Johnny Weissmuller
Johnny Weissmuller | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Weissmuller c. 1940s | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | Johann Peter Weißmüller June 2, 1904 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | January 20, 1984 (aged 79) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Years active | 1929–1976 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouses | Bobbe Arnst
(m. 1931; div. 1933)Beryl Scott
(m. 1939; div. 1948)Allene Gates
(m. 1948; div. 1962)Maria Gertrude Baumann
(m. 1963) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Children | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sports career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (191 cm) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 190 lb (86 kg) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Swimming, water polo | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Illinois Athletic Club William Bachrach, Coach | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Johnny Weissmuller (/ˈwaɪsmʌlər/ WYSSE-mul-ər; born Johann Peter Weißmüller, German: [ˈjoːhan ˈpeːtɐ ˈvaɪsmʏlɐ]; June 2, 1904 – January 20, 1984) was a Hungarian-born German American Olympic swimmer, water polo player and actor. He was known for having one of the best competitive-swimming records of the 20th century. 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.
Following his retirement from swimming, Weissmuller played Edgar Rice Burroughs' 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.