger (1952)
Brenda Joyce and Johnny Weissmuller in Tarzan and the Mermaids (1948)
Johnny Weissmuller in Tarzan and the Mermaids (1948)
Fernando Wagner and Johnny Weissmuller in Tarzan and the Mermaids (1948)
Linda Christian, Brenda Joyce, and Johnny Weissmuller in Tarzan and the Mermaids (1948)
Maureen O'Sullivan, Johnny Weissmuller, and Cheetah in Tarzan the Ape Man (1932)
Robert Bray, William Bryant, Jean Byron, Jean Dean, James Seay, and Johnny Weissmuller in Voodoo Tiger (1952)

Known for

Tarzan the Ape Man (1932)
Tarzan the Ape Man
7.0
  • Tarzan
  • 1932
Maureen O'Sullivan, Johnny Sheffield, and Johnny Weissmuller in Tarzan's New York Adventure (1942)
Tarzan's New York Adventure
6.5
  • Tarzan
  • 1942
Anita Lhoest and Johnny Weissmuller in Captive Girl (1950)
Captive Girl
5.2
  • Jungle Jim
  • 1950
Frances Gifford and Johnny Weissmuller in Tarzan Triumphs (1943)
Tarzan Triumphs
6.2
  • Tarzan
  • 1943

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actor

  • Bruce Dern, Madeline Kahn, and Augustus von Schumacher in Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood (1976)
    Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood
    • Stagehand 2
    • 1976
  • The Great Masquerade (1974)
    The Great Masquerade
    • Sepy Debronvi
    • 1974
  • Busby Berkeley, Maureen O'Sullivan, Richard Pryor, Edgar Bergen, Pat O'Brien, Dick Clark, Xavier Cugat, Cass Daley, Andy Devine, Fritz Feld, Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, John Hart, Louis Hayward, George Jessel, Ruby Keeler, Patsy Kelly, Dorothy Lamour, Guy Lombardo, Joe Louis, Trini López, Marilyn Maxwell, Butterfly McQueen, Martha Raye, Harold Sakata, Harland Sanders, Jay Silverheels, Ed Sullivan, Rudy Vallee, Clint Walker, and Johnny Weissmuller in The Phynx (1970)
    The Phynx
    • Johnny Weissmuller
    • 1970
  • Johnny Weissmuller in Jungle Jim (1955)
    Jungle Jim
    • Jungle Jim
    • TV Series
    • 1955–1956
  • Angela Stevens, Johnny Weissmuller, and Vera Francis in Devil Goddess (1955)
    Devil Goddess
    • Johnny Weissmuller
    • 1955
  • Jungle Moon Men (1955)
    Jungle Moon Men
    • Johnny Weissmuller
    • 1955
  • Judy Walsh and Johnny Weissmuller in Cannibal Attack (1954)
    Cannibal Attack
    • Johnny Weissmuller
    • 1954
  • Karin Booth, Johnny Weissmuller, and Tamba in Jungle Man-Eaters (1954)
    Jungle Man-Eaters
    • Jungle Jim
    • 1954
  • Max Palmer, Carol Thurston, Johnny Weissmuller, and Tamba in Killer Ape (1953)
    Killer Ape
    • Jungle Jim
    • 1953
  • Christine Larson and Johnny Weissmuller in Valley of Head Hunters (1953)
    Valley of Head Hunters
    • Jungle Jim
    • 1953
  • Savage Mutiny (1953)
    Savage Mutiny
    • Jungle Jim
    • 1953
  • Jean Dean and Johnny Weissmuller in Voodoo Tiger (1952)
    Voodoo Tiger
    • Jungle Jim
    • 1952
  • Angela Greene and Johnny Weissmuller in Jungle Jim in the Forbidden Land (1952)
    Jungle Jim in the Forbidden Land
    • Jungle Jim
    • 1952
  • Sheila Ryan, Johnny Weissmuller, and Tamba in Jungle Manhunt (1951)
    Jungle Manhunt
    • Jungle Jim
    • 1951
  • Sherry Moreland, Blanca Vischer, Johnny Weissmuller, and Tamba in Fury of the Congo (1951)
    Fury of the Congo
    • Jungle Jim
    • 1951

Music Department

  • Robert Douglas, Joanna Barnes, and Denny Miller in Tarzan, the Ape Man (1959)
    Tarzan, the Ape Man
    • vocal effects (uncredited)
    • 1959

Videos13

Official Trailer
Trailer 2:27
Official Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 3:27
Official Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 2:14
Official Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 2:30
Official Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 3:02
Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 2:44
Official Trailer
Jungle Manhunt
Trailer 1:44
Jungle Manhunt
Jungle Moon Men
Trailer 1:36
Jungle Moon Men
Jungle Man-Eaters
Trailer 1:39
Jungle Man-Eaters
Voodoo Tiger
Trailer 1:39
Voodoo Tiger
Pygmy Island
Trailer 1:43
Pygmy Island
Mark of the Gorilla
Trailer 1:53
Mark of the Gorilla

Personal details

Edit
  • Alternative names
    • Johnny Weismuller
  • Height
    • 6′ 3″ (1.91 m)
  • Born
    • June 2, 1904
    • Freidorf, Hungary, Austria-Hungary [now Timisoara, Timis County, Romania]
  • Died
    • January 20, 1984
    • Acapulco, Mexico(pulmonary edema following a series of strokes)
  • Spouses
      Maria BaumanApril 23, 1963 - January 20, 1984 (his death)
  • Parents
      Petrus Weißmüller
  • Other works
    Radio: G.I. Journal, broadcast March 9th- actor
  • Publicity listings
    • 9 Print Biographies
    • 3 Portrayals
    • 5 Articles
    • 2 Pictorials
    • 2 Magazine Cover Photos

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Was the first man in the world to swim 100 m. freestyle in less than a minute.
  • Quotes
    [on playing Tarzan in 12 films between 1932-1948] 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.
  • Trademarks
      muscular pectorals
  • Nickname
    • Big John
  • Salary
    • Swamp Fire
      (1946)
      $75,000

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