Cheetah is dead.

[xxl]

Character actor "Cheetah," best known for his roles opposite a number of actors in the "Tarzan" movie series, has died.

I did not know he was still around. He was eighty years old, which is eighty in chimpanzee years.

RIP.



Cheetah, chimp star of classic Tarzan movies, dies at 80

[Creakyknees]

Which one's Cheetah?

[bigrider]

That is a shame. I heard that he was getting casted with Robert Duvall, Gene Hackman, and Morgan Freeman in The Bucket List II.

[sir duke]

Which one's Cheetah?

Which 'Cheetah' is Cheetah? According to Wikipedia there is some debate as to the age and movie appearances of the recently departed simian. (If you chose to believe Wikipedia).

Cheeta - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[terry b]

Long live Cheetah!

[xxl]

Which one's Cheetah?

I'm not sure, I can't seem to stop staring at Maureen O' Sullivan's gams, even if I know they're currently mouldering in some grave in upstate New York.

(Tidbit: Maureen was Mia Farrow's mother, which made her Frank Sinatra's, Andre Previn's, and sort of Woody Allen's mother-in-law.)

But back to Cheetah; I think he's the hairy fellow, next to Johnny Sheffield, aka "Boy," who incidentally rolled his seven back in 2010, at age 79.

[xxl]

Which 'Cheetah' is Cheetah? According to Wikipedia there is some debate as to the age and movie appearances of the recently departed simian. (If you chose to believe Wikipedia).

Cheeta - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

FWIW, the Florida retirement facility said that (this) Cheetah came from Johnny Weissmueller's estate in 1960. "People" also reports the same, and who would argue with "People"?

I have to say, though, I would be surprised if there were only one Cheetah, given his career longevity and the difficulty in working with animal "Hollywood" types.

In a post on her Twitter account, Mia Farrow, who is O’Sullivan’s daughter, wrote: “Cheetah the chimp in Tarzan movies died this week at 80. My mom, who played Jane, invariably referred to Cheetah as ‘that bastard.’ "

[sir duke]

I always hated Tarzan movies as a kid. Of course they were a product of their time and the whole concept just stank of imperialism and racism, but on top of that they were just plain boring. The chimps that mattered were the Brooke Bond ones that we saw in TV commercials in England..

[xxl]

I always hated Tarzan movies as a kid. Of course they were a product of their time and the whole concept just stank of imperialism and racism, but on top of that they were just plain boring. The chimps that mattered were the Brooke Bond ones that we saw in TV commercials in England..

Yes, probably boring to us, but in the early Twentieth Century, those films must've seemed awesome indeed to audiences who'd only seen jungles in photographs.

Plus Maureen O' Sullivan. Here's Ms. Sullivan receiving a pedicure from the Lord of the Jungle:




Trivia note: The first actor who played Tarzan, Elmo Lincoln, left acting after the end of the Silent Era, but returned to play some walk-on bits in two Tarzan movies in the Forties. Must've been weird watching Lex Barker playing "his" role.

[sir duke]

Yes, probably boring to us, but in the early Twentieth Century, those films must've seemed awesome indeed to audiences who'd only seen jungles in photographs.

Crumbs, imagine what life must have been like, living in total ignorance before Hollywood was invented to enlighten us.

[zyzbot]

I always hated Tarzan movies as a kid. Of course they were a product of their time and the whole concept just stank of imperialism and racism, but on top of that they were just plain boring. The chimps that mattered were the Brooke Bond ones that we saw in TV commercials in England..

Don't forget about their historical value!

[Cinelli 82220]

What about Lancelot LinK, Secret Chimp?
Lancelot Link, Secret Chimp - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Now he was a cool chimp!