I came across an interesting story in Entertainment Weekly recently. Did anyone ever watch the old Tarzan movies from the 30's and 40's? You know, the ones with Johnny Weissmuller and Maureen O'Sullivan. Well, one of the stars is still alive. It's Cheeta! - the chimpanzee. He's 76 years old and living in Palm Springs! Isn't that amazing.
Here's the bad news, everyone - he's got a book deal.
[This message has been edited by philocinemas (edited October 29, 2008).]
[This message has been edited by philocinemas (edited October 29, 2008).]
Posted by Zero (Member # 3619) on :
Nothing's quite like being less evolved than a monkey.
[This message has been edited by Zero (edited October 29, 2008).]
Posted by satate (Member # 8082) on :
I actually saw some of those movies thanks to my dad. He was great at getting us girls interested in what he wanted to watch. We would be begging him to watch our princess show and he say wait there's a funny part coming, and then we would laugh at a lion chasing Tarzan because it was so obvious the lion was on a separate screen. He made anything he wanted to seem really exciting so I watched a lot of old sci fi movies as a child. It's probably his fault I like fantasy and sci fi books now.
[This message has been edited by satate (edited October 30, 2008).]
Posted by Robert Nowall (Member # 2764) on :
I have a certain doubt about whether this Cheeta is the Cheeta. (Or was it Cheetah-with-an-aitch? Been awhile since I read a Tarzan book or saw a Tarzan movie...)
Anyway, it's just that I don't recall any earlier media hoopla, and its absence bothers me. I think I would've remembered if, say, somebody had done a "Happy Fiftieth Birthday, Cheeta" story twenty-six years ago---it seems the kind of thing I would remember.
But it doesn't mean that it wasn't there---I might've missed it---or that this Cheeta is the Cheeta,
Posted by Patrick James (Member # 7847) on :
Speaking of old and famous creatures.
It is said that Captain James Cook gave a King Tonga a Madagascar starred tortoise, called Tu'imalilia, in 1760--or thereabouts. It died on 19 May 1966.
Posted by EP Kaplan (Member # 5688) on :
I saw almost all of them with my old man. Wow. Did not see this coming.
Posted by philocinemas (Member # 8108) on :
The article I read said there were actually several "Cheetas". This one happened to have remained in the care of the animal trainer who had worked with him for the movies and is the only one with documentation. The original caretaker died, but another trainer then adopted Cheeta. This Cheeta also was "Bonzo" in a movie with Ronald Reagan and the chimp in Doctor Dolittle. Cheeta is the oldest living non-human primate according to Guinness. He is an accomplished painter - his works go for about $125 a piece, and there is an effort to get him a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Posted by philocinemas (Member # 8108) on :
Not only did Cheeta write a book (sort of), he was also a finalist for the 2009 Man Booker Prize.