Johnny Weissmuller

Lore & Background

Johann Peter Weißmüller was born on June 2, 1904, in Szabadfalva, Kingdom of Hungary, into an ethnically Banat Swabian family. He emigrated to the United States as an infant and grew up in Pennsylvania and Chicago. At age nine, he contracted polio, and his doctor recommended swimming for recovery. He excelled immediately, winning every race he entered, and eventually swam for the Illinois Athletic Club. He set his first two world records at the A.A.U. Nationals on September 27, 1921.

Weissmuller won five Olympic gold medals and one bronze medal. At the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, he won the 100m freestyle, 400m freestyle, and 4×200m relay, and also earned a bronze in water polo. At the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam, he won two more gold medals. He never lost a race and retired with an unbeaten amateur record. In 1950, the Associated Press selected him as the greatest swimmer of the first half of the 20th century.

After retiring from swimming, Weissmuller played Tarzan in twelve feature films from 1932 to 1948, six for MGM and six for RKO. He originated the famous Tarzan yell, created by sound recordist Douglas Shearer. He later starred in sixteen Jungle Jim movies and 26 episodes of the Jungle Jim TV series. He retired from acting in 1957.

Reader's Guide

Johnny Weissmuller's significance lies in his dual achievements as a world-record-setting Olympic swimmer and as the definitive cinematic Tarzan. He was the first man to swim the 100-meter freestyle under one minute and the 440-yard freestyle under five minutes, and he set 67 world records. His portrayal of Tarzan in twelve films from 1932 to 1948 established the character's iconic image, including the famous yell. Weissmuller's legacy endures through his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and his inclusion on the cover of The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. He was awarded the George Eastman Award in 1973 for distinguished contribution to film. His life also included a notable rescue of 11 people from drowning in 1927. He died in 1984, and at his request, the Tarzan yell was played three times at his burial.

Did You Know?

• Weissmuller contracted polio at age nine and took up swimming on his doctor's recommendation.
• He saved 11 people from drowning after a boat accident in Lake Michigan in 1927.
• He originated the famous Tarzan yell, which was created by sound recordist Douglas Shearer by playing Weissmuller's normal yell in reverse.
• At his funeral, a recording of the Tarzan yell was played three times, and he received a 21-gun salute arranged by Senator Ted Kennedy and President Ronald Reagan.