Johnny Weissmuller
Olympic swimmer, actor, and pioneer of the modern cinematic portrayal of jungle heroes.
Chronology: 1904-06-02 – 1984-01-20
Origins & Early Life
Johnny Weissmuller ( WYSSE-mul-ər; born Johann Peter Weißmüller, German: [ˈjoːhan ˈpeːtɐ ˈvaɪsmʏlɐ]; June 2, 1904 – January 20, 1984) was an American Olympic swimmer, water polo player and actor. He set world records alongside winning five gold medals in the Olympics. He won the 100m freestyle and the 4 × 200 m relay team event in the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris and the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam. Weissmuller also won gold in the 400m freestyle, as well as a bronze medal in the water polo competition in Paris.
Pivotal Works & Achievements
Following his retirement from swimming, Weissmuller played Edgar Rice Burroughs's Tarzan in twelve feature films from 1932 to 1948; six were produced by MGM, and six additional films by RKO. Weissmuller went on to star in sixteen Jungle Jim movies over an eight-year period, then filmed 26 additional half-hour episodes of the Jungle Jim TV series. == Early life == Johann Peter Weißmüller was born on June 2, 1904, in Szabadfalva, in the Kingdom of Hungary into an ethnically Banat Swabian family. An ancestor had immigrated from Baden, Holy Roman Empire c. 1749.
Enduring Legacy & Impact
Three days later he was baptized into the Catholic faith by the Hungarian version of his German name, as János...
Source: Wikipedia