Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Happy (Belated) Birthday, Cheeta!

Nice pic of chimp in birthday hat at link.

Zee News - Tarzan’s chimp ‘Cheeta’ celebrates his 75th birthday: "London, April 11: Cheeta, the celebrity chimp noted for appearing in numerous movies and television shows, celebrated his 75th birthday on April 9, and had the day named after him.

Cheeta, who was born in 1932, shot to fame after appearing in many Hollywood Tarzan movies of 1930’s and 40’s in which he portrayed a fictional chimp of the same name.

The chimp’s first appearance as Cheeta was in the 1936 Johnny Weissmuller Tarzan movie ‘Tarzan Escapes’.

With the normal lifespan of chimps being 50 years, Cheeta, at 75, is the oldest chimpanzee in the world, reports The Sun.

Cheeta celebrated his special day in Palm Springs, California, where he has lived for 16 years after retiring from the movie business. "

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

On a similar note, I heard on the radio this morning that it is Johnny Sheffield's 75th birthday today.

Unknown said...

Thanks, Scott. I'll have to repost my birthday wishes for him from last year.

Cap'n Bob said...

I hear Cheetah's still unhappy that he never got a chance to direct.

Anonymous said...

I don't for a minute believe that this particular ape fed lines to Weismuller. I imagine there have been as many "Cheetahs" as there have been "Lassies". More likely this one worked with Jock Mahoney or Mike Henry or Ron Ely -- or nobody in a loincloth at all.

Art Scott

Unknown said...

I have the same suspicion. The photo on one site was a lobby card from one of the Weismuller pics, which I think is misleading.

Cap'n Bob said...

Well Bill and Art, there's one way to find out. If this Cheetah has BB scars on his chimphood he's the original.