Johnny Weissmuller: Olympian Turned Tarzan

In this installment of ‘Profiles in History,’ we meet a boy who overcomes polio by swimming and then goes on to an outstanding and unexpected career.

Johnny Weissmuller's claim to fame extended from athleticism to acting. Here he is as Tarzan in the 1932 film "Tarzan the Ape Man." Public Domain

Johnny Weissmuller (1904–1984) was born in the Austro-Hungarian town of Freidorf. Weissmuller’s time in Freidorf was brief, as his parents emigrated to the United States in 1905. They briefly settled in Windber, Pennsylvania, before moving to Chicago three years later.

The young Weissmuller attended St. Michael’s School, then Menier Public School before dropping out in 1917 to help his family financially. At age 9, while in school, he contracted polio, and his doctor recommended he swim to combat the disease’s symptoms. The recommendation would change his life and the history of American sports forever.

Like a Fish to Water

“My doctor said I should take up some sort of exercise to build myself up,” Weissmuller recalled. “I found I had a natural flair for it.”

He did indeed have a “natural flair” for swimming and soon began competing in swimming tournaments. He joined a local YMCA and became a champion swimmer for the city-wide Chicago YMCAs.

As Weissmuller dominated the local youth swimming scene, Bill Bachrach was quickly becoming the nation’s most successful swim coach. Bachrach got his start coaching at the Chicago YMCA, but before Weissmuller arrived, he had become the swimming and water polo coach for the Illinois Athletic Club (IAC), which was located in Chicago.

Weissmuller’s success in the pool came to Bachrach’s attention. In October 1920, Weissmuller was invited to the IAC to try out with the now-famous coach. Under Bachrach’s guidance, Weissmuller was honed into an aquatic phenom. By August of 1921, he became an amateur swimmer, competing in local, state, and national competitions.

An Eye on Paris

The young swimmer continued to increase his speed. In 1922, he burst onto the competitive scene like never before when he broke the 1-minute barrier in the 100-meter freestyle. His time was 58.6 seconds. The following year, on July 4, 1923, he broke the 500-meter freestyle world record by 11 seconds. As the 1924 Olympics in Paris approached, it was obvious Weissmuller would be a force to reckon with. And his coach? None other than Bachrach.

Weissmuller’s star would shine in the City of Lights. He returned home with three gold medals for the 100-meter freestyle, the 400-meter freestyle, and the 4x200 meter relay. He also won a bronze medal with the U.S. water polo team. In the 100-meter freestyle, he again broke the one-minute mark at 59 seconds. He was exactly 2.4 seconds and 2.8 seconds ahead, respectively, of fellow Americans and Hawaiian brothers, Duke and Sam Kahanamoku. The U.S. swim team captured 13 gold medals under the leadership of Bachrach.

Johnny Weissmuller (L) and Duke Kahanamoku in a candid photograph at the 1924 Olympics in Paris. Public Domain

An Olympic Return

Weissmuller returned home a sports hero. His amateur achievements continued as he eyed the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam. Again, Bachrach was his coach. Leading up to the 1928 Olympics, Weissmuller set a world record in the 100-yard freestyle at 51 seconds—a record held for 17 years. He actually beat this record at the age of 36—around 13 years after he first set it—with a time of 48.5 seconds; by this time, however, he was no longer an amateur, but a professional.

In Amsterdam, Weissmuller competed in the 100-meter freestyle again and bested his 1924 Olympic record with a time of 58.6 seconds. He decided not to compete in the 400-meter freestyle, but did compete with the water polo team, although they failed to medal. Meanwhile, the swim team captured 10 gold medals.

Over the course of his amateur career, which extended until January 1929, he won 52 National Championships, set more than 100 national records, and set more than 50 world records.

A Chance Encounter

He soon turned professional and with this decision came the opportunity to make money off of his success. He became a model for the BVD swimwear line, which paid him the handsome sum of $500 a week (more than $9,000 today). During his time with BVD, he crisscrossed the country as part of the company’s marketing campaigns. At one hotel, he taught a young boy how to swim. The boy always had several large men in suits with him. Shortly after this incident, Weissmuller received a package with a note. The gift was an expensive watch. The note read, “Thanks for taking care of my son.—Al Capone.”

The athletic and strong Weissmuller had already made a name for himself prior to being spotted for "Tarzan." Public Domain

Capone was one of the most famous Americans, though for criminal reasons. Weissmuller, for his part, had become a household name for his feats of athleticism. But his fame had hardly reached its peak.

One day, in 1931, while swimming at the Hollywood Athletic Club, he was noticed by Cyril Hume, a screenwriter for MGM. Hume had been tasked with creating a script based on Edgar Rice Burroughs’s “Tarzan.”

Becoming Tarzan

Weissmuller, who hardly had film acting aspirations, recalled how this opportunity transpired.

“They asked me if I would like to screen test for Tarzan. I told them ‘no thanks’ but they said I could go to the MGM lot and meet Greta Garbo and have lunch with Clark Gable. Any kid would want to do that so I said ‘OK.’ ... There were 150 actors trying for the part, so after lunch, I took off for Oregon on my next stop for the swimsuit outfit. Somebody called me on the phone and said ‘Johnny, you got it.’  ‘Got what?’ ‘You’re Tarzan.’  ‘What happened to those other 150 guys?’  ‘They picked you.'”

Among the numerous actors who went on to play the famous literary character on the silver screen, Weissmuller was the most iconic. Over the course of 17 years, he starred in 12 Tarzan films, six of which were with Maureen O’Sullivan. His first movie, “Tarzan the Ape Man,” was released in 1932.

Johnny Weissmuller leaned into his former role as Tarzan years after he acted in the film franchise. Public Domain

At one point, an MGM producer concocted the idea of changing Weissmuller’s name to John Weis because he was afraid it would be too long for the marquee. The champion wasn’t a fan of the idea. It was quickly doused when the director of the film asked the producer, “Don’t you ever read the papers?” The director informed him of Weissmuller’s already established fame—the producer retracted his idea.

Love and War

Along with films, Weissmuller performed in the Billy Rose “Aquacade” at the 1939 New York World’s Fair. Four months after the World’s Fair opened, Germany invaded Poland, officially beginning war in Europe. Weissmuller would play his part during the war effort by helping to sell war bonds and training Marines in San Pedro off the coast of California.

Weissmuller proved successful in almost everything he did. His love life, however, wasn’t so successful. Or perhaps, from another perspective, he was a little too successful. He married five times—the first four marriages lasting anywhere between less than two years to as long as 14 years—but it wasn’t until he married Trudi Bauman Brock in 1963 that he found a lasting relationship. The two remained together until his death.

In 1950, while Weissmuller was making films and going through marriages, 250 Associated Press sports journalists concluded that he was the greatest swimmer of the first half of the 20th century. In fact, Weissmuller remains in the argument for the greatest American swimmer of all time.

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