Johnny Weissmüller
Birthday: Born in 1904-06-02 in Freidorf, Austria-Hungary [now Timisoara, Timis County, Romania]
Deathday: 1984-01-20
Johnny Weissmuller (born Johann Peter Weißmüller; June 2, 1904 – January 20, 1984) was an Austro-Hungarian-born American swimmer and actor. Weissmuller was one of the world's best swimmers in the 1920s, winning five Olympic gold medals and one bronze medal. He won fifty-two US National Championships and set sixty-seven world records. After his swimming career, he became the sixth actor to portray Tarzan in films, a role he played in twelve motion pictures. Dozens of other actors have also played Tarzan, but Weissmuller is by far the best known. His character's distinctive, ululating Tarzan yell is still often used in films. Description above from the Wikipedia article Johnny Weissmuller, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
TV Credits
The Merv Griffin Show
Character: Self
The Merv Griffin Show is an American television talk show, starring Merv Griffin. The series ran from October 1, 1962 to March 29, 1963 on NBC, September 20, 1965 to August 15, 1969 in first-run syndication, from August 18, 1969 to February 11, 1972 at 11:30 PM ET weeknights on CBS and again in first-run syndication from February 14, 1972 to September 5, 1986....
This Is Your Life
Character: Self
This Is Your Life is an American television documentary series broadcast on NBC, originally hosted by its producer, Ralph Edwards from 1952 to 1961. In the show, the host surprises a guest, and proceeds to take them through their life in front of an audience, including special guest appearances by colleagues, friends and family. Edwards revived the show in 1971-72, while Joseph Campanella hosted a version in 1983. Edwards returned for some specials in the late 1980s, before his death in 2005. T...
Jungle Jim
Character:
Jungle Jim is a 26-episode syndicated adventure television series which aired from 1955 till 1956, starring Johnny Weismuller, as Jim "Jungle Jim" Bradley, a hunter, guide, and explorer in, primarily, Africa. The program should not be confused with Ramar of the Jungle, but is based on the Jungle Jim comic strip created by Alex Raymond and Don Moore. Starring with Weismuller were Martin Huston as Jungle Jim's teenage son, Skipper; Dean Fredericks as Haseem, the Hindu manservant, and Neal, a chimp...
The Ed Sullivan Show
Character: Self
The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the CBS Sunday Night Movie, which ran only one season and was eventually replaced by other shows. In 2002, The Ed Sullivan Show was ranked #15 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time....
Movie Credits
Tarzan the Ape Man
Character: Tarzan
James Parker and Harry Holt are on an expedition in Africa in search of the elephant burial grounds that will provide enough ivory to make them rich. Parker's beautiful daughter Jane arrives unexpectedly to join them. Jane is terrified when Tarzan and his ape friends abduct her, but when she returns to her father's expedition she has second thoughts about leaving Tarzan....
Tarzan's New York Adventure
Character: Tarzan
Circus owner Buck Rand kidnaps Boy to perform in his show. He forces a pilot to fly him, Boy and his animal trainer out of the jungle. Tarzan and Jane follow them to New York....
Tarzan Finds a Son!
Character: Tarzan
A young couple die in a plane crash in the jungle. Their son is found by Tarzan and Jane who name him Boy and raise him as their own. Five years later a search party comes to find the young heir to millions of dollars. Jane agrees, against Tarzan's will, to lead them to civilization....
Tarzan's Secret Treasure
Character: Tarzan
A scientific expedition happens to discover that gold exists on Tarzan's escarpment. The villainous Medford and Vandermeer kidnap Jane and Boy to extort from Tarzan the location of the gold....
The Phynx
Character: Johnny Weissmuller
A rock band is invented by the government as a cover to find hostages in a remote castle in Albania held by communist enemies of the USA....
Tarzan Escapes
Character: Tarzan
White hunter Captain Fry tries to take Tarzan back to civilization, caged for public display. He arrives in the jungle with Jane's cousins, Eric and Rita, who want Jane's help in claiming a fortune left her....
Tarzan and His Mate
Character: Tarzan
Harry Holt returns to Africa with his friend Martin Arlington to head up a large ivory expedition....
Tarzan and the Mermaids
Character: Tarzan
A high priest tries to force a young beauty to marry a pearl trader who is masquerading as the god Balu....
Tarzan and the Huntress
Character: Tarzan
A shortage of zoo animals after World War II brings beautiful animal trainer Tanya, her financial backer and her cruel trail boss to the jungle. After negotiating a quota with the native king, they take more animals than allowed. Tarzan intervenes....
Tarzan and the Amazons
Character: Tarzan
A group of archaeologists asks Tarzan to help them find an ancient city in a hidden valley of women. He refuses, but Boy is tricked into doing the job. The queen of the women asks Tarzan to help them....
Tarzan's Desert Mystery
Character: Tarzan
A letter from Jane, who is nursing British troops, asks Tarzan's help in obtaining a malaria serum extractable from jungle plants. Tarzan and Boy set out across the desert looking for the plants. Along the way they befriend a stranded American lady magician....
Tarzan Triumphs
Character: Tarzan
Zandra, white princess of a lost civilization, comes to Tarzan for help when Nazis invade the jungle with plans to conquer her people and take their wealth. Tarzan, the isolationist, becomes involved after the Nazis shoot at him and capture Boy: "Now Tarzan make war!"...
Tarzan and the Leopard Woman
Character: Tarzan
A tribe devoted to the leopard cult is dedicated to preventing civilization from moving further into Africa....
Jungle Jim
Character: Jungle Jim
Lady scientist, Hilary Parker is searching for a rare drug to help combat polio. Opportunist Bruce Edwards joins the quest but is actually after gold and buried treasure....
Hollywood: The Dream Factory
Character: Self (archive footage)
A documentary about the glorious history of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios and its decline leading to the sale of its back lot and props. By extension this provides a general history of Hollywood's Golden Age and the legendary studio system....
Jungle Manhunt
Character: Jungle Jim
Football player Bob Miller, played by an actual football player, is lost in the jungle. Who else to find him but Jungle Jim....
Fury of the Congo
Character: Jungle Jim
Jungle Jim must protect rare pony-like animals whose glands produce a powerful narcotic. On the way, he fights a giant spider....
Jungle Jim in the Forbidden Land
Character: Jungle Jim
Jungle Jim is forced to lead anthropologist Dr. Edwards into a land inhabited by giant people....
Killer Ape
Character: Jungle Jim
Nasty white hunters are testing out their germ warfare weapons using wild animals in Africa… until they run into Jungle Jim....
Captive Girl
Character: Jungle Jim
Jungle Jim is out to save Joan from an evil witch doctor whilst simultaneously fighting evil treasure hunter Barton....
Jungle Man-Eaters
Character: Jungle Jim
Jungle Jim does battle with a would-be diamond smuggler and a renegade tribe....
Pygmy Island
Character: Jungle Jim
Jungle Jim searches for a female Army captain who's gone missing....
The Lost Tribe
Character: Jungle Jim
Jungle Jim fights a lion and sharks trying to save an African village from those who would despoil it....
Mark of the Gorilla
Character: Jungle Jim
Nazis dressed to look like Great Apes are looking for gold, and Jungle Jim must stop them....
Voodoo Tiger
Character: Jungle Jim
Jungle Jim helps an attractive research writer for the British museum clear up the mystery of a tiger cult in Africa while thwarting art thieves and bringing to justice a Nazi war criminal....
Cannibal Attack
Character: Johnny Weissmuller
Jungle Jim fights enemy agents who are trying to steal cobalt while disguised as crocodiles....
Jungle Moon Men
Character: Johnny Weissmuller
Priestess Oma is forever young in this Jungle Jim knockoff of "She" or the La of Opar stories from "Tarzan". The Jungle Jim-type character is played by Weissmuller using his own name....
Sunkist Stars at Palm Springs
Character: Self
Winners of the Lucky Stars National Dance Contest - one woman from each state of the United States - are welcomed to Palm Springs. Palm Springs being the desert playground for the movie stars, the women are introduced to the cavalcade of stars vacationing in Palm Springs at the time....
Savage Mutiny
Character: Jungle Jim
Jungle Jim battles enemy agents while helping a local tribe relocate from an atomic test bomb site....
The Yellow Cab Man
Character: Tarzan (archive sound) (uncredited)
Pirdy is accident prone. He has been denied insurance from every company in town because he is always getting hit or hurt in some way. On the day that he meets the lovely Ellen of the Yellow Cab Co., he also meets the crooked lawyer named Creavy. Pirdy is an inventor and when Creavy learns about elastic-glass, his new invention, he makes plans to steal the process. With the help of another con man named Doksteader, and the boys, he will steal this million dollar invention no matter who gets hurt...
Tarzan: Lord of the Movies
Character: Self / Tarzan (Archived Footage)
The history of the Tarzan films is presented through behind-the-scenes footage and scenes from the Jungle King’s many classic movies....
Going Hollywood: The '30s
Character: Self (archive footage)
Robert Preston hosts this documentary that shows what people of the 1930s were watching as they were battling the Depression as well as eventually getting ready for another World War....
The Golden Twenties
Character: Self (archive footage)
Feature-length compilation of 1920s newsreel footage, with commentary about news, sports, lifestyles, and historical figures....
Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood
Character: Stagehand 2
A would-be filmmaker and actress shake up the industry with a trick dog who gets discovered by a studio bus driver in the 1920s....
Rodeo Dough
Character: Johnny Weissmuller
After a trip to Hollywood, two young ladies attempt to hitchhike home but end up at a star-filled rodeo....
Swamp Fire
Character: Johnny Duval
Buster Crabbe and Johnny Weissmuller battle it out in Cajun country! Johnny, a riverboat pilot on the Mississippi, is seduced away from his fiance (Carol Thurston) by a rich outsider (Virginia Grey) who's nursed him back to health after a serious accident. She owns a large piece of the swamp and has outlawed hunting on her property. His rival Mike (Crabbe) is a trapper who harbors deep resentment for Johnny and his new wealthy friends. When he feels Johnny is responsible for the hunting ban, he ...
Stage Door Canteen
Character: Johnny Weissmüller
A young soldier on a pass in New York City visits the famed Stage Door Canteen, where famous stars of the theater and films appear and host a recreational center for servicemen during the war. The soldier meets a pretty young hostess and they enjoy the many entertainers and a growing romance...
Devil Goddess
Character: Johnny Weissmuller
Jungle-Jim type Johnny Weissmuller helps Professor Blakely look for a missing colleague who is now playing "god" for a bunch of natives....
Valley of Head Hunters
Character: Jungle Jim
Bad guys trying to steal the mineral rights away from African natives find it isn't so easy fighting Jungle Jim....
Tarzan Revisited
Character: Self (archive footage)
Tarzan: the super hero who never goes out of fashion. The son of British Royalty, he is raised by apes in the African jungle and finds his true love, Jane. Swinging through trees, communicating with wild animals, he is exotic, entertaining and accessible. This film recounts the birth of the character in the mind of Edgar Rice Burroughs and how each generation has reinvented and reinterpreted him....
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
Character: Self (archive footage)
Period music, film clips and newsreel footage combined into a visual exploration of the American entertainment industry during the Great Depression....
Hollywood: Style Center of the World
Character: Self
This short promotes the premise that movies often create a demand for the fashions seen in them. It starts with a vignette in rural America. A mother and daughter go to town to buy a new dress. In the dress shop window is a designer dress worn by Joan Crawford in a recent movie. We then go to Hollywood and visit Adrian, MGM's chief of costume design, and see how multiple copies of a single clothing pattern are produced. The film ends with short segments of several MGM features....
Complicated Women
Character: Self (archive footage)
Looks at the stereotype-breaking films of the period from 1929, when movies entered the sound era, until 1934 when the Hays Code virtually neutered film content. No longer portrayed as virgins or vamps, the liberated female of the pre-code films had dimensions. Good girls had lovers and babies and held down jobs, while the bad girls were cast in a sympathetic light. And they did it all without apology....
That's Entertainment, Part II
Character: (archive footage)
Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire present more golden moments from the MGM film library, this time including comedy and drama as well as classic musical numbers....
Hollywood on Parade No. B-1
Character:
Short film in which Frankie Darro as a Telegram delivery boy visits various Hollywood locations to make deliveries. He visits the Los Angeles Pier and a Gala Hollywood Premiere....
It's Showtime
Character: Self (archive footage)
A collection of film clips profiling animal actors....
Parade of Aquatic Champions
Character: Himself
Johnny Weismuller, Esther Williams and other aquatic champions present an exhibition of swimming and diving....
The One, the Only, the Real Tarzan
Character: Self (archive footage)
The glorious and tragic story of American athlete and actor Johnny Weissmuller (1904-84), Olympic swimmer, water polo player and the only true Tarzan, an archetypal character and myth of cinema, that of the original Hollywood blockbusters (1932-48)....
The Great Masquerade
Character: Sepy Debronvi
In order to infiltrate a gang of drug smugglers, a cop is sent undercover to participate in a drag-queen beauty contest aboard a cruise ship....
Glorifying the American Girl
Character: Adonis in "Loveland"
A young woman, who wants to be in the Follies, is making ends meet by working at a department store's sheet music department, where she sings the latest hits. She is accompanied on piano by her childhood boyfriend, who is in love with her, despite her single-minded interest in her career. When a vaudeville performer asks her to join him as his new partner, she sees it as an opportunity to make her dream come true. Upon arriving in New York City, our heroine finds out that her new partner is only...
Ways to Strength and Beauty
Character:
The perfect body as an object of cult worship. Based on the mass sports and body worship movement of the 1920s, the film propagates physical training and shows in stylized documentary scenes aspects of physical hygiene, gymnastics, sports and dancing as well as scenes in which supposed sportsmen of antiquity pose naked....
Hooray for Hollywood
Character: Self (archive footage)
A celebration of Hollywood in the 1930s, featuring a compilation of clips from features and newsreels of the era....
The Comic
Character: Jungle Jim (archive footage) (uncredited)
An account of the rise and fall of a silent film comic, Billy Bright. The movie begins with his funeral, as he speaks from beyond the grave in a bitter tone about his fate, and takes us through his fame, as he ruins it with womanizing and drink, and his fall, as a lonely, bitter old man unable to reconcile his life's disappointments. The movie is based loosely on the life of Buster Keaton....
Hollywood Scandals and Tragedies
Character:
Famous Hollywood Scandals and Tragedies...