the ballad of johnny

'tarzan' used to be more famous than 'batman.' johnny weissmuller's jungle yell is well known still. here's the facts:

Johnny Weissmuller (born Johann Peter Weißmüller; June 2, 1904 – January 20, 1984) was an Austro-Hungarian-born American swimmer and actor best known for playing Tarzan in movies. 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 Edgar Rice Burroughs's ape man Tarzan in films, a role he played in twelve motion pictures.

johnny had polio as a child and took up swimming as a way to battle the disease. it worked! johnny had five wives and a heck of a film career. he lived to be 80.

photos: tall dark and handsome johnny (second from right)/on the set with maureen o'sullivan and chimp