Swithin Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 Cheetah, the chimpanzee who appeared with Johnny Weismuller in at least two Tarzan films, has died in Florida on Christmas Eve, aged about 80. http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/28/cheetah-chimpanzee-in-tarzan-movies-has-died/ Will the Academy feature him in its memorial tribute? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EugeniaH Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 Rest in peace, Mr. Cheetah. May you go to your earthly reward... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scsu1975 Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 It's only a matter of time before the biography comes out, revealing his secret affair with Bonzo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 It can't be the original Cheetah. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThelmaTodd Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 Some foolish people get the idea of adopting chimps as pets. Two reasons why you shouldn't: they can become dangerous and unmanageable after adolescence (they are physically far more powerful than humans) and they are very long lived.(Average life expectancy is 60 years in captivity) They can easily outlast their owners. But then there's no talking sense to people who have no sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markbeckuaf Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 Oh wow! RIP Cheetah! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scsu1975 Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 > {quote:title=ThelmaTodd wrote:}{quote}Some foolish people get the idea of adopting chimps as pets. Two reasons why you shouldn't: they can become dangerous and unmanageable after adolescence (they are physically far more powerful than humans) and they are very long lived. They can easily outlast their owners. But then there's no talking sense to people who have no sense. Yes, we had an incident here in CT a few years back where a woman kept a chimpanzee as a pet - until it ripped her friend's face off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThelmaTodd Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 Hi scsu, Exactly. I remember that incident. It's a good example of what species "Pan Troglodytes" is capable of. They would be an animal control officer's nightmare, as they can run, jump and climb like no human can. They can also bite, rip and generally mess you up real bad! I think of that foolish, clueless and lost person, the ex-wife of Hulk Hogan. She adopted a chimp on his reality show when they were still together, and had to change diapers more than ten times a day! She should have gotten a job instead as well as tended more to her family. I'm also reminded of people who want tigers and lions, thinking them no different than housecats! I have nothing against professional animal trainers having them, as they should do so with eyes open, knowing full well the risks as well as how to take the appropriate safeguards. Use of chimps on-screen is almost as old as film itself. Their appeal was obvious from the earliest days. Agents in Hollywood have represented trainers who would make them available for studio roles. Note that "Cheetah" was very young when used in the Weismuller films. They are safer to work with and more pliant before adolescence, which comes at around 8-9 years of age. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dargo Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 > {quote:title=ThelmaTodd wrote:}{quote}Some foolish people get the idea of adopting chimps as pets. Two reasons why you shouldn't: they can become dangerous and unmanageable after adolescence... And.....THIS would be different from humans how exactly, Thelma??? (...well, that LEAST it's a good thing the DMV won't issue chimps drivers licenses then, huh?!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThelmaTodd Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 Hi Dargo! They say: "blood is thicker than water"! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EugeniaH Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 I noticed from Swithin's link that Cheetah's favorite pasttimes were fingerpainting and watching football. :^0 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dargo Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 > {quote:title=EugeniaH wrote:}{quote}I noticed from Swithin's link that Cheetah's favorite pasttimes were fingerpainting and watching football. :^0 Hmmmm...yep! I'll bet he was a real Oakland Raiders fan, alright!!! (...would've fit right in with those folks!) :^0 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EugeniaH Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 Being a male, it makes sense that he wouldn't have been a fan of the ballet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dargo Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 Yep! But there's always a chance he at least would've enjoyed The Nutcracker come every Christmas. (...even this football-lovin' "chimp" HERE enjoys watchin' THAT around this time o' year!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimvecchio Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 Happened to catch this by accident. I know I'm a "Jonny-come-Lately" but just wanted you to know, if any are interested, that I added a mention of the death early this morning, along with a hastily-compiled montage of Cheetah. Well, Hasta Banana! (Ouch!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThelmaTodd Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 Hi jim! It's never too late! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willbefree25 Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 Will the Academy feature him in its memorial tribute? I hope so. I hope TCM Remembers remembers him too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exapno Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 Too late for TCM REMEMBERS, I'm afraid - although they managed to squeeze Harry Morgan in there at the last minute! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfpcc1 Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 Does anyone remember the show Lancelot Link. It was a show in the early 70's featuring lip synching monkeys. Watching that show and getting a spinal tap due to meningitis, (ow) were some of my first memories. If someone did a show like that today PETA would go ape, (pun intended.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ValeskaSuratt Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 Sadly, there's considerable uncertainty as to whether the Cheeta who just passed away actually was the same simian who appeared in the "Tarzan" movies opposite Johnny Weismuller ... so much uncertainty in fact that one author penned a fictitious (and supposedly hilarious) "biography" : However, back in 2008, a writer for the Washington Post named R.D. Rosen decided to find out the truth about Cheeta and ... well ... let's just say his report is best left UN-read by those who prefer their Hollywood legends remain intact : http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/25/AR2008112500939.html?hpid=features1&hpv=national HOWEVER ... regardless of his true age and the validity of his resume, the recently-departed chimpanzee had been living for many years on a small income, and in less-than-Hollywood luxury, and so from this whole saga at least ONE solid fact has emerged : Cheetas never prosper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swithin Posted December 28, 2011 Author Share Posted December 28, 2011 But it was on the front page of The New York Times (at least the online edition)! Though, to paraphrase Oscar Wilde's Lady Bracknell, "I have known strange errors in that publication." It makes sense that, if the Cheetah who just died in Florida was born around 1931, that he could have been the Cheetah -- or one of them -- who played in the early Tarzans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dargo Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 > {quote:title=ValeskaSuratt wrote:}{quote} > > HOWEVER ... regardless of his true age and the validity of his resume, the recently-departed chimpanzee had been living for many years on a small income, and in less-than-Hollywood luxury, and so from this whole saga at least ONE solid fact has emerged : > > > Cheetas never prosper. > Ooooh....and I thought I WAS bad with puns, VS!!! :0 (...actually, I'm probably just a little mad at myself that I didn't go for that joke FIRST in this thread!) :^0 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karlofffan Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 Not just the NY Times, but the LA Times, CNN, and at least a few British papers bought into the legend that this was the original Cheeta (actually played by another chimp, Mr. Jiggs, who passed into banana heaven years ago). Somebody made a monkey out of a lot of major news outlets today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swithin Posted December 29, 2011 Author Share Posted December 29, 2011 The Times actually updated their story later in the day, adding this sentence: "But the announcement drew skepticism and recalled a previous incident of mistaken chimpanzee identity." It's also possible that there were different chimps playing Cheetah in the same film. On another post, scsu implied that Cheetah was having a a secret affair with Bonzo. That gives new meaning to the title, Bedtime for Bonzo. In any case, we probably haven't heard the last of this saga. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karlofffan Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 Cheeta had an affair with Bonzo? Did they have any kids? Isn't this how Planet of the Apes started?? And Charlton Heston isn't around any more to save us! We're doomed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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