lspencer534
11-09-2017, 8:32pm
Johnny Weissmuller (June 2, 1904- January 20, 1984) was an Austrian-Hungarian swimmer who was regarded as one of the fastest swimmers in the 1920s. He won five Olympic medals and one bronze one for water polo at the Olympic Games of 1924 and 1928. During the 1930s he became world famous as Tarzan in the eponymous film series. Despite being the sixth actor to perform the role on screen and having several other actors play the part in the decades after that he is still the most iconic Tarzan actor of all time. He played the character in 12 films and also invented the world famous Tarzan yell:
Johnny Weismuller Tarzan Call - YouTube
During an appearance on television's The Mike Douglas Show in the 1970s, Weissmuller explained how the famous yell was created. Recordings of three vocalists were spliced together to get the effect—a soprano, an alto, and a hog caller. Nevertheless, Weissmuller had the recording played at his funeral.
If you do some research, you'll find that Weissmuller lived in Southern California, but that he died in Acapulco, Mexico. No, he didn't move there by choice but instead because of this: He retired from acting at age 61. He lost all his money in bad real estate investments. He soon wound up at this retirement community in Woodland Hills, Calif., less than an hour from Los Angeles, where the movie and TV industry has been taking care of its own for decades. The Motion Picture and Television Fund's 48 acres include gardens, fountains, cottages and apartments for independent residents, plus assisted living facilities with skilled nurses and dementia care.
Weissmuller would walk the grounds and often let out his famous Tarzan yell, which wasn't a very good one since the one in his movies had been dubbed in. As dementia set in, he would wake up around 2 A.M., put on a loincloth (or his underwear if he couldn't find his loincloth), go out into the hall, and do his yell. Not just once, but enough times to awaken all the residents. The retirement home had to send him to Mexico, the only nearby place that would take him.
I would have loved to have been with him at the home: Every time he'd give the Tarzan yell, I'd say, "Again, Tarzan! One more time! One more time!".
[You can Google all this yourself if you want; to me it's just a story, but a good one.]
Johnny Weismuller Tarzan Call - YouTube
During an appearance on television's The Mike Douglas Show in the 1970s, Weissmuller explained how the famous yell was created. Recordings of three vocalists were spliced together to get the effect—a soprano, an alto, and a hog caller. Nevertheless, Weissmuller had the recording played at his funeral.
If you do some research, you'll find that Weissmuller lived in Southern California, but that he died in Acapulco, Mexico. No, he didn't move there by choice but instead because of this: He retired from acting at age 61. He lost all his money in bad real estate investments. He soon wound up at this retirement community in Woodland Hills, Calif., less than an hour from Los Angeles, where the movie and TV industry has been taking care of its own for decades. The Motion Picture and Television Fund's 48 acres include gardens, fountains, cottages and apartments for independent residents, plus assisted living facilities with skilled nurses and dementia care.
Weissmuller would walk the grounds and often let out his famous Tarzan yell, which wasn't a very good one since the one in his movies had been dubbed in. As dementia set in, he would wake up around 2 A.M., put on a loincloth (or his underwear if he couldn't find his loincloth), go out into the hall, and do his yell. Not just once, but enough times to awaken all the residents. The retirement home had to send him to Mexico, the only nearby place that would take him.
I would have loved to have been with him at the home: Every time he'd give the Tarzan yell, I'd say, "Again, Tarzan! One more time! One more time!".
[You can Google all this yourself if you want; to me it's just a story, but a good one.]